[Fiji Hill]

Your great grandmother—and you—were lucky. In 1941, Stalin deported the Volga Germans and other Voksdeutschen remaining in the Soviet Union to Siberia, Kazakhstan, and other inhospitable places.

[Stonewall Jackson]

Apparently, about half of those who remained behind were sent to Siberia, while the other half was sent to Kazakhstan.

I actually found a website with a description of my great-grandparents' home village, Huck (now known as Splavnucha), which is located about sixty miles southwest of Saratov. The site also includes some letters from some of the villagers who opted to remain behind.

Here's the website.

And here's another site with some additional info.