He was 22 years old.
Put in prison by the communists for crimes he did not commit. His father gave him a horse and he left Russia with his brother and wife, along with friends from his village.
On the way his brother will die of Typhus. He will work as a shoemaker in Minsk. In December of 1922, he will arrive, along with 900 other refugees, in a refugee camp located in Frankfurt/Oder, Germany.
There he will work to regain his health and work to support himself, all the while try to figure out where he should go.
2 years later, on March 25, 1924, he will board the SS Montrose, and leave for the one country that would take him.
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| SS Montrose |
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| Paul Gerk Passenger List |
Sponsored by a Canadian Catholic refugee organization, known as the "Volksverein", Paul Gerk will be sponsored by the Jack Eheman family in Holdfast, Saskatchewan.
Paul will arrive, along with best friend, Georg Stremel, at Saint John's, Newfoundland, Canada, on April 5, 1924.
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| Passenger listing for Georg Stremel |
Refugees were met at Saint John's by Father Kierdorf of the Volksverein. There he will assist the new immigrants with their travel to farms in Saskatchewan.
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| Canadian Pacific Railway Docks, West Saint John, N.B. (1929) Credit: Canada. Dept. of Interior / Library and Archives Canada / PA-049774 |
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| Paul Gerk, Holdfast, Saskatchewan, 1924 |
I never knew my grandfather, but my grandmother would often tell me how happy and thankful Paul was at the opportunities in his adopted land of Canada.
Paul was told after a year of work that if he stayed on with the farm work, his farm sponsor would pay for the passage of his wife, Elisabeth Dieser Gerk, to also come to Canada. She would arrive in Canada in 1925.
100 years. In so many ways our family has been blessed to live in Canada. Arriving here with nothing, our grandfather taught us the principles of courage, faith and family. The hope was to eventually bring other family members here from Russia, but the iron curtain slammed shut and our family was taken from us....not to hear from them again for over 50 years.
Our family has much to be thankful for. Starting with the amazing bravery, 100 years ago, of our grandparents, Paul and Elisabeth Gerk.
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| Behind the scene negotiations for refugees to Canada |
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| Behind the scene negotiations for refugees to Canada for April 2024 |
