AC WW1 years

Then there was the war with Germany and conditions became more difficult.

In the summer, Heinrich Dick’s nieces from the Crimea came to visit them. Mrs. Hans Wiens was Heinrich Dick’s sister. The girls were Manya (Maria) and Gredel Dick. Again we had contact, using our rowboats to go back and forth and we had fun that summer.

In the winter, we all had to go back to school. Sasha and I went to Ohrloff and Kolja to Berdyansk to the Realschule. The wounded from the war zone were brought to the Ohrloff hospital by train. Traveling became ever more difficult. Trains were partially occupied by soldiers. Also there were many delays in schedules. Trips from Grishino, our station near Bogadorowka, to Lichtenau, near Ohrloff became great adventures.

Alex and I and Mika Wiens (who also came from our area) made this trip four times a year since we went home for Christmas. Christmas holidays were always wonderful. A Christmas tree, reaching from floor to ceiling stood in the large living room decorated with Christmas-tree ornaments and wax candles. When the candles were lit, the scent of pine and wax filled the house. On Christmas Day we were up early. Our parents went into the room, closed the door, and lit the candles. Then they opened the door and we could go in. First, each of us recited a verse (a Christmas wish) of some kind, then we sang carols, another played the piano. Then we got our presents. Afterwards we had breakfast. Then all the mermaids came to the tree and received their gifts. Prior to the noon-day meal, we had a worship service. All the German-speaking servants came to the big room. We all joined in the singing of hymns. The father read a sermon from a book of sermons, after which we knelt for prayers. Again we sang hymns, after which our guests departed. We had such services every Sunday. The Russian workers went to the Catholic church in the nearby village of Ivanovka.  After dinner at noon, all the hired help who lived on the estate came to the house along with their families. The children received a present along with a bag of sweets, the women also got presents and the men got money. We spent the rest of Christmas Day at home with the family. On the second day of Christmas, we were usually invited to friends or relatives. On the third day of Christmas, we received guests because it also coincided with the date of mother’s birthday.

On New Year’s Day the young people from the Russian village came and wished us luck for the coming year. They had wheat in a bag that they blew as a greeting. At the same time, they threw a handful of grain into the house. Father wished them luck for the new year as well and gave them some money. Then they moved on from house to house. This was the custom in Russia.

In 1916, my sister Lisa also went to the girl’s school in Ohrloff. On weekends, we frequently went to our aunt Agnes Reimer who lived on her estate Yuschanlee. It was an estate that had been established by Johann Cornies. He had planted a large woods adjacent to the yard. The trees were tall and densely planted. Aunt Agnes’ husband died quite young from a heart attack. She lived on the estate with her children: David, Luise, Olga and Lydia. She managed the estate herself.

We got Lisa’s pony hitched to a cart and set off merrily. It was a wonderful ride but then the pony began to run ever faster. Lisa called out, “Agnes, help to hold the reins”. I did so but the horse had put the bit between its teeth and it ran as fast as it could. It ran through the gate into the yard. However, the cart was caught on the gate and it tipped over. I was sitting on the edge and flew out in an arc, but Lisa was caught in the cart and was dragged along for a short distance. Then the horse stood still. The groomsman came and took the horse into the stable. We slipped quietly into the house, washed off the areas where our skin had been rubbed off and applied a salve where it was needed. We kept our adventure a secret for fear that Aunt Agnes might not let us drive with the horse again.

We enjoyed the girls' school. Bishop Jakob Janzen was the leading teacher. Miss Lena Willms was a much loved teacher by all the girls. At that time it was obligatory that the Russian language and Russian poetry be taught in the school. So we also had a Russian teacher. We made friends with many girls who have remained our friends throughout our lives. Throughout our school years, we boarded at the Salomon Edigers, other girls changed from time to time. We liked it there.

However, the political arena became more critical and on the 17th of October, 1917, the Revolution began. Tsar Nicholas II was deposed. His whole family was imprisoned. Communists came into leadership. Friends of the Tsar and those who had been his confidants had advised him to seek refuge in another country but he said that these were his people and he wanted to remain. And so he stayed. He and his family were taken to a city in Siberia. There they were shot, put on a pile and all their bodies were burnt. The war was over. Soldiers returned with their guns. There were more and more occasions when bandits murdered and robbed.

After I had finished the girls' school, I returned home. Mariechen was at home too. Brother Sasha was in Halbstadt in the Komerzschule and Lisa was still in Ohrloff in the girls’ school.

In 1918, the Austrian military were in our area and in the Molochna the German military were present. At that time, a man came to our estate and stayed there. Father didn’t know who he was, but he didn’t ask questions. Then one day, a group of Austrians came and wanted to take him. They wanted to shoot him. He was probably a Communist. Father said to them, “Ah, let him stay here. He isn;t hurting anyone”. With that, they let him stay. Bandits came to many of the estates, murdering and raping. My brother Nicholoas and our teacher, Heinrich Heese, had armed themselves and at night they were outside and protected us. Mr. Heese was our teacher on the estate, teaching all the German children there. My brother Gerhard was also his pupil at this time. We were no longer sure of our lives. In the evenings, we gathered in father’s study and watched until late at night. We wanted to be awake when the bandits would come. One evening as we were altogether like this, a maid servant opened the shutters at the window and said, “Eight men are standing here at the door.” We knew these were the bandits and we also knew that they had come to murder us. Nicholas and Mr. H. happened to be in the house at the time.They immediately went to the door and called, “Depart, or we’ll shoot” The bandits knew that if they didn’t withdraw some of them would be shot. So they left the yard and we were saved. Then father decided that we would no longer stay on the estate. Not far away was a Lutheran village, Schedlowo. Many estate owners had already moved there. We did too.

My brother Nicholas went to the Molochna and joined the Wrangel army. From our uncle Heinrich, he received an excellent riding horse by the name of Kadatt. The horse was very fleet of foot and many times it saved his life when he was in the army.

When we arrived in Schedlowo, a Lutheran estate owner named Amons also moved there. Their son was a much-loved doctor in our area. Once he drove to their estate with his father, The son said, “I won’t be delivered into the hands of the bandits. I’ll carry a pistol and will kill them myself.” On their return, bandits accosted them at the bridge. First he aimed the pistol at his father who tried to dissuade him, then he shot himself through the head and fell down dead. When the bandits saw this, they allowed the father to go home.

We heard of more and more cases where bandits had come and murdered. One of our neighbors, Jakob Wiens, was also shot and killed.

Pastor Myers was the pastor in Schedlowo. He had agreed with the men in the village that if there would be anything urgent to discuss, he would ring the church bell and all the men should then assemble in the churchyard. In the beginning of December, one evening at 7 pm, the whole village heard the church bell ring. Father immediately went and after some time came back very agitated. He said, “We were told that men had come to the pastor and told him that the bandits were in Grishino and that the next day they were planning to come to Schedlowo to kill everyone. All who can should leave the village as soon as possible.” We had two pairs of horses and one wagon and Julius Friesens (who also had an estate in our area) had one pair of horses and two wagons. So, we hitched up the three pairs of horses and loaded up the three wagons with clothes and produce. It was quite dark before we left. My father drove one pair of horses, Julius Friesen another, and Heinrich Heese the third. So we headed in the direction of Isum, a small city in the area. We had to drive past Selenaya (Uncle Heinrich Suderman’s estate). We were worried that we might be held up there, but everything was quiet. We arrived at the Thiessens. They were friends of our parents. However, they were also preparing to leave their home for Isum. We then spent the day there, making noodles, baking zwiebach and making them into rusks. Then we loaded as much of these and other products as we could onto the wagons. The next day, six wagons left the estate. Mr. and Mrs. Thiessen, Jasch and Neta in one wagon, Johann and his wife and five children in the second wagon, and David with wife and child in the third wagon. After a day’s travel, we arrived in Isum. We found living quarters with a widow in an adjoining house. She had a 20-year-old son. The house was quite small but we settled in and it was just fine. Soon, it was Christmas. We had a quiet family celebration. It looked so solemn and festive.

As there was little to do, we read a lot. Mr. Heese came from the Old Colony and at that time dancing was already being done there, so he taught us to dance. Jasch and David played the balalaika and guitar and we danced: Neta, Mariechen and I, Greta didn’t want to.

The winter ended. Spring came, grass turned green and flowers boomed. Then there was Easter and Pentecost.

The day before Pentecost, we heard much shooting and also cannon-fire. Did this mean that the White Army had arrived? On the first day of Pentecost, a rider rode slowly through the city. Then, after a while three more riders proceeded slowly. All was quiet, no one heard more shots. Towards evening, the White Military arrived. Then we knew that the White Army had taken over from the Red Army.

Mr. Heese spent much time checking out things and inquiring about news in the city. The next day, he came back from town to announce that outside the city, the dead soldiers were still lying around and did we want to see it. We went to see it. That is the only war zone I have ever seen in my life where so many young soldiers had fallen. It looked so very sad.

A week went by. The White Army took over. One day, Mr. Heese said that he would walk to our estate and bring back some horses and a wagon. He did so. Father had sold the horses and wagon with which we had come to Isum. We put our few things on the wagon and returned to Schedlowo. But what kind of sad tales were told about the day when the bandits had come to the village! The farmer with whom we had our quarters had run out of the village with his 15-year-old son. However, in the pasture they were captured and butchered. The two brothers Weis, also farmers from the village, had been speared but they were not dead as the bandits believed. Their wives had bandaged them and put them to bed. Then the bandits returned to their homes and finished them off with a sword.

The bandits took away the father of Dr. Amon and his friend, also an estate owner. The next day, they brought them back to their families and demanded a large sum of money, then they would free their hostages. When they got the money, they placed these old men on horses without bridles or anything to hang on to and chased them away. They fell off the horses. They were again put on the horses and chased away. Finally, they reached the outskirts of the village where the men were made to get off and dig their own graves. Then they were shot by the bandits who then pushed some dirt over them. Later, their next-of-in came and buried them in coffins.

We stayed that summer in the village but we drove frequently to our estate to pick up produce. Father looked after the management of the estate. Everything was quiet in that area.

Quite unexpectedly, my brother Nick came home on leave. However, he sprained his ankle and couldn’t walk for a while. So he had to stay at home longer. In September, Lisa returned to Ohrloff to the girls' school. Alex entered the army.

Late in the fall, we heard that the White Army was withdrawing and the Red Army was taking over. Now many of the estate owners in our area decided to flee to the Molotschna area.  Our family made that decision too. Shortly before Christmas, horses were hitched to a loaded wagon and we left. Eight wagons left at the same time. At night, we had to stop, the horses needed to rest and to feed. Sp, it took a week before we arrived in Ohrloff at Aunt Agnes Reimer’s home. Aunt Agnes had bought herself a house and lot in Ohrloff and lived there in the troublesome times. She was in the process of fleeing to the Crimea with her family. So we thought we would do that too. So many wagons with refugees set off for the Crimea and we joined them. But since it had been raining hard, it became too difficult for our horses to go any further. By nighttime, we came to an estate where the owners had fled. We stayed overnight in their house. In the morning, we decided that father would travel with Aunt Agnes to the Crimea and Kolja would take us (mother, Mariechen, George, Albert and me) back to Ohrloff and then he could ride his horse to the Crimea. We did that. As we neared Ohrloff and actually saw the town, we suddenly saw some riders. We were shocked because we didn’t know if they might be the Red Army. Yet, how happy we were when we learned that they were the Whites.They said, however, to Nick that he shouldn’t delay and that he should return to the Crimea immediately. So he brought us to Ohrloff, took his riding horse, said goodbye to us and left immediately. 

We rented a room in the house of the widow Kroeker in Tiege, moved in, and celebrated a quiet Christmas in 1919 in that room. Mother had bought a small Christmas tree that we decorated with hand-made paper ornaments, and she had also bought small presents for our small brothers. Mrs. Kroeker had a 20-year-old son David. It didn’t take long before the Red Army moved into the village but they did no harm to anyone.

When spring came, the Red Army also occupied the Crimea. That summer, father and aunt Adnes came back to Ohrloff from the Crimea. The White Army, headed by Wrangel, dissolved. In Simferopol, ships were at anchor ready to take the soldiers from Wrengel’s army out of Russia. My brother Kolja was already on the ship but then he thought if he should go to another country never to see his family again. He would rather return to his family and share their fate. He debarked the ship and came into a German village. There, he got some old clothes and left his uniform there. And he had an opportunity to drive to Ohrloff with a man who was going there. The way back was not without danger of adventure, but he arrived safely. 

We moved to the small house adjacent to Reimmer’s house (the home of Aunt Agnes’ parents-in-law). The property had a beautiful garden and the main house, uncle David Klassen moved in there too, along with their married daughter Mariechen and her husband Hans Dick, and their unmarried daughter Luise. There was also a large shop where groceries and many other wares had been sold, but now it had been ransacked and it stood empty. Adjacent to the shop there were some living quarters where Johann Willms and their two children, Erica and Rudolf, lived. Their eldest son had married a Russian girl during the war and was living in Moscow. Their eldest daughter was living with her aunt and uncle, Agnes and Jakob Schroeder. One of their sons was shot by bandits in the town of Halbstadt where they had lived previously. And there was also another small quarters occupied by a young Russian couple.