In 1942 Soviet German men and women from various parts of the USSR were transported as forced labour to the construction sites of the oil extraction industry in Buguruslan. In all there were 9,640 of them. Those who died were buried in a separate graveyard near the modern aerodrome (their numbers are not known).
In 2008 a memorial was erected on the site of the cemetery in memory of the mobilised German labourers.
The electronic Book of Remembrance of Soviet Germans (Gedenkbuch) contains biographical entries on more than 100,000 Soviet Germans variously sentenced under Article 58, deported as forced settlers or forcibly mobilised in camps of forced labourers.
Memorial’s database (2025) names 38,135 victims in the Orenburg Region (BR 18,830).
Police records list more families and individuals (total 19,304) who were deported: 4,186 during collectivisation, and 4,480 for their “nationality” in the 1940s (3,451 during the war) and 1950s.
| Date | Nature of ceremonies | Organiser or responsible person | Participants | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
28 August
|
Anniversary of deportation of Soviet Germans
|
Wiedergeburt organisation, Orenburg Region
|
Members of Wiedergeburt, relatives of forced labourers
|
Annual event
|
| State of burials | Area | Boundaries | Other sites in same area |
|---|---|---|---|
|
have not survived
|
not determined
|
not delineated
|
Памятник
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[ original texts and hyperlinks ]
V.A. Murtazin, “We cherish the memory of each and every one”, Cooperation between State and society in the preservation of military-memorial structures. History and the present day, A collection of articles and theses from the conference marking the bicentenary of victory in the Patriotic War (1812) and the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Stalingrad, Orenburg, 2013
Reply from the Buguruslan town administration (№ 1234/01-46, 2 April 2014) to a formal enquiry by RIC Memorial (St Petersburg)
