Kulak: Love and Death, A German-Russian Tragedy – Ukraine, 1938

In this novel, the author brings to the life the trials and struggles experienced by his German-Russian ancestors and thousands of others during the Stalin purges. Jakob Grigonievich Oksner (Ochsner) and his wife, Emilya Grogorievna, are historic characters who inspired inspired this novel about the persecution of German-Russians, who were often summarily, arrested, forced to work in slave labor camps.

The title, "Kulak" refers to all independent farmers/landholders in the Russian Empire, including German-Russians, who emerged from the peasantry to become wealthy.

In the Foreword, the author writes: “ Beginning during World War I and following the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, the persecution of ethnic Germans intensified. Their property was confiscated or destroyed, and they were often sent into exile in Siberia or other far-flung regions of Russia. This was especially true of independent landowners, or kulaks as they were known. Starting in 1941, when the NKVD banned ethnic Germans from the Soviet military, many were sentenced to labor camps. Tens of thousands of these soldiers were sent to a labor army, known in German as the Trudarmee. Many lost their lives in the labor army or were executed after a brief trial by a troika. These executions, which was Jakob Oksner’s fate, occurred primarily during the years of Stalin’s purges in 1919-38.”

About the author:

Clean Ochsner is a first generation American of German-Russian heritage. His father was born and raised near Ananjew in what is now Ukraine. His parents, brothers, and sisters were forced to abandon the family estate, known as a Khutor, following the Bolshevik Revolution in 1920. They fled to Switzerland and from there to the U.S. in 1928. Ochsner studied Geman at Southern Illinois University and Stanford University Campus in Bad Boll, Germany. He earned a Master’s Degree from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. Subsequently, he taught German in public secondary schools in Canon City, Colorado, and Hastings, Nebraska. He is married to Norma Nuss (also of German-Russian heritage).

Comments about the book:

“This wonderfully written and realistically plotted book combines emotion, history, and authentic reality with veiled glimpses into the future. It is a must-read for the pleasure of reading talented authorship expressing family love and the compromise of history, combined and contrasted with the cruelty of Russian dictatorship.”

--- Bob Sheets, Colorado Springs, Colorado

“In this powerfully written novel, Cleon Ochsner brings to life the trails and struggles experienced by his German-Russian ancestors and thousands of others during the Stalin purges. The characters in Kulak became so real I thought I knew them personally. Although not light reading, it is a compelling story that will haunt you long after the final pages.”

--- Mary Lewis, Hastings, Nebraska