Bergtal
Encyclopedia
Bergtal is a settlement 60 km east of Bishkek
in the Chuy Province
of Kyrgyzstan
, near the border of Kazakhstan
. Originally settled by Germans, a significant minority remains.
moved to Central Asia
to obtain new land. The majority of these settlers were Mennonites. The village Bergtal, one of several originally German settlements in Kyrgyzstan, was established on very rich black soil in the Chuy Valley
at the foot of the Tian Shan
mountains by Baptist
and Mennonite families, who had emigrated from East Frisia
300 years earlier, to escape forced military service, and at the end of the 19th century moved to central Asia from the Volga and Crimea
.
With the Stalinization of the Soviet Union
, the village was renamed Rotfront in 1927 and all religious practice was forbidden. During the time of the Third Reich, the ethnic Germans of Rotfront were subject to much suspicion and discrimination. They tried to explain that they did not identify with the Germans, referring to their distant Polish ancestry or relatives.
With the onset of Perestroika
under Mikhail Gorbachev
, the residents could again freely practice their religious faith. After the end of the Soviet Union many of the Germans emigrated from Kyrgyzstan to Germany
, as the collapse of the collective farms and other state enterprises many employment opportunities were lost. In 1990, about 900 people of German background lived in the village; today, their number is down to about 500. Rotfront/Bergtal is likely is the only village in central Asia with a substantial remaining German minority. As strict Mennonites, the residents continue to reject alcohol use, television, motion pictures and dancing.
In 1995 a film entitled Milch und Honig aus Rotfront (Milk and Honey from Rotfront) depicting the life of the German residents of Bergtal.
Today, Bergtal/Rotfront is the second largest community of German background in central Asia, although a majority of the population is of Kyrgyz descent.
Bishkek
Bishkek , formerly Pishpek and Frunze, is the capital and the largest city of Kyrgyzstan.Bishkek is also the administrative centre of Chuy Province which surrounds the city, even though the city itself is not part of the province but rather a province-level unit of Kyrgyzstan.The name is thought to...
in the Chuy Province
Chuy Province
Chuy Province or Chui Province is the northernmost province of the Kyrgyz Republic. It is bounded on the north by Kazakhstan, and clockwise, Issyk Kul Province, Naryn Province, Jalal-Abad Province and Talas Province...
of Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan , officially the Kyrgyz Republic is one of the world's six independent Turkic states . Located in Central Asia, landlocked and mountainous, Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the southwest and China to the east...
, near the border of Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
. Originally settled by Germans, a significant minority remains.
History
At the end of the 19th century, German settlers from the Russian EmpireRussian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
moved to Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
to obtain new land. The majority of these settlers were Mennonites. The village Bergtal, one of several originally German settlements in Kyrgyzstan, was established on very rich black soil in the Chuy Valley
Chuy Valley
The Chuy Valley is a large valley located in north Tian-Shan. It extends from Boom Gorge in the east to Moyun-Kum desert in the west. It borders Kyrgyz Ala-Too in the south, and Chu-Ili mountains in the north. Through Boom Gorge in the narrow east part Chuy Valley is linked with Issyk-Kul Valley...
at the foot of the Tian Shan
Tian Shan
The Tian Shan , also spelled Tien Shan, is a large mountain system located in Central Asia. The highest peak in the Tian Shan is Victory Peak , ....
mountains by Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
and Mennonite families, who had emigrated from East Frisia
East Frisia
East Frisia or Eastern Friesland is a coastal region in the northwest of the German federal state of Lower Saxony....
300 years earlier, to escape forced military service, and at the end of the 19th century moved to central Asia from the Volga and Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
.
With the Stalinization of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, the village was renamed Rotfront in 1927 and all religious practice was forbidden. During the time of the Third Reich, the ethnic Germans of Rotfront were subject to much suspicion and discrimination. They tried to explain that they did not identify with the Germans, referring to their distant Polish ancestry or relatives.
With the onset of Perestroika
Perestroika
Perestroika was a political movement within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union during 1980s, widely associated with the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev...
under Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a former Soviet statesman, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and as the last head of state of the USSR, having served from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991...
, the residents could again freely practice their religious faith. After the end of the Soviet Union many of the Germans emigrated from Kyrgyzstan to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, as the collapse of the collective farms and other state enterprises many employment opportunities were lost. In 1990, about 900 people of German background lived in the village; today, their number is down to about 500. Rotfront/Bergtal is likely is the only village in central Asia with a substantial remaining German minority. As strict Mennonites, the residents continue to reject alcohol use, television, motion pictures and dancing.
Today
After Kyrgyzstan's independence in 1991, the remaining German residents received permission to have the original name, Bergtal, displayed on their village signs, underneath the official designation Rotfront. A small museum, established with financial support from the German government, in the school house displays letters and photographs recounting the migration of the ancestors to Kyrgyzstan and past life in the village. Since the beginning of the 1990s, the German government has also provided a German teacher for the community. Generous financial and material aid from the German government for the local agricultural cooperative has, however, for the most part been wasted or misused.In 1995 a film entitled Milch und Honig aus Rotfront (Milk and Honey from Rotfront) depicting the life of the German residents of Bergtal.
Today, Bergtal/Rotfront is the second largest community of German background in central Asia, although a majority of the population is of Kyrgyz descent.