They Meet Again after 61 Years

Heinrich (Henry) Müller was Emil's nephew, the son of his oldest sister, Emilie. Henry had been at Emil's wedding when Emil married Adolina in Ukraine, USSR, in April 1928. At that time he (Henry) was 16 years of age. At the beginning of WWII, Henry was exiled to the east, and put into a 'slave army' that did the very hard labour jobs for the Russian Army. Many men died doing that work, but Henry survived. Later, after the war, he became a butcher. It was always his life-long dream to once again see his Uncle Emil in Canada.

That became possible in 1989, when he and his wife, Hermina, left their home in Kazakhstan to visit Henry's relatives in Canada for a few months. The invitation for their visit was arranged by Henry's first cousin from Kitchener, Frieda Kaethler. Here is a picture taken when Henry had his first chance to meet Emil after 61 years. The Brant News, a weekly paper at that time, did a story about the re-union, and this picture was the one that appeared in that newspaper. This picture was taken as Emil and Henry looked at maps and recalled the places they had lived in Russia.

Seated are Henry Müller (centre) and Emil Neumann (right). Standing is David Neumann, Henry's first cousin, and Emil's youngest son. Emil was born in 1900, and at the time of this visit had been in Canada for 60 years, having arrived in the spring of 1929.

During the time Henry and Hermina were here in Canada, the Berlin Wall came down, and communism was on the verge of collapse. It was very interesting watching this unfold on TV while Henry and Hermina made comments. During their time here we heard many stories, learned a great deal about their life in the USSR, and developed a keen interest in our family history. Henry and Hermina went back to the USSR after their 5 months stay in Canada. A short time later they received permission to emigrate to Germany where they lived out their final years in peace and relative comfort.

Their journey began 80 years ago this week

Korosten, Ukraine – March 25, 1929 the journey begins

We know from information and stamps on their passports that Emil and Adolina were in Korosten in March 1929. On March 25th they were in Korosten to get their passports, and to exchange currency for the journey ahead. Korosten is a city in the northern part of Ukraine in the region of Volhynia. Here is a link to a modern website that shows some pictures of Korosten. http://ukrainetrek.com/korosten-ukraine-city.shtml Korosten celebrated its 1300th anniversary in 2005. Take a look at this link; there are some really interesting facts and pictures. Be sure to scroll down to see the strange protective gear from soviet times. They look like space invaders.

Elfrieda and I were in Korosten in May 2008, and were told by our tour guide that many, many immigrants began their journey to the new world (USA & Canada) from this station. It was from the train station in Korosten that Emil and Adolina left for Moscow for final permission to leave the USSR and to enter Canada. You will find pictures of the train station in an earlier blog posting.

March Report

In 1929 Emil and Adolina chose to leave the USSR and set off for a new life in Canada. The previous year, 1928, they had married (April 4) in southern Ukraine near Zaporozhia, and in October 1928 travelled together to Zhytomir, Ukraine, to make initial application for passports, and permission to leave the country. Zhytomir is a large city in the province of Wolhynsk (Volhynia). Emil’s grandfather, Christian Neumann, lived in the nearby village of Ostrowka. No doubt the newly married couple visited Emil's grandfather on this occasion.

March events
Activities related to their plans to leave USSR for Canada moved forward , and things started to happen in earnest in March 1929. Emil and Adolina were issued their permission to apply for a passport in Zhytomir, Ukraine (Region of Wolhynsk or Volhynia) on March 16th. Here is what Wikipedia says about Zhytomir: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhytomyr On March 25th they were issued their passports in the town of Korosten (north of Zhytomyr). They probably left from here to Moscow by train, as this was a common departure point for many emigrants. More details about these two March activities (March 16 & 25) are available below in my earlier January 11, 2009 blog posting.

Other March events involving Emil’s descendants:
March 3rd: Three people celebrate their birthdays on March 3rd. Angela (1955), wife of Larry, (Emil’s grandson), Lois (1965), daughter of Linda (Emil’s daughter), and Courtney (1986), daughter of Ron (Emil’s grandson).
March 8th: Emil’s father, Johann, was born in Volhynia, Ukraine, in 1866. He died in 1905.
March 15th: Emil married his fifth wife, Lena (Helen), on this day in 1969. Lena was born on March 24 (1910), also in Ukraine.
March 23rd: Terry (Emil's grandson) was born in 1957.
March 25th: Chris, husband of Tracy (Emil’s granddaughter), was born in 1970.
March 26th: Paul (Emil’s grandson) married Jean in 1991.

Be sure to watch for the April Report. A lot of things happen that month.