Map of Josefstal by Peter Schaeffer

This map of Josefstal was drawn by former Josefstal resident Peter Schaeffer.

It is Peter’s recollections where each family house was in the village.

"Life on the Volga"

Kampen, J. “Life on the Volga.” Volk auf dem Weg, March 2010, 43.
Translation from the Original German-language text to American English provided by Alex Herzog, Boulder, Colorado

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This book, which chronicles the Volga German Colony of Josefstal in the Eisenach Canton, and which appeared in 2029, is a true treasure trove for our ancestor and homeland research.
One of the two authors is the Canadian Edward Gerk. We know this about our American countrymen: they get more intensively involved in ancestral research than we Europeans. Hereabouts more we put emphasis on dealing with the current problems of our people’s ethnic group. This view is supported by the name of the publisher, Alexander-Josef Dreser [a Josefstal name?  – Tr.], whose address is Auf’n Mühlwesen 4a, 59872 Meschede.

The colony was founded in the early Fifties of the 19th Century and in 1852 was given the official name of Josefstal. Since among the original settlers there were also some Geigers (Geige = violin = skripka), the Russian population called the area Skrypalevo.

Within the 175 pages of this book in the A4-format [close to 8×11 letter format –Tr.], we find an interesting mixture of many names and some important information concerning the history of the Germans in and from Russia. Moreover, the book is a handsome one, written in good German, printed with an easily legible font, and contains many remarkable photos in black and white.

Among other matters, the numerous lists of names include property conditions, occupations, births, marriages and deaths of the former residents of the Volga German village of Josefstal starting with its founding and all the way up to the deportation of German residents in 1941.

The book is foremost a source for Josefstal family researchers scattered all over this globe. No one knows how many of these are still around. Anyone from the region around Josefstal on the “Suchaya Olchovka” (“Trockene Olchovka = the Dry Olchovka) or Erlenbach on the Mokraya Olchovka (“Nasse Olchovka” = the Wet Olchovka) desiring to find out more about his/her ancestors can probably find such information in this book. Countrymen with name such as Gerk, Dieser, Strömel, Simon, Benz, Holzmannm, Kissner, Hollmann, Blatttner, Ulrich, Bauers etc. are richly represented, in word and in image.

In some instances the book even gets somewhat “political,” particularly when the topics are the Russification policies during all eras, the civil war between the Reds and the Whites after 1917, soon after that persecution because of religion, and the death struggle of the farmers during the years of famine, collectivization and State terror.

Our appreciation is extended to Alex Herzog for translation of this article.

Josefstal 2011

Thank you to Vladimir Kakorin for this amazing photo of one of the gravemarkers in the old cemetery in Josefstal:

1933: Famine on the Volga

The Famine of the 1930′s was a famine that was constantly denied by the government of the USSR.  While families in the West received letter after letter begging for money because of looming starvation, Soviet Officials denied anything was wrong.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, and with the opening of the archives, slowly but surely, documents have been published that were never intended to see the light of day.

This is such a document.

Entitled  "Secret summary of data collected by March 20th, 1933 prepared by the Secret Operations department of the territorial representative of OGPU [Joint  Main Political Directorate] of the USSR for Lower Volga region [of the Russian Federation] regarding food shortages". Original document. March 28th, 1933. Provided by the Central Archive of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation.  (Fond 2, Record Series 11, File 56, Pages 125 – 132, 136 – 137.)

It details some of the reports being compiled of the famine.  For Josefstal, interestingly, named “Iosif-Stal” (as if the village was named after Josef Stalin- funny but not true) it (top of page 7) reports that during the months February and March 1933, there were 20 deaths from starvation registered in the village. Most of them were the villagers who “had returned to join the collective farm (again)”.  The bodies reportedly layed around without being buried for several days. (Former villagers tell me it was because no one had the strength to bury them).

This is the first “official” acknowledgement of the famine, and that Josefstal villagers were dying.

Of course, the famine raged in many areas of Russia, and various Russian archives have put relevant documents online where you can view them here.

(Thanks to Tanja Schell and my wife Marina for translation)19331