The Executioner of Dnepropetrovsk, 1937-38

Naum Turbovsky likely killed more Mennonites than anyone in the longer history of the Anabaptist-Mennonite movement.

This is an emotionally difficult post to write because one of those men was my grandfather, Franz Bräul, born 1896. In 2019, I received the translation of his 30-page arrest, trial and execution file. To this point my mother never knew her father's fate.

Naum Turbovsky's signature is on Bräul's execution order. Bräul was shot on December 11, 1937. Together with my grandfather's NKVD/ KGB file, I have the files of eight others arrested with him. Turbovsky's file is available online.

Days before he signed the execution papers for those in this group, Turbovsky was given an award for the security of his prison and for his method of isolating and transferring prisoners to their interrogation—all of which “greatly contributed to the success of the investigations over the enemies of the people,” namely “military-fascist conspirators, spies and saboteurs.” Turbovsky’s commendation notes that he had “personally executed 2,100” convicted prisoners, for which he received the Order of the Red Star (note 1).

In the largely Mennonite settlement of Molotschna (Ukraine) some 1,800 arrests occurred between Fall 1936 and December 1938 in a population of 20,000 people. Peter Letkemann has determined that the arrest ratio among Mennonites "was at least four times higher than the national average" as revealed in KGB statistics (note 2).

Much happened in 1937 and the tensions between Germany and the Soviet Union were stretched to the breaking point. Soviet Ukraine closed the German consulates in Kharkov and Odessa on November 15.

On November 28, “Black Raven” NKVD cars visited 13 families in the Marienthal-Pordenau-Schardau-Elisabethtal cluster of villages.

The 13 arrested (note 3) were: David M. Balzer (IV, 24f.); Jakob H. Barg (II, 40); Franz H. Bräul (II, 81); David J. Dick (II, 214); Heinrich F. Dick (IV, 194); Jakob J. Friesen (IV, 610); Heinrich D. Hildebrandt (II, 163f.); Franz A. Isaak (II, 290f.); Peter J. Martens(II, 430); Johann H. Peters (II, 517f.); Gerhard A. Regier (IV, 495); Heinrich J. Tessmann (III, 639); Heinrich G. Wall (II, 95f.)

The median age of those arrested was 39; all were German-Mennonite and old enough to remember pre-revolutionary Russia and young enough to stir trouble.

On November 30, the Bräul home was searched by a local inspector of the Rot-Front Rayon Office and one item—a “personal book”—was confiscated (note 4).

Three more locals were arrested, and in the next days 11 others in nearby Mennonite villages. These men together with two arrested a few days earlier were transported from their local cell in Waldheim, Molotschna to the city of Dnepropetrovsk, 175 kilometres north, via Melitopol.

November 30 to December 3: Paperwork was created for each case with upwards of 30 pages per file, including a largely falsified confession (Q & A)—written in someone else's hand. The shaky signature on the bottom of most pages—my grandfather's file for example—suggest they signed under duress. The torture inflicted in these larger regional prisons is well documented (note 5).

December 3: These 27 men, together with two other Mennonites were tried by the NKVD troika (tribunal) in Dnepropetrovsk.

The charge laid against each was the same: “conducted counter-revolutionary nationalist propaganda”—a criminal offence under Article 54-10 of the Ukrainian Soviet Criminal Code. By 1937, the article had come to include a broad range of activities which might have a counter-revolutionary motive (note 6). Each of these men was found guilty.

December 11: All but three were executed by shooting in the city of Dnepropetrovsk. Three were given arguably more lenient, 10-year sentences. One of those died in prison on September 14, 1942 (no place given), and another died in a correctional labour camp in north-eastern Siberia on April 30, 1942.

Meanwhile on December 3 with a large empty jail cell in Waldheim, Molotschna, the Black Raven had made its rounds again with 34 more arrests, and each under the same charge. The men in this group came from 20 different villages all situated in the eastern half of the Molotschna.

Almost all of the ministers were long exiled or killed; churches had been shuttered four to five years earlier.

In recent years, a number of voices have cautioned against the use of the “martyr” category for telling the Mennonite story generally and this one in particular. The arrests and death arose from multiple factors, mostly political. Specifically, they were ethnic "Germans” who lived too close to the USSR’s western borders.

Yet from the Soviet perspective, Mennonites were certainly among the most radical in their attachments to anti-Soviet values, most unresponsive or opposed to the new worldview—despite many exceptions—and they stubbornly identified with their extensive web of international connections (note 7).

The Soviets equated their high religiosity and strict adherence to Christian precepts generally with their cultural Teutonic (German) background (note 8) and saw those “cultural” characteristics as evidence of their flagrant, collective counter-revolutionary disposition.

In 1937, Naum Turbovsky and my grandfather Franz Bräul were both forty-one years old. Both were raised in a closely-knit, religious-ethnic community in Ukraine—Bräul a German Mennonite, Turbovsky a Jew. Both remembered life before the Revolution and both were common people. In 1918, Turbovsky fought in the Red Army against Denikin’s forces, and Bräul was accused of taking up arms with the White Army and Denikin. Both apparently fought against the anarchist Nestor Makhno. Both came from a large family, and each had siblings in North America.

While there is so much more to process and write, minimally, perhaps, we can agree that Anabaptist-Mennonite history cannot be written without the name Naum Turbovsky, the executioner of Dnepropetrovsk. The task is not to forget, but also to forgive—lest we become bitter.

---Arnold Neufeldt-Fast

---Notes---

For a larger reflection on these events, see: Arnold Neufeldt-Fast, "A new examination of the 'Great Terror' in Molotschna, 1937-38," Mennonite Quarterly Review 95, no. 4 (2021), 415-458, https://digitalcollections.tyndale.ca/bitstream/handle/20.500.12730/1571/Neufeldt-Fast_Arnold_2022a.pdf.

Note 1: Dmitry Voltchek, “Лично расстрелял 2100 человек. История палача и его жертвы” [Personally shot 2,100 People. The Story of the Executioner and his Victims]. Радио Свобода [Radio Liberty]. https://www.svoboda.org/a/29591642.html. Cf. also Turbovsky’s complete NKVD/ KGB file (Ukrainian): https://nkvd.memo.ru/index.php/%D0%A2%D1%83%D1%80%D0%B1%D0%BE%D0%B2%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9,_%D0%9D%D0%B0%D1%83%D0%BC_%D0%A6%D0%B0%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%87; and https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1w4-z93FqafQhogV9qATactGjP1rrszeH.

Note 2: Peter Letkemann, “Mennonites in the Soviet Inferno, 1929–1941,” Mennonite Historian 24, no. 4 (1998) 7. More recent documents indicate 1,575,000 people were arrested and sentenced in the Great Terror of 1937–38, of which 800,000 were executed (Nicholas Wert, “Mechanism of a Mass Crime: The Great Terror in the Soviet Union,” in The Spector of Genocide: Mass Murder in Historical Perspective, edited by Robert Gellately and Ben Kiernan [Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003] 217f.).

Note 3: Rehabilitated History: Zaporizhia Region. Books I–VI (Zaporizhia: Dniprovskij Metalurg, 2004–2013) [РЕАБІЛІТОВАНІ ІСТОРІЄЮ: Запорізька область], http://www.reabit.org.ua/books/zp/. See the Mennonite extraction list: "Verbannte Mennoniten im Gebiet Saporoshje," https://media.chortitza.org/pdf/Pis/Sapor.pdf.

Note 4: “Search Record,” in "Case no. 314: On Accusation of Bräul, Franz Heinrichovich with Crime Stipulated in Article 54-10 of the Criminal Code of Ukrainian SSR,” People’s Commissariat of Internal Affairs of the Ukrainian SSR, Department of National Security. From State Archives of the Zaporizhzhia Region, Collection 5747, Inventory 3, File 4595. Translation by Olga Shmakina. In author’s possession.

Note 5: Cf. esp. Lynne Viola, Stalinist Perpetrators on Trial: Scenes from the Great Terror in Soviet Ukraine (New York: Oxford University Press, 2019).

Note 6: Sarah Davies, “The Crime of Anti-Soviet Agitation in the Soviet Union in the 1930s,” Cahiers du monde russe 9, 1–2 (1998) 149–167.

Note 7: See for example an assessment and report of the “Agitation and Propaganda Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine” in May 1925," in John B. Toews and Paul Toews, eds., Union of Citizens of Dutch Lineage in Ukraine (1922–1927). Mennonite and Soviet Documents, translated by J. B. Toews, O. Shmakina, and W. Regehr (Fresno, CA: Center for Mennonite Brethren Studies, 2011) 269-271, https://archive.org/details/unionofcitizenso0000unse.

Note 8: A. A. Herman, “Repression as an integral part of the Bolshevik policy regime,” Symposium on Repression against Russian Germans in the Soviet Union in the Context of the Soviet National Policy, Moscow, http://www.memo.ru/history/nem.

---

To cite this post: Arnold Neufeldt-Fast, "The Executioner of Dnepropetrovsk, 1937-38," History of the Russian Mennonites (blog), June 12, 2023, https://russianmennonites.blogspot.com/2023/06/the-executioner-of-dnepropetrovsk-1937.html.

Comments

Russian and Prussian Mennonite Participants in “Racial-Science,” 1930

I n December 1929, some 3,885 Soviet Mennonites plus 1,260 Lutherans, 468 Catholics, 51 Baptists and seven Adventists were assisted by Germany to flee the Soviet Union. They entered German transit camps before resettlement in Canada, Brazil and Paraguay ( note 1 ) In the camps Russian Mennonites participated in a racial-biological study to measure their hereditary characteristics and “racial” composition and “blood purity” in comparison to Danzig-West Prussian, genetic cousins. In Germany in the last century, anthropological and medical research was horribly misused for the pseudo-scientific work referred to as “racial studies” (Rassenkunde). The discipline pre-dated Nazi Germany to describe apparent human differences and ultimately “to justify political, social and cultural inequality” ( note 2 ). But by 1935 a program of “racial hygiene” and eugenics was implemented with an “understanding that purity of the German Blood is the essential condition for the continued existence of the

“Operation Chortitza” – Resettler Camps in Danzig-West Prussia, 1943-44 (Part I)

In October 1943, some 3,900 Mennonite resettlers from “Operation Chortitza” entered the Gau of Danzig-West Prussia. They were transported by train via Litzmannstadt and brought to temporary camps in Neustadt (Danzig), Preußisch Stargard (Konradstein), Konitz, Kulm on the Vistula, Thorn and some smaller localities ( note 1 ). The Gau received over 11,000 resettlers from the German-occupied east zones in 1943. Before October some 3,000 were transferred from these temporary camps for permanent resettlement in order to make room for "Operation Chortitza" ( note 2 ). By January 1, 1944 there were 5,473 resettlers in the Danzig-West Prussian camps (majority Mennonite); one month later that number had almost doubled ( note 3 ). "Operation Chortitza" as it was dubbed was part of a much larger movement “welcoming” hundreds of thousands of ethnic Germans “back home” after generations in the east. Hitler’s larger plan was to reorganize peoples in Europe by race, to separate

Sesquicentennial: Proclamation of Universal Military Service Manifesto, January 1, 1874

One-hundred-and-fifty years ago Tsar Alexander II proclaimed a new universal military service requirement into law, which—despite the promises of his predecesors—included Russia’s Mennonites. This act fundamentally changed the course of the Russian Mennonite story, and resulted in the emigration of some 17,000 Mennonites. The Russian government’s intentions in this regard were first reported in newspapers in November 1870 ( note 1 ) and later confirmed by Senator Evgenii von Hahn, former President of the Guardianship Committee ( note 2 ). Some Russian Mennonite leaders were soon corresponding with American counterparts on the possibility of mass migration ( note 3 ). Despite painful internal differences in the Mennonite community, between 1871 and Fall 1873 they put up a united front with five joint delegations to St. Petersburg and Yalta to petition for a Mennonite exemption. While the delegations were well received and some options could be discussed with ministers of the Crown,

"Anti-Menno" Communist: David J. Penner (1904-1993)

The most outspoken early “Mennonite communist”—or better, “Anti-Menno” communist—was David Johann Penner, b. 1904. Penner was the son of a Chortitza teacher and had grown up Mennonite Brethren in Millerovo, with five religious services per week ( note 1 )! In 1930 with Stalin firmly in power, Penner pseudonymously penned the booklet entitled Anti-Menno ( note 2 ). While his attack was bitter, his criticisms offer a well-informed, plausible window on Mennonite life—albeit biased and with no intention for reform. He is a ethnic Mennonite writing to other Mennonites. Penner offers multiple examples of how the Mennonite clergy in particular—but also deacons, choir conductors, Sunday School teachers, leaders of youth or women’s circles—aligned themselves with the exploitative interests of industry and wealth. Extreme prosperity for Mennonite industrialists and large landowners was achieved with low wages and the poverty of their Russian /Ukrainian workers, according to Penner. Though t

High Crimes and Misdemeanors: Mennonite Murders, Infanticide, Rapes and more

To outsiders, the Mennonite reality in South Russia appeared almost utopian—with their “mild and peaceful ethos.” While it is easy to find examples of all the "holy virtues" of the Mennonite community, only when we are honest about both good deeds and misdemeanors does the Russian Mennonite tradition have something authentic to offer—or not. Rudnerweide was one of a few Molotschna villages with a Mennonite brewery and tavern , which in turn brought with it life-style lapses that would burden the local elder. For example, on January 21, 1835, the Rudnerweide Village Office reported that Johann Cornies’s sheep farm manager Heinrich Reimer, as well as Peter Friesen and an employed Russian shepherd, came into the village “under the influence of brandy,” and: "…at the tavern kept by Aron Wiens, they ordered half a quart of brandy and shouted loudly as they drank, banged their glasses on the table. The tavern keeper objected asking them to settle down, but they refused and

Mennonite Heritage Week in Canada and the Russländer Centenary (2023)

In 2019, the Canadian Parliament declared the second week in September as “Mennonite Heritage Week.” The bill and statements of support recognized the contributions of Mennonites to Canadian society ( note 1 ). 2019 also marked the centenary of a Canadian Order in Council which, at their time of greatest need, classified Mennonites as an “undesirable” immigrant group: “… because, owing to their peculiar customs, habits, modes of living and methods of holding property, they are not likely to become readily assimilated or to assume the duties and responsibilities of Canadian citizenship within a reasonable time.” ( Pic ) With a change of government, this order was rescinded in 1922 and the doors opened for some 23,000 Mennonites to immigrate from the Soviet Union to Canada. The attached archival image of the Order in Council hangs on the office wall of Canadian Senator Peter Harder—a Russländer descendant. 2023 marks the centennial of the arrival of the first Russländer immigrant groups

Turning Weapons into Waffle Irons!

Turning Weapons into Waffle Irons: Heart-Shaped Waffles and a smooth talking General In 1874 with Mennonite immigration to North America in full swing, the Tsar sent General Eduard von Totleben to the colonies to talk the remaining Mennonites out of leaving ( note 1 ). He came with the now legendary offer of alternative service. Totleben made presentations in Mennonite churches and had many conversations in Mennonite homes. Decades later the women still recalled how fond Totleben was of Mennonite heart-shaped waffles. He complemented the women saying, “How beautiful are the hearts of Mennonites!,” and he joked about how “much Mennonites love waffles ( Waffeln ), but not weapons ( Waffen )” ( note 2 )! His visit resulted in an extensive reversal of opinion and the offer was welcomed officially by the Molotschna and Chortitza Colony ministerials. And upon leaving, the general was gifted with a poem by Bernhard Harder ( note 3 ) and a waffle iron ( note 4 ). Harder was an influen

Fraktur (or Gothic) font and Kurrent- (or Sütterlin) handwriting: Nazi ban, 1941

In the middle of the war on January 1, 1942, the Winnipeg-based Mennonitische Rundschau published a new issue without the familiar Fraktur script masthead ( note 1 ). One might speculate on the reasons, but a year earlier Hitler banned the use of the font in the Reich . The Rundschau did not exactly follow all orders from Berlin—the rest of the paper was in Fraktur (sometimes referred to as "Gothic"); when the war ended in 1945, the Rundschau reintroduced the Fraktur font for its masthead. It wasn’t until the 1960s that an issue might have a page or title here or there with the “normal” or Latin font, even though post-war Germany was no longer using Fraktur . By 1973 only the Rundschau masthead is left in Fraktur , and that is only removed in December 1992. Attached is a copy of Nazi Party Secretary Martin Bormann's official letter dated January 3, 1941, which prohibited the use of Fraktur fonts "by order of the Führer. " Why? It was a Jewish invention, apparent

Village Reports Commando Dr. Stumpp, 1942: List and Links

Each of the "Commando Dr. Stumpp" village reports written during German occupation of Ukraine 1942 contains a mountain of demographic data, names, dates, occupations, numbers of untimely deaths (revolution, famines, abductions), narratives of life in the 1930s, of repression and liberation, maps, and much more. The reports are critical for telling the story of Mennonites in the Soviet Union before 1942, albeit written with the dynamics of Nazi German rule at play. Reports for some 56 (predominantly) Mennonite villages from the historic Mennonite settlement areas of Chortitza, Sagradovka, Baratow, Schlachtin, Milorodovka, and Borosenko have survived. Unfortunately no village reports from the Molotschna area (known under occupation as “Halbstadt”) have been found. Dr. Karl Stumpp, a prolific chronicler of “Germans abroad,” became well-known to German Mennonites (Prof. Benjamin Unruh/ Dr. Walter Quiring) before the war as the director of the Research Center for Russian Germans

Blessed are the Shoe-Makers: Brief History of Lost Soles

A collection of simple artefacts like shoes can open windows onto the life and story of a people. Below are a few observations about shoes and boots, or the lack thereof, and their connection to the social and cultural history of Russian Mennonites. Curiously Mennonites arrived in New Russia shoe poor in 1789, and were evacuated as shoe poor in 1943 as when their ancestors arrived--and there are many stories in between. The poverty of the first Flemish elder in Chortitza Bernhard Penner was so great that he had only his home-made Bastelschuhe in which to serve the Lord’s Supper. “[Consequently] four of the participating brethren banded together to buy him a pair of boots which one of the [Land] delegates, Bartsch, made for him. The poor community desired with all its heart to partake of the holy sacrament, but when they remembered the solemnity of these occasions in their former homeland, where they dressed in their Sunday best, there was loud sobbing.” ( Note 1 ) In the 1802 C

History of the Russian Mennonites

Search This Blog