Alexandrowka Village
The oldest German
village in Siberia has turned 120 Alexandrowka looks back on an exciting
history. A German village in the Omsk region - the hometown of Alexander
Wormsbecher (1914-2007), teacher, painter and passionate amateur historian.
With great dedication and love for details Alexander Wormsbecher documented the
history of his hometown. In 1993, in time for the 100th anniversary of
Alexandrovka, he presented his book "A German Village in Siberia".
The next 20 years brought some tough rehearsals for both the village and the
country itself. In these 20 years there have been many changes in the lives of
the villagers, because it was mainly the rural area that was particularly
affected. More than 20,000 villages have disappeared from the map of Russia
forever, another 47,000 are close to it, because there live on average under
ten people, mostly seniors. 120 years are a long time for every village in
Russia. The longer she is for a Siberian village, which successfully fights the
hopeless statistics.
The full Alexander
Wormbecher´s book, in bilingual edition –German and Russian – is published
online at:
Page 43: List of
people affected by repression at different times (according to the villagers) -full list in the book
Page 44: List of
rehabilitated persons (according to the 1991 Rayon newspaper)
Page 59: 2/.08.141 Deported list of people from the
village Hussenbach of the Frank Rayon of the ASSR of the Volga Germans. They
were the following names:
Page 66/70: List of
the Trudarmists (according to memories of the inhabitants), 325 surnames
listed.
…
“Successful cultivation of cereals in Siberia
The German village of Alexandrovka, located near
Omsk, is 100 years old. Until the 1990s, the Siberian steppes in Russia were
considered unsuitable for growing cereals. Mainly for lack of rainfall. But the
land crisis in the central part of the Reich had the governing body revise this
view. Behind the Urals, a commission was sent by the Tsarist Government, which
came to the conclusion that cereals can also be cultivated in Siberia. And
peasants moved to the east ... Among the first settlers there were also some
German families in Omsk county. In the summer of 1893, they founded a village
on the shores of Kos-Kol Lake (Kosch-Kul), which they called Alexandrowka. The
anniversary of the village was solemnly celebrated on a grand scale. The
preparations had taken a long time, every little thing was considered. The
administration of the German National Association of Azov was not stingy with
labor or money. After all, it was about the first German village on the Omsk
soil. As scheduled, a stadium was completed in 105 Alexandrowka, erected a
memorial and opened a museum. Alexander Wormsbecher, the painter who has lived
here since 1941 and taught for years at the local school, wrote a chronicle of
the village. She appeared in Omsk in German and Russian. The hundredth
anniversary of Alexandrovka was dedicated to a number of the district newspaper
"Your newspaper" and an edition of this newspaper only in German. The
largest part of the latter - around 4000 copies - was sent to Germany with the
help of the VDA. And now the party ... Among the guests were representatives of
the Federal Republic of Germany. Susanne Richards from the UK. Guests from Omsk
and other villages of the county and area were not counted. In the central
street of the village rejoiced, hustle and bustle, cheerfulness. The offer at
the stalls could be seen. In the culture house ran a video about Alexandrowka.
Athletes measured their strength in the stadium. It came to memorable
encounters. Five families of the former Alexandrovka arrived with their own
cars from Germany for a party. Some reached their former home village by air.
Especially since one month the route Omsk - Orenburg - Hannover works. Of
course, her skills were shown by amateur artists. The teenagers swung the dance
leg. Two jet planes performed aerobatics above the village, parachutists landed
on the stadium. That was probably the pinnacle of the festival, which ended
with fireworks. New Life newspaper, 1993” (from pages 104/105)
Google translated
pages 104/105
Pages 150/155: immigrants list, listed by year
Much more info about Alexandrowka, and a great photo album, at the prementioned link.
More info about Azov District: http://siedlung.rusdeutsch.ru/ru/Siedlungsorte/49?c=1
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