The Dubbelman Connection

Fled for Stalin, fell in German hand during WWII and surviveded capture.

Part I – Early Years and Wartime

Aleksanteri Dubbelman, honorary chairman of the association Inkeriläiset ja Karjalaiset Heimoveteraanit ry, was called to his final roll call on December 11, 2014.

He was born on July 25, 1924, in the village of Seppälä in Ingria. The Stalinist persecutions of the 1930s hit his family hard. Their property was confiscated by order of the village council, and the family was forced to relocate to a collective farm.

World War II brought immense disruption to the Ingrian population. Families were torn apart by the division between Russian and German occupation zones. In 1943, Aleksanteri—like many other young men—was conscripted into the German army and assigned to Ost-Bataillon 664.

When the Ingrian population was transferred to Finland, the battalion’s soldiers were also given the opportunity to change uniforms. In December 1943, the entire battalion moved to Hanko, and from there to the Kiviniemi barracks on the Karelian Isthmus. A separate unit was established for the tribal fighters: Erillinen pataljoona 6.

After taking the military oath in April, the battalion was sent to the front. The troops were not demobilized until October 1944, when the fighting ceased.

Aleksanteri reunited with his parents and siblings in Nastola and found work at the local ammunition depot. Life seemed to settle—until everything collapsed in August 1945: Aleksanteri was arrested.

 

Part II – Deportation and Survival

Aleksanteri was later, like many others, handed over to the Soviet Union. He often reflected on that deportation and was amazed he had survived the grueling journey:

“The train ride to Alkino, south of Ufa, took 18 days. In the cramped wagons, we could only sit in turns. Our legs swelled into shapeless masses and no longer fit into our boots. On Christmas Day, we were transferred to a forced labor camp in freezing cold. The journey in summer clothing to the Siberian steppes took two weeks. We were packed like bees in a hive, trying to avoid frostbite.”

His long stay in the labor camp nearly proved fatal. Within just over a year, Aleksanteri’s weight had dropped to only 42 kilos. Yet the will to live in this resilient soldier never faded. In 1955, two years after Stalin’s death, he was released.

Returning to Ingria was forbidden, but unexpectedly Aleksanteri was granted permission to move to Estonia. After many hardships, he found work and started a family. During his imprisonment, all contact with his relatives in Finland had been lost. He was only able to briefly meet his mother once in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) in 1959.

After the fall of the Soviet Union, his life took a new turn: in 1992, Aleksanteri was allowed to move to Finland together with his wife.

 

 

Part III – Connection and Recognition

The veteran community immediately drew him in, and Aleksanteri finally felt surrounded by his own people. The founding of the association for tribal veterans in 1996 marked a major turning point in his life.

“At last, I could stand tall beside other veterans,” he said.

Aleksanteri served as chairman of the association Inkeriläiset ja Karjalaiset Heimoveteraanit ry from 1998 to 2003, and in 2006 he was appointed honorary chairman. He also served for many years on the board of the Helsinki Region Veterans Circle. For his contributions to veteran affairs, he was awarded the Golden Badge of Honor by the Finnish Veterans’ Union.

Aleksanteri Dubbelman is remembered as an exceptionally cheerful person, whose spirit was not weighed down by bitterness, but filled with warm gratitude toward those who supported veterans. He especially cherished the summer gatherings of tribal veterans at various garrisons, where long-lost comrades reunited after decades.

Military chaplain Risto Kaakinen led Aleksanteri’s funeral service on March 5 at the Hietaniemi Cemetery. An honor guard of officers accompanied him on his final journey, in the presence of family and friends.

Source: Veteranen Tijdschrift :https://sotaveteraanit.fi/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/SV-2_2015_compressed.pdf