I was born on a farm in Pomona View Township, LaMoure County, near Kulm, North Dakota in 1939. My paternal (KONRAD, MOGCK) and maternal (SCHULDHEISZ, KOSANKE) ancestors came from Paris, Klöstitz and Alt-Postal, Bessarabia.

In 1959, I married Mary Lu Patton. Her maternal ancestors (GALL, GRAMITA) came from Rohrbach and Worms, Beresan District. We have three children and 18 grandchildren. I was ordained into the Christian ministry in 1966 and served within The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod as missionary to Ghana, Liberia, Botswana and South Africa for about 20 years.

I also served as parish pastor in North American congregations in Saskatchewan, South Dakota, Nebraska and Wisconsin. In the 1980s, I put in over 500 hours as a licensed single engine private pilot. When called to serve in the Kalahari Desert, I put that hobby to rest. My wife and I entered retirement in 2003 and are living in Eastern Iowa. Now my primary hobbies are carpentry, genealogy research and turning German documents into English for the benefit of others. My German-speaking upbringing allows for a feel of the language, but after years away from North Dakota German speakers, to do translating I find comfort in the well-worn dictionary at my side.

Europe/Asia      (Old Imperial Russia)	The Americas
Culture & Heritage	North America
	Town history books
Berdjansk	Churches
Beresan District	Cemeteries
Bessarabia
Bukovina
Caucasus	South America
Chortiza	Village-specific info
Crimea
Dobrudscha
Grossliebental District
Kherson
Kutschurgan
Mennonites
Taurida
Volhynia
Other areas of Imperial Russia
DAI film indexes
Welfare Committee records (indexes)
Germany

Culture & Heritage

Church and Religious Life of Germans in Russia
Translation from "Heimatbuch der Deutschen aus Russland: Die Kirchen und das Religiöse Leben der Russlanddeutschen" (Jahrbuch 1969-1972)

Christmas and New Year Customs and Practices from Sarata, Bessarabia   from DAI Film #317 (New Sept. 2011)

Egg Gathering - An Easter Game from DAI Film #317 (New Sept. 2011)

Wedding Celebration in Sarata, Bessarabia  from DAI Film #317 (New Sept. 2011)

Youth Free Time in Friedenstal, Bessarabia  from DAI Film #317 (New Sept. 2011)

Kulm (Bessarabia) Community Homeland Book
English translation of "Heimatbuch der Gemeinde Kulm", H.G. Gachet & Company, Langen Bez. Frankfurt/Main.

Table of Contents	Description
Pages 5-33	founding of village, Tarutino parish report, church & school life
Pages 34-58	bios on key people, health care, craftsmen, youth
Pages 59-95	military service, agriculture, livestock, Oak Forest of Kulm, fishing, hunting, money, women's activities, weddings, Easter, snowstorms
Pages 96-124	various events in Kulm, Kulm Hermit, resettlement and the Flight in Jan. 1945
Pages 125-154	life in Kulm, list of emigrants
Pages 155-197	List of those resettled from Kulm in 1940

Folklore Collection of Maraslienfeld Resettlers (from DAI Film #606) About the life of German Maraslienfeld, Akkerman District, Bessarabia. Concerning the land, neighbors, clothing, farm life, religion, societies, customs, practices, superstitions, songs, riddles and proverbs.

Extract from the Sword & Pen (from DAI Film #623) A short summary by Rudolf Stratz of his grandfather Sebastian Stratz's emigration about 1857 from the Wildgutach Valley of the Black Forest to the Odessa, Bessarabia areas.

Berdjansk

Family-specific information

• Berdjansk Colonies Births & Deaths 1822 (from DAI Film #606) 15 names with date of birth, data & place of death.
• Germans Living in Berdjansk by Sea of Azov (from DAI Film #606) With the dates & place of birth.

Beresan District

Family-specific information

• Lorenz Reichert Family Questionnaires (from DAI Film #599) The Lorenz and Monika (nee Kupper) Reichert family of Landau and Sulz.

Village-specific information

• Index Welfare Committee file 252-1-159 Reports, family lists, mutual consent documents 1826-1833
• Index Welfare Committee file 252-1-171 Reports, passports and travel documents in 1819
• Index Welfare Committee file 252-1-256a Reports, household lists, instructions, lists of arrivals, vital statistics 1819-1830
• Index Welfare Committee file 252-1-303 Reports
• Index Welfare Committee file 252-1-311 Financial pages and Orphan Funds
• Index Welfare Committee file 252-1-395 Reports
• Index Welfare Committee file 252-1-500 Lists of names and reports
• Index Welfare Committee file 252-1-527 Travel documents
• Index Welfare Committee file 252-1-528 Reports, written authority, death certificates 1822

Bessarabia

Occupation Statistics in German Settlements in Bessarabia   DAI Film #317  List of German settlements in Bessarabia ca. 1940, kinds of occupations in each village and how many involved in that kind of work. The chart also lists age distribution for each village, but this has not been transcribed here.

Settlement in Germany   DAI Film #317  Identifies the three areas in Germany where the Bessarabian people were settled and shows the percentage of occupations represented by those settled in Warthegau.

Landed Property Economic Situation of Germans in Bessarabia in 1939   DAI Film #317  A 6 page document which identifies the ratio of landed property owned by German heritage people in mother colonies, daughter colonies, leased land and hectare communities, and those living in urban centers.

Hectare Communities in Bessarabia 1940   DAI Film #317  A list in 1940 of 47 Hectare Communities in Bessarabia indicating district located in, date founded, number of residents, and number of German property owners in each community.

German Hectare Communities in Bessarabia 1940   DAI Film #317  Explains how hectare communities came into existence in 1920 and lists the names of both the pure German and the mix nationality hectare communities that developed up to 1940.

Bessarabian German Population Statistics 1827-1938   DAI Film #317  Lists birth and death rates in various government jurisdictions, regions, and some specific cities, among different occupations, between Lutherans and Catholics, and includes a document on student distribution in elementary, secondary and teacher training schools.

Bessarabia Before, During and After the German Settlements (12.6 mb Powerpoint presentation form 2010 Germans From Russia Heritage Society Convention)

Text to Powerpoint presentation

Parapara Farmyard Sketch from DAI Microfilm #318
Sketch of the Robert Keller farmyard in the Bessarabian village of Parapara around 1940. New March 2012

( Church    Resettlement    Family data    Village info)

Church Records

• Kloestitz Personnel Book 1847 Kloestitz Lutheran church records. Revision of version published in the Feb. 1988 Heritage Review

Resettlement History & Records

• Organizational Structure of Bessarabian Resettlement  from DAI Microfilm #318. This 12 page documents deals with the structure organized by the Reich to carry out the registration and resettlement of ethnic Germans living in Bessarabia in 1940. New March 2012
• Resettlement Minutes of 1940 from DAI Film #317
• List of Germans Living in Bessarabia at Resettlement from DAI Film #317
• Evacuation from Bessarabia and Bukovina  in 1940  from DAI Film #317  Ninty-five pages of documents dealing with the planning for an evacuation, land and water routes to be taken, number of people to be relocated, logistics in accomplishing the evacuation, and more. [original 2001; revised 2011]
• Resettlement Transit Camps in the Reich from DAI Film #320
• Resettlement Centers in Bessarabia-Bukovina-Dobrudscha from DAI Film #320
• Proposed Distribution of German Resettlers from Bessarabia and Bukovina from DAI Film #320
• Estimate of German Resettlers from Bessarabia and Bukovina from DAI Film #320
• Bessarabian Resettlement - Propaganda and Reports from DAI Film #321 The material covers a period from the end of 1938 to 1942
• List of those resettled from Kulm, Bessarabia in 1940
• Letter from Johann Karl Krause of Tarutino, Bessarabia from DAI Film #599
• Transit Resettlement Camps in Wuerttemberg/Hohenzollern from DAI Film #599
• Names of Transit Resettlement Camp Commanders from DAI Film #599 December, 1940
• Regions in the Reich Containing Transit Resettlement Camps from DAI Film #599
• Bessarabian Germans in Transit Resettlement Camps from DAI Film #599
  
• Age Distribution of Germans in Bessarabia as of 1940 From DAI Film #317
• Bessarabia-Bukovina Germans Resettled in Europe
  This document deals with the places in Bessarabia and Bukovina where ethnic Germans were gathered for the Resettlement of 1940, how many persons were processed, and where they were relocated to in Germany's homeland. From DAI Film #317
• Composite of Dialects Spoken by Bessarabian Germans
  A list of German villages in Bessarabia where the Swabian Dialect, the Low German Dialect, or a Mixture of Dialects were spoken. From DAI Film #317
• Distribution of Resettlement Numbers
  In order for people to be allowed to participate in the 1940 Resettlement movement out of Bessarabia and Bukovina, every man, woman and child had to have a number assigned to them upon registration. A person's number was usually attached to the outer garment so it would be visible to the authorities... From DAI Film #317
• Distribution of Resettlement Numbers - Individual Villages
  With a sequence of numbers distributed to the various districts in Bessarabia to assist in the processing of people agreeing to participate in the Resettlement in 1940, this document deals with how many numbers were handed out to individuals in the various villages of a given district. From DAI Film #317
• German Professionals in Bessarabia in 1939
  This document is a 1939 list of doctors, dentists, veterinarians, lawyers, teachers, certified agriculturalists, economists, industrialists, clergy, and architects that served in Bessarabia. It also indicates where they worked, where they did their studies and what languages, other than German, that they were conversant in. From DAI Film #317
• Industries of the Germans in Bessarabia
  This document lists the types of businesses and their proprietors in the German settlements in Bessarabia just prior to the Resettlement of 1940. From DAI Film #317
• Land Acreage Statistics for Bessarabian Villages in 1940
  This document contains a list of 73 ethnic German villages in Bessarabia, showing total hectares in farmland, vineyards, and other land as conditions stood in 1940. From DAI Film #317
• Leaders of the Bessarabia Administrative Region
  The National Socialist Party of Germany, prior to the Resettlement of ethnic Germans from Bessarabia in 1940, had structured itself in such a manner that various parts of Europe were divided into spheres of interest to the party and the military. This document is a list of personnel serving in the Bessarabia Administrative Region. From DAI Film #317
• List of German Communities in Bessarabia
  This original 8 page document contains the names of Bessarabian villages occupied by ethnic Germans shortly before the 1940 Resettlement, the name of each village's postal center, what administrative district the villages were located in, the year each village was established, the number of Germans living in a village, the number of non-Germans living in the village, and how many hectares of land in that community was  occupied/used by the Germans. From DAI Film #317
• List of Schabo Colony _ Posad Folks Eligible for Resettlement
  A list of persons of the Schabo settlements on the southeast section of Bessarabia, by the Black Sea, originally settled in 1822 by folks from Switzerland, who were to be considered eligible for the Resettlement of 1940. From DAI Film #317
• Mixed Marriage Registrations in Kischinev from  DAI Film #317.  A list of the names of those people of mixed marriage who participated in the 1940 Resettlement in the Ki-1 portion of the Kischinev transportation evacuation, their ethnic heritage, what their religious affiliation was, and other remarks. 
• Mixed Marriages in Bessarabia Villages
  This document contains a list of 536 married couples living in various villages in Bessarabia near to the time of the 1940 Resettlement. Their marriages are considered"mixed" because one spouse may not be of German heritage... From DAI Film #317
• Reich Germans Living in Bessarabia
  This original 3 page document contains the names of Reich Germans living in various Bessarabian villages before the 1940 Resettlement, along with their ages and occupations. From DAI Film #317
• Residents in Balabanka, Bessarabia in 1940
  A list of married couples living in Balabanka, Bessarabia prior to the Resettlement in 1940, sometimes listing number of children and their age range. From DAI Film #317
• Residents in Kantemir, Bessarabia in 1940
  A list of married couples living in Kantemir, Bessarabia prior to the Resettlement in 1940, sometimes listing number of children and their age range. From DAI Film #317
• Residents in Neu-Brienne, Bessarabia in 1940
  A list of married couples living in Neu-Brienne prior to the Resettlement in 1940, sometimes listing number of children and their age range. From DAI Film #317
• Statistics on Bessarabian Villages' Inhabitants and Wealth 1940
  This document contains a list of 77 ethnic German villages in Bessarabia, the number of inhabitants in each village and the total Romanian Lei value of property owned by each community in the Spring of 1940. From DAI Film #317
• The Nation of Germans in Romania Diagram
  The National Socialist Party of Germany, prior to the Resettlement of ethnic Germans from Bessarabia in 1940, had
  structured itself in such a manner that various parts of Europe were divided into spheres of interest to the party and the military. This document is a diagram, reproduced below in an 11"x17" tabloid format, of how that structure was put into practice for the region of Romania. From DAI Film #317

• Divisions Within Bessarabian Districts and Regional Zones for Resettlement Purposes
  With a sequence of numbers distributed to the various districts in Bessarabia to assist in the processing of people agreeing to participate in the Resettlement in 1940, this document identifies the code ascribed to each zone within a given district, the German and Romanian name of the zone village and the number of ethnic Germans in each zone.
• Ethnic Germans of Tarutino not joining the Resettlement of 1940
  A list of 13 persons from the village of Tarutino, Bessarabia who did not register for the 1940 Resettlement, stating their ages and reasons for not evacuating.
• Locations and Number of Ethnic Germans in Regional Zones for 1940 Resettlement
  This document identifies the code ascribed to each regional zone in Bessarabia for the 1940 Resettlement of ethnic Germans. The places within each zone are identified along with the number of ethnic Germans living in each village.
• Bessarabian German Population Statistics 1827-1938  DAI Film #317 Lists birth and death rates in various government jurisdictions, regions, and some specific cities, among different occupations, between Lutherans and Catholics, and includes a document on student distribution in elementary, secondary and teacher training schools.
• German Hectare Communities in Bessarabia 1940 DAI Film #317 Explains how hectare communities came into existence in 1920 and lists the names of both the pure German and the mix nationality hectare communities that developed up to 1940.
• List of Hectare Communities in Bessarabia 1940 DAI Film #317 A list in 1940 of 47 Hectare Communities in Bessarabia indicating district located in, date founded, number of residents, and number of German property owners in each community.

Family-specific information

• Benkendorf Colony Souls 1870 from DAI Film #623
  A list of 38 households in Benkendorf Colony, Akkermann District, Bessarabia
• Bessarabian Birth and Death Affidavits from DAI Film #608
  4 names included; Bodamer, Krause, Laeger, Vesper.
• Family Names from Questionnaires from DAI Film #606
  53 individuals from the families of Boehme, Gloeckler, Hahn, Kirsch, Kitzler, Kraft, Kurtz, Kurz, Reinhardt, Rommel & Sommer.
• Family Tree Questionnaires from DAI Film #317
  List of 788 names with dates and places of birth.
• German Families in Neu-Strymba Kischinev Parish 1938 from DAI Film #598
• Letter from Plotzk, Bessarabia 1841  from DAI Film #599
  A letter by Mr. and Mrs. Friedrich Schlechter about the 1840 trip from Württemberg to Russia, via Warsaw, and what life was like once they arrived in Bessarabia.
  (New February 2012)
• Lichtental Resettlers in Early 1800s from DAI Film #607
  Listing settlers who came first to Sarata or Gnadental and then resettled in Lichtental
• Names of Professionals 1939 from DAI Film #317
  List of 94 people, town of residence and type of profession

Village-specific information

• Arzis Colony Letter, 29 August 1818 from DAI Film #624
  From early settlers describing conditions since their emigration from Poland. Names include Drews, Griep, Hasp (?), Kluken, Koehntopff, Lenz, Mantey, Mellentin, Schultz, Tim, Voltz, Wakehut.
• German Bessarabian Villages and Year Established from DAI Film #598 Villages established between 1814 and 1929.
• Hoffnungsfeld, Bessarabia Letter, 11 June 1938 from DAI Film #624
  Letter describes life in the village and family names include Dürr, Herbeg, Lehmann, Rath, Reich, Richter and Tschritter.
• Letter from Katzbach, Bessarabia - 1816 from DAI Film #624
  Concerns life in Katzbach. Names of Beierback, Beutler, Finkbeiner, Grosshans, Guebler, Kromer, Mueller, Schlenker, Wittibachlaeger, Rauser, Velter.
• Land Ownership in Bessarabia from DAI Film #598
  Lists districts, villages, farmers owning land, farmers without land, and farm laborers.
• Neu Posttal Village Chronicle from DAI Film #608
  History of the founding of Neu Posttal in Akkermann District of Bessarabia including extracts of village events beginning in 1864.
• Occupations Age Gender Distribution in Various Bessarabian Towns from DAI Film #598 Statistics from about 1937-1940.
• Statistics on Bessarabian Villages during World War II from DAI Film #598 A brief profile on 133 villages in Bessarabia.
• Mathildendorf, Bessarabia  from DAI Microfilm #318
  Determining the founding ancestors of the folks from Mathildendorf and Neu-Mathildendorf while in the Auspitz Transition Camp during the Bessarabian Resettlement of 1940. (New March 2012)

Bessarabia Village Plat Maps (New March 2012)

DAI Microfilm T-81, #318 contains 104 sketches of Bessarabia, Bukovina and Dobrudscha village plat maps.  They were drawn by people who had been evacuated from these areas during the Resettlement in 1940.  Some are simple drawings showing rectangles for yards and the name of the head of household in the box while others show a village sketch where farmyard lots are identified, the number that was assigned to each, who occupied them, names of streets, roads leading to neighboring villages, indicating where rivers ran, the location of village streams and wells, cemeteries, churches, other public buildings, etc.

About This Village Plat Project

Alexanderfeld 8313a
Alexanderfeld 8313b
Alexanderfeld 8314a
Alexanderfeld 8314b
Alexanderfeld Residents

Alt-Oneschti 8353a
Alt-Oneschti 8353b
Alt-Onesc hti Residents

Alt-Posttal 8322a
Alt-Posttal 8322b
Alt-Posttal 8323a
Alt-Posttal 8323b
Alt-Posttal 8326a
Alt-Posttal 8326b
Alt-Posttal 8327
Alt-Posttal 8347a
Alt-Posttal 8347b
Alt-Posttal 8348a
Alt-Posttal 8348b
Alt-Posttal Residents

Balaktschelly 8309a
Balaktschelly 8309b
Balaktschelly Residents

Benkendorf Plat 8273a
Benkendorf Plat 8273b
Benkendorf Residents

Bergdorf pq Plat 8352a
Bergdorf pq Plat 8352b
Bergdorf Residents

Brienne Plat 8274a
Brienne Plat 8274b
Brienne Plat 8275a
Brienne Plat 8275b
Brienne Residents

Dennewitz Plat 8317a
Dennewitz Plat 8317b
Dennewitz Plat 8370a
Dennewitz Plat 8370b
Dennewitz Plat 8371a
Dennewitz Plat 8371b
Dennewitz Residents

Ebenfeld Plat 8331a
Ebenfeld Plat 8331b
Ebenfeld Plat 8332a
Ebenfeld Plat 8332b
Ebenfeld Plat 8375a
Ebenfeld Plat 8375b
Ebenfeld Residents

Eigenfeld Plat 8362a
Eigenfeld Plat 8362b
Eigenfeld Residents

Eigenheim Plat 8262a
Eigenheim Plat 8262b
Eigenheim Residents

Emmental Plat 8285a
Emmental Plat 8285b
Emmental Plat 8286
Emmental Plat 8312a
Emmental Plat 8312b
Emmental Residents

Friedenfeld Land Parcels 8366a
Friedenfeld Land Parcels 8366b

Friedensfeld Plat 8296a
Friedensfeld Plat 8296b
Friedensfeld Plat 8297a
Friedensfeld Plat 8297b
Friedensfeld Residents

Fuerstenfeld I Plat 8666
Fuerstenfeld I Residents

Fundu-Sarazika Plat 8334
Fundu-Sarazika Residents

Gnadenfeld Plat 8292a
Gnadenfeld Plat 8292b
Gnadenfeld Residents

Halle Plat 8338a
Halle Plat 8338b
Halle Residents

Hannovka Plat 8301a
Hannovka Plat8301b
Hannovka Plat 8302a
Hannovka Plat 8302b
Hannovka Residents

Helenovka Plat 8293a
Helenovka Plat 8393b
Helenovka Plat 8298a
Helenovka Plat 8298b
Helenovka Residents

Hirtenheim Plat 8356a
Hirtenheim Plat 8356b
Hirtenheim Plat 8357a
Hirtenheim Plat 8357b
Hirtenheim Plat 8358
Hirtenheim Plat 8359a
Hirtenheim Plat 8359b
Hirtenheim Residents

Hoffnungsfeld Plat 8278
Hoffnungsfeld Residents

Jargara Plat 8373
Jargara Residents

Jekaterinowka Plat 8300a
Jekaterinowka Plat 8300b
Jekaterinowka Residents

Kolatschofka Plat 8287a
Kolatschofka Plat 8287b
Kolatschofka Plat 8288a
Kotatschofka Plat 8288b
Kolatschowka Residents

Leowa Plat 8268
Leowa Plat 8376a
Leowa Plat 8376b
Leowa Residents

Luxemburg I Plat 8304
Luxemburg I Residents

Mannsburg Plat 8325a
Mannsburg Plat 8325b
Mannsburg Plat 8349a
Mannsburg Plat 8349b
Mannsburg Residents

Manukbejewka Plat 8394a
Manukbejewka Plat 8394b
Manukbejewka Plat 8395a
Manukbejewka Plat 8395b
Manukbejewka Plat 8396a
Manukbejewka Plat 8396b
Manukbejewka Residents

Maraslienfeld Plat 8319a
Maraslienfeld Plat 8319b
Maraslienfeld Plat 8320
Maraslienfeld Residents

Marienthal Plat 8377a
Marienthal Plat 8377b

Marienfeld Plat 8310a
Marienfeld Plat 8310b
Marienfeld Plat 8311a
Marienfeld Plat 8311b
Marienfeld Residents

Mathildendorf Plat 8343
Mathildendorf Plat 8344

Mischeni Plat 8374
Mischeni Residents

Neu-Alexanderowka Plat 8280a
Neu-Alexanderowka Plat 8280b
Neu-Alexandrowka Plat 8281a
Neu-Alexandrowka Plat 8281b
Neu-Alexandrowka Residents

Neu-Elft Plat 8321a
Neu-Elft Plat 8321b
Neu-Elft Residents

Neu-Kloestitz Plat 8399a
Neu-Kloestitz Plat 8399b

Neu-Luxemburg Plat 8259a
Neu-Luxemburg Plat 8259b
Neu-Luxemburg Plat 8260
Neu-Luxemburg Residents

Neu-Posttal Plat 8263a
Neu-Posttal Plat 8263b
Neu-Posttal Plat 8270a
Neu-Posttal Plat 8270b
Neu-Posttal Residents

Parapara Plat 8336
Parapara Residents

Plotzk Land Parcels Plat 8295a
Plotzk Land Parcels Plat 8295b
Plotzk Land Parcels Residents

Plotzk Plat 8261a
Plotzk Plat 8261b
Plotzk Residents

Sangerowka Plat 8283a
Sangerowka Plat 8283b
Sangerowka Plat 8283c
Sangerowka Residents

Sarata Plat 8355a
Sarata Plat 8355b

Schimke-Weiler Plat 8307a
Schimke-Weiler Plat 8307b
Schimke-Weiler Residents

Sofijewka Plat 8340a
Sofijewka Plat 8340b
Sofijewka Plat 8341a
Sofijewka Plat 8341b
Sofijewka Plat 8350a
Sifijewka Plat 8350b
Sofijewka Plat 8351a
Sofijewka Plat 8351b
Sofijewka Residents

Vladimirovca Land Parcels Plat 8367a
Vladimirovca Land Parcels Plat 8367b
Vladimirovca Land Parcels Plat 9368

 

Bukovina

Village-specific information

• Bukovina Village Names 1937 from DAI Film #318
• Bukovina Village Statistics 1937 from DAI Film #318
  Shows villages, district, number of inhabitants, and inhabitants' religion
• Farmyard in Southeran Bukovina  from DAI Microfilm #318
  A farmyard sketch by Wille Dürner of a German Farmyard in Southern Bukovina New March 2012
• Southern Bukovina German Villages - 1940   DAI Microfilm #318. A list of villages in Southern Bukovina which had ethnic Germans living in them at the time of the Resettlement of 1940. New March 2012

Village Plat Maps - Bukovina

Village Plat Map taken from DAI Microfilm T-81, #318

Eisenau Plat 8400a
Eisenau Plat 8400b
Eisenau Plat 8406
Eisenau Plat 8407
Eisenau Residents

Resettlement Records

• Estimate of German Resettlers
• Proposed Distribution of German Settlers
• Resettlement Centers in Bessarabia-Bukovina-Dobrudscha

Caucasus

Family-specific information

• Family Registers from Katharinenfeld, Georgia, Caucasus from DAI Film #624 Families of Johannes and Sarah Remp Speiser, Jakob and Anna Max Wiedmeier, Daniel Wiedmeier.

Village-specific information

• Bolshevik Destruction of Gnadenburg in the Caucasus from DAI Film #598 A verbal report about farmer Speimann as told by Oskar Franz Schardt. Published in the evening supplement of the "Stuttgart NS-Kurier" on 23 November 1936.
• Jekaterinodar Parish from DAI Microfilm #599
  Pastor Joh. Kludt’s wife reflecting on the work of her husband in Jekaterinodar, an Evangelical (Lutheran) village in the North Caucasus, also known by the German name of Gnadau, in the Kuban River District, established in 1871, and some activities of the Ladies’ Society of the parish. NEW May 2012
  

Chortiza

Family-specific information

• Marriages in Various Villages of Rayon Chortitza from DAI Film #607 Marriages in the villages of Alexejewka. Augustinowka, Belenjkoje, Bucharowka, Invalidenheim b. Lukaschewka, Ivangorod, Kujliesch, Lowchos Belenjkoye, Lowchos Lissa-Gora b. Belenjkoje, Marjewka, Otradnoje, Pechotinskoje, Portmaschewa, Pricoaljnoje, Rasumowka, Wessoloje.

Village-specific information

• German Settlements in the Chortitza District from DAI Film #607
  1942 report concerning the 19 German settlements on the west side of the Dnjepr, Dnjepropetrowsk General Region.

Crimea

Family-specific information

• Brief History of Andreas Demmler from DAI Film #599
  Summary report. His family history in the Volga and the Crimea, the severe famine of mid-1930s and the advance of the German Army.

Dobrudscha

Chronicle of the Village of Caratai, Dobrudscha   from DAI Microfilm #318 A brief account of how ethnic Germans happened to settle in the village of Caratai/Nisipari, located in the Romanian region of Dobrudscha. New March 2012

Resettlement records

• Resettlement Centers in Bessarabia-Bukovina-Dobrudscha
• Regions in the Reich with Transit Resettlement Camps
• Chronicle of  the Village of Caratai, Dobrudscha from DAI Microfilm #318. A brief account of how ethnic Germans happened to settle in the village of Caratai/Nisipari, located in the Romanian region of Dobrudscha. New March 2012

Village Plat Maps - Dobrudscha New March 2012

Village Plat Maps taken from DAI Microfilm T-81, #318

Atmagea Plat 8412a
Atmagea Plat 8412b
Atmagea Residents

Caratai Plat 8418a
Caratai Plat 8418b
Caratai Residents

Cataloi Plat 8416a
Cataloi Plat 8416b

Ciucurowa Plat 8397a
Ciucurowa Plat 8397b
Ciucurowa Residents

Cogealac Plat 8264a
Cogealac Plat 8264b
Cogealac Plat 8385a
Cogealac Plat 8385b
Cogealac Plat 8386a
Cogealac Plat 8386b
Cogealac Plat 8410a
Cogealac Plat 8410b
Cogealac Residents

Colelia Plat 8409a
Colelia Plat 8409b
Colelia Residents

Gross-Pallas Plat 8413a
Gross-Pallas Plat 8413b
Gross-Pallas Residents

Horoslar Plat 8393a
Horoslar Plat 8398b
Horoslar Residents

Mangeapunar Plat 8380a
Mangeapunar Plat 8380b
Mangeapunar Residents

Mereaua-Malcoci-Malkotsch Plat 8382a
Mereaua-Malcoci-Malkotsch Plat 8382b
Mereaua-Malcoci-Malkotsch Plat 8383a
Mereaua-Malcoci-Malkotsch Plat 8383b

Tari-Verde Plat 8420a
Tari-Verde Plat 8420b
Tari-Verde Residents

Grossliebental District

Family-specific information

• Grossliebental Deaths in Aug. and Sep. 1919 Insurrection from DAI Film #623 A list of 36 men killed in Grossliebenthal, Kherson District insurrection.
• Index Welfare Committee file 252-1-158 at Grossliebenthal January 1819
  

Kherson

Village-specific information

• German Settlements in Kherson Province in 1916 from DAI Film #606 Russian farm count of 1916, published by the District Administration of Kherson Province.
• Hoffnungstal Colony – An Historical Overview   from DAI Microfilm #599 A brief history of Hoffnungstal Colony, established in 1819, located northwest of Odessa, in the Glückstal Province of the Kherson Jurisdiction. New March 2012
• Kherson Archival Material on Germans in Russia from DAI Film #606 List of files and Revision Lists pertaining to the Germans, located by DAI staff workers in 1943 at the Kherson Archives.
• Pastor M.F. Schrenk in Glückstal – 1880 from DAI Microfilm #599 A pastor’s perspective on the conditions he finds himself called to as spiritual leader in the huge Lutheran Parish in the Kherson Jurisdiction villages around Glückstal and Neudorf.  Previously, he had served in Elisabethtal, Georgia, in the Caucasus. (New March 2012)

Kutschurgan

Village-specific information

• Index Welfare Committee file 252-1-277 Reports and voting lists of the Kutschurgan District 1820-1821

Mennonites

Family-specific information

Memories of Molotschna Colonies from DAI Microfilm #599
Memories of the Molotschna Mennonite colonies, in the Jekaterinoslaw Jurisdiction, as recorded by the wife of Pastor Kludt. (New April 2012)april

Map of Molotschna Mennonite Colonies from DAI Microfilm #599
Frame 5386468 as drawn by Hippenmeyer in 1852. (New April 2012)

Mennonites Emigrating from Prussia to Chortitza 1818 from DAI Film #606 List of names, ages and place of residence.

Mennonites Emigrating from Prussia to Chortitza 1818b from DAI Film #623 Some of the same information as DAI Film #606

Mennonites in Gouv. Jekaterinoslaw Revision List 1795 from DAI Film #606 Revision list of 1795; Colonists who arrived on 1 August 1789 and also in 1792. Gives age and place of residence.

Village-specific information

• Mennonite Villages in Russia from DAI Film #606, #607, #608
  Listing of Mennonite villages (some including their Russian names), districts in which they were located, name of village responsible for new settlement starts.
• Mennonite Settlements in Melitopol and Mariupol Districts from DAI Film #606 German Military Affairs document of 1941 dealing with the area of Kriwoi-Rog, Saporoshje, Dnjepropetrowsk, in the District of Melitopol and in the District of Mariupol including a brief historical sketch of these Mennonite areas.
• Mennonites in Europe, North & South America from DAI Film #606 Information about Mennonite migration to the Americas, dates when settlements were founded and number of inhabitants.

Taurida

Kaisertal-Taurida Lutheran Community 1832-1913  from DAI Microfilm #599. In commemoration of it's 75 years of existence (1832-1913), Pastor J. Stach, together with others from the community, put together a 33 page document commemorating the history of the Evangelical Lutheran community of Kaisertal in the Eugenfeld Volost, Melitopol District of the Taurida Gouvernement. New December 2011

Volhynia

Village-specific information

• Life in the German Villages around Shitomir, Volhynia from DAI Film #599 DAI assistant's report about ethnic Germans in the area around Shitomir, Volhynia, life on collective farms, school, the years of famine and banishment, and the arrival of the German troops in World War II.
• German Colonies Identified by Military Chaplain from DAI Film #606
  Identifies up to 40 German colonies within the Volhynia area occupied by the Army 1941
• Inhabitants of Pulin Rayon from DAI Film #606
  Total number of various ethnic inhabitants within 41 villages in the Pulin Rayon of Volhynia.
  

Other areas of old Imperial Russia

Family-specific information

Germans Living in Rayon Chorol in Don Kossack Region from DAI Film #606 List of names, date & place born

Germans Living in Rayon Kamenka 1941 from DAI Film #606
List of names, date & place born.

Germans Living in Rayon Prokrowskoje-Jekaterinoslaw from DAI Film #606 List of names, date & place born

Karl and Wilhelmine Knaut Death Certificate from DAI Film #624
Couple died at Libau, Latvia, a seaport city.

Kaisertal Settlers of 1838 from DAI Film #599 List of families who settled Kaisertal Colony in 1838, located in Taurida Gouv., Melitopal District, Eugenfeld Wolost. Extracted from a 75th Jubilee document of 34 pages.

Civilian Prisoners in Sselo Petrowkoje, Orenburg Province 1915 from DAI Film #606 (revised Mar. 2009) This region is east of the Volga River, by the Ural River, and was once populated by Mennonites from the Molotschna area although this particular document includes only Catholics, Evangelicals, Lutherans and Reformed of German and Austrian descent.

Village-specific information

• Belowesch Parish  from DAI Microfilm #599
  Pastor Johann Kludt’s wife giving a brief overview of the Belowesh Lutheran Parish in the Chernigov Gubernia of Russia. NEW May 2012
• German Settlements in the Dnjepropetrowsk General Region from DAI Film #607 1942 report concerning the 10 German settlements in the Districts of Dnjepropetrowsk, Petrikowka, and Werchnje-Dnjeprowsk, in the Dnjepropetrowsk General Region.
• German Settlements in the Korosten District from DAI Film #607
  1942 report concerning the 32 German settlements in the Korosten District, Shitomir General Region, including the Germans in the scattered settlements and Ukrainain small-market town of Goroschki and Korosten.
• German Settlements in the Kriwoj-Rog District from DAI Film #607
  1942 report concerning the 11 German settlements in the District of Kriwoj-Rog, including the scattered Germans in the surrounding Ukrainain villages and Apostolowo.
• German Settlements in the Kronau-Orloff District from DAI Film #607
  1942 report concerning the 26 German settlements of Kronau-Orloff (now Marienburg) District on the Ingulets River, south of Kriwoj-Rog near the Molotschna River.
• Ethnic German Settlement at Nestelejewka from DAI Film #606
  A letter from a German soldier on the Eastern Front in 1942 about the Lutheran village of Nestelejewka, near Losowaja/Charkow Province.
• Rynowka Parish  from DAI Microfilm #599
  Pastor Johann Kludt’s wife reflecting on the work of her husband in Rynowka, an Evangelical (Lutheran) village in the Don District of Russian. NEW May 2012
  

Deutsche Auslands Institut (DAI) Microfilms

These microfilms contain copies of documents captured from Germany by the U.S. after WWII. Many of the documents include information about our ancestors in Russia and during their resettlement back to Germany. Some of these documents are translated and available at this site. Other documents included in the indexes can be viewed on microfilm at the GRHS Library in Bismarck, ND. If you can't visit Bismarck, ND our headquarters personnelcan provide copies.

• DAI Film #317 - Index
  Documents dealing with transporting resettlers out of Bessarabia & Bukovina in 1940, German/Soviet negotiations for removal of settlers, statistics on inhabitants in various villages, family tree documents
• DAI Film #318 - Index
  Maps of Bessarabia & Romania, village plat maps, Bukovina District statistics, reports on Bukovina & Bessarabian people and villages, camp commander's diary, family tree questionnaires
• DAI Film #320 - Index
  List of resettlement camps, correspondence with camp leaders, reports on evacuation from Bessarabia
• DAI Film #321 - Index
  Continuation of Film #320, correspondence and reports dealing with resettlement, statistics on Bessarabian villages
• DAI Film #324 - Index
  News items about resettlers, propaganda literatures, articles about Galician & Volhynian German resettlement, pictures
• DAI Film #598 - Index and introduction
  Introduction includes a summary of the information included in each folder on this film
• DAI Film #599 - Index and introduction
  Introduction includes a summary of the information included in each folder on this film
• DAI Film #606 - Index and introduction
  Introduction includes a summary of the information included in each folder on this film
• DAI Film #607 - Index and introduction
  Introduction includes a summary of the information included in each folder on this film
• DAI Film #608 - Index and introduction
  Introduction includes a summary of the information included in each folder on this film
• DAI Film #623 - Index and introduction
  Introduction includes a summary of the information included in each folder on this film
• DAI Film #624 - Index

Welfare Committee records from Odessa Archive, Fond 252

Documents dealing with passports, character reference for travelers, voting lists, financial reports and Orphan Fund information of the Beresan District in South Russia. The microfilm indexed is located in the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia (AHSGR) library in Lincoln, NE.

• Overview of contents of Fond #252
• Index of file 252-1-158
  (Reports on individuals filed at Grossliebenthal in January 1819. A mix of German and Cyrillic documents.)
• Index of file 252-1-159
  (Reports, family lists, mutual consent documents of the Beresan District 1826-1833. A mix of German and Cyrillic documents.)
• Index of file 252-1-171
  (Reports, passports and travel documents of the Beresan District in 1819. A mix of German and Cyrillic documents.)
• Index of file 252-1-256a
  (Reports, household lists, instructions, lists of arrivals, vital statistics, sworn oaths of the Beresan District 1819-1830. A mix of German and Cyrillic documents.)
• Index of file 252-1-277
  (Reports and voting lists of the Kutschurgan District 1820-1821. A mix of German and Cyrillic documents.)
• Index of file 252-1-303
  (Reports from the Beresan District. A mix of German and Cyrillic documents.)
• Index of file 252-1-311
  (Financial pages and Orphan Funds of the Beresan District. A mix of German and Cyrillic documents.)
• Index of file 252-1-395
  (Reports from the Beresan District. Majority in Cyrillic.)
• Index of file 252-1-500
  (Lists of names and reports from Beresan District. A mix of German and Cyrillic documents.)
• Index of file 252-1-525
  (Cyrillic documents dated 1829)
• Index of file 252-1-527
  (Travel documents from the Beresan District. A mix of German and Cyrillic documents.)
• Index of file 252-1-528
  (Reports, written authority, death certificates from Beresan District about 1822. A mix of German and Cyrillic documents.)

Germany

Resettlement History & Records

• Resettlement Transit Camps in the Reich
• Names of Transit Resettlement Camp Commanders
• Regions in the Reich with Transit Resettlement Camps

Family-specific information

• Johann and Ursula Werner Family Tree from DAI Film #598
  Beginning in the 1600s in the Schorndorf, Giengen, Ludwigsburg area in Württemberg with Johann Georg and Ursula (geb. Kuenkel) Woerner/Werner.
• Werner Family Tree (more info) from DAI Film #599
  Johann Georg & Ursula (nee Kunkel) Woerner/Werner family information dealing with church and civil records for the period from 1634 to 1799 of the German towns of Ludwigsburg & Schorndorf (north of Stuttgart) and Giengen on the Brenz River (northeast of Ulm).
• Werner Family Baptisms at Schorndorf from DAI Film #598
  Names from Schorndorf, Württemberg area in 1600-1700s.
• Request to Emigrate from Hamm/Worms District, Germany about 1840 from DAI Film #623 Letter to Russian Emissary at Stuttgart in 1841 with request for approval for 11 families from Hamm/Hesse to go to Russia.
• Family Tree of Johannes Hammer from DAI Film #624
  Born 26 Oct 1783 at Allmersbach, Württemberg; several notations about moving to Poland.
• Nuertingen, Württemberg Release for Emigration from DAI Film #624
  Names and villages of 30 persons released for emigration, by permission from the emperor, through Oberamt Nuertingen, Württemberg.
• Potential Emigrants from Württemberg from DAI Film #624
  List of 297 people, places of residence, number in party who received permission in 1816 & 1817 to emigrate by authorities of the Kingdom of Württemberg.
• Reasons for Emigrating from Germany to Russia 1818-1820 from DAI Film #599 This document deals with the names of 17 persons and their reasons given for wanting to leave Oberamt Waiblingen and Vaihingen, Wuerttemberg and go to the Caucasus and Georgia in 1818-1820. It also contains reasons given by others for leaving West Prussia, Danzig, Marienwerder and Flatow in 1875-1880.

Prussia

• Pomeranian Colonies and Colonists - 1754  from DAI Film #317 This document provides a list of Pomeranian colonies and the names of the colonists who were settled there by Prussia’s King Friedrich II, “the Great”, in the years 1747-1754, the main period of Pomeranian colonization. It is a document that can give valuable family research information since most church books do not go back that far. (New Sept. 2011, Revised Mar 2012)

North America

Town History Books

• Fredonia, ND - 1954 Golden Anniversary & 1979 Diamond Anniversary
• Kulm, ND - 1892-1957
• Kulm, ND - 1967 Supplement

Churches

• Intro to Four County Project

Dickey County, ND

• Dickey Co. church photos
• Dickey Co. church info & photos
• Dickey Co. church histories (pdf) (posted Nov. 2008, revised Jan. 2010) Includes locations, contact information, histories of some churches, no photos

LaMoure County, ND

• LaMoure Co. church photos
• LaMoure Co. church info & photos
• LaMoure Co. church histories (revised Jan. 2010) Includes locations, contact information, histories of some churches, no photos
• LaMoure Co. Marriage Records 1883-1926 (extracted from county courthouse) (posted Nov. 2008)
• Kulm: St. Paul Lutheran Church, Baptism Records 1893-1994
• Kulm: St. Paul Lutheran Church, Confirmation Records 1897-1995
• Kulm: St. Paul Lutheran Church, Death Records 1895-2000
• Kulm: St. Paul Lutheran Church, Marriage Records 1894-1982

Logan County, ND

• Logan Co. church photos
• Logan Co. church info & photos
• Logan Co. church histories (revised Jan. 2010)
  Includes locations, contact information, histories of some churches, no photos

McIntosh County, ND

• Mcintosh Co. church photos
• McIntosh Co. church info & photos
• McIntosh Co. church histories (revised Jan. 2010)
  Includes locations, contact information, histories of some churches, no photos
  

Cemeteries

Dickey County, ND

• Dickey Co. cemetery photos

Photos of all headstones

• Dickey Co. cemeteries with photos
• Dickey Co. cemeteries (revised Jul. 2009)
  Includes locations, GPS, info on where records are kept, some names of persons buried, no photos

LaMoure County, ND

• LaMoure Co. cemetery photos
• LaMoure Co. cemeteries with photos
• LaMoure Co. cemeteries ( revised Jul 2009)
  Includes locations, GPS, info on where records are kept, some names of persons buried, no photos
• Burial Permits Filed at LaMoure County 1925-1970 (posted Jul 2010; revised Aug 2011)
  The first burial permit in the LaMoure Co. Courthouse is dated 1925. This 53-page document includes over 2,570 names. Along with the name, it includes a date of birth or age at time of death, the place of death, where buried, and date of burial. Cause of death has been excluded from this document for personal privacy reasons. Due to the page size of this document, the last column of information has also been excluded. This column shows those burial permits which noted the birth-place of the deceased, the names of parents or next of kin, whether the body was cremated or stored for burial at a later date, or the grave location in the cemetery where the body was buried.

Logan County, ND

• Logan Co. cemetery photos
• Logan Co. cemeteries with photos
• Logan Co. cemeteries (revised Jul. 2009)
  Includes locations, GPS, info on where records are kept, some names of persons buried, no photos

McIntosh County, ND

• McIntosh Co. cemetery photos (New August 2011)
• McIntosh Co. cemeteries with photos (posted Nov. 2008)
• McIntosh Co. cemeteries (revised Sep. 2009)
  Includes locations, GPS, info on where records are kept, some names of persons buried, no photos

South America

Village-specific information

Mennonites in Europe, North & South America
Information about Mennonite migration to the Americas, dates when settlements were founded and number of inhabitants.

We extend special thanks to Allen for sharing his research with us. He has devoted much energy and time in developing this work for your edification and use.