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 at the “Deutsches Auslandsinstitut” (DAI) in Stuttgart.

With Germany’s occupation of Ukraine, Stump was commissioned by Alfred Rosenberg’s Reich Ministry for Occupied Lands of the East to create an official registry and historical overview of each occupied ethnic German village in Ukraine. A key ethnographic task of Stumpp’s commando was “to provide a genealogical and racial-biological assessment of the ethnic Germans in Ukraine.”

In 1942 administrators for “Special Commando Dr. Stumpp” entered Mennonite villages and, with the assistance of local ethnic German teachers and newly appointed officials, completed extensive questionnaires to document the population, history, and cultural and physical assets of each ethnic German village, including detailed registers of those who were deported, starved, and murdered in the 1930s.

The “TSDEA (State Electronic Archive of Ukraine)” links are most direct; the Bundesarchiv (German Federal Archives) copies are in batches of multiple reports—but without watermarks. The date given refers to the month the forms were drafted ("abgefaßt").

---Arnold Neufeldt-Fast

Source: Karl Stumpp, “Village Reports Commando Dr. Stumpp.” Prepared for the German Reichsminister for the Occupied Eastern Territories, 1942.

Adelsheim, Rayon Chortitza, BA R6/621, Mappe 82, April 1942 (TSDEA; Bundesarchiv, sheet 347).
Alexanderfeld (Sagradovka), Rayon Kronau, BA R6/621, Mappe 48, March 1942 (TSDEA; Bundesarchiv, sheet 258).
Alexanderkrone (Sagradovka), Rayon Kronau, BA R6/621, Mappe 44, March 1942 (TSDEA; Bundesarchiv, sheet 176).
Altonau (Sagradovka), Rayon Kronau, BA R6/620, Mappe 38, February 1942 (TSDEA; Bundesarchiv, sheet 313).
Blumenfeld, Rayon Nikopol, BA R6/622, Mappe 136, August 1942 (TSDEA; Bundesarchiv, sheet 57).
Blumengart, Rayon Chortitza, BA R6/622, Mappe 97, July 1942, (TSDEA; Bundesarchiv, sheet 381).
Blumenhof (Borosenko), Rayon Friesendorf, BA R6/702, August 1942, Mappe 160 (TSDEA; Bundesarchiv).
Blumenort (Sagradovka), Rayon Kronau, BA R6/621, Mappe 47, May 1942 (TSDEA; Bundesarchiv, sheet 236).
Burwalde, Rayon Chortitza, BA R6/622, Mappe 98, June 1942 (TSDEA; Bundesarchiv, heet 405).
Chortitza District (Summary for arrested, deported, in Red Army, families without head, mixed marriages, etc.) BA R6/626 (TSDEA; Bundesarchiv).
Chortitza (Village), Rayon Chortitza, BA R6/621, Mappe 81, May 1942 (TSDEA; Bundesarchiv, sheet 1).
Deutschendorf, Rayon Kronau, BA R6/620, Mappe 28, February 1942 (TSDEA; Bundesarchiv)
Dnjepropetrowsk, Petrikowka, Werchnja Dnjeprowsk (Berislav, Kherson), 10 village summaries, BA R6/626 (TSDEA; Bundesarchiv).
Eigengrund (Borosenko), Rayon Friesendorf, BA R6/623, Mappe 166, July 1942 (TSDEA; Bundesarchiv).
Einlage, Rayon Chortitza, BA R6/621, Mappe 83, May 1942 (TSDEA; Bundesarchiv, sheet 415).
Felsenbach (Borosenko), Rayon Friesendorf, BA R6/623, Mappe 127, August 1942 (TSDEA; Bundesarchiv).
Franzfeld, Rayon Chortitza, BA R6/621, Mappe 84, April 1942 (TSDEA; Bundesarchiv, sheet 380).
Friedensfeld, Rayon Nikopol, BA R6/622, Mappe 137, August 1942 (TSDEA; Bundesarchiv, sheet 211).
Friedensfeld (Sagradovka), Rayon Kronau, BA R6/621, Mappe 46, March 1942 (TSDEA; Bundesarchiv, sheet 228).
Friesendorf, Rayon Friesendorf, BA R6/623, Mappe 169, July 1942 (TSDEA; Bundesarchiv). (Previously a Jewish village, like Rotfeld)
Gnadenfeld (Sagradovka), Rayon Kronau, BA R6/621, Mappe 45, February 1942 (TSDEA; Bundesarchiv, sheet 193).
Gnadental (Baratov), Rayon Sofiejewka, BA R6/623, Mappe 182, May 1942 (TSDEA; Bundesarchiv).
Grünfeld, Rayon Kriwoj-Rog, Dnjepropetrowsk, BA R6/624, Mappe 199, April 1942 (TSDEA; Bundesarchiv)
Heuboden (Borosenko), Rayon Friesendorf, BA R6/623, Mappe 170, August 1942 (TSDEA; Bundesarchiv).
Hindenburg (Kudaschewka), Rayon Boshedarowka, BA R6/623, Mappe: 192, June 1942 (TSDEA; Bundesarchiv).
Hochfeld (Borosenko), Rayon Kriwoj-Rog, BA R6/624, Mappe 200, April 1942 (TSDEA; Bundesarchiv).
Hochfeld, Rayon Chortitza, BA R6/622, Mappe 85, April 1942 (TSDEA; Bundesarchiv, sheet 2).
Kathrinowka (Borosenko), Rayon Boshedarowka, BA R6/624, Mappe 193, May 1942 (TSDEA; Bundesarchiv).
Kronsgarten (Chortiza), Rayon Dnjepropetrowsk, BA R6/703, Mappe 14, December 1942 (TSDEA; Bundesarchiv).
Kronstal, Rayon Chortitza, BA R6/622, Mappe 99, July 1942 (TSDEA; Bundesarchiv, sheet 441).
Kronsweide, Rayon Chortitza, BA R6/622, Mappe 86, May 1942 (TSDEA; Bundesarchiv, sheet 322).
Lenintal (Borosenko), Rayon Friesendorf, BA R6/623, Mappe, 1942 (TSDEA; Bundesarchiv).
Miloradowka (Borosenko), Rayon Boshedarovka, BA R6/706, Mappe 194, May 1942 (TSDEA; Bundesarchiv [scans start at 125 of 259]).
Münsterberg (Sagradovka), Rayon Kronau, BA R6/621, Mappe 50, June 1942 (TSDEA; Bundesarchiv, sheet 319).
Neu-Chortitza (Baratov), Rayon Sofiejewka, BA R6/623, Mappe 184, May 1942 (TSDEA; Bundesarchiv).
Neu-Halbstadt (Sagradovka), Rayon Kronau, BA R6/620, Mappe 35, February 1942 (TSDEA; Bundesarchiv, sheet 203).
Neu-Schönsee (Sagradovka) Rayon Kronau, BA R6/621, Mappe 42, March 1942 (TSDEA; Bundesarchiv, sheet 99).
Neuenburg, Rayon Chortitza, BA R6/622, Mappe 87, May 1942 (TSDEA; Bundesarchiv, sheet 352).
Neuendorf, Rayon Chortitza, BA R6/622, Mappe 88, May 1942 (TSDEA; Bundesarchiv, sheet 89).
Neuhorst, Rayon Chortitza, BA R6/622, Mappe 89, May 1942 (TSDEA; Bundesarchiv, sheet 142).
Nieder Chortitza, Rayon Chortitza, BA R6/705, Mappe 100, May 1942, (TSDEA; Bundesarchiv).
Nikolaifeld, Rayon Chortitza, BA R6/705, Mappe [?], April 1942 (TSDEA; Bundesarchiv).
Nikolaifeld (Sagradovka), Rayon Kronau, BA R6/620, Mappe 39, March 1942 (TSDEA; Bundesarchiv, sheet 348).
Nikolaital (Borosenko), Rayon Friesendorf, BA R6/702, Mappe 176, August 1942 (TSDEA; Bundesarchiv).
Nikopol Gebiet (District). Population overview /totals for Blumenfeld, Friedensfeld, Katharinental, Nikopol (city), Steinau. BA R6/706 (TSDEA; Bundesarchiv).
Orloff (Sagradovka), Rayon Kronau, BA R6/620, Mappe 45, February 1942 (TSDEA; Bundesarchiv, sheet 432).
Osterwick, Rayon Chortitza, BA R6/622, Mappe 107, July 1942 (TSDEA; Bundesarchiv, sheet 189).
Reinfeld (Sagradovka), Rayon Kronau, BA R6/620, Mappe 40, 1942 (TSDEA; Bundesarchiv, sheet 416).
Rosenbach, Rayon Chortitza, BA R6/705, Mappe 91, May 1942 (TSDEA; Bundesarchiv).
Rosenfeld (Borosenko) Rayon Friesendorf, BA R6/702, August 1942 (TSDEA; Bundesarchiv).
Rosengart, Rayon Chortitza, BA R6/622, Mappe 103, July 1942 (TSDEA; Bundesarchiv, sheet 467).
Rosenort (Sagradovka), Rayon Kronau, BA R6/620, Mappe 36, February 1942 (TSDEA; Bundesarchiv, sheet 231).
Rotfeld, Rayon Sofiejewka, BA R6/623, Mappe 185, July 1942 (TSDEA; Bundesarchiv) (Like Friesendorf, previously Jewish).
Schönau (Sagradovka), Rayon Kronau, BA R6/620, Mappe 37, March 1942 (TSDEA; Bundesarchiv, sheet 264).
Schöndorf (Borosenko), Rayon Friesendorf, BA R6/702, Mappe 180, August 1942 (TSDEA; Bundesarchiv).
Schöneberg, Rayon Chortitza, BA R6/622, Mappe 102, July 1942 (TSDEA; Bundesarchiv, sheet 31).
Schönhorst, Rayon Chortitza, BA R6/622, Mappe 92, May 1942 (TSDEA; Bundesarchiv, sheet 159).
Steinau, Rayon Nikopol, BA R6/622, Mappe 138, August 1942 (TSDEA; Bundesarchiv, sheet 259). (See also Nikopol above).
Steinfeld (Borosenko), Rayon Kriwoj-Rog, BA R6/624, Mappe 207, April 1942 (TSDEA; Bundesarchiv).
Steinfeld (Sagradovka), Rayon Kronau, BA R6/621, Mappe 43, March 1942 (TSDEA; Bundesarchiv, sheet 124).
Tiege (Sagradovka), Rayon Kronau, BA R6/621, Mappe 49, 1942 (TSDEA; Bundesarchiv, sheet 287).

---

To cite this page: Arnold Neufeldt-Fast, “Village Reports Commando Dr. Stumpp, 1942: List and Links,” History of the Russian Mennonites (blog), August 7, 2023, https://russianmennonites.blogspot.com/2023/08/village-reports-commando-dr-stumpp-1942.html.

Comments

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.” T

The Shift from Dutch to German, 1700s

Already in 1671, Mennonite Flemish Elder Georg Hansen in Danzig published his German-language catechism ( Glaubens-Bericht für die Jugend ) as preparation for youth seeking baptism. Though educational competencies varied, Hansen’s Glaubens-Bericht assumed that youth preparing for baptism had a stronger ability to read complex German than Dutch ( note 1 ). Popular Mennonite preacher Jacob Denner (1659–1746), originally from the Hamburg-Altona Mennonite Church, lived in Danzig for four years in the early 1700s. A first volume of his Dutch sermons was published in 1706 in Danzig and Amsterdam, and then in 1730 and 1751 he published two German collections. Untrained preachers would often read Denner’s sermons: “Those who preached German—which all Prussian preachers around 1750 did, with the exception of the Danzig preachers—had no sermons books from their co-religionists other than this one by Jacob Denner” ( note 2 ). In Danzig and the Vistula Delta region there were some differences

Prof. Benjamin Unruh as a Public Figure in the Nazi Era

Professor Benjamin H. Unruh (1881-1959) was a relief and immigration leader, educator, leading churchman, and official representative of Russian Mennonites outside of the Soviet Union throughout the National Socialism era in Germany. Unruh’s biography is connected to the very beginnings of Mennonite Central Committee in 1920-1922 when he served as a key spokesperson in Germany for the famine-stricken Mennonites in South Russia. Some years later he again played the central role in the rescue of thousands of Mennonites from Moscow in 1929 and, along with MCC, their resettlement in Paraguay, Brazil, and Canada. Because of Unruh’s influence and deep connections with key German government agencies in Berlin, his home office in Karlsruhe, Germany, became a relief hub for Mennonites internationally. Unruh facilitated large-scale debt forgiveness for Mennonites in Paraguay and Brazil, and negotiated preferential consideration for Mennonite relief work to the Soviet Union during the Great Famin

"Women Talking" -- and Canadian Mennonites

In March 2023 the film "Women Talking" won an Oscar for "Best adapted Screenplay." It was based on the novel of the same name by Mennonite Miriam Toews. The conservative Mennonites portrayed in the film are from the "Manitoba Colony" in Bolivia--with obvious Canadian connections. Now that many Canadians have seen the the film, Mennonites like me are being asked, "So how are you [in Markham-Stouffville, Waterloo or in St. Catharines] connected to that group?" Most would say, "We're not that type of Mennonite." And mostly that is a true answer, though unnuanced. Others will say, "Well, it is complex," but they can't quite unfold the complexity. Below is my attempt to do just that. At the heart of the story are things that happened in Ukraine (at the time "New" or "South" Russia) over 200 years ago. It is not easy to rebuild the influence and contribution of "Russian Mennonite" women and th

“First Arrival of German Troops in Halbstadt” (Volksfreund, April 20, 1918)

“ April 19, 1918 will always remain significant in the history of the Molotschna German Colony. That which until recently could hardly be imagined has occurred: the German military has arrived to free us from the despotism, rape and pillaging of barbarous people and to reestablish the order and security of life and property--something desperately necessary for our land. For this we give thanks above all to the One in whose hands the peoples and nations and also individuals rest. ...” ( Note 1 ) Mennonites greeted their “guests and liberators” with festivities that included baked goods (Zwieback), meats and even the German anthem “ Deutschland, Deutschland über alles "—all before the watchful eyes of their Russian /Ukrainian neighbours. The troops arrived by train; and to the shock of most present, three bound prisoners—all well-known bandits and terrorists—“were brought out of one of the railway cars without any prior notice, lined up and shot right in front of us” as an exampl

Plague and Pestilence in Danzig, 1709

Russian and Prussian Mennonites trace at least 200 years of their story through Danzig and Royal Prussia, where episodes of plague and pestilence were not unfamiliar ( note 1 ). Mennonites arrived primarily from the Low Countries and in large numbers in the middle of the 16th century—approximately 750 families or 3,000 refugees and settlers between 1527 and 1578 to Danzig and Royal Prussia ( note 2 ). At this time Danzig was undergoing tremendous demographic, cultural and economic transformation, almost tripling in population in less than 100 years. With 80% of Poland’s foreign trade handled through this port city ( note 3 ), Danzig saw the arrival of new people from across Europe, many looking to find work in the crammed and bustling city ( note 4 ). Maria Bogucka’s research on Danzig in this era brings the streets of the maritime city to life: “Sanitation facilities were inadequate … The level of personal hygiene was low. Most people lived close together: five or six to a room, sle

The Tinkelstein Family of Chortitza-Rosenthal (Ukraine)

Chortitza was the first Mennonite settlement in "New Russia" (later Ukraine), est. 1789. The last Mennonites left in 1943 ( note 1 ). During the Stalin years in Ukraine (after 1928), marriage with Jewish neighbours—especially among better educated Mennonites in cities—had become somewhat more common. When the Germans arrived mid-August 1941, however, it meant certain death for the Jewish partner and usually for the children of those marriages. A family friend, Peter Harder, died in 2022 at age 96. Peter was born in Osterwick to a teacher and grew up in Chortitza. As a 16-year-old in 1942, Peter was compelled by occupying German forces to participate in the war effort. Ukrainians and Russians (prisoners of war?) were used by the Germans to rebuild the massive dam at Einlage near Zaporizhzhia, and Peter was engaged as a translator. In the next year he changed focus and started teachers college, which included significant Nazi indoctrination. In 2017 I interviewed Peter Ha

Invitation to the Russian Consulate, Danzig, January 19, 1788

B elow is one of the most important original Mennonite artifacts I have seen. It concerns January 19. The two land scouts Jacob Höppner and Johann Bartsch had returned to Danzig from Russia on November 10, 1787 with the Russian Immigration Agent, Georg von Trappe. Soon thereafter, Trappe had copies of the royal decree and agreement (Gnadenbrief) printed for distribution in the Flemish and Frisian Mennonite congregations in Danzig and other locations, dated December 29, 1787 ( see pic ; note 1 ). After the flyer was handed out to congregants in Danzig after worship on January 13, 1788, city councilors made the most bitter accusations against church elders for allowing Trappe and the Russian Consulate to do this; something similar had happened before ( note 2 ). In the flyer Trappe boasted that land scouts Höppner and Bartsch met not only with Gregory Potemkin, Catherine the Great’s vice-regent and administrator of New Russia, but also with “the Most Gracious Russian Monarch” herse

Congregational Discipline: Trouble with "the Saints”

Gerhard Wiebe was elder of the Elbing-Ellerwalde (Polish-Prussia) Mennonite Church from 1778-1796, which includes the years of early immigration to Russia. His ministerial diary lists many names, and each comes with a story ( note 1 ). Wiebe’s accounts of church discipline are particularly revealing for helping us understand the first immigrant generation to New Russia. After preaching the gospel, the elder's most important duty was discipline, and this elder kept note of everything. Wiebe’s cases included: • regular incidences of drunkenness; • bar-tending at “The Kruge” [pitcher / name of inn], with music and all manner of “wicked things”; • leading an “immoral” lifestyle; • dancing in “The Lame Hand” pub [?], • stealing pigs; • licentiousness and leading a worldly life; • jeering and fist-fighting on the street; • excessive agitation and anger (mixed with alcohol); • forgery of payment records, non-payment of debts; • engagement/ marriage to a Lutheran, o

History of the Russian Mennonites

Search This Blog