Family History

Origin (before 1864)

The origin of the Kröker family before Volhynia has not yet been established documentarily. Based on the surname (Kroeker / Kröker — a common name among the German-speaking population who emigrated from West Prussia to the Russian Empire in the 18th–19th centuries), the family is presumed to have West Prussian roots. Confirmation is expected from the Bundesarchiv Berlin-Lichterfelde file R 9361-IV/18702 (Edmund + Lydia Dreger, née Kroeker), EWZ-No. 906134 — an application for early lifting of the archive protection period was submitted on 21.04.2026.

Johann Kröker bore the Russified name Ivan Ivanovich — meaning the family had lived in the Russian Empire for at least one generation. The name "Ivan Ivanovich" as the name of Emma Ivanovna's father is recorded in the restored birth certificate issued on 25 October 1965 by Dubovsky district of Rostov region.

Volhynia — Pulin German National Rayon (1864–1941)

In Volhynia — in Pulin district (from 1935 — Chervonoarmiysk, today Novograd-Volynsky) of Kyiv region (from 1937 — Zhytomyr region) — German colonies had existed since the 19th century. From 20 June 1930 to October 1935, Pulin district had the status of a German National Rayon of the Ukrainian SSR — the only administrative unit of its kind in Ukraine. The district contained 18 German village councils, including Aleksandrovsky and Staro-Aleksandrovsky. The German national status was abolished in autumn 1935, after which waves of repression against the German population on ethnic grounds began.

Emma Ivanovna Kröker (Eugen's grandmother) was born on 5 May 1924 in the German colony of Uvarovka (in MVD records — Neu-Aleksandrovka / Novo-Aleksandrovka) in Pulin district of Kyiv region. At the time of her birth, the colony had 277 inhabitants.

Father — Ivan (Johann) Ivanovich Kröker, German. Mother — Emma Gottlibovna, née Schulz, in one of her marriages — Frelich (b. 1877). Elder sister — Zinaida Ivanovna (married name Simentsova, b. 1920). Two uncles on the maternal side have been identified — Emma Gottlibovna's own brothers: Schulz Heinrich Gottlibovich (in special settlement in Tomsk) and Schulz Friedrich Gottlibovich (Tomsk region).

During collectivization the family was forcibly resettled from Volhynia to the village of Peski in Dvorichna district of Kharkiv region. According to Lydia Dreger's memoirs (see below), the resettlement took place before 1935.

Deportation and Special Settlement (1941–1956)

In 1941, on the basis of the resolution of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR and the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) of 12 September 1941 on the resettlement of Germans from a number of regions of the Ukrainian SSR, Emma Ivanovna Kröker together with her mother Emma Gottlibovna was deported from the village of Peski in Kharkiv region to the North Kazakhstan region of the Kazakh SSR as persons of German nationality.

Initially the family was settled in the village of Semipolka in Oktyabrsky district of the North Kazakhstan region, where they lived in 1941–1946. They were then moved to the village of Sennoye in Sovetsky district of the same region, where Emma Ivanovna worked as a milkmaid in the "Kolos" collective farm (from 1946; in 1951 — 608 workdays).

By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 26 November 1948, Emma Ivanovna, like all deported Soviet Germans, was confined for life to the places of compulsory settlement without the right of return. The receipt of acknowledgement was taken on 10 May 1949. She reported monthly to special commandant office No. 425 (later Kaplinskaya) of Sovetsky district.

On 8 April 1950, in the village of Sennoye, her son Vladimir was born. In the original birth record entry, the father is given as "Vasiliy" (without patronymic and surname — identity not established; in the certificate restored by Kazakhstan in 2014, the father is listed as "Kröker Vasiliy", reflecting the original entry). On 26 July 1952, Emma Ivanovna married Nikolai Maksimovich Usachev (b. 1923), who became Vladimir's stepfather; the father entry in her son's birth certificate was changed to "Usachev Nikolai Maksimovich".

On 19 January 1956, Emma Ivanovna Kröker was released from special settlement on the basis of the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 13 December 1955 "On removing restrictions on the legal status of Germans and members of their families who are in special settlement". Upon release, the right was announced to live in any place in the USSR except Kharkiv region (from which she had been deported), and that the dwelling houses and other premises that had belonged to her before the deportation would not be returned.

Life after release. Dubovskoye (1956–1987)

Emma Ivanovna did not return to her place of birth — the ban on residence in Kharkiv region remained for life (formally lifted only in 1991 along with rehabilitation). After her release in January 1956, she moved with her six-year-old son Vladimir to the village of Dubovskoye in Dubovsky district of Rostov region, where she settled together with her elder sister Zinaida Ivanovna Simentsova (b. 1920, also released from special settlement).

On 25 October 1965 in Dubovsky district, Emma Ivanovna was issued a restored birth certificate — there, for the first time in a Soviet document, the name of her father was recorded: Kröker Ivan Ivanovich.

Emma Ivanovna Kröker died on 2 May 1987 in the village of Dubovskoye at the age of 62 (death certificate IV-AN No. 253338, registration act No. 56 of 12.05.1987, civil registry office of Dubovskoye village council). Cause of death: chronic cerebrovascular insufficiency. Buried in the village of Dubovskoye. At the time of her death, recorded under her maiden name Kröker. Zinaida Ivanovna Simentsova also lived in Dubovskoye until the end of her life and is buried there.

In 1993, Emma Ivanovna Kröker was posthumously rehabilitated under Russian Federation Law No. 1761-I of 18 October 1991 "On the Rehabilitation of Victims of Political Repression".

Son's line: Vladimir Nikolaevich Usachev (1950–2023)

Emma Ivanovna's son — Vladimir Nikolaevich Usachev — was born on 8 April 1950 in the village of Sennoye in special settlement. He spent his first six years with his mother in Sennoye; in 1956, after her release, he moved with her to the village of Dubovskoye (Rostov region), where his childhood and adolescence passed.

He received vocational technical education, graduating from the Kupiansk Tractor Vocational School in the town of Kupiansk, Kharkiv region of the Ukrainian SSR. Paradoxically, his mother had a lifelong ban on residence in Kharkiv region, from which she had been deported in 1941, — and her son acquired a profession there.

Until 1975, Vladimir Nikolaevich worked as a driver of the long-distance "Ikarus" bus on the Rostov — Kharkov route. This route regularly passed through the territory from which his mother had once been deported.

Around 1975, Vladimir Nikolaevich moved with his wife Lyubov (née Kryshka) to the city of Shakhty in Rostov region; he became a driver of a GAZ-66 truck in a geological exploration expedition (surveying work). Lyubov worked at the Shakhty Cotton Mill (KhBK). On 25 January 1979 in Shakhty their son Eugen was born — the author of this family archive.

In 1986 Vladimir Nikolaevich took part in the liquidation of the consequences of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Based on his participation in the work, he was assigned a 2nd group disability; he holds a certificate of a Chernobyl liquidator and the medal "For Participation in the Liquidation of the Consequences of the Chernobyl Disaster".

Vladimir Nikolaevich Usachev died in Shakhty on 6 August 2023.

Biography of Lydia Dreger née Kröker — written by herself (EWZ file, 1944)

Lydia Dreger, née Kröker, wrote her own biography for the EWZ file (Bundesarchiv R 9361-IV/18702, frames 1344–1346). Lydia — according to a hypothesis that requires confirmation — may be a sister of Emma Ivanovna Kröker. Documentary confirmation of the kinship is expected from the Bundesarchiv. Here is her own account:

I was born in Shilesna, Dnepropetrovsk region, but grew up in Volhynia, in Rishchelovka. When I was 7 years old, my father died. I attended school for only 3 years — in Ivanyovka, 1925–1928 — then I had to work. When the kolkhoz was founded, we were required to join.

By 1935 the Bolshevik authorities had forcibly resettled us to the village of Peski, Kharkiv region. The conditions were very harsh. In 1933 we experienced a terrible famine — every day 3–4 people died. There was no bread, and leaving was not allowed. Kolkhoz again.

On 5 June 1935 I married in Peski Edmund Dreger. My husband often had to leave — he was not allowed to stay at home. We moved through Stalino (Donetsk) to Knarov, where on 8 June 1937 our son Leo was born. Then we moved to Laakopp, Bolshoy Tokmak district, Zaporizhzhia region.

I fell seriously ill and underwent two operations. Mother cared for me until I recovered. After recovery I worked in Halbstadt. Then my husband returned and we lived in Laakopp.

On 6 September 1941 my husband was deported by the Soviet authorities. Since then no news of him.

On 30 September 1941 I was brought with my son Leo to the station for deportation. But German soldiers came and released us — we could return home.

In 1943 we left Ukraine. We were very lucky to make it. In February 1944 we arrived at the Hermannsbad camp (Warthegau), where we stayed for a month. On 7 March 1944 we were transferred to quarters — Serotzki estate, Konek commune. On 28 April 1944 I submitted an application for German citizenship. The certificate was received on 12 June 1944.

End of Lydia Dreger's autobiography from the EWZ file.

Germany — third generation (since 2019)

Eugen Usachew — grandson of Emma Ivanovna Kröker, son of Vladimir Nikolaevich Usachev and Lyubov (née Kryshka). Born on 25 January 1979 in the city of Shakhty in Rostov region. In 2019 he moved to Berlin; in December 2019 he officially changed his name to "Eugen Usachew" (Bundesverwaltungsamt, 11.12.2019).

Since 2026 he has been conducting a private genealogical investigation of the family, including work with archives in Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Germany. Copies have been obtained of personal file No. 1229 (HDA MVS Ukrayiny), Emma Ivanovna's death certificate (IV-AN No. 253338), the restored birth certificate of 1965, and EWZ documents of Lydia Dreger from MHSBC Canada (film B019, frames 1340–1353).

Archival Sources

• Personal file of special settler Kröker Emma Ivanovna No. 1229, 28 sheets — HDA MVS Ukrayiny, fond 161, inventory 1, file 877. Digital copy obtained on 14 May 2026.
• Archival statement of the Main Department of the Internal Affairs of Ukraine in Kharkiv region (on the same file).
• Death certificate IV-AN No. 253338 of 12.05.1987, civil registry office of Dubovskoye village council, Dubovsky district of Rostov region.
• Restored birth certificate of 25.10.1965, Dubovsky district of Rostov region.
• EWZ documents of Lydia Dreger: Bundesarchiv Berlin-Lichterfelde, R 9361-IV/18702, EWZ-No. 906134 (film B019, frames 1340–1353).
• Archival statements of the Committee on Legal Statistics and Special Records of the General Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 2-20-16-07254 and No. 2-20-16-07255 of 27.09.2016.