Leo Dreger
Where did Leo live after Sennoye and his school years in 1951–1953?
Known facts and open questionsGenealogy archive · 1864—2026
A story
that must not be lost
From the Volhynian line to the search for Kroekers worldwide: archives, migrations, unknown branches and documentary proof of kinship.
Support the archive5 generations11 people15+ documents
Emma Ivanovna and Vladimir Usachev (Kreker)≈ 1975
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Where to begin
Three ways into one archive: through people, places or documents.
01
Genealogy
Five generations in one direct line
Verified dates, family connections and branches still waiting to be uncovered.Open section02
Migration route
160 years on the move
Six key places: from West Prussian roots to a new chapter in Berlin.Open section03
Documents
The archive speaks through evidence
Descriptions of archival documents and research findings. Full scans are not published here.Open sectionFinding relatives
Help us follow these family branches
We are seeking information about Lydia, Leo and Zinaida. A matching surname is a reason to compare documents, but does not by itself prove kinship.
Lydia Dreger (née Kroeker)
What is known about Lydia’s life after her return to Sennoye?
Known facts and open questionsZinaida Simentsova (née Kroeker)
Where did Zinaida live after the events described in the archival files?
Known facts and open questionsWe may be related
Do you recognize these surnames or places?
Kroeker / Kröker / Kroecker, Dreger, Schultz, Frelich, Simentsova, Usachev — contact the author. Information about Leo Dreger and Vasiliy, whose surname is not established, is especially important.
Documented family tree
Five generations and their branches
Open a name for the person’s story and documents. Lines connect parents to children; a horizontal connection marks a married couple.
Open a person’s card for their story and sources. Parents and spouses are listed below the cards.
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Open the full family tree11 people · 5 generations
Parents: Gottlieb Kroeker. Spouse: Emma Fröhlich (née Schulz; formerly Kroeker).
Parents: Gottlieb Schulz. Spouse: Johann (Ivan) Kroeker.
Spouse: Lydia Dreger (née Kroeker).
Parents: Johann (Ivan) Kroeker; Emma Fröhlich (née Schulz; formerly Kroeker). Spouse: Edmund Dreger.
Parents: Johann (Ivan) Kroeker; Emma Fröhlich (née Schulz; formerly Kroeker).
Parents: Johann (Ivan) Kroeker; Emma Fröhlich (née Schulz; formerly Kroeker).
Parents: Edmund Dreger; Lydia Dreger (née Kroeker).
Parents: Emma Ivanovna Kreker.
Parents: Vladimir Usachev (Kreker).
Unresolved dates and relationships are explained in each card. An omitted parent should not be considered identified.
Latest discoveries and research
Documents and research work, with the most recent first.
Latest work on the records:
Reviewed
Emma Ivanovna’s questionnaire reviewed
The extract from fond 161, inventory 1, unit 877 belongs to Emma Ivanovna Kreker’s personal file no. 1229. Her questionnaire dated 5 March 1949 records deportation on 12 July 1942 from Peski, Kharkiv region, residence in Semipolka in 1942–1946 and then Sennoye. Her sister is named as Zinaida Ivanovna Simentsova, born in 1920.
Open the entry and sourcesReviewed
EWZ file reviewed at the Bundesarchiv
Records for Edmund and Lydia Dreger, née Kroeker, R 9361-IV/18702 reviewed. Family relationships are being compared with the EWZ card, Personalblatt and Sennoye registers.
Open the entry and sourcesReceived
Personalblatt and household registers
Lydia’s Personalblatt provides information about her parents and their religion. Household registers help clarify the family in Sennoye, including a previously unknown daughter of Emma Ivanovna.
Open the entry and sourcesWhy the archive was created
The history I did not know
As a child, I knew almost nothing about our family’s German origins. I still do not know how much my father knew: was this history kept from him too, or did he choose not to tell me? Why it was not discussed in our family remains to be understood. Today I want to reconstruct this history carefully, through documents, without presenting assumptions as facts.
Eugen Usachev · archive author
Photo gallery
Emma Ivanovna and Vladimir
Two carefully restored archival photographs. The faces, expressions and historical character of the originals have been preserved.
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The date and place are still being verified.
The date and place are still being verified.
The ancestors’ journey
Six stops.
One hundred and sixty years.
From probable roots in West Prussia to Berlin today. Every point is supported by documents — or clearly marked as a hypothesis.
Full history: Volhynia, deportation and the family
01
before 1864
West Prussia
Probable roots02
1864—1942
Ukraine
Volhynia → Peski (Kharkiv region)03
1942—1956
Kazakhstan
Semipolka → Sennoye04
1956—1975
Dubovskoye
A new life05
1975—2023
Shakhty
Home · Chernobyl06
since 2019
Berlin
The archive continuesArchival research
Documents from five countries
Requests to archives in Germany, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Canada and Russia. The current status of each search is shown.
Open the research logReceivedArchival certificate FL-220Vladimir Vasilyevich Kreker · 15 Jul 2026ReceivedPersonal file no. 1229Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs archive · fond 161, inventory 1, unit 877ReceivedEWZ50 Film B019MHSBC, Canada · frames 1340–1364ReviewedR 9361-IV/18702Bundesarchiv · 5 August 2026In progressFamily branchesUkraine · Kazakhstan · Germany
Useful links
Research resources
All reliable databases for Mennonites, Volhynian Germans, victims of repression and archival collections are listed directly below.
GRANDMA OnlineThe largest database of Mennonite genealogy.Odessa3A database of Germans from Russia and Ukraine.Open ListRecord for Emma Ivanovna Kreker, born 1924.Volhynia 1913Register of landowners in the Volhynia Governorate.BundesarchivThe German Federal Archives.MHSBCMennonite heritage archives in Canada.Arolsen ArchivesInternational research on victims and survivors of Nazi persecution.Library and Archives CanadaImmigration lists, censuses and land records.US National ArchivesUS immigration, naturalization, census and land records.
Support the archive
Help continue the search
Archival requests, document copies and translations help reconstruct the Kroeker story. Your contribution supports this work.
What we are working onNew archival requests and document copiesVolhynia · Kazakhstan · Germany
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Other ways to support
Voluntary support for Eugen Usachew’s private project. The project does not have official charitable status. The archive is free to read.Research continues
Gaps still remain in the archive
Every document, archival photograph or DNA match may reveal a new branch.