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

s were used to illuminate the evening meal .... As the tip of the torch turned to ash rather quickly, it had to be removed causing thick smoke to waft through¬ out the barracks. It blackened everything in the barracks includ¬ ing our bodies .... Meanwhile a new administrative head of the camp was ap¬ pointed who had no concept of domestic order. He immediately appointed all his cronies, who knew as little as he did, to impor¬ tant posts .... Control of the barracks now lay in the hands of “outside” people, who cared little about what went on inside. I was fortunate in that I sought out this man during my first day here and was placed in charge of the horses. I traveled in the same railway car as he and so he considered me an old acquaintance. My continued contact with him was naturally in the interests of all my German brothers .... Thanks to my appointment and the recommendation of our head I was able to pass through the heavily guarded entrance gate at will. My “barn” was located behind the guard barracks. The barn, with its initial seven horses, was a primitive affair made out of logs. In the middle, likewise made of logs, stood the feed trough .... There were stalls for each individual horse. The harnesses, numbered accord¬ ing to each horse, hung nearby .... The former manager, a Komi SSR resident, showed me several sleighs as well as a number of sacks filled with oats. For the first time in many a day I thanked my God for His wonderful provision. I accepted [my position] as direct evidence of His leading .... My boss suggested that I occasionally also hire his country¬ men (Komi) as drivers for the horses used to remove logs, but after he saw them at work he advised against it... . Naturally I selected MEMOIRS OF ARON WARKENT1N 191 German men whenever possible. There was Abraham Huebner, my school comrade and longtime Nikolaifeld resident. He super¬ vised the feeding of the horses and was assisted by Mr. Wall a former minister .... Then there were others - my good friend Gerhard Harms; Mr. Johannes Dirks, a pious Old Church minis¬ ter from Blumenhof; Hans Kliewer from Kleefeld, a diligent young man; Johann Klassen; the independent but reliable Kornelius Fast; Abraham Stobbe from the Kuban, a faithful man and once a wealthy farmer; Maar, a Lutheran with much energy. These men, all from the Caucasus, were the first pioneers of our far northern enterprise. Eventually we had over one hundred horses .... Every morning had its work plan. Naturally the great major¬ ity were marched directly into the forest under heavy guard. Other brigades were designated as road builders, others as barrack build¬ ers which included the construction of kitchens, hospitals, storage sheds and bakeries. When all these roles had been assigned only a few people remained. These included the chief cook, the supervi¬ sors of each barrack who were responsible for sanitation, the in¬ side condition of the barracks an