Always check the original document if you can! Anyone doing historical work knows the importance of accessing original sources where possible, and to check translations for accuracy.
Here is an example of where I found this to be important for
the larger story.
In other posts I have written about the Molotschna-based “First Ethnic German (Volksdeutsche) Cavalry Regiment” (note 1). Two of my uncles became members in 1942 at ages 17 and 19. This began as a local home-guard and morphed into a Waffen-SS regiment (October 1942) in less than a year; 500 to 700 Mennonite young adult men in the Molotschna settlement area became cavalry members.
It is a sad and traumatic part of my family story; both
uncles (plus a third) did not survive the war/ Soviet POW camp. But it is a
larger Mennonite story that raises disturbing questions—most of which are
unanswerable—about the squadron's activities (see upcoming publication).
The sobering book "Lost Generation" by a cavalry squadron participant, Eduard Allert (pseudonym) fills many gaps. Not only does it help me to piece together key parts of the lives of two of my uncles, it helps historians to be clearer in their telling of this chapter of Mennonite history. The memoir was translated by Gerhard Lohrenz (Winnipeg) from a German manuscript and published in 1982 (note 2).
A few years ago I received scans of the German handwritten
original found at the Mennonite Heritage Archives in Winnipeg. These reveal for
example the author’s actual name: Eduard (Abram) Reimer (note 3). After a
cursory review of the original, I realized that the English translation by
Lohrenz was sanitized in many places—for his next-generation for his Canadian
Mennonite readership. I was a student in Winnipeg at the time of publication
(1982) and heard Gerhard Lohrenz preach, but I did not have the background then
to interview him and ask him questions.
Some of what Gerhard Lohrenz left out in his translation is
harmless and funny in hindsight for Mennonites to read. For example, he decided
not to translate this paragraph:
"For New Year's Eve 1941 [German occupation/liberation
began October 1941], our village received a voucher for a barrel of beer. I
took a horse and sled with an older man from Liebenau in the grim cold to the
brewery in Halbstadt to pick up the beer. Whether the brewery in Halbstadt was
already in operation, it is impossible to say. Since the Soviets had left
behind no grain, it is unlikely. Likely the Soviets had left behind the
finished beer. The barrel was divided among the males in the village, and we
young people celebrated New Year's Eve with beer." (German, p. 56; missing
in English, p. 49)
Regarding the March 1942 recruitment phase of young adults, the following was not included in the translation: "The comradery was exceptional; the feeling of belonging together among Mennonites was still alive. … Everyone had joined voluntarily … Everyone wanted to wear the German uniform and no one had any compunction about violating the Mennonite principle of non-resistance (German, 59f., missing in English, p. 50).
These young adults had no experience of church which they
could remember, no experience of youth groups or of faith. In June 1942 they
were offered liturgy, ritual and a quasi-religious experience. Mennonite
leaders were long gone (abducted or killed), as were their fathers, and here
they had an Ersatz. Unfortunately the following text is not in Lohrenz’s
translation; it reveals much about what was attractive and mesmerizing about
this new fellowship they were being offered as they swore their allegiance and
promised their willingness to sacrifice their lives if necessary.
“The swearing-in ceremony was very solemn. It was already
dark when the squadrons with singing took the designated place for the swearing
in. In the middle of the squadron a bonfire was burning. Youth groups from Halbstadt,
or maybe from the surrounding area, sang the song "Flamme empor"
(listen: https://www.lieder-archiv.de/flamme_empor-notenblatt_300499.html). The
text of this song: "Shining light, behold, we singing pairs, swear at the
altar of flame to be Germans!" The oath was recited by a superior officer
and we recruits repeated the wording of this oath. The solemnity of the
swearing in ceremony left an almost sacred impression on me at least, and so it
probably did on the other comrades. With a marching song we marched back to our
campsite. Now we were not only German informed, but we stood under oath in
Germany's service for Führer, Volk and Fatherland. ... A person must profess
something, stand by something, believe in something. ... We spent the night in
Halbstadt in tents and afterwards our Waldheim squadron rode back to Waldheim."
Lohrenz occasionally left out some details that are
important, in this example, for understanding certain corners of the Molotschna
settlement area. "The Gnadenfeld squadron was not so large [compared to
Halbstadt or Waldheim squadrons] because of the lack of men in the surrounding
villages—they had been abducted (verschleppt) by the Soviets" (German, p.
60; should also be in English, p. 50). In nearby Marienthal there were at least
four who volunteered /were chosen for the regiment, including my two uncles,
their cousin and a best friend. They were all “fatherless”.
Sometimes I have the sense that the translator did not want
to admit and publish an argument that Reimer was making very clearly. For
example in the original, Reimer wrote an entire page with examples to make the
case that Russian Mennonites of his father’s generation sang all of the same
war songs before the Revolution; i.e., they were already part of the
"Molotschna repertoire" (Liedgut; German, p. 67).
A few times Gerhard Lohrenz offers a summary or paraphrase
of a longer paragraph and in the process gives his own message rather than
Reimer’s. For example on p. 49 Lohrenz has Reimer say: “Our century long
tradition of non-resistance and no revenge had its influence on us.” But the
German original (p. 56) is not that obviously self-congratulatory: “There were
also personal accounts to settle, and here the Russians were not as reticent as
we Mennonites.”
Reimer has some disturbing reflections or opinions that
Lohrenz boils down significantly, e.g., on soldiering. The full reflections are
sobering—and perhaps deemed one man’s opinion—but they help us understand the
mind of these Mennonite soldiers /veterans. The italicized material below is
not included in the English (p. 67; German, p. 92):
(New Years Eve 1943/ New Years Day, 1944): “When we [a small
advance group] returned to the squadron we learned that the regiment had been
engaged in anti-partisan action in our absence. Three villages had been razed
(burned). I do not know if there were any casualties. ... In any case, there
was a depressed mood among the comrades who had been there, and that was the
whole regiment, with the exception of our advance team. Apparently our men
still had their hearts in the right place and carried out such dirty work only
with reluctance. But orders were orders. Shirking, if it was possible at all,
was considered cowardice and cowardice was the greatest disgrace for a soldier
in war. Here no one asks about an individual’s conscience. The man must be
tough. This is how it is with every army in war, no doubt, and it can hardly be
otherwise. The fact that in certain dicey situations, such as the shooting of
the couple [by a 'Swabian'; p. 89] in Sherdenovka, useful 'idiots' are found who do this dirty work voluntarily, benefits the decent ones. But in
the end, even the decent person feels burdened because he identifies himself
with the unit he belongs to and has committed such acts. At least that's how it
was with me. Although I was not present during this operation against these
villages and only learned about it after the operation, I did not feel
personally burdened, but indirectly I did because I belonged to this regiment.
To what extent this operation was necessary or what the rationale was is beyond
my knowledge.”
Early in 1944 the Molotschna “Great Trek” participants
(among the 35,000 Mennonite evacuees from Ukraine) were temporarily resettled
near the Polish/Ukraine border (note 4). Memoir literature suggests they knew
there would be no return. That makes it even more surprising to hear the
confident perspective of the Mennonite cavalry members involved in
anti-partisan actions. “We did not know how things were going on front for our
German military, and had no concerns that the Germans might fail. Our confidence
in the strength of the German army was unbroken; if there was a retreat [of our
forces], it was only for tactical considerations, such as front realignment or
to attain a better position.” (German p. 93; missing in English, p. 67)
Curiously an order in January 1944 for the Ethnic German
Regiment to attack advancing Soviet forces was revoked almost as quickly as it
was made. That part is translated (p. 68) but not the rationale below (German,
p. 95): “As far as I know, there was still a decree from the higher leadership
that ethnic Germans from Russia were not allowed to be deployed on the Eastern
Front. This order was not to be interpreted as a distrust of the ethnic
Germans, but to protect them, because it was well-known what would happen if a
Russian-German were to be captured by the Russians, and besides, there were
only a few men who had escaped deportation by the Soviets.”
The squadron members were in Warsaw for 10 days in May
1944—the “trek” was over and they were being reorganized as part of a new division
for deployment in Hungary. Lohrenz leaves the fuller description of these days:
the pride these young Mennonites felt as battle-hardened soldiers, showing off
Mennonite singing competency (albeit now, military songs) and their positive
interest in weaponry, and enjoyment of the city (cinema):
“In Warsaw they apparently did not know what kind of
replacement they were getting for the division that was being reorganized in
Hungary. It was believed that recruits would arrive. When we marched
through the streets of Warsaw for the first time on asphalt with a snappy song,
even the Poles looked through the window. We could sing and march and the
singing in narrow streets and high houses sounded much stronger than on dirt
roads. … Once we went to the cinema, once we went to a military training area
near Warsaw, where there was a shooting show (Schauschiessen) with modern
weapons, among others also smoke launchers (Nebelwerfer).” (German 98, missing
in English p. 70)
A surviving member of the cavalry regiment told our family
that when they were redeployed in Hungary, that my mother’s brothers (Franz and
Heinrich Bräul) were assigned to drive a Schwimmwagen– an amphibious vehicle. I
had wondered about this for years: Why? How? Where? Reimer’s handwritten
original (pp. 98f.) gives the following detailed military information which
was deemed unnecessary for the purposes of the translation (missing on p. 70).
“Our former Ethnic German Cavalry Regiment members were
listed alphabetically. The first letters A and B went to the reconnaissance
division which was equipped with V.W. Schwimmwagen (amphibian vehicles) and was
therefore very mobile in action. On each Schwimmwagen sat the driver, machine
gunners no. 1 and no. 2 (M.G. Schütze 1 and 2). Those added to the Reconnaissance
Division (A.A.) were the Brauns, Bräuls, and so on. We Mennonites from the
Cavalry Regiment were now separated in Baja. The division had 3 regiments: 15th,
16th, and 18th regiments. And each regiment had 6 squadrons. Most of our
Mennonites came to the 15th Regiment, up to the letter R, for example, Rempel,
Reimer, Riediger, and the rest of the alphabet was probably assigned to the
18th Regiment, because one Wall, one Walde were with the 18th Regiment. Of the
6 squadrons in a regiment, four were light squadrons, i.e., mounted, but in
action the horses were left behind and the soldier was then an infantryman. The
5th Squadron was the semi-heavy, light machine gun (L.M.G.) platoon and grenade
throwing platoons, also mounted, and the 6th Squadron were the heavy, 2nd
infantry gun platoons, 1 anti-tank platoon, [p. 99] an anti-aircraft (Flak)
platoon, and an engineer platoon (Pionierzug). I joined the 6th Squadron, 15th
Regiment. In Baja we were loaded on trucks and taken to our regiments at night.
In the process we crossed the Danube at Mohacz. The 15th Regiment was spread
over many localities in the province of Baranja near Fünfkirchen (Pecz).”
Lohrenz’s translation plus the German original manuscript
answer many important questions about this chapter of “Mennonite” history—even
though it is hard to read and raises many other questions, not just for family
members. The experience of working through both offers a good lesson about
doing historical work.
Finally, it is important to add that every memoir too is
highly selective memory of events that happened years earlier. That said,
Reimer is incredibly open and forthcoming. He does not appear to have an
obvious agenda, and he has an incredible memory for detail and writes very
well. Nonetheless, this does not absolve the researcher from digging for
“actual” primary documents from the era. A few years ago I was able to access
and photograph the only materials that the German Military Archives in Freiburg
have cataloged about this regiment (note 5). It is a curious place to research
Mennonite history (!), and I hope to publish an article soon on this material.
---Arnold Neufeldt-Fast
---Notes---
Note 1: See previous posts, including https://russianmennonites.blogspot.com/2023/05/easter-and-molotschnas-first-ethnic.html;
https://russianmennonites.blogspot.com/2023/05/retrieving-lost-generation-heinrich.html.
Note 2: Eduard Allert (pseud.), “The Lost Generation,” in The
Lost Generation and other Stories, edited and translated by Gerhard Lohrenz,
9-128 (Steinbach, MB: Self-published, 1982).
Note 3: Eduard (Abram) Reimer, “Memoir” (no date); from
Mennonite Heritage Archives (MHA), Winnipeg, Man., Gerhard Lohrenz Fonds, 60, no.
63, vol. 3333. In “Lost Generation” (p. 59) Lohrenz notes that Reimer/Allert
changed his name from “Jakob” to Eduard (to protect his identity?), while in
the manuscript Reimer (p. 75) clearly writes that his sister had his name
changed from “Abram” to Eduard. Even the photo on the front of the English
volume was mistakenly thought to be of squadron members.
Note 4: See multiple previous posts in Table of Contents for
1944: https://russianmennonites.blogspot.com/p/table-of-contents.html.
Note 5: Bundesarchiv (Freiburg) MA N/756, 151/a, and MA,
N/756, 256/a.
Appendix
Reimer mentions some names in the original, which are not
given in the translation:
- Berg or Bergen brothers from Fürstenwerder or Alexanderwohl, p. 92 (who were very both good singers)
- Hermann Pirch, Schönsee, p. 99
- Helmut Riediger, Schönsee (cousin to below), p. 99
- Peter Riediger, Schönsee (cousing to above), p. 99
- Johann Neufeld, Schönsee, p. 99
- Eduard (Abram) Riemer, Liebenau, 99
- Abram Rempel, Liebenau (cousin to below), p. 99
- Peter Rempel, Liebenau (cousin to above), p. 99
- Heinz Peters, Liebenau, p. 99
- Bernhard Martens, Wernersdorf, p. 99
- Friesen, Fürstenwerder, killed fall 1943 by a partisan, p. 88f.
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