Alexander Heinrichovich DEHL (1905-1943), who was born in Seelmann in the
Autonomous Republic of the Volga-Germans, member of the VKP/B (= All-Russian
Communist Party of the Bolsheviks) since 1925, was a professional soldier. Early
in the 30s he served in the army in Gomel, and from the second half of the 30s
in CHELYABINSK. His wife Irma Davidovna DEHL (1905-1965), was born in
Wiesenmiller, Autonomous Republic of the Volga-Germans. She taught chemistry and
biology.
In 1941 A. DEHL had to go to the front. He served there as a military chief personnel officer (= who was entrusted with the task to do the political-educational work in the army) and stayed there until February 1942. The commanding officer in charge of his unit, as long as he was alive, would not allow him to return to the civilian areas. And the other Germans did not receive this permission, either. In March 1942 A. DEHL left the front-line and went to TSHELYABINSK; immediately, within 24 hours, the Soviets deported (sent them away "by their own efforts") him, his wife and children [DEHL Asta (1931-1984), DEHL Isabella (born 1941)] to the village of MIKHAILOVKA, district of MOSTOVSK (today MOKROUSOVSK), in the region of KURGAN. A. DEHL arrived there already ill with pneumonia. Three days later he was ordered to come to the district military committee. He was never seen again. He was forced into the "Trud-Army" (= labor army) to CHELYABINSK, that is to the ChMS (= Chelyabinsk Metal Construction Project) of the NKVD (= People's Commissariate of Internal Affairs). He was assigned to the "1st construction gang" of the ChMS; however, he did not have to do heavy gang work (probably due to his bad health), but became the head of the "Red Corner" (= a special room for cultural tasks).
The Communists arrested him on 26.02.43 and took him to the Chelyabinsk
prison. On 21.07.43 the OSO (Special Board) of the NKVD sentenced him to 15
years imprisonment on section 58-1a,2,10,11 (for having "established a
counter-revolutionary, rebellious organi-zation among Germans who had been
mobilized into the labor army", an accusation made by the State Security
Department of the ChMS. On 06.12.43 the Soviets took him straight (on a prisoner
transport) to the TAISHETLag (= Taishet ) town in East Siberia; at that time
administrative center of big forced labor camps for forestry, and starting-point
of the Baikal-Amur-Railroad) and immediately sent him to the central camp
hospital (in TAISHET). He died of bilateral pneumonia on 10.12.43 and was buried
in the "cemetery" on the grounds of the camp hospital.
In 1946 his wife and children were transferred to the village of DMITRIEVKA, situated in the same district of MOSTOVSK (today MOKROUSOVSK).
I. DEHL worked there in the school until the end of her exile. She was released on 10.09.54, her daughters a little earlier, on 13.05.54.
A. DEHL was posthumously rehabilitated on 22.01.57 by the military tribunal of the Uralskiy Military District.
Sept. 08, 1997, recorded by V.S. Birger, Krasnoyarsk, "Memorial" Society