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

and my loved ones to the Shepherd of all humankind. I slept until late morning. I was one of those lucky people who could sleep any¬ where. I awoke refreshed, ready to face the new day. 188 JOURNEYS 9 On November 7, 1939, a new type of time reckoning began for us. We had been sent ten kilometers from the camp in order to fell trees. That was our only purpose in being and for the next ten years no one asked whether we were really able to do that. During the first days of our stay we felt we were given over to destruction yet I soon came to the conclusion that the government did not wish to eliminate us. I also realized that those who were assertive had the best chance of survival. Pity those who were inducted into the woodcutter brigades and wielded a saw or an axe from morning until late. Our contingent from the Caucasus was simply not suited for this work. By mid-winter people were dying like flies. Most died from homesickness, others from malnutrition. Every morning the bodies of such unfortunates (or fortunates?) were hauled out of the camp .... This mass dying only ended when government authorities found out what was happening. They tried to save whoever they could but for many the help came too late. By the spring of 1938 the situation had been rectified and those who survived had a good chance of outliving their internment. Unfortunately during the 1941-45 period human life once again held little value. Two con¬ tradictory forces were at work. One wanted to build up the nation and did everything in its power to accomplish this. The other, the true enemy of the people and the state, only sought to destroy. These types, and there were many of them, harmed the nation and killed innocent people .... Back to my own personal story. The first day in my new cir¬ cumstances was rather overwhelming. When I got my first glimpse of the camp in daylight, which in that region was about twelve noon, I realized the enormity of my task. How could I [and my colleagues] provide shelter for so many people! If I had been an experienced construction worker and if I really had an interest in the building trade - but here amid the forest and the terrible cold, here with my starving body and bare hands and a ten-year sen¬ tence .... Fortunately I found help. This man, like all the natives of the Komi Soviet Socialist Republic was short, heavily built, with a large round head on his broad shoulders. He had small, flashing eyes which darted to and fro and he spoke a passable Russian. He MEMOIRS OF ARON WARKENTIN 189 sat in his office, which was attached to our barrack, surrounded by the lists of men who arrived during the night and were to work at this site. Yes, he had already heard of the ninety-five Germans and was especially happy to meet their head and spokesperson. When I explained to him that I had no knowledge of or interest in the construction business he asked me how I thought I might be us