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Exile/Camp Report given by Heinrich Bengel (son of Heinrich)

In September 1941 the Communists deported from the village of STRAUB, canton of KUKKUS, Autonomous Republic of the Volga Germans, the German farmer's family:

On 28.10.41 the train with the exiled Germans was unloaded in Abakan, and they were taken on horseback to far-off villages. The BENGEL family came into exile in SAGAYSKOYE, a village in the district of KARATUSK.

Among them were about 10 families from STRAUB: the WEISBROTs, the ROOTs, the SCHWABELLANTs, the GLEIMs and the DOOSes.

The families of Kristina's brother, Daniel WINTER (son of Alexander), and his sister, Jekaterina BRAUSMAN (daughter of Alexander), were exiled to the village of KARATUS (district town).

Their father, Alexander WINTER, was deported to KLYUKVENNAYA station (today the town of UYAR), arrested there in autumn 1941 on section 58 and died in the NORILLag, as was heard by a roundabout way.

Beginning 1942 Heinrich (son of Peter) and the 14-year-old Frieda were called up into the "Trud-Army". They came to KEMEROVO and both worked in the mine until 1946. There Frieda became ill with tuberculosis. Next Anna was sent to the "Trud-Army", however, not to Krasnoyarsk, but to the BUMSTROY (paper works).

Kristina was in luck: she was not sent to the "Trud-Army". In fact, mothers with little children were not supposed to be called up; nevertheless, this was done quite often. At the end of their term in the "Trud-Army" Henrich (son of Peter) and Frieda returned to the village of SAGAYSKOYE to live there in exile. Shortly afterwards, Frieda died from tuberculosis.

The elder son, Peter (son of Heinrich) BENGEL (born in 1921), served in the army from 1939. He finished the military college for artillery in Sumsk and became an officer; at the beginning of the war he had to go the front. In autumn 1941 he was taken out of the army, just as all the other Germans; but he was given a service record book, bearing the entry "at disposal for special duty". He went to his family in Krasnoyarsk, without escort, and got to the BUMSTROY by accident (apparently, "Trud-armists" did not live behind barbed-wire fences there). When he mentioned his family name, he was immediately identified by his sister.

Later-on they sent Anna to the lumber industry in SHUMIKHU (today situated out of DIVNOGORSK), and in 1945 she was transferred to MINDERLINSK, to the NKVD "podkhoz" (an agricultural institution/farm that provided the nationalized firms in the towns with agricultural products, such as potatoes, vegetables, grain,...), which today is an "uchkhoz" (a mostly agricultural institution, where the apprentices learn about farming, cattle breeding, but also the repair of machines (plows, harrows,...), situated in the district of SUKHOBUSIMSK.

After 1956 she stayed to live there.

 Jan. 17, 1993, recorded by V.S Birger, Krasnoyarsk, "Memorial" society


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