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

our work 204 JOURNEYS to avoid delays wherever possible .... I tried to make sure there was enough bread on hand to keep the men in good working con¬ dition .... Fortunately we had no serious accidents and only lost one horse, which was duly processed by our kitchen. When the job was finally completed the director called me in and thanked me for my tireless service. He wondered if I might be willing to become his business representative in the camp. It was an honored position, which was highly respected. I might have accepted it but then my good friend and fellow German Blum, who held the job, would have been set aside. After consulting with Blum and the director, I agreed to take charge of the wood-drying operation .... Everything went well until one morning. When we arrived at our workplace everything was burned to the ground. The investigating judge threatened to imprison me as a saboteur but the support of my supervisors saved me .... We soon set about building a new facility. I found the process stressful but we finally got the job done. About two months after I began this task Blum came by one morning and said he was being transferred to a new camp and that in several weeks he would be requesting my transfer to the new camp. A week later I took my leave and left for the new camp .... MEMOIRS OF ARON WARKENTIN 205 11/12 One evening during the late summer of 1939 I returned to the barrack after work. It was filled with people. Both men and women from the surrounding camps had come to say goodbye. Among them were some of my colleagues from home like A. Huebner and H. Kliewer. Together we had now spent several years in exile. If we had known that this was our last meeting here on earth I think our conversation would have been different. We spent the night in the overfilled barracks, talked about our loved ones and shared our camp experiences .... Melancholy, gloomy feelings repeatedly permeated our conversations and reminiscences. During our conversation that evening I also tried to introduce the Christian perspectives on the questions of why and whereto. Sev¬ eral years after when I heard that both of them had died I found comfort in our earlier dialogue. After I said goodbye to my friends in the morning I received the order to cancel the days work plans and to appear on the pa¬ rade ground with all the others. After we marshalled ourselves according to the order and laws of the camp, eight men to the row, we received our instructions. Those who were leaving moved to the left, those who were staying to the right. Naturally the group who fed the horses remained behind and were soon allowed to go to work. Happily Gerhard Harms stayed with us and so I had one friend with whom I shared joy and sorrow .... In the afternoon the other prisoners, under heavy escort and accompanied by guard dogs, were marched through the main gate to the large barges waiting at the river s edge. I fo