Recently,
Andrei Davidovich Christ, resident of the district town, received the written
confirmation from the regional administration of internal affairs about his
father’s official rehabilitation. The text was written by default, and the blank
itself was – just a standard blank, as well. It says that David Friedrichovich
Christ, born 1900, resident in the hamlet of Schwed, Krasnoyar District, Saratov
Region, was exiled by the NKVD authorities in September 1941, followed by the
just as stereotyp justification for the use of repressions – the ukases of the
Presidium of the Supreme Soviet dated 28 August 1941 and 26 November 1941. There
is just one new thing about it: the certificate says “due to national
characteristics”. And this means that all Germans who lived in the Volga Region,
without a single exception, were exiled, regardless of their age, sex, creed or
even party membership. Misery did not go past anybody, including little children
and weak, invalif old people.
It looks as if David Friedrichovich’s personal file (N° 24262) is still being kept with the archive of the regional administration of internal affairs, in spite of the fact that his rehabilition was effected posthumously. In the file, together with various kinds of documents, there was a photo, which has now been returned to his son. In this was the intrinsic reason for our very detailed conversation with Andrei Davidovich.
The Christ family was a family with many children, which was nothing out of the ordinary with the Volga-Germans. Father David Friedrichovich and mother Emilia (Emilie) Genrichovna brought up six children – David, Amalie (Amalia), Genrich (Heinrich – he is the one who is now called Andrei heißt), Gottlieb, Emma und Friedrich.
Together with other villagers, the whole family was forced to get on a train and deported to Siberia. The train, crammed with unvoluntary passengers, accompanied by armed guards, was clattering over the tracks. Every time when the reached some bigger station, a few waggons were uncoupled. The Christ family was ordered to leave the train in Achinsk. And from there they were taken to the village of Bazhenovka.
Soonafter, all men and young fellows, as well as a number of women, who were fit for work, were assigned to do hard labour. David Friedrichovich got to the town of Kirov; he worked there from January 1942 till January 1944. The eldest son, David, died in 1943 due to the hard labour that had surpassed his forces and a serious disease.
After the end of the war, the Germans had the slight hope that they might receive the permission to return home to the Volga Region. But their wish did not come true. And soonafter the Christ family was weighed down with another sorrow: on the 1 August 1946 the eleven year-old Gottliepb perished by drowning in a creek.
In February 1956 they abolished compulsory registration for all Volga Germans with the special commandant’s office. Nevertheless, they were not permitted to return home. In 1961 the members of the Christ famils decide to remove to Kazakhstan: relatives hat invited them to come and live there. The only one, who stayed on Uluysk territory was Heinrich, who, accprding to Russian custom, had meanwhile be renamed Andrei.
In 1968 Amalia died in an nonnative area, in the village of Mikhailovka, Dzhambul Region; she was only 41 years old at that time. On the 31 October 1977 David Friedrichovich passed away, followed by Emilie Genrichovna on the 7 May 1980. The only family members that are still alive today are Emma and Friedrich, the two youngest members of the Christ family. Both live in Germany. Emma fas already completed all formalities regarding Andrei’s official invitation to Germany, and he is already making preparations to leave for Germany within the next half six months.
V. Uskov
The photo shows: David Friedrichovich Christ during the exile, when he lived
in the village
of Bazhenovka lebte. The picture was taken on the 20 March 1951.
The photo comes from the archive of the regional administration of inner affairs.
„News“, N° 20 (6438), 17.02.1998