In German spoken since the nazis used it as a propaganda term it has taken on a different connotation. The denotation of “Volk” may be “people” in some senses, but “Menschen” fits much better for most uses of people. “A people” is “ein Volk,” but “people” is most commonly used as the plural of “person,” which would be “Mensch.” “Volk” has an ethnic connotation, which the singular meaning of “people” has, but the plural does not.