Russian Mennonites and Expressions of Loyalty on eve of World War I

How did Mennonites understand their commitment to non-resistance and to the Tsar?

Russia declared war on Germany on July 20, 1914. The following primary document from Bachmut / Memrik Mennonite Church Elder Peter Wilhelm Janzen to government officials a few days later (translated below) offer us a sense of how different their world was from ours.

It too had a context. Was the state suspicious about Mennonite loyalties in an impending war with Germany? Indeed. Did Mennonites feel pressured to prove their patriotism in positive and tangible ways in order to retain privileges, including property rights? Yes.

Here is a translation of Janzen's statement on behalf of 20 Mennonite villages, and addressed to the Central Committee of the "Union" [Octobrists] (note 1). At the end of this post I offer a few comments.

"We, the Mennonite landowners in 20 villages of the Bachmut District, address authorities, institutions, and the whole of society with the following words:

Yesterday on July 22 [1914], we learned that the Emperor called on all his subjects to fight against Germany, which had the audacity to declare war on Russia [Russia declared war on Germany on July 20]. We read the Tsar’s manifesto with tenderness of soul and tears in our eyes. For our part, we are eager to proclaim loudly that we have only one fatherland—Russia. The enemies of the Russian Tsar and Russian State are our enemies, and the friends of Russia are our friends as well.

For over a hundred years we have been honoured to be subjects of His Imperial Majesty the Russian Sovereign, Emperor of Russia. Our past has clearly shown that in every national crisis, every distress experienced by Russia was also our own personal grief and misfortune. We were glad to bring our wealth, our labour, and our means to the common altar of our Fatherland—the Russian State. With the example of how we acted in the Sevastopol [Crimea], Russian-Turkish, and Japanese wars, now too we will work for the benefit of the Russian army.

We serve our [alternative] military duty in forest brigades and do not wield weapons. But as the experience of the past has shown, we can be useful by means of our organization at our own expense. We are prepared to help with the arrangement of infirmaries at our own expense. We can supply wagons without cost to transport the materials needed for the war effort, and we can help support soldiers’ families, etc.

In the next days we expect to receive instructions from local authorities about what we could do at this moment that would be useful for our soldiers and their families, and we will not hesitate to get to work for the benefit of our united and great Fatherland.

We offer our prayers for the invincibility of the Russian State, and for the spiritual strength of our Sovereign, who has taken on the great task to defend His state against this formidable and daring enemy.

While we cannot look into the future, we know that we always have been, always will be and remain forever and ever loyal subjects of His Imperial Majesty, the Russian Sovereign Emperor.

On behalf of the Mennonites of the Bachmut District, Province of Ekaterinoslav, Mennonite Church Elder Peter W. Janzen."

The statement attempts to articulate and show clearly Mennonite loyalties to Russia even in war with Germany. In a note to the text, Prof. Lindemann wrote: “German Mennonites from the colonies of Halbstadt and Gnadenfeld [Molotschna] donated 150,000 rubles for military needs, of which 20,000 rubles were put at the disposal of the Emperor, and the rest at the disposal of the local committee, as well as for the construction of an infirmary with 75 beds".

The Central Committee responded to this statement by sending the following message to Elder Janzen:

“The Central Committee of the Union of the 17th of October [Octobrist Party] conveys to you its sincerest gratitude for your message to us declaring the loyalty of the German Mennonites to our beloved sovereign, Emperor Nicholas Alexandrovich, their loyalty to our dear homeland Russia, and their readiness to take all measures to alleviate the plight of wounded Russian army soldiers, and to provide food for the families of all those called upon for the defense of the homeland.”

Mennonite ministers and civic leaders met on July 22, 1914 and called for the extension of their community’s alternative service agreement beyond forestry service: to form complete medical units to gather the wounded from the front and to transport them by hospital trains to interior hospitals; to establish special hospital facilities for the wounded in the colonies; to fundraise large sums for the Red Cross; and to grant financial aid to families of soldiers (note 2).

Peter Wilhem Janzen (b. 1857) was ordained as elder in 1887 of the Memrik and Kalinovo Mennonite Church, in the Memrik Settlement of the Bachmut District, Province of Ekaterinoslav (Dnipropetrovsk), later Donetsk Oblast. He served in that capacity for thirty years until his death from typhoid fever in 1918. He was familiar with Mennonite alternative service, serving as chaplain and forestry manager at the Anadol Forestry Service Camp, near Mariupol, for several years. Janzen was born and raised in Rudnerweide, Molotschna. He was an original settler of the Memrik Colony in 1885 and ordained as a minister the first year of settlement (note 3).

--Arnold Neufeldt-Fast

---Notes---

Note 1: Memrik/ Bachmut Elder P. W. Janzen, Letter compiled in "Report of the Central Committee of the Union of October 17 [Octobrists] on its activities, from October 1, 1913, to September 1, 1914," compiled by the Assistant Chairman of the Central Committee, Professor K. E. Lindeman, Moscow. Typographers K. L. Menshov. Arbat, Nikolsky Lane, No. 21, 1914, https://chortitza.org/pdf/0v762.pdf. 
Note 2: Lawrence Klippenstein, “Mennonites and Military Service in Russia,” in Mennonite Alternative Service in Russia: The Story of Abram Dück and his Colleagues 1911–1917, edited by Lawrence Klippenstein and Jacob Dick, 1–39 (Kitchener, ON: Pandora, 2002), 24.
Note 3: On Peter Wilhelm Janzen, cf. GRanDMA no. 654449. On the Memrik church, cf. GAMEO, https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Memrik_and_Kalinovo_Mennonite_Church_(Donetsk_Oblast,_Ukraine). Photograph of Peter W. Janzen from: https://chortitza.org/FB/BF240.php. 

Comments

Russian and Prussian Mennonite Participants in “Racial-Science,” 1930

I n December 1929, some 3,885 Soviet Mennonites plus 1,260 Lutherans, 468 Catholics, 51 Baptists and seven Adventists were assisted by Germany to flee the Soviet Union. They entered German transit camps before resettlement in Canada, Brazil and Paraguay ( note 1 ) In the camps Russian Mennonites participated in a racial-biological study to measure their hereditary characteristics and “racial” composition and “blood purity” in comparison to Danzig-West Prussian, genetic cousins. In Germany in the last century, anthropological and medical research was horribly misused for the pseudo-scientific work referred to as “racial studies” (Rassenkunde). The discipline pre-dated Nazi Germany to describe apparent human differences and ultimately “to justify political, social and cultural inequality” ( note 2 ). But by 1935 a program of “racial hygiene” and eugenics was implemented with an “understanding that purity of the German Blood is the essential condition for the continued existence of the

“Operation Chortitza” – Resettler Camps in Danzig-West Prussia, 1943-44 (Part I)

In October 1943, some 3,900 Mennonite resettlers from “Operation Chortitza” entered the Gau of Danzig-West Prussia. They were transported by train via Litzmannstadt and brought to temporary camps in Neustadt (Danzig), Preußisch Stargard (Konradstein), Konitz, Kulm on the Vistula, Thorn and some smaller localities ( note 1 ). The Gau received over 11,000 resettlers from the German-occupied east zones in 1943. Before October some 3,000 were transferred from these temporary camps for permanent resettlement in order to make room for "Operation Chortitza" ( note 2 ). By January 1, 1944 there were 5,473 resettlers in the Danzig-West Prussian camps (majority Mennonite); one month later that number had almost doubled ( note 3 ). "Operation Chortitza" as it was dubbed was part of a much larger movement “welcoming” hundreds of thousands of ethnic Germans “back home” after generations in the east. Hitler’s larger plan was to reorganize peoples in Europe by race, to separate

Sesquicentennial: Proclamation of Universal Military Service Manifesto, January 1, 1874

One-hundred-and-fifty years ago Tsar Alexander II proclaimed a new universal military service requirement into law, which—despite the promises of his predecesors—included Russia’s Mennonites. This act fundamentally changed the course of the Russian Mennonite story, and resulted in the emigration of some 17,000 Mennonites. The Russian government’s intentions in this regard were first reported in newspapers in November 1870 ( note 1 ) and later confirmed by Senator Evgenii von Hahn, former President of the Guardianship Committee ( note 2 ). Some Russian Mennonite leaders were soon corresponding with American counterparts on the possibility of mass migration ( note 3 ). Despite painful internal differences in the Mennonite community, between 1871 and Fall 1873 they put up a united front with five joint delegations to St. Petersburg and Yalta to petition for a Mennonite exemption. While the delegations were well received and some options could be discussed with ministers of the Crown,

"Anti-Menno" Communist: David J. Penner (1904-1993)

The most outspoken early “Mennonite communist”—or better, “Anti-Menno” communist—was David Johann Penner, b. 1904. Penner was the son of a Chortitza teacher and had grown up Mennonite Brethren in Millerovo, with five religious services per week ( note 1 )! In 1930 with Stalin firmly in power, Penner pseudonymously penned the booklet entitled Anti-Menno ( note 2 ). While his attack was bitter, his criticisms offer a well-informed, plausible window on Mennonite life—albeit biased and with no intention for reform. He is a ethnic Mennonite writing to other Mennonites. Penner offers multiple examples of how the Mennonite clergy in particular—but also deacons, choir conductors, Sunday School teachers, leaders of youth or women’s circles—aligned themselves with the exploitative interests of industry and wealth. Extreme prosperity for Mennonite industrialists and large landowners was achieved with low wages and the poverty of their Russian /Ukrainian workers, according to Penner. Though t

High Crimes and Misdemeanors: Mennonite Murders, Infanticide, Rapes and more

To outsiders, the Mennonite reality in South Russia appeared almost utopian—with their “mild and peaceful ethos.” While it is easy to find examples of all the "holy virtues" of the Mennonite community, only when we are honest about both good deeds and misdemeanors does the Russian Mennonite tradition have something authentic to offer—or not. Rudnerweide was one of a few Molotschna villages with a Mennonite brewery and tavern , which in turn brought with it life-style lapses that would burden the local elder. For example, on January 21, 1835, the Rudnerweide Village Office reported that Johann Cornies’s sheep farm manager Heinrich Reimer, as well as Peter Friesen and an employed Russian shepherd, came into the village “under the influence of brandy,” and: "…at the tavern kept by Aron Wiens, they ordered half a quart of brandy and shouted loudly as they drank, banged their glasses on the table. The tavern keeper objected asking them to settle down, but they refused and

Mennonite Heritage Week in Canada and the Russländer Centenary (2023)

In 2019, the Canadian Parliament declared the second week in September as “Mennonite Heritage Week.” The bill and statements of support recognized the contributions of Mennonites to Canadian society ( note 1 ). 2019 also marked the centenary of a Canadian Order in Council which, at their time of greatest need, classified Mennonites as an “undesirable” immigrant group: “… because, owing to their peculiar customs, habits, modes of living and methods of holding property, they are not likely to become readily assimilated or to assume the duties and responsibilities of Canadian citizenship within a reasonable time.” ( Pic ) With a change of government, this order was rescinded in 1922 and the doors opened for some 23,000 Mennonites to immigrate from the Soviet Union to Canada. The attached archival image of the Order in Council hangs on the office wall of Canadian Senator Peter Harder—a Russländer descendant. 2023 marks the centennial of the arrival of the first Russländer immigrant groups

Turning Weapons into Waffle Irons!

Turning Weapons into Waffle Irons: Heart-Shaped Waffles and a smooth talking General In 1874 with Mennonite immigration to North America in full swing, the Tsar sent General Eduard von Totleben to the colonies to talk the remaining Mennonites out of leaving ( note 1 ). He came with the now legendary offer of alternative service. Totleben made presentations in Mennonite churches and had many conversations in Mennonite homes. Decades later the women still recalled how fond Totleben was of Mennonite heart-shaped waffles. He complemented the women saying, “How beautiful are the hearts of Mennonites!,” and he joked about how “much Mennonites love waffles ( Waffeln ), but not weapons ( Waffen )” ( note 2 )! His visit resulted in an extensive reversal of opinion and the offer was welcomed officially by the Molotschna and Chortitza Colony ministerials. And upon leaving, the general was gifted with a poem by Bernhard Harder ( note 3 ) and a waffle iron ( note 4 ). Harder was an influen

Fraktur (or Gothic) font and Kurrent- (or Sütterlin) handwriting: Nazi ban, 1941

In the middle of the war on January 1, 1942, the Winnipeg-based Mennonitische Rundschau published a new issue without the familiar Fraktur script masthead ( note 1 ). One might speculate on the reasons, but a year earlier Hitler banned the use of the font in the Reich . The Rundschau did not exactly follow all orders from Berlin—the rest of the paper was in Fraktur (sometimes referred to as "Gothic"); when the war ended in 1945, the Rundschau reintroduced the Fraktur font for its masthead. It wasn’t until the 1960s that an issue might have a page or title here or there with the “normal” or Latin font, even though post-war Germany was no longer using Fraktur . By 1973 only the Rundschau masthead is left in Fraktur , and that is only removed in December 1992. Attached is a copy of Nazi Party Secretary Martin Bormann's official letter dated January 3, 1941, which prohibited the use of Fraktur fonts "by order of the Führer. " Why? It was a Jewish invention, apparent

Village Reports Commando Dr. Stumpp, 1942: List and Links

Each of the "Commando Dr. Stumpp" village reports written during German occupation of Ukraine 1942 contains a mountain of demographic data, names, dates, occupations, numbers of untimely deaths (revolution, famines, abductions), narratives of life in the 1930s, of repression and liberation, maps, and much more. The reports are critical for telling the story of Mennonites in the Soviet Union before 1942, albeit written with the dynamics of Nazi German rule at play. Reports for some 56 (predominantly) Mennonite villages from the historic Mennonite settlement areas of Chortitza, Sagradovka, Baratow, Schlachtin, Milorodovka, and Borosenko have survived. Unfortunately no village reports from the Molotschna area (known under occupation as “Halbstadt”) have been found. Dr. Karl Stumpp, a prolific chronicler of “Germans abroad,” became well-known to German Mennonites (Prof. Benjamin Unruh/ Dr. Walter Quiring) before the war as the director of the Research Center for Russian Germans

Blessed are the Shoe-Makers: Brief History of Lost Soles

A collection of simple artefacts like shoes can open windows onto the life and story of a people. Below are a few observations about shoes and boots, or the lack thereof, and their connection to the social and cultural history of Russian Mennonites. Curiously Mennonites arrived in New Russia shoe poor in 1789, and were evacuated as shoe poor in 1943 as when their ancestors arrived--and there are many stories in between. The poverty of the first Flemish elder in Chortitza Bernhard Penner was so great that he had only his home-made Bastelschuhe in which to serve the Lord’s Supper. “[Consequently] four of the participating brethren banded together to buy him a pair of boots which one of the [Land] delegates, Bartsch, made for him. The poor community desired with all its heart to partake of the holy sacrament, but when they remembered the solemnity of these occasions in their former homeland, where they dressed in their Sunday best, there was loud sobbing.” ( Note 1 ) In the 1802 C

History of the Russian Mennonites

Search This Blog