by Bernie Neufeld, Guest Contributor
One of our nomads, Linda, recently asked me if I would be interested in posting an article written by her brother in law, Bernie Neufeld and his quest to learn the facts about his grandfather's fate. I think you will find his story engrossing.
From Australia to Ukraine
It was a long flight from my home in Sydney, Australia to Odessa, Ukraine. As I settled into my flight, I scrolled through the movies and chose the Australian film “Lion”-a film about one man's search for his roots.
A perfect film to watch at the start of a journey to discover my own past. “Lion”, or “Loewen” in German, is the surname of my earliest known ancestor, and features prominently in my family history.
Michael Loewen, born in 1606, who died more than 100 years later, in 1710, was a General in the Prussian army, and is said to have played a key role in negotiating an end to the Thirty Years War. My great-grandmother, the mother of my grandfather Abram Kroeger was Sara Loewen.
My mission on this trip is to discover the fate of Abram Kroeger, the grandfather who disappeared. He was arrested in the late 1930’s by the Russian NKVD, (the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs) the predecessor of the KGB. The Government of Ukraine has made the previously “secret” archives available. I look forward to viewing his file, and finally confirming his fate.
Michael Loewen, born in 1606, who died more than 100 years later, in 1710, was a General in the Prussian army, and is said to have played a key role in negotiating an end to the Thirty Years War. My great-grandmother, the mother of my grandfather Abram Kroeger was Sara Loewen.
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In Beautiful Odessa: Bernie Neufeld (left), Vic Neufeld (centre) John Neufeld (right) |
My mission on this trip is to discover the fate of Abram Kroeger, the grandfather who disappeared. He was arrested in the late 1930’s by the Russian NKVD, (the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs) the predecessor of the KGB. The Government of Ukraine has made the previously “secret” archives available. I look forward to viewing his file, and finally confirming his fate.
We boarded a cruise ship the MS Dnieper Princess in Odessa for a trip across the Black Sea, up the Dnieper River to Kherson, Zaporozhye and on to Kiev with other passengers also tracing their roots in Ukraine. Most were descendants of Dutch/German Mennonite settlers invited by Catherine II, Empress of Russia, in the 1700’s to develop and industrialize the region around Zaporozhye, Ukraine.
One of my ancestors, Johann Bartsch played a major role in negotiating the terms of the settlement. My ancestors and other settlers made a significant contribution to the economic development of this region until the nightmare of the Stalinist purges and war scattered them across the globe.
Our first stop on the way to Zaporozhye is Kherson, and as we explore the streets, the markets, and the Greek Orthodox Church, there it is again, the Lion, calmly watching us pass. This is the city founded in 1778 by Grigory Aleksandrovich Potemkin, Catherine the Great’s favorite lover, Field Marshal and General of Russia’s new provinces (now southern Ukraine), at the time of my ancestors' first settlement.
Our next stop was Zaporozhye where the economic contribution of my ancestors and their fellow settlers is still evident, although they have long since left. We saw the former factories where they manufactured clocks (the Kroeger clock), granaries, agriculture and forestry.
Influential individuals such as Johann Cornies had a major impact on the region in the early 1800’s. Among other ventures, he was instrumental in establishing the forest industry in Berdiansk.
I spent much of my career analyzing, forecasting and providing consulting services to the global forest products industry, including the major players in North and South America, Asia, east and west Europe, and Russia.
We saw the education and health facilities, including hospitals, and schools, which are still operating, some funded through economic and social development programs by the North American descendants of those who
We saw the education and health facilities, including hospitals, and schools, which are still operating, some funded through economic and social development programs by the North American descendants of those who
created them.
Access to the Archives
Finally, it was time to go to the archives. These archives were made accessible to scholars and the public by legislation submitted to the Ukrainian Duma (parliament) by President Petro Poroshenko on 9 April 2015.
Under the legislation, the state “guarantees free access to archival information and provides digitization of archival information.” The purpose of the legislation is to help restore the national memory of the Ukrainian people and was officially published by the Voice of Ukraine on 20 May 2015. Since then, archival materials have been available to scholars and individuals looking for information on the fate of their family and friends.
The legislation has the title “On Access to the Archives of Repressive Agencies of (the) Totalitarian Communist Regime of 1917-1991”. In the legislation is a list of Soviet agencies considered to be oppressive. The Cheka, or state security police founded in December 1917, was established to combat counter-revolution and sabotage. The Cheka, and its successors the GPU, the OGPU, the NKVD, and the KGB existed until the Soviet Union ended in December 1991.
These repressive agencies were assisted by the Supreme Court, the People’s courts, provincial, district and regional courts, and a host of other agencies and officials whose activities were incompatible with fundamental human rights. These organizations and officials kept detailed secret files of individuals subjected to their repression.
My grandfather Abram Kroeger was one of many “arrested” Soviet citizens from a wide range of ethnic minority groups. Others among my family and extended family known to have been arrested include Gerhard Kroeger, Abram Kroeger’s younger brother; Dietrich Epp, my grandmother’s brother; Peter Janzen, my brother in law’s grandfather; Willy Janzen, my brother in laws uncle; and Kornelius Peters my aunt’s father. Their fate is unknown.
Thanks to this legislation we are about to discover what is in Abram Kroeger’s formerly “secret” file, and we hope to eventually discover what is in the other files.
On Saturday, 28 July, 2018 at around 9 AM we took a private bus with interpreters and a few others who were viewing files, to the Zaporozhye archive offices.
Upon entering the building where the archives are kept, we were escorted to a room with several tables, on which were neatly placed files. Our interpreters sat down with us around the table, showed us the files and begin to verbally interpret the files for us. We took notes, and photos of the files, which are written and typed in the Ukrainian language.
The first page is written and typed in a language I didn’t understand, but I saw a date at the top of the page, March 14, 1938, the date of the arrest warrant for Abram Kroeger. I saw his date of birth, 1892. He was 46 years old, a young man with a wife and five children.
On another page, I saw a list of his family, his wife and his five children. I didn’t need to understand Ukrainian to recognize them. The dates and names were clear to me, including my mother, who is listed with a birth date of 1921. She was 17 years old. Underneath their names is the signature of my grandfather, Abram Kroeger, signed at the Zaporozhye prison.
My grandfather Abram Kroeger was one of many “arrested” Soviet citizens from a wide range of ethnic minority groups. Others among my family and extended family known to have been arrested include Gerhard Kroeger, Abram Kroeger’s younger brother; Dietrich Epp, my grandmother’s brother; Peter Janzen, my brother in law’s grandfather; Willy Janzen, my brother in laws uncle; and Kornelius Peters my aunt’s father. Their fate is unknown.
Thanks to this legislation we are about to discover what is in Abram Kroeger’s formerly “secret” file, and we hope to eventually discover what is in the other files.
On Saturday, 28 July, 2018 at around 9 AM we took a private bus with interpreters and a few others who were viewing files, to the Zaporozhye archive offices.
Upon entering the building where the archives are kept, we were escorted to a room with several tables, on which were neatly placed files. Our interpreters sat down with us around the table, showed us the files and begin to verbally interpret the files for us. We took notes, and photos of the files, which are written and typed in the Ukrainian language.
The Files on Abram Kroeger
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First page of the file of Abram Kroeger |
On another page, I saw a list of his family, his wife and his five children. I didn’t need to understand Ukrainian to recognize them. The dates and names were clear to me, including my mother, who is listed with a birth date of 1921. She was 17 years old. Underneath their names is the signature of my grandfather, Abram Kroeger, signed at the Zaporozhye prison.
On March 14, 1938, without any supporting evidence, and based only on accusations the prosecutor authorized the NKVD to arrest him until the end of the investigation and trial under article 143 of the criminal code.
This was the day after a search warrant was issued, on March 13, 1938, giving the NKVD the authority to search his house, at 26 Vetrenaia Street, Khortitza Village, Zaporozhye. Without evidence, the NKVD clearly needed the support of a higher authority to proceed.
His personal file states that he had been a farmer before and after the revolution, and he had also worked as a harness maker on a collective farm. He was middle class, from Upper Khortitza, and a citizen of the USSR but was not a member of the Soviet army due to his age. He had no previous criminal record. He was listed as the son of Abram Kroeger, born in 1862, my great grandfather, and the husband of my great-grandmother, Sara Loewen.
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The five children of Abram Kroeger |
The Accusation and Trial
The trial was based on an accusation by Dietrich Regier, who provided the NKVD with a list of many names who he claimed were active in a German-controlled revolutionary organization set up to subvert Soviet power. Abram Kroeger’s name was on that list.
The investigation concluded that Dietrich Regier was one of the leaders of the German organization and submitted his claim as evidence. It appears that Dietrich Regier who was likely an acquaintance of those on the list made the accusations under a plea bargain in exchange for his freedom, and that in fact there was no such organization.
The investigation concluded that Dietrich Regier was one of the leaders of the German organization and submitted his claim as evidence. It appears that Dietrich Regier who was likely an acquaintance of those on the list made the accusations under a plea bargain in exchange for his freedom, and that in fact there was no such organization.
The files stated that Abram Kroeger admits at the trial that since 1936 he was involved in an organization to support counter-revolutionary activities, including blowing up a bridge and destroying roads during the revolutionary war.
After the war, he accepted counter-revolutionary tasks from Dietrich Regier in a workshop. These tasks included deliberately damaging equipment taken for repair to the workshop and slowing the process of repair to impede Russian progress in the war. The trial noted there was evidence that the work was of low quality, and not completed on time.
The files show his signature, admitting to these charges. His admission was likely under duress and torture. In fact, his acquaintances and his family believed he had died in the Zaporozhye prison due to extreme torture. He did not die in prison.
The files show his signature, admitting to these charges. His admission was likely under duress and torture. In fact, his acquaintances and his family believed he had died in the Zaporozhye prison due to extreme torture. He did not die in prison.
His indictment stated that Abram Kroeger was accused by Dietrich Regier under an article of law, of being a member of a German organization, under the control of the German Embassy, and involved in spying, and organizing groups to fight Soviet power during the war.
There were many names listed as members of the German organization. All were accused of subversive activity wherever they worked and of spreading fascist propaganda in the German population. All were identified by Dietrich Regier and all except one pleaded guilty. They were all found to be guilty, regardless of plea.
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Abram Kroeger and wife Katarina |
The TROIKA War Council tried the case of Abram Kroeger. It found that from 1935 he was an active member of the German organization and agreed to fight in an armed rebellion on 9 October 1938, to destroy railways, and roads, and undertake other terrorist activities against the Soviet Union. It ruled that Abram Kroeger was to be executed by shooting, and that all his property should be confiscated 3 days after the shooting.
Abram Kroeger was executed by shooting on November 14, 1938, at 8:30 PM in Dniepropetrovsk, where he was buried. He was exonerated by the Government of Ukraine on 7 August 1989, cleared of all charges 51 years later.
In February-March 2014 the Crimean Peninsula, part of Ukraine was annexed by Russia.The Crimes of the Russian State
On 17 July 2014 Malaysian Airlines Flight 0017 was shot down by a missile over rebel-held territory in Eastern Ukraine and 28 of my fellow Australians died on that flight. The Governments of Australia and the Netherlands, who also lost many of its citizens investigated and held Russia legally responsible.
On 4 March 2018, Sergei Skripal, a former Russian military officer and double agent for the UK intelligence services and his daughter Yulia Skripal were poisoned in Salisbury, England, with a Novichok nerve agent, according to official UK sources, and OPCW, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. The British government (there’s that lion again), supported by 28 countries, accused Russia of attempted murder and announced a series of punitive measures, including the expulsion of an unprecedented 153 Russian diplomats.
Recently it identified the suspects and issued warrants for their arrest. The many descendants of Abram Kroeger and of all those who suffered a similar fate are scattered across the globe. They now have the evidence and the means as well as an obligation to hold Russian agencies legally and morally responsible for the murder, human rights abuses, and confiscation of property perpetrated on their ancestors.
Linda writes:
With the rise of Dark Forces within our country and around the world, I wanted to share this story to remind us that the Human Spirit is strong and will not die! even if beaten down at times, will rise up to uphold what is good and decent in Life.Thanks so much for your contribution.