Uhlfeld Colony
The Uhlfeldkolonie (also: Colony Uhlfeld ) was an Austrian municipality in Kazakhstan that existed between March 1926 and March 1927.
prehistory
In Austria in the 1920s , many associations organized emigration abroad, and many Austrians left their homeland due to unemployment and poverty. The “Republican Association of Former War Victims and Victims of Austria” (RVKKÖ), which had more than 1000 members, promoted the establishment of a commune in Kazakhstan in the Soviet Union under chairman Karl Uhl . Many unemployed people had been prisoners of war in the Russian Empire and therefore knew the language and conditions in Russia . In addition, the political situation after the communist revolution promised peace and prosperity. Emigration was financially supported by Austria at the time, and the Soviet Union actively recruited immigrants.
colony
In March 1926, 210 Austrians, including Karl Uhl , took possession of the 2,500-hectare area assigned to them near the village of Sabulak on the Syrdarja River , a few kilometers from Qysylorda , in order to set up an agricultural community there called Uhlfeld . But this land was a barren salt-steppe overgrown with thorns ; In addition, the Austrians were not used to the Kazakh climate with severe frosts and sandstorms, poor food and inadequate hygiene. Many capitulated to the adverse conditions and returned to Austria shortly after their arrival. On the other hand, several people from Austria also moved to the municipality. The financial resources were not designed to convert a barren steppe into arable land. First, a six-kilometer-long irrigation canal was dug, but the first harvest fell far short of expectations. At least one could build a tailor's shop , a shoemaker's shop , a workshop and a bakery with the Western equipment that was brought along and thus supply the entire region. Nevertheless, the difficult conditions abroad were so serious that there were repeated arguments. Ultimately, the entire project failed. Most of the colonists moved to other cities in what is now Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan ; Little is known about the fate of these people. Only a few returned to Austria, as every returnees had undertaken to repay support money made by the Austrian government. Karl Uhl also stayed in Russia.
Aftermath
For the local Soviet functionaries, the Austrian colony was a showcase project and was wooed accordingly. Russian educators, farmers, doctors and journalists visited the commune. After the colony was dissolved, the buildings were later used, among other things, as a rest home for Komsomolians .
literature
- Josef Vogl: Departure to the East. Austrian migrants in Soviet Kazakhstan . Mandelbaum Verlag, Vienna 2019, ISBN 978385476-840-1 .
Web link
Individual evidence
- ↑ An official report on Uhlfeld. In: Freedom! , September 30, 1926, p. 5, top right (online at ANNO ).
- ↑ The fate of the Uhlfeld colony. In: Oesterreichische Kronen-Zeitung. Illustrirtes Tagblatt / Illustrierte Kronen-Zeitung / Wiener Kronen-Zeitung , September 26, 1926, p. 6, right column, center (online at ANNO ).
- ↑ The collapse of the Uhlfeld colony. In: Freedom! , February 10, 1928, p. 3, top right (online at ANNO ).