The festivities on the occasion of the 375th anniversary of the „Father of all Siberian towns“ lie behind us. Nevertheless, we continuously receive letters with love declarations made to this town. They reflect the hard life of the sibiryaks, as it is true, by the way, for all other Russians, as well. But they also give evidence on their very vivid, loving soal, dur to which we managed to exist in these places upt to this day – in spite of all blows of fate and bad experience. While the official ceremonies are over, the column “Our hometown – Yeniseisk”, which we created five years ago, will remain part of our newspaper, for it looks as if it represents the vivid, good and loving soul of our newspaper.
On the 8 October 1941 we, Germans from the Volga, were taken by barge from Krasnoyarsk to the village of Marlovtsevo in the Yeniseyk District. 18 days and nights of a trip leading us into eternal exile lay behind us, days of tremendous hunger and the death of numerious close relatives, among them was aunt Amalia (Amelie) Wolf, who left five orphans behind. Her eldest son, Karl, was just nine years old at that time. Amalia’s children live in Krasnoyarsk, Yeniseysk and the Chelyabinsk Region. today. They grew up in a children’s home in Yeniseysk, for they had mobilized their father into the trudarmy (this is how they called the camps for detained Germans), where he later starved. Another six relatives did not return home, either.
From Yeniseysk we were taken to different villages in the region by horse. We survived and even managed to get some education. In 1943 they opened a school in Marilovtsevo. We were taught by a young, friendly teacher – her name was Elizaveta Nikitichna Marilovtseva, and later by Sofia Fedorovna. I passed the 5th term at school N° 45 in Yeniseysk, which was situated next to the market. During the break we used to runover to this place to meet with acquintances from other villages. On weekends and for holidays we together went home on foot, 30 kms in all – the Marilovtsevs (Vasiliy, Aleksander, Grigoriy and Petr), Naria Ustinova und Fedia Vereshchagin from the village of Cherkassy.
In the winter we went to school, in the summertime, as from the age of ten, we worked for the kolkhoz farm. In return for our hard work we received 500 grs of bread. Apart from this, they credit us with so-called workdays or work units units, which were also subject to 200-500 grs of bread and 6 kopeks. In the 7th term, this is what I still very clearly recall, we were taught mathematics by Vasiliy Silin. He managed to query 15 pupils during one less and still found enough time to explain new subject matters to us.
During all these school years my marks in geometry always said “very good”, although I never made great efforts to get prepared for the lessons. After school I passed all exams with the professional school of pedagogics. And then Vasiliy Marilovzev and I began to work for the Krasnoyarsk technical school of registration and planning; meanwhile, 40 years have passed, since we got our diplomas.
The director of the technical school did not really like German boys. My marks were always “very good”, I used to behave exemplary – in spite of everything he “left me in the lurch” at the end of the 4th term. He quite honestly reprimanded me of having acconmpanied Veta Pustovalova up to the entrance door of the residential establishment. According to a certain instruction no “trespassing” on the compound was allowed after 9 o’clock p.m.; and I had been discovered there a little later. Nevertheless, I made my diploma with very good marks.
I do recall the exile Vasiliy Mikhailovich Barkov, a former lecturer of the
Polytechnic Institute in Kiev. He gave us lessons in physics, chemistry and
electrotechnology (later the director posted him to another workplace in the
blacksmith’s shop. When, one day, a militiaman came for me – he wanted me to
accompany him to the special commandant’s office – Vasiliy Mikhailovich tried to
calm me. I returned safe and sound but with tears in my eyes, for I had been
forced to sign that I had noticed about their menace “20 years in case of any
attempt to escape”. Afterwards, I had to go and get registered with the
commandant’s office twice a month. In 1952, like all the others, too, I wanted
to become a member of the Communist Young People’s League, but when we appeared
in front of the municipal committee in Yeniseysk they told us: “We do not accept
such as you are..!”
I received my first identity card in 1956, when I was already 22 years old.
There were seven of us when we went down the river Yenisey up to Dudinka and Norilsk on paddle-steamer “Spartak” – in a forth-class cabin at 80 rubels. At that time we were all 20 years old. I was accompanied by Sasha Aleksandrov, Tamara Rosenbaum, Liusya Kolzina, Tonia Denisenko, Galia Sedlak und Masha Mezentseva. Each of us was equipped with a wooden suitcase, some mug, a spoon, a couple of books, a quilted cotton-jacket and boots made of hogskin.
At daybreak, the taiga ha meanwhile turned into tundra landscape, we debarked in Dudinka.
We walked beside a hay cart through the mud, until we arrived at the station. Fropm there we continued our trip to Norilsk with all its smoking chimneys, contemporary architecture, chill and blizzards. We began to work in the far north with a great amount of enthusiasm.
But I would like to say something about Yeniseysk yet, a town which is so dear and near to me, and which would even be much nicer, if they had mot destroyed all the churches at the time of the Soviets. Had they not been destroyed, the soals of the people living there had certainly calmed down. With all my heart I wish the Lord’s houses to be reconstructed. Once, here lived a great number of exiles. And I cannot speak badly of any of them. They were all prudent, straight people. I wish I wish Yeniseysk revival and increase in prosperity. I have often been there, almost every year I made a trip to this place. And I am yearning for it again right now. It is a nice fact that I was born in Yeniseysk. May this town be favoured by peace and development.
W. Schnaider (Schneider), town oft Hasarovo
„Krasnoyarsk Labourer“, 03.09.1994