Susie Hildebrandt Driedger

 born 1927, Neuenburg, Russia

When I was about two years old, I remember being in our orchard where my father lifted me so I could pick a big red apple. My parents were Gerhard and Maria Dahl Hildebrandt. Our family lived in Neuenburg, Chortitza, a small Mennonite village with about 400 people. I had two younger brothers Gerhard (George) and Henry. One brother died at four years.

I remember being hungry and asking my mother for something to eat. She gave me a slice of cooked red beet and told me not to show it to my friends. There was not enough for everyone. This was in the early spring of 1933.

I started school when I was eight years old. The first four years were in Neuenburg; the school had two rooms with two grades in each room and two teachers. I remember a Mr. Lehn and a Mr. Isaak. After that we needed to go to the next village of Neuendorf. We walked seven kilometers every day as long as the weather was nice. In late fall and winter we stayed in a dormitory and came home only for weekends. I went as far as grade six before the German occupation in 1941. It took a while to organize school, especially in the higher grades. Many needed to go to work to help earn a living, especially when their fathers were sent to Siberia. So that was the end of my school days.

On June 29, 1941 the war with Germany began. Everyone was very frightened. As the front moved closer, enemy planes flew over and much ground fire was heard; we could hear the shrapnel hitting the ground. Then the airplanes with machine guns came nearer.

On August 18, we had to leave Neuenburg in a large ladder wagon, each loaded with six families. We were to cross the Dnieper to the left bank. It was a hot, dry, dusty day and the roads were filled with refugees and livestock of all types. The distance to Chortitza was 8 kilometres; it took us until 3 o'clock when we rested, fed the horses and had our lunch. Suddenly the police arrived and told us to cross the Dnieper right away. But the police disappeared.

We started again, but progress was slow along the crowded roads. The first wagon turned onto a side road and ended up in the Rosentaler Orchards, and the other wagons followed. As we prepared supper, we thanked God for guidance. The sun was already setting so we were prepared to stay overnight here. However, at the other end of the orchard, the military was stationed and when they noticed us an officer came and explained to our men that this was battle zone. They sent us into the valley below. There we got ready to sleep under the stars and Dad fed the horses.

We had our cow along. In the morning, after breakfast, some of us went looking for water. We found a spring over the hill in the next valley. But when the shooting started, we returned quickly without water. All day long there was shooting across our valley. Two airplanes were engaged in a dogfight with their machine guns above us and then they flew apart again. The valley was deep with thick underbrush so it was very hot and we were very thirsty. All we had was milk from our cows and the food we had brought along. At dusk it grew more quiet and we settled down to sleep another night under the stars. Everybody found something to eat and we had milk from our cow. As dawn came, several German officers came to inquire as to who we were. They were amazed that we spoke German.

We were allowed to drive our wagons home again. We reached the top of the hill and the Russian planes came and started shooting at us with their machine guns. This was very scary, but no one was hurt. We reached our house; it was occupied by German military. No one from our village was missing; we were very thankful to God.

The front stayed at the Dnieper until October. This made many refugees in the area; all those who had lived near the Dnieper became refugees. Our large house was filled with refugees and when evening came we were thankful that everyone had eaten and was satisfied.

As things improved, the village people felt that a Thanksgiving Service would be in order. Our barn was cleaned out, benches were brought in and makeshift benches were made. Uncle Heinrich Winter, father of Reverend Henry Winter of Leamington, was our pastor. Many people came to the event; it was very crowded and many stood, some even stood outside and listened. Uncle Heinrich Winter preached and we all sang. This was our first worship service in many years and we were all thankful to be home again.

For two years we all worked hard and were happy to have church services and Sunday School again. Then in 1943, the Germans started to retreat and the shooting was heard closer and closer. In October, the people from our village and the next village were shipped west to Germany in cattle cars. We moved around in Germany until April of 1949, when we received our long awaited permission to come to Canada.

We came to Halifax and on April 16, 1949 we arrived at my Uncle Isaak Dahl in Herbert, Saskatchewan. Here we spent Easter Sunday and stayed until my uncle came to take us to Lacombe, Alberta, just north of Red Deer. I found work near there in a Towers family household.

Henry Driedger and I met at the wedding of my cousin Hella Dahl to Jake Harder. Henry worked in a poultry plant in Red Deer. In October of 1950, Henry and I were married by Reverend Cornelius Neufeld of Didsbury. The wedding took place in a hall near Lacombe, Alberta.

My parents and brothers moved to Leamington where they lived in a small house on Peter and Erna Dyck's farm on concession 4. In July of 1953, Henry and I moved to Leamington. We lived first on Erie Street South near Melrose. After that, we bought a house on Martin Drive where we lived for nine years; then we moved to Coronation Street. Henry got a job at H J Heinz from which he retired in January of 1988. For 35 years I worked as a seamstress in my home. We raised a family of four children and have 12 grandchildren. Henry died in 1996.

AK 2008

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