'Determination to seek justice'

Bernie Neufeld, right, and his brothers John Neufeld, left, and Victor Neufeld, middle, with the women who helped translate their grandfather's KGB dossier. (Submitted by Bernie Neufeld) Post image on Pinterest: Bernie Neufeld, right, and his brothers John Neufeld, left, and Victor Neufeld, middle, with the women who helped translate their grandfather's KGB dossier. (Submitted by Bernie Neufeld)

Bernie Neufeld, right, and his brothers John Neufeld, left, and Victor Neufeld, middle, with the women who helped translate their grandfather's KGB dossier. (Submitted by Bernie Neufeld)

Across the room from Braun, Bernie Neufeld, 71, and his brothers were also taking notes as translators sifted through their grandfather's file.



Abram Kroeger was 46 when he was arrested. He left behind a wife and five children.

Neufeld saw a list of the children's names. It includes his mother, who was then 17.

His grandfather was a farmer before and after the revolution and worked as a harness maker on a collective farm. He had no previous criminal record.

"The arrest warrant, issued by a representative of the NKVD, states that Abram Kroeger … is accused of being a participant in a counter-revolutionary organization," Neufeld wrote.

"On March 14, 1938, without any supporting evidence, and based only on accusations, the prosecutor authorized the NKVD to arrest him until the end of the investigation and trial under Article 143 of the Criminal Code."

The trial was based on an accusation by Dietrich Regehr, who provided the NKVD with a list of people he said were active in a German-controlled revolutionary organization set up to subvert Soviet control.

Neufeld believes Regehr made a plea bargain in exchange for his freedom.

The KGB dossier against Abram Kroeger included information about his accuser. (Submitted by Bernie Neufeld) Post image on Pinterest: The KGB dossier against Abram Kroeger included information about his accuser. (Submitted by Bernie Neufeld)

The KGB dossier against Abram Kroeger included information about his accuser. (Submitted by Bernie Neufeld)

The files say Abram Kroeger admitted to being part of a German terrorist organization that blew up a bridge, destroyed roads and deliberately damaged equipment to slow Soviet progress in the war.



"The files show his signature, admitting to these charges. His admission was likely under duress and torture," Neufeld wrote.

All the men accused by Regehr were found guilty by the Troika War Council, which had the right to execute people without evidence.

Abram Kroeger was tried in this grey building that once housed the Troika War Council in Dnipropetrovsk. (Submitted by Bernie Neufeld) Post image on Pinterest: Abram Kroeger was tried in this grey building that once housed the Troika War Council in Dnipropetrovsk. (Submitted by Bernie Neufeld)

Abram Kroeger was tried in this grey building that once housed the Troika War Council in Dnipropetrovsk. (Submitted by Bernie Neufeld)

Abram Kroeger was executed by shooting on Nov. 14, 1938, and all his property confiscated.



He too was exonerated in 1989.

"Learning that my grandfather was executed, and then exonerated 51 years later, was heartbreaking. It brought tears to my eyes," Neufeld said.

"I felt anger. But I also felt relief to finally have the truth. I am grateful that the government of Ukraine made these files available, that they had the courage to exonerate my grandfather."

Abram Kroeger, here with his wife, Katarina, was sentenced to be executed by shooting in 1938. (Submitted by Bernie Neufeld) Post image on Pinterest: Abram Kroeger, here with his wife, Katarina, was sentenced to be executed by shooting in 1938. (Submitted by Bernie Neufeld)

Abram Kroeger, here with his wife, Katarina, was sentenced to be executed by shooting in 1938. (Submitted by Bernie Neufeld)

Neufeld also got to see the file of Dietrich Epp, his grandmother's brother.



Epp was convicted of similar crimes with no evidence. He was executed and his property was confiscated. He was also exonerated 51 years after his death.

Neufeld continues to search for files of five other missing members of his extended family.

"It brings a sense of closure, a sense of power and a determination to seek justice," he said.

"I want the Russian government, the architect of the institutions that committed those crimes, to be held accountable, to apologize, to pay compensation to their victims and to change their behaviour.”

The prison in Zaporozhye where Abram Kroeger was incarcerated still stands. (Submitted by Bernie Neufeld) Post image on Pinterest: The prison in Zaporozhye where Abram Kroeger was incarcerated still stands. (Submitted by Bernie Neufeld)

The prison in Zaporozhye where Abram Kroeger was incarcerated still stands. (Submitted by Bernie Neufeld)

Aileen Friesen was on the Mennonite Heritage Cruise this summer as the in-house historian.



The pilgrimage was emotional for those who got files — and also for those who didn't, she said.

"There were people who couldn't find their family members and it's a very emotional situation because they want closure to this period in their lives, but they can't have it," she said. "How do you let go of something you don't know?"

Through a newly created Paul Toews Fellowship in Russian Mennonite History, Friesen and others will record, translate and archive as many files as they can access through the KGB archives and from families who donate copies of the documents they've received.

Friesen will also study how the individual stories fit into the larger historical picture — how the Mennonites survived the Holodomor, the man-made famine in Soviet Ukraine in 1932-33, and then faced the breakdown of their own tight-knit communities during the Great Purge.

"These files close some wounds but open up new ones,” Friesen said.

“The new ones they open up is that typically, these people have been betrayed by someone. That's how their name gets on the list. They've been betrayed.”

"It's easy to think of this as a black-and-white scenario — this person is bad because he or she gave up my relative — but the reality is either that person was tortured [or] that person's family was threatened. The idea of choice within the Soviet system is a very nebulous concept."

Friesen says this is not just ancient history — it also has implications for today.

If scholars can contextualize and tell the broader story, it can provide insight into how totalitarian states are influencing people's lives right now — and what the repercussions might be for subsequent generations.

Cover photo: The arrest photo of Jacob Reimer, a victim of Stalin's Great Purge. The mysteries surrounding his identity, and what his family was told about him, are detailed in a book called It Happened in Moscow: A Memoir of Discovery by Maureen Klassen. (Submitted by Centre for Mennonite Brethren Studies)



This map shows South Russia Mennonite colonies in the 1930s. Pilgrims on the Mennonite Heritage Cruise travelled from Odessa to Kyiv through the Black Sea and up the Dnieper River on the Dnieper Princess. (Mennonite Heritage Centre) Post image on Pinterest: This map shows South Russia Mennonite colonies in the 1930s. Pilgrims on the Mennonite Heritage Cruise travelled from Odessa to Kyiv through the Black Sea and up the Dnieper River on the Dnieper Princess. (Mennonite Heritage Centre)