Adolf Immanuel Mathäus Winkler (June 3, 1886 in

Sarata Sarata (Ukrainian, Bulgarian, and ; ) is an urban-type settlement in Odesa Oblast (region) of south-western Ukraine. It is a part of the Bessarabian historic district of Budjak. Population: History Ottoman Period The Sarata river valley and ...

– June 18, 1932 in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749, ...

) was a pastor in Hoffnungstal (now Tsebrykove,

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

) and author. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Winkler worked for the rights of

Germans in Russia The German minority population in Russia, Ukraine, and the Soviet Union stemmed from several sources and arrived in several waves. Since the second half of the 19th century, as a consequence of the Russification policies and compulsory militar ...

Life

Immanuel Winkler was the first of thirteen children born to Matthaeus Winkler and his wife Elisabethe Katharina née Schwarzmann. His great-grandparents were followers of the Roman Catholic priest Ignaz Lindl. In 1822 they emigrated to Bessarabia for religious reasons. Pastor Winkler attended the school in

from 1899 to 1902 and transferred for Novgorod to complete his secondary (high) school education in 1904. From 1904 to 1909 he studied theology at the Imperial University Yuriev in Dorpat. He was ordained on November 6, 1911, in the Evangelical Lutheran Church and was named pastor of the Hoffnungstal Parish and vicar in Kassel (today, Velykokomarivka) until 1918. Both parishes were in the Glückstal district near Odessa. In 1915, during

, young Pastor Winkler was conscripted as a

military chaplain A military chaplain ministers to military personnel and, in most cases, their families and civilians working for the military. In some cases they will also work with local civilians within a military area of operations. Although the term ''cha ...

. He was sent back home after six months due to his expressed pro-German feelings. Approximately one year later, as a result of his continued German spirit and convictions, he received an order to leave Hoffnungstal and move 100 km (62 miles) to the east. This order was revoked through the intersession of a high official in Odessa. However, after a few months, shortly after his marriage to Felicia Henriette von Holmbald (daughter of real council of state (Wirklicher Staatsrat) Franz-Julius von Holmblad), he received another order to leave Hoffnungstal. This order required him to move 1500 km to the east to the city of Saratov. Here he stayed with other pastors, mostly

Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages * Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originati ...

pastors. In 1917 he was allowed to move to

Kharkov Kharkiv ( uk, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest city and municipality in Ukraine.

where his oldest son, Bernhard, was born. The February 1917 Revolution, with the overthrow of the Tsarist government and resulting March 1917 proclamation of civil rights for all inhabitants of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

, raised the hopes of the German population for an improvement in their situation. Specifically, they anticipated a withdrawal of the settlement laws of 1915 and just compensation for damages and losses as well as approval for use of the German language as the official language of instruction in schools and churches and the reinstitution of autonomy and minority rights in the newly created Russian state. Subsequent dissatisfaction with the actions of the government awakened feelings of solidarity and a willingness to work together. The German colonists came to realize that consistent representation of their interests could not be expected from the existing political parties. The work of the German deputy to the

Tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the ter ...

Duma A duma (russian: дума) is a Russian assembly with advisory or legislative functions. The term ''boyar duma'' is used to refer to advisory councils in Russia from the 10th to 17th centuries. Starting in the 18th century, city dumas were for ...

and that of professor

Karl Lindemann Karl may refer to: People * Karl (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name * Karl der Große, commonly known in English as Charlemagne * Karl Marx, German philosopher and political writer * Karl of Austria, last Austria ...

experiences with the activities of the government after 1915 contributed significantly to the colonists dissatisfaction. The colonists began a series of meetings, across the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...

coast. On March 18, 1917, colonist representatives met in Odessa to organize a provisional government. They were joined on March 28, by representatives of the "All-Russian Federation of Russian Germans" ("Allrussischer Bund russischer Deutscher"). Representatives of the Odessa committee then sent organizers to conduct meetings and promote the creation of local committees in the major towns and cities of the region.

Political career

The Crown colony of Crimea-Taurida

Johannes Schleuning Johannes is a Medieval Latin form of the personal name that usually appears as "John" in English language contexts. It is a variant of the Greek and Classical Latin variants (Ιωάννης, ''Ioannes''), itself derived from the Hebrew name '' Yeh ...

, representative of the Volga colonists campaigned for the protection of the German Empire and the right for a reverse migration to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. Pastor Immanuel Winkler, in the meantime, chairman of the main committee of the "All-Russian Federation of Russian Germans" campaigned for the creation of a "Crown Colony Crimea-Taurida". His goal was for all the colonists of Russia (southern

, Bessarabia,

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

) to settle under the protection of Germany in the Crimea. Further, Winkler called for the inclusion of this colony in the German Empire and the granting of German nationality to the colonists. Winkler presented his plan to

Friedrich von Lindequist Friedrich von Lindequist (born 15 September 1862 in Wostevitz on Rügen; died 25 June 1945 at Macherslust near Eberswalde, Germany) was a high colonial official of the German Reich. He served as Governor of German South West Africa from November ...

, the settlement politician and former Secretary of State,

Erich Ludendorff Erich Friedrich Wilhelm Ludendorff (9 April 1865 – 20 December 1937) was a German general, politician and military theorist. He achieved fame during World War I for his central role in the German victories at Liège and Tannenberg in 1914 ...

, first General Quartermaster of the Supreme Army Command, and government officials in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

in March 1918. His proposal would have resulted in the creation of a colonial state by Germany with development of a naval base in the Crimea. This German presence in the area would have resulted in an increase in German influence in the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

and the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

. After an initial expression of interest the plan it was rejected by the Privy Council, on 2 July 1918, stating that in the eventuality of war Germany would not be able to defend the colony. Winkler's proposal for a mass naturalization of the colonists was also rejected due to German policy that

citizenship Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...

was granted only on an individual basis and to specific groups of people, i.e., persons who served the German Empire (recruits for the military and their immediate family members.) Following the collapse of the German Empire in November 1918 and the withdrawal of German and Austrian troops, representatives of the Russian Germans finally abandoned their plans. Now, traces of Immanuel Winkler blur. Probably, he fled to Germany after the withdrawal of German and Austrian troops, where in 1920 his daughter Irene and second son Gerhard were born in

Frankfurt an der Oder Frankfurt (Oder), also known as Frankfurt an der Oder (), is a city in the German state of Brandenburg. It has around 57,000 inhabitants, is one of the easternmost cities in Germany, the fourth-largest city in Brandenburg, and the largest German ...

. In July 1927 he immigrated with his family to Canada, where he took his life on June 18, 1932 in

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Winn ...

Publications

Kalender für die deutschen Kolonisten in Russland: auf das Jahr: 1918, Petrograd, 1917, 128 S.
* Hauskalender für die deutschen Kolonisten in Rußland, Berlin, 1919

Bibliography

* Wolfdieter Biehl: ''Die Kaukasus-Politik der Mittelmächte II. Die Zeit der versuchten Kaukasischen Staatlichkeit (1917-1918): TEIL II'', Boehlau Verlag, 1992, * Alfred Eisfeld: ''Deutsche Kolonien an der Wolga 1917-1919 und das Deutsche Reich'', Harrassowitz, 1985, * Christian Fieß (Hrsg.): ''Sarata 1822-1940'', Mühlacker, 1979 * Lydia Klötzel: ''Die Russlanddeutschen zwischen Autonomie und Auswanderung: Die Geschicke einer nationalen Minderheit vor dem Hintergrund Des wechselhaften deutsch-sowjetischen/russischen Verhältnisses'', LIT, 1999, * Anna Schrenk: ''Mein Erlebnis im evangelischen Pfarrhaus in Russland'', DAI film T81-634, frame 5435004 * Joachim Tauber: ''"Kollaboration" in Nordosteuropa, Erscheinungsformen und Deutungen im 20. Jahrhundert'', Harrassowitz, 2006,

External links