JOURNEYS Mennonite Stories of Faith and Survival in Stalins Russia, John B. Toews, 1998

p move to the left, zealously orchestrated from above. In the years to come it etched into the very fabric of our lives. Everything we had experienced in revolution and civil war, including the famine of 1921 , paled into insignificance in the light of this catas¬ trophe. Even the most skilled pen and the keenest mind could hardly begin to describe the sequences of horrors which confronted us and our co-religionists in the next weeks, months and years. What had been quietly prophesied and sporadically envisaged by some, now like a black plague, spread through our peaceable villages with incred¬ ible rapidity. All citizens who were occupationally classified as ministers (cul¬ tural agents) were disenfranchised, which in practice meant they were subjected to extra taxes well beyond their ability to pay. Then, with the full acquiescence of the regional and district authorities, they were declared in violation of the prevailing laws. They were publicly de¬ nounced as enemies of the state and the revolution. These unfortu¬ nates were then handed over to a Troika , a government agency con¬ sisting of the NKVD and the police, which sentenced the victim with¬ out witnesses or due process. In most cases the victim was already behind bars beforehand and kept under strict guard as a traitor and criminal. Such a trial usually meant the confiscation of all moveable and immoveable goods first and foremost of which was the house and all its inventory — beds, clothing and foodstuffs. They were then exiled for an indeterminate time, which usually meant forever, to the northern or far eastern regions of our land. The women and children were placed on special trains in order to be united with their hus¬ bands. The wives either joined them where they were imprisoned or they met them en route or even at their final [exile] destination. Some simply vanished without a trace. Often the women and children did not arrive at their destina¬ tion. Initially they were transported by rail, already starving and confronted with basic survival. If there was no rail line they were loaded on large barges used to haul wood, coal or raw lumber. In other instances they were placed on wagons or sleighs depending on the season. Frequently they were forced to walk. Many of the children and the old folks found their graves en route, buried with- 144 JOURNEYS out coffins or a proper funeral. Many difficult years passed before these people were able to live normal human lives. Today we look back and cant believe those events took place, events considered normal and legal at the time. Now, for the sake of my children and grandchildren, I want to report our personal experiences. In 1929 we had a good harvest so that we could pay off the debts on our house and meet our farm expenses. We even had enough left over to live comfortably. There were two rather good horses, a cow, some young livestock, poul¬ try, seed grain for next year and enou