The Death Tolls

A meticulous written record was made of the death tolls on what was called "Schreckenstage" ("Terror-Days" in German) by my Mennonite ancestors in the Zagradovka Colony. The lists of those killed by Nestor Makhno and his bloodthirsty militia are grouped by village, and the manner in which they were slain was also documented. Some names may appear to be duplicates, but each listing is a different person. It was very common for firstborn sons to be named after their father, or for that matter, to be named after someone else in the extended family.

Despite their attempts at accuracy, at least three dozen missing were never found, most of which were from Muensterberg. That village had a population of about 100, and of those, only one woman and one other family survived, the latter of which hid inside their chimney. The village was almost entirely burned, and many remains could not be recovered or identified. Today, the outlines of building foundations at what was once Muensterberg can still be seen in Google Earth or other mapping programs at coordinates  47°32'0.64"N  33°16'10.15"E ...now the ruins serve as gravestones to the missing. Of the more than 230 victims of the Terror-Days, below is the list of casualties they were able to identify.

          November 29, 1919, Gnadenfeld:

1. Gerhard Schellenberg Sr – shot
2. Peter Wiebe Sr – shot
3. David Koehn – shot and burned
4. Abram Isaak – shot
5. Johann Wiebe – shot
6. Peter J. Koop – murdered in a Russian village
7. Abram Warkentin – murdered in a Russian village
8. Johann Kliewer – shot
9. Johann Klassen – shot
10. Gerhard Wiebe – chopped to pieces
11. Johann Doerksen – chopped to pieces
12. unknown non-Mennonite – chopped, shot, and burned 
    
    
    November 29, 1919, Reinfeld: 
13. Herman Bahnmann – slaughtered
14. Heinrich Epp – shot and burned
15. his wife, Elizabeth Epp – shot and burned
16. their infant daughter Liese – shot and burned
17. their daughter Katharina – shot and burned
18. Aaron Epp – chopped to pieces
19. Kornelius Warkentin – chopped and burned on a haystack
20. Heinrich Koop – chopped and shot
21. Peter Funk – shot
22. Abram Funk – shot
23. Johann Klassen – shot and chopped on the oven bench
24. Mrs. Klassen – chopped
25. Peter Boschmann – shot
26. Gerhard Boschmann – burned
27. Peter Bahnmann – chopped, shot, and burned
28. Mrs. Jakob Reimer – shot
    
    
     November 29, 1919, Orloff:
29. Heinrich Wiens (age 62) – shot
30. Rev. Peter Martens – shot
31. Wilhelm Peter Martens – chopped
32. Abram Walde – chopped, died slowly
33. Kornelius Nickel – shot
34. Peter Isaak – chopped and shot
35. Isbrand Friesen (visiting from Schoenau) shot and burned
36. Jakob H. Wiens – shot
37. Jakob Klassen – shot through the head
38. Nikolai Harder – chopped to pieces
39. Johann Lammert – chopped to pieces
40. Jakob Koehn of Altonau – shot
41. Peter Koehn of Altonau – shot
42. Diedrich Neufeld Sr – shot
43. Johann D. Neufeld – chopped and shot
44. Heinrich Wiebe Sr (age 73) chopped and stabbed in bed
45. Jakob H. Wiebe – chopped and shot
46. Jakob J. Wiebe Jr – shot
47. Jakob Adrian Sr – shot
48. Abram Walde (age 75) – shot
49. Wilhelm Fr. Martens – shot through the heart
50. Gerhard Wall (age 77) – shot while sitting in a chair
51. Johann Peters – shot and burned
52. Heinrich Wall – shot and burned
53. Peter Wiebe – chopped to pieces in bed
54. Mrs. Peter Wiebe – chopped to pieces in bed
55. Heinrich Neufeld (teacher) – shot in schoolroom
56. Johann Toews (teacher) – shot in schoolroom
57. August Penner – chopped
58. Heinrich D. Jager of Tiege (young student) – chopped
59. Wilhelm Peters – slaughtered with a saber
60. Liese Lammert – chopped to pieces
61. Jakob W. Penner (sick with typhoid fever) – chopped in bed
62. Johann Heinrichs – shot
63. Wilhelm Penner – chopped
64. David Block – chopped
65. Johann Siemens – shot
66. Kornelius Willms of Tiege – perished from wounds
67. Maria Reimer – chopped
68. Heinrich P. Siemens – shot and burned
69. Rev. Jakob T. Friesen – decapitated
70. Jakob Heinrich Duerksen of Neuhalbstadt (young student) – chopped
71. Johann W. Martens (age 73) – hands torn apart by mushrooming bullet, died 6 days later
72. Peter Klassen – sword wounds to head, died slowly
73. Gerhard G. Bargen of Alexanderfeld (student) – chopped 21 times, suffered long before death
    
    
     November 29, 1919, Tiege:
74. Johann Giesbrecht Sr – shot
75. Gerhard Schroeter – chopped
76. Peter Buller – chopped
77. Rev. Wilhelm Duekmann – chopped and shot
78. Jakob Braun – chopped, stabbed, and shot
79. Franz F. Klassen (teacher) – shot
80. Heinrich Isaak – shot
81. Heinrich de Fehr of Altonau – shot
82. Abram P. Dyck – chopped and burned
83. Olga – servant of Apothecary A. Gauderer – shot
84. Heinrich Friesen – shot
85. Isaak Tschetter (a miller) – shot
86. Isaac de Jager – shot
87. Johann Krause – chopped and shot
88. Peter Lammert – chopped and shot
89. Johann J. Martens – shot
90. Heinrich A. Fast – shot
    
    
    November 29, 1919, Muensterberg:
91. Abraham Reimer – chopped and burned
92. his wife, Emilie Reimer – died from a heart attack
93. their son Gerhard – chopped with a saber
94. their son Willie – chopped with a saber
95. their daughter Emilie – chopped with a saber
96. Johann Friesen – chopped and shot
97. Jakob Duekmann – chopped and shot
98. his wife, Maria Duekmann – chopped and shot
99. their son, Jacob – chopped and shot
100. their daughter Maria – chopped and shot
101. their son Peter – chopped and shot
102. Peter P. Goossen – chopped and burned
103. his wife, Maria Goossen – chopped and burned
104. Rev. Abraham Regehr – chopped and burned
105. his wife, Helene Regehr – chopped and burned
106. Johann A. Regehr – chopped and burned
107. his wife, Helene Regehr – chopped and burned
108. their infant daughter Lena (14 days old) burned alive in her cradle
109. Sarah A. Warkentin of Friedensfeld – chopped
110. Wilhelm Jakob Martens – chopped and burned
111. his son Jakob – chopped and burned
112. his son Kornelius – choppped and burned
113. his son Heinrich – chopped and burned
114. his daughter Mariechen – chopped and burned
115. his daughter Sarah – chopped, suffered for many days before dying
116. Heinrich P. Thiessen – chopped and burned
117. his wife, Maria Thiessen – chopped and burned
118. all their children, Helene – chopped and burned
119. Heinrich – chopped and burned
120. Anna – chopped and burned
121. Peter – chopped and burned
122. Aaron – chopped and burned
123. Maria – chopped and burned
124. Maria Martens nee Peters – chopped and burned
125. her son Willie – chopped and burned
126. her son Johann – chopped and burned
127. her daughter Anna – chopped and burned
128. her daughter Helene – chopped and burned
129. her son Jakob – chopped and burned
130. her daughter Mariechen – chopped and burned
131. Johann Wiebe – chopped and burned
132. his wife, Katharina Wiebe – chopped and burned
133. their daughter Helene – chopped and burned
134. Jakob A. Regehr – chopped and burned
135. his wife, Maria Regehr nee Toews – chopped and burned
136. their son Abraham – chopped and burned
137. their daughter Liese – chopped and burned
138. their daughter Lenchen – chopped and burned
139. their son Jakob – chopped and burned
140. their daughter Margaretha – chopped and burned
141. their daughter Tinchen – chopped and burned
142. Bernhard Langermann – chopped and burned
143. his wife, Maria nee Reimer – chopped and burned
144. their son Johann – chopped and burned
145. their son Gerhard – chopped and burned
146. their daughter Elisabeth – chopped and burned
147. their daughter Anna – chopped and burned
148. Daniel P. Goossen – chopped and burned
149. his wife, Maria Goossen – chopped and burned
150. Heinrich Ott – chopped and burned
151. his wife Anna Ott – escaped to Shestirnya, but were slain and eaten by dogs & pigs
152. Katharina Wolf – escaped to Shestirnya, but were slain and eaten by dogs & pigs
153. Heinrich Wolf – chopped in Shestirnya
154. Johann Wiebe – chopped and burned
155. Gerhard Bergen – chopped and burned
156. his wife, Anna Bergen – chopped and burned
157. Heinrich Enns – chopped and burned
158. Rev. Jakob J. Wiens – chopped and burned
159. Peter Johann Wiebe – chopped and burned
160. Peter Goossen Sr – chopped and burned
161. Katharina Klippenstein nee Goossen – chopped and burned
162. Helene Klippenstein – chopped and burned
163. Gerhard Reimer Sr – chopped and burned
164. his wife, Mrs. Reimer – chopped and burned
165. their daughter Katharina – chopped in the street
166. Gerhard Friesen (an infant) – burned alive in the cradle
167. Gerhard Goossen – chopped and burned
168. Peter P. Goossen Jr – chopped
169. Grandmother widow Giesbrecht – chopped and burned
170. Bernhard Giesbrecht – chopped and burned
171. his wife, Mrs. Giesbrecht – chopped and burned
172. their son Bernhard – chopped and burned
173. their daughter Elisabeth – chopped and burned
174. their daughter Anna – chopped and burned
175. widow Huebert – chopped in a Russian village
176. Abram A. Friesen – chopped in a Russian village
177. Friedrich Wunsch – chopped in Shestirnya and eaten by dogs
178. David Nickel – chopped and burned
179. Johann Nickel – chopped and burned
180. Heinrich Nickel – chopped and burned
181. Johann D. Martens (teacher) – chopped and burned
182. Klaas Enns – chopped and burned
183. Katharina D. Friesen (infant) – killed while suckling (mother survived her wounds)
184. Heinrich Buegler – chopped
185. widow Klippenstein – died of a heart attack
186. Abraham Schwarz – chopped
187. Kornelius Klippenstein – missing without a trace
     
     
     December 1, 1919, Schoenau:
188. Jakob Neufeld
189. Johann Pauls
190. Rev. Martin Hamm – chopped and shot
191. Jakob Unruh Sr
192. Mrs. Unruh
193. Jakob Nickel Sr
194. Johann Wiebe – abused and shot
195. Jakob Wiebe – abused and shot
196. Franz of Reisen
197. Abraham Franz
198. Franz Nickel
199. Abram Quiring – shot a few days later on the street
     
     
     February, 1920, Neu Schoensee:
200. Jakob D. Janzen – shot in a surprise night attack
     
     
     August, 1922, Blumenort:
201. Franz Kroeker – slain on his way to town
202. Abram Wiebe – beaten, choked with reins
203. Johann Goertzen – beaten, choked with reins
204. his son – beaten, choked with reins
     
     
     
     

 "Mass grave in Orloff, holding 58 bodies" (although Orloff suffered only 45 casualties, others may have likely been brought there because of its centralized location in the colony.) The grave was approximately 77 feet long. The bottom of the grave was lined with straw, and another layer of straw was blanketed over those laid to rest before they were buried.

Orloff is one of the few villages in the Zagradovka Colony that still has the same name today, though the Ukrainians adjusted the spelling to "Orlove." Of course, Zagradovka is now "Zahradivka" and lies just 4.5 miles northeast of Orlove. I wonder if the Ukrainian citizens today are aware of their local history, and the events that took place there a lifetime ago.