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Religion > Pastors > Friedrich Alexander Wacker

Friedrich Alexander Wacker

The Rev. Friedrich Alexander Wacker was born in Kamyshin on April 8, 1886, the son of Volga German colonist Georg W. Wacker and Dorothea Reisich.  He married Clara (surname unknown) and attended high school and college in Astrakhan.  From 1909 to 1912, he was a theology student at the seminary in Dorpat (now Tartu Estonia).  He was ordained on November 3, 1913 and served the Norka parish from then until 1925.  He became dean of the parishes of the Bergseite colonies, theological director of the pastor’s seminary in Leningrad, and a member of the Moskauer Deutscher Oberkirchenrat.

On October 15, 1930, Rev. Wacker was arrested and exiled to the Dubinino Camp near Bratsk in East Siberia. Thanks to an intervention by the German Foreign Office, he was freed in
 1933. However, Rev. Wacker was no longer permitted to serve as a pastor.  According to Joseph Schnurr, he was still alive in 1938.
Picture
Rev. Wacker served as pastor in Norka during the severe famine that occurred in the early 1920s and wrote numerous letters during this time period that were subsequently published in the German language newspaper, Die Welt Post.  A collection of those letters, translated from German to English, are linked below:

Letter from Rev. Wacker published January 12, 1922

Letter from Rev. Wacker published February 2, 1922

Letter from Rev. Wacker published February 9, 1922

Letter from Rev. Wacker published April 20, 1922

Letter from Rev. Wacker published April 27, 1922

Letter from Rev. Wacker, Elisabeth Aschenbrenner and Johannes Aschenbrenner published July 6, 1922

Letter from Rev. Wacker published August 24, 1922

Letter from Rev. Wacker published December 21, 1922

Letter from Rev. Wacker published January 11, 1923

Letter from Pastor Kluck mentioning Rev. Wacker's participation at a conference in Hussenbach

Sources

Amburger, Erik. Die Pastoren Der Evangelischen Kirchen Russlands Vom Ende Des 16. Jahrhunderts Bis 1937: Ein Biographisches Lexikon. Lüneburg: Inst. Nordostdt. Kulturwerk, 1998. 304. Print.

Kahle, Wilhelm. Geschichte Der Evangelisch-lutherischen Gemeinden in Der Sovetunion: 1917-1938. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1974. Print.

Schnurr, Joseph. Die Kirchen Und Das Religiöse Leben Der Rußlanddeutschen. Stuttgart: AER-Verl., 1978: 178. Print.

PERSONALSTATUS der Evangelisch-Lutherischen und der Evangelisch-Reformierten Kirche in Russland. Petrograd, 1914, S. 1-123
Last updated February 23, 2022.
Copyright © 2002-2023 Steven H. Schreiber
  • Home
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    • Agriculture
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    • Homesites
    • Geographical Description
    • Government
    • Social Structure
    • Health
    • Education
    • A Land of Ethnic Diversity
    • Cottage Industries >
      • Sarpinka
      • Mills
    • Language
    • Population
    • Military Service
    • Crime and Punishment
  • History
    • Timeline
    • Origins of the Colonists
    • Catherine's Manifesto 1763
    • Why go to Russia?
    • Recruitment 1766
    • Planning 1764-1766
    • Marriages Prior To Emigration 1766
    • Voyage to Russia 1766 >
      • Ship Transport 1766
    • Journey 1766-1767
    • Founding of Norka 1767
    • Early Years 1767-1769
    • Norka 1769
    • Pallas Report 1773
    • Pugachev Raid 1774
    • Norka 1775
    • Norka 1798
    • Norka 1811
    • Napoleons Soldiers
    • Norka 1834
    • Daughter Colonies 1850s >
      • Neu-Norka
      • Oberdorf
      • Brunnental
      • Rosenfeld (am Jeruslan)
      • Neu Hussenbach (Gaschon)
    • Privileges Lost 1871-1874
    • Immigration 1875-1924 >
      • To the United States >
        • Colorado
        • Ft Collins Colorado
        • Globeville Colorado
        • Mason City, Iowa
        • Culbertson, Nebraska
        • Lincoln, Nebraska
        • Sutton, Nebraska
        • Burlington, Oklahoma
        • Weatherford, Oklahoma
        • Canby, Oregon
        • Portland, Oregon
      • To Canada >
        • Duffield, Alberta
        • Ponoka, Alberta
        • Spruce Grove, Alberta
        • Stony Plain, Alberta
        • Vegreville, Alberta
        • Arcola, Saskatchewan
      • To Germany
      • To South America
    • Famine 1891-1892
    • Norka 1898
    • War & Turnoil 1904-1906
    • World War 1914-1918
    • Revolution & War 1917-1922
    • Soviet Rule 1918-1941
    • Famine 1921-1924
    • Famine 1932-1933
    • The Great Terror 1936-1938
    • Deportation 1941
    • Repression 1941-1956
    • Cultural Loss 1957-2006
    • A Culture in Peril
    • Recent Times
  • Traditions
    • Food and Drink
    • Clothing
    • Holidays >
      • New Year
      • Fastnacht
      • Lent
      • Easter
      • Ascension Day
      • Pentecost
      • Founder's Day
      • Harvest Festival
      • Jahrmarkt
      • Christmas
      • Anniversaries & Birthdays
    • Crafts
    • Games
    • Folk Medicine
    • Superstitions
    • Nicknames
    • Folk Music
    • Church Music
    • Prayers
    • Baptism
    • Confirmation
    • Communion
    • Weddings
    • Funerals and Burials
  • Religion
    • Planning and History >
      • Norka Reformed Church 1767-1864
      • 1909 Norka Parish Report
    • Pastors >
      • Johann Heinrich Fuchs
      • Johann Georg Herwig
      • Johannes Baptista Cattaneo
      • Lukas Cattaneo
      • Emanuel Grunauer
      • Friedrich Börner
      • Christian Gottlieb Hegele
      • Christoph H Bonwetsch
      • Gottlieb N Bonwetsch
      • Wilhelm Staerkel
      • Woldemar Sibbul
      • David Weigum
      • Friedrich Alexander Wacker
      • Emil Pfeiffer
    • Church Practices >
      • Parochial Certificates
    • Church Buildings
    • Church Organs
    • Bell Tower
    • Brethren Movement
  • Resources
    • Family Research
    • Research Resources >
      • Arrival Records 1766
      • Descendant Charts
      • German EWZ Records
      • Soviet Gulag Records
    • Maps
    • Glossary
    • Bibliography
    • Periodicals >
      • Die Welt-Post Letters
    • Related Links