From Riches to Refugees

One of the three factories that my great-great-grandfather started. This was part of the letterhead. I have no idea what it says. My great-grandfather was born in the Ukraine, which was part of Russia at the time, and he was very involved in the family business. His father had started a blacksmith shop that expanded into numerous factories, where they produced farm machinery, such as threshing machines, reapers and a multi-bladed plow which became very popular. My great-grandfather experienced very prosperous years in his father’s business and they employed about 600 workers, Russian as well as German Mennonites. In 1915 they were forced to sell everything for next to nothing. Inflation, anti-German feelings, and nationalizing of lands and estates, brought poverty overnight. Not only that, but the Russian government pursued those they believed to have a lot of money and so my great-grandfather, with his growing family, moved around a lot, for fear of being imprisoned, as his brother was. In 1930 he escaped to China with most of the family, being led by a guide during the night, as they crossed the Amur River on sleds. By that time my grandmother, who was the oldest, was just married and stayed behind. About seventeen years later the family met up in Paraguay. (You can read about my grandmother's experiences of when she was left behind here.)

My paternal Great-Grandparents, Gerhard & Elisabeth, before they lost all and had to flee for their lives.