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

undred thousand persons engaged in longterm con¬ struction projects or forestry work were housed in such structures. More and more of these structures appeared as we neared the north¬ ern city of Kotlas. MEMOIRS OF ARON WARKENTIN 181 8 After a two week journey we reached our destination. From here there was no escape. Kotlas was the gateway to the northern forests. From here the prisoners were sent to the inaccessible for¬ ests of Russia by land and water. Humans had never before en¬ tered some of these primeval forests. Wood was always important in Russia's story and now its management was under the Ministry of the Interior. In the 1930s workers by the hundreds of thou¬ sands were shipped into these regions to provide cheap labor. They came from every corner of the Soviet Empire .... The transport and sustenance of such a massive prisoner popu¬ lation was not adequately planned and organized. There was tre¬ mendous confusion and inefficiency which we, who were part of the process, had ample opportunity to observe. No one can imag¬ ine the chaos of lawlessness and sheer brutality which ensued. For a long time we were unable to leave the railway cars. When we were finally unloaded there was nowhere to put us. All the rooms were overfilled. More arrived each day than left. People from many different worlds were forcibly imprisoned together. In the ensuing chaos the naive and inexperienced often perished. Oth¬ ers found themselves in their natural element and successfully fished in the troubled waters. Late at night about one thousand men were finally led to a multi-story house. A long ladder stood against the house and we climbed to our attic room and spent the long arctic night upon the floor. Carefully we assessed our reserve strength — the long journey, the cold night, the fact that we had not yet eaten. We carried all our belongings in wooden boxes and possibly in an extra bundle - these too had to be carried up the steep ladder. Somehow we managed. The stronger ones went up first — among them Gerhard Harms and I. Huffing and puffing and completely exhausted we finally reached the top. Miraculously all the others made it as well - Jakob Wiebe, Thiessen, Boldt, Friesen and Pe¬ ters. In all there were some one hundred and fifty German men and for once we had no guards. We prepared for the night. Gerhard Harms and I tried to get comfortable on the floor covered with corn straw. For some moments we reminisced about our loved ones back home. Suddenly we were interrupted. A meager but tasty supper was hoisted up by rope .... 182 JOURNEYS For the moment we were secure from the attacks of criminals. Every new destination was dangerous for the arrivals because they were considered fair game for the criminal elements. In such situ¬ ations one tries to be as unobtrusive as possible. Pity the person who attracted attention to his possessions be it money, clothes or food. He was usually robbe