The following is an excerpt from “History of the Diocese of Tyraspol (part 11),” from the Germans from Russia Heritage Society's journal, Heritage Review. It is part of a long series about the history of the Catholic diocese in Russia, written by Joseph Aloysius Kessler, Titular Archbishop of the Bosphorus and previous Bishop of Tyraspol. Initially published in the German language in 1930, it has been translated into English by Rev. Horst Wilhelm Gutsche from Barrhead, Alberta, Canada. Installments of the book have been appearing in Heritage Review since March 2017.
The phrase “leave just after sunset and not after sunrise” has more or less haunted me for weeks.
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According to the manifest of July 22, 1763, paragraph VI, n: I 4, whereby Empress Catherine II had invited the German colonists, these were to be forever exempt from military service: “Such settling foreigners in Russia are, during their entire sojourn here, apart from normal agricultural service, not to be taken into military or civil service against their will.” For 100 years the German colonists were glad because of this privilege. However, when military conscription was extended in 1874 to include the Russian nobility and the Russian merchant class of the first estate, the colonists also had their privileges taken away. However, the government gave them an alternative: either emigrate or serve in the military. Thousands of colonists in the Volga region, particularly Catholics, decided to emigrate. The emigration became the topic of daily conversation. Everyone cherished the desire to leave Russia. This was proof of the fact that the German people in Russia did not feel at home. If the Volga Germans had been able to come up with the necessary funds, probably only a few would have remained behind in the Russian homeland. Nevertheless, the removal of the military privileges would have not caused this general attitude to be brought about. Its causes lay deeper.
“The government gave them an alternative:
either emigrate or serve in the military.”
At one time, the colonists felt themselves to be foreign in the empire of the tsar as one always looked upon them as being foreigners. The Russian does not consider all non-Russian citizens as having equal rights and as loyal subjects. He always sees them as being foreign invaders. When during the war, a German colonist, a member of the imperial duma held a speech concerning the welfare of the fatherland, many from the rows of Russians called out: “Which fatherland: Russia or Germany?” How often did the German colonists, ever since they stood in more regular contact with the Russian population, experience how very much they were envied and even hated because of their higher standard of living? The consciousness of being envied and hated by the great mass of the Russian population did not easily allow the German colonist to have the feeling of equality with the other citizens. If, for this reason, there was a lack of devotion to the fatherland on the part of some colonists, then the fault must be looked for not so much in them but much more in the general population of the country. A second cause, why the German colonist never felt very good, lay in the different psyche of the Germans and his Russian surroundings. By nature, the German is open-hearted, rugged, hardy, and without guile. The exact opposite is found in the character of the Russian farmer. For this reason, the Volga colonists invented the saying: “The Russian has a Russian in his breast.” However, proverbs originate from the deep conviction of a people and are based on general experience. The third reason why the desire to emigrate and to leave Russia took hold of almost all of the colonists was the poor judicial system. As long as the guardianship office and the offices made decisions concerning the legal issues among the colonists, the colonists had enough legal protection. The leaders of the communities and the administrators had the power to bring serious crimes to court and to pass judgment upon them. The administrators had the power to sentence brutal criminals with corporal punishment. They could even have people punished with rods. With the introduction of the “Russian rules,” that is, since 1874, these rights were withdrawn from them. The judicial cases were handled in the county cities, or in the case of important issues, even in the governments. Corporal punishment was abolished. Russian justice often even let the serious criminals go without punishment. The people were convinced of the fact that the judges allowed the thieves to go without punishment so that they could steal even more and could divide that which was robbed with the judges. As a result of the poor handling of justice, whole bands of horse thieves were formed who often drove away all of the livestock belonging to the farmers. No complaint, no protest to the government official solved anything. With this state of affairs, the people turned to self-defense. Murder and killing of the thieves and swindlers was not unheard of in some of the colonies. Actually, the lack of legal protection was one of the main reasons why the best colonists left Russia. Together with others, it even caused Balthasar Brungardt, the leader of the emigrants from the colony of Herzog, to say farewell to Russia forever, as the aged gentleman himself told the author of this diocesan history while he was visiting America.
“...They taught the colonists to leave just after sunset
and not after sunrise....referring to America and not
to the old homeland of Germany...
It had to be better in America than in Russia.”
Even the Jesuits, who led the pastoral ministry among the colonists for about eighteen years in the Volga region, suspected that the Germans would not remain in Russia forever. In case of emigration, they taught the colonists to leave just after sunset and not after sunrise. Without a doubt, they were referring to America and not to the old homeland of Germany. Since the Russian state needed the Volga Germans as a human bulwark against the assaults of the wild nomadic peoples of the East, the Kyrgyz and the Kalmycks, the priests could not speak directly and openly. With the term “toward sunset,” one could also have meant the old homeland. But the colonists could return to the old homeland. This was not considered to be a crime by the Russian state. The elders now were reminded of the advice given by the “Jesuviter,” as the people called them. According to them, it had to be better in America than in Russia. Considerations such as these affected the Catholic German farmers in the Volga region. Nevertheless, the Catholic colonies of the Meadow and Hilly Sides (on both sides of the Volga) decided to send scouts to North and South America. These were to explore the land to see if it was suitable for agriculture and to enter into negotiations with the government officials concerning the allotment of sections of land. Those so authorized travelled through many states of North America, Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay. According to the report of the authorized delegation, the conditions for immigration were most favorable in the states of North America. For this reason, the first stream of Catholic emigrants from the Volga region poured into the United States of North America. A second movement from the Catholic Volga colonies went to Argentina. In 1926, the colonies in the state of Kansas celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of their settlement in the New World. However, Kansas is a state in the middle of the [United] States which often suffer from a lack of rain and therefore from failed harvests. Nevertheless, as the author of this history witnessed personally during his visit to America in the year 1922, the valiant fellow brethren of the same heritage, by means of diligence and prudence have set themselves up so well in such a short period of time that they helped to still the hunger of their unfortunate relatives in Russia by generous gifts given to them in the years of famine caused by Bolshevism. Once again, let me heartily thank the dear benefactors for their kind and willing cooperation and the dear reception which they prepared for the author and his ministerial traveling companion!
“Catholic colonies...decided to send scouts to North and South America...through many states of North America, Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay... to explore the land to see if it was suitable for agriculture...”
“Since 1876, many immigrated at various times to the
New World from the south of the diocese of Tyraspol,
mostly to the United States of America. Most of them settled
in North and South Dakota... By means of their great
courage, prudence, and diligence, they will soon be better off than in their former Russian homeland.”
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