Skip to main content

Ukraine Independence--Russian Aggression--German Interests (1918)

The semi-autonomous Ukrainian People's Republic was established shortly after Russia's February Revolution in 1917. Much was still fluid, however. After the October Bolshevik Revolution the Central Rada of Ukraine in Kyiv declared full state independence from the Russian Republic on January 22, 1918. The Ukrainian People's Republic negotiated an end to its participation in Great War, and on February 9, 1918 signed a protectorate treaty in Brest-Litovsk.

On February 17, Ukraine appealed to Germany and Austria-Hungary for assistance to repel Russian Bolshevik “invaders,” to detach Ukraine from Russia, and to establish conditions of stability.

The World War had not yet ended. Imperialist Germany was desperate for grain and natural resources from Ukraine, eager to end the war in the east while containing Russia, and determined to establish post-war markets for German goods, technologies and influence (note 1).

For its part the Russian Bolshevik regime was eager to save the Revolution, and on March 3, 1918 signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, which effectively took Russia out of the war. Soviet Russia even recognized the independence of Ukraine, and gave up control of Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia that were to become German client states.

There was still disorder in countryside. Bandit attacks on Mennonite villages grew in frequency and violence as wealth was transferred.

On April 19, 1918, the Molotschna settlement came under German military administration. The propertied classes in Ukraine—especially the ethnic Germans—welcomed the troops; from the estates “the communes and commissioners fled wildly in all directions, and each one had grabbed whatever he could” (note 2).

On April 29 the weak Ukrainian People’s Republic was toppled in a coup d’etat led by Pavlo Skoropadsky, a Ukrainian cavalry general in the war. Skoropadsky was the leader of the conservative League of Landowners. Skoropadsky agreed to continue to send food and resources to Germany and to complete German military control. Skoropadsy was installed Hetman, or royal head of state, by the church.

The new Ukrainian government ratified an edict on May 1, 1918 nullifying previous Russian liquidation laws (note 3), and confiscated property was returned to original owners. Estate owner Jacob C. Toews was named chair of a three-person commission formed to evaluate damage by Bolshevik communes on the estates (Melitopol/ Molotschna area) and arrange compensation; because there was little to take from neighbouring Russian “proletariat” villagers, well-to-do Russian estate owners were forced to pay (note 4).

In the Mennonite villages the once wealthy—often accompanied by the Ukrainian National Guard and the German military—went house-to-house to identify property and goods that had migrated. Jacob C. Toews and his neighbour Martens each received two carriages with horses, and two soldiers for the protection of their estates (note 5). Mennonite “rich women went to the houses of the poor and demanded back their pillows, lamps, chickens, pets and jars. Here is where the real hatred was engendered,” according to one contemporary (note 6).

On May 14–15, 1918, a “Congress of Representatives of the German Settlements” was called in the village of Prischib—across the Molotschna River from Halbstadt—with 750 representatives from Taurien, Ekaterinoslav and from the Don and Charkov regions. A resolution was passed unanimously with little local consultation to request the German Kaiser grant citizenship to German colonists in South Russia. The resolution indicated their wish “to organize a German state structure” and “to remain here as German forerunners and pioneers … [or to] return to the German motherland” (note 7). In turn, they promised “to offer themselves unreservedly to the German homeland, economically and militarily” (note 8).

Already a “good number” of Mennonites opted not to acquire the new Ukrainian citizenship, and requested provisional papers as German citizens; the Supreme Army Command hoped this option would help recruitment for new reservists among the colonists (note 9).

Another option was for Germans scattered across the former Russian state to migrate to South Russia including Crimea and seek independence under German protectorship, or to pursue the creation of a culturally autonomous German region within Ukraine or Crimea (note 10). Benjamin Unruh and Johann Willms were key Mennonite representatives in discussions.

By November 1918, only seven months after the arrival of German troops in Ukraine, Germany was defeated on the Western Front and began to withdraw all troops from Ukraine.

With the departure of German troops the weak Ukrainian government collapsed and with it all government authority. Nestor Makhno (1889–1934), the notorious leader of an extensive army of anarchists, stepped into the power vacuum to “expropriate the expropriators.”

             ---Arnold Neufeldt-Fast

---Notes---

Pic: Volksfreund II (XI), no. 14 (32) (April 20, 1918), 1, https://chortitza.org/pdf/pletk19.pdf..

Note 1: “Denkschrift: Über die Wahrung der Interessen des Reiches in den neuen Ost-Staaten in strategischer, wirtschaftlicher und verkehrspolitischer Hinsicht durch Konzessionsierung einer Osteuropäischen Verkehr-Gesellschaft (June 1918),” from Reichskanzlei Kriegsakten 4:2, vol. 3 (März–Juli 1918), 185–188 (Bundesarchiv Berlin-Lichterfelde R 43/2406, https://invenio.bundesarchiv.de/). Also Vzfw. (Sergeant) Rießner, “Das Ziel des deutschen Einmarsches in die Ukraine,” Deutsche Zeitung für Ost-Taurien (DZOT), Melitopol, Ukraine, 1918, no. 40 (July 25, 1918), 2f., http://resolver.staatsbibliothek-berlin.de/SBB00014E4200000000. See esp. Wolfram Dornik et al., The Emergence of Ukraine: Self-Determination, Occupation, and War in Ukraine, 1917–1922, translated by Gus Fagan (Edmonton: Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies Press, 2015), https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/32934; also Dmytro Myeshkov, “Der ukrainische Staat und seine nationalen Minderheiten 1917–1920,” Jahrbuch des Bundesinstituts für Kultur und Geschichte der Deutschen im östlichen Europa 25 (2017), 159–176, https://martin-opitz-bibliothek.de/de/elektronischer-lesesaal?action=book&bookId=0431301-25-2017#lg=1&slide=159.

Note 2: “Biography of Jacob Cornelius Toews, 1882–1968,” translated by Frieda Toews Baergen (Leamington: Essex-Kent Mennonite Historical Association), 27, https://www.ekmha.ca/collections/items/show/42.

Note 3: Cf. “Die Liquidation der Deutschstämmigen,” DZOT, Part I, no. 136 (November 15, 1918), 2; Part II, no. 137 (November 16, 1918), 2, http://resolver.staatsbibliothek-berlin.de/SBB00014E4200000000.

Note 4: J. Toews, “Biography of Jacob Cornelius Toews,” 17.

Note 5: J. Toews, “Biography of Jacob Cornelius Toews,” 27.

Note 6: Gerhard Schroeder, Miracles of Grace and Judgement: A Family Strives for Survival During the Russian Revolution (Lodi, CA: Self-published, 1974), 28f.

Note 7: In J. Toews, Mennonites in Ukraine amid Civil War and Anarchy, 52; also in Edmund Schmid, Die deutschen Kolonien im Schwarzmeergebiet Südrußlands (Berlin: Deutschtum im Ausland, 1919), 35f., https://chortitza.org/pdf/vpetk341.pdf. Cf. Thy Kingdom Come: The Diary of Johann J. Nickel of Rosenhof: 1918-1919. A record of violence and faith during the Russian Civil War, edited and translated by John P. Nickel (Saskatoon, SK: Self-published, 1978), May 31, 1918, 47; May 2, 1918, 44; Nickel references both the decision in Prischib and the broader Mennonite support in Chortitza for German citizenship. The official German response to colonists in Russia was, in contrast, very cautious; cf. Friedensstimme 16, no. 32 (July 9, 1918), 5, https://chortitza.org/pdf/pletk43.pdf. For the larger German desire for ethnic-racial settlers to repopulate after war losses, and for East Prussia to serve as a barrier to the east, cf. esp. Dornik, Emergence of Ukraine.

Note 8: “Vertrauensrat russischer Kolonisten,” DZOT, no. 3 (June 12, 1918), 3.

Note 9: Abraham Warkentin to W. J. Ewert, September 30, 1921, letter, in Benjamin H. Unruh, Die Auswanderung der niederdeutschen mennonitischen Bauern aus der Sowjetunion, 1923–1933, folder 10, 546a. Unpublished draft, ca. 1944, from Mennonite Library and Archives-Bethel College, “B. H. Unruh Collection,” MS 295, https://mla.bethelks.edu/archives/ms_295/. For the broad 1918 interpretation of the July 1913 Reich Citizenship Law’s paragraph 33, cf. Oberste Heeresleitung, “Reichs- und Staatsangehörigkeitsgesetz vom 22. Juli 1913” (July 1918), 1f. (162f.), Reichskanzlei Akten, II Kr. 1 Adh. 5, 162–163 (BArch R 43/2403f). From Bundesarchiv Berlin-Lichterfelde. https://invenio.bundesarchiv.de; also DZOT, no. 57 (August 14, 1918), 4.

Note 10: Benjamin H. Unruh to Peter Braun, October 28, 1926, 4 (Mennonite Library and Archives-Bethel College, MS 91, folder 2, https://mla.bethelks.edu/archives/ms_91/folder_2/; based on a letter from Unruh to B. B. Janz, May 19, 1922; “Ueber die Zukunft der deutschen Kolonisten,” DZOT no. 59 (August 16, 1918), 2. Colonists were divided on the loyalty they owed a sympathetic Ukrainian government; cf. “Aus der Ukraine,” DZOT no. 59 (August 16, 1918), 3; “Die Krim als selbständiger Staat,” DZOT, no. 65 (August 23, 1918), 3.




Print Friendly and PDF
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

“The way is finally open”—Russian Mennonite Immigration, 1922-23

In a highly secretive meeting in Ohrloff, Molotschna on February 7, 1922, leaders took a decision to work to remove the entire Mennonite population of some 100,000 people out of the USSR—if at all possible ( note 1 ). B.B. Janz (Ohrloff) and Bishop David Toews (Rosthern, SK) are remembered as the immigration leaders who made it possible to bring some 20,000 Mennonites from the Soviet Union to Canada in the 1920s ( note 2 ). But behind those final numbers were multiple problems. In August 1922, an appeal was made by leaders to churches in Canada and the USA: “The way is finally open, for at least 3,000 persons who have received permission to leave Russia … Two ships of the Canadian Pacific Railway are ready to sail from England to Odessa as soon as the cholera quarantine is lifted. These Russian [Mennonite] refugees are practically without clothing … .” ( Note 3 ) Notably at this point B. B. Janz was also writing Toews, saying that he was utterly exhausted and was preparing to ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Outrage in Canada: Ukrainian in Waffen-SS honoured in Parliament. Mennonite Connections

As an historic peace church, Russian Mennonite congregations in Canada never celebrated “their veterans” who had volunteered with the Waffen-SS or Wehrmacht in complex times; hundreds did however volunteer to protect and defend their corner of Ukraine from a new era of Moscow-based Bolshevism. Some later self-identified as "The Lost Generation." German Prussian Mennonites in contrast understood that heritage differently and celebrated the “Heroes' Day Memorial” service anually until 1945. After 1945 Germany appropriately renamed their remembrance day as Volkstrauertag —the People’s Day of Mourning ( note 1 ). Many descendents live in Canada. A parallel Ukrainian story made the news in Canada in September 2023. The Speaker of the House of Commons invited a 98-year-old Ukrainian-Canadian war veteran to a joint session of Parliament for the visit and address by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on September 22.  Without good vetting by the Speaker, the guest was laud...
Post a Comment
Read more

From USSR to Cherrywood Station: Mennonites winter in Markham-Stouffville, 1924

On September 26, 1924, 126 Russian Mennonite passengers disembarked the S. S. Melita at Quebec City ( note 1 ). They were among some 20,000 Mennonites who could immigrate to Canada from the Soviet Union in the 1920s. A number of these families received train cards to Cherrywood (Pickering) and Locust Hill (Markham) stations, where they were received by Markham area Mennonites. The Canadian Mennonite Board of Colonization (CMBC) registration forms record each family's travel dates as well as their "first place of arrival" in Canada. The attached artifacts—a few pages from the financial records booklet kept by Markham-Stouffville treasurer J. L. Grove, plus some correspondence—profile concretely the level of support of this community north-east of Toronto for co-religionists fleeing the Soviet Union. Mennonites in Ontario had been well informed of the relief needs in Russia since 1921 and plans for mass immigration ( note 2 ). In April 1924 the local Stouffville Tribune ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Mennonite-Designed Mosque on the Molotschna

The “Peter J. Braun Archive" is a mammoth 78 reel microfilm collection of Russian Mennonite materials from 1803 to 1920 -- and largely still untapped by researchers ( note 1 ). In the files of Philipp Wiebe, son-in-law and heir to Johann Cornies, is a blueprint for a mosque ( pic ) as well as another file entitled “Akkerman Mosque Construction Accounts, 1850-1859” ( note 2 ). The Molotschna Mennonites were settlers on traditional Nogai lands; their Nogai neighbours were a nomadic, Muslim Tartar group. In 1825, Cornies wrote a significant anthropological report on the Nogai at the request of the Guardianship Committee, based largely on his engagements with these neighbours on Molotschna’s southern border ( note 3 ). Building upon these experiences and relationships, in 1835 Cornies founded the Nogai agricultural colony “Akkerman” outside the southern border of the Molotschna Colony. Akkerman was a projection of Cornies’ ideal Mennonite village outlined in exacting detail, with un...
Post a Comment
Read more

1929 Flight of Mennonites to Moscow and Reception in Germany

At the core of the attached video are some thirty photos of Mennonite refugees arriving from Moscow in 1929 which are new archival finds. While some 13,000 had gathered in outskirts of Moscow, with many more attempting the same journey, the Soviet Union only released 3,885 Mennonite "German farmers," together with 1,260 Lutherans, 468 Catholics, 51 Baptists, and 7 Adventists. Some of new photographs are from the first group of 323 refugees who left Moscow on October 29, arriving in Kiel on November 3, 1929. A second group of photos are from the so-called “Swinemünde group,” which left Moscow only a day later. This group however could not be accommodated in the first transport and departed from a different station on October 31. They were however held up in Leningrad for one month as intense diplomatic negotiations between the Soviet Union, Germany and also Canada took place. This second group arrived at the Prussian sea port of Swinemünde on December 2. In the next ten ...
1 comment
Read more

What is the Church to Say? Letter 4 (of 4) to American Mennonite Friends

Irony is used in this post to provoke and invite critical thought; the historical research on the Mennonite experience is accurate and carefully considered. ~ANF Preparing for your next AGM: Mennonite Congregations and Deportations Many U.S. Mennonite pastors voted for Donald Trump, whose signature promise was an immediate start to “the largest deportation operation in American history.” Confirmed this week, President Trump will declare a national emergency and deploy military assets to carry this out. The timing is ideal; in January many Mennonite congregations have their Annual General Meeting (AGM) with opportunity to review and update the bylaws of their constitution. Need help? We have related examples from our tradition, which I offer as a template, together with a few red flags. First, your congregational by-laws.  It is unlikely you have undocumented immigrants in your congregation, but you should flag this. Model: Gustav Reimer, a deacon and notary public from the ...
Post a Comment
Read more

What is the Church to Say? Letter 1 (of 4) to American Mennonite Friends

Irony is used in this post to provoke and invite critical thought; the historical research on the Mennonite experience is accuarte and carefully considered. ~ANF American Mennonite leaders who supported Trump will be responding to the election results in the near future. Sometimes a template or sample conference address helps to formulate one’s own text. To that end I offer the following. When Hitler came to power in 1933, Mennonites in Germany sent official greetings by telegram: “The Conference of the East and West Prussian Mennonites meeting today at Tiegenhagen in the Free City of Danzig are deeply grateful for the tremendous uprising ( Erhebung ) that God has given our people ( Volk ) through the vigor and action of [unclear], and promise our cooperation in the construction of our Fatherland, true to the Gospel motto of [our founder Menno Simons], ‘For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.’” ( Note 1 ) Hitler responded in a letter...
Post a Comment
Read more

Flooding and Mennonites: A Common Thread

In November 2021 many Mennonites in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia were impacted by disastrous flooding. The mayor of Abbotsford—the worst-hit city—as well as the local Member of Parliament were Mennonites. Many Mennonites across Canada had family members who are directly impacted.  Flood stories have been an important thread in the Prussian-Russian Mennonite story. How have Mennonites responded? Mutual aid stands out. For Menno Simons, it was “the only sign whereby a true Christian may be known” ( note 1 ).  In 1562, “Dutch people of the Mennonite religion” were specifically invited by the Polish banking house Loysen to settle on the “Tiegenhoff part of the Vistula Delta” to rebuild dikes partially destroyed by huge floods (1540 and 1543) and wars, and to drain low-lying lagoons and swamps over large blocks of land ( note 2 ). The Tiege River—a branch of the Vistula—was at or below sea level.  Dams and ditches along the Nogat and Vistula rivers had been construct...
Post a Comment
Read more

Russian Mennonites were Monarchists

In 1848, Evgenii von Hahn, President of the Guardianship Committee for Foreign Settlers in New Russia, tasked each village administration to work with the schoolteacher to produce an exact historical description of its settlement and key events in its history ( note 1 ). Looking back 44 years, the mayor and teacher of the Molotschna village of Altona had no difficulty identifying and describing the most glorious event in their history ( note 2 ). “There are moments in life that are too great for the human heart, when we are simply overwhelmed--exquisite, great, blissful moments when our voices fall silent, when we are moved so profoundly in our inward being that our hands fold of their own accord and our eyes gaze heavenward and prayer is the one thing needed by an overflowing heart. One such great, blissful moment was in the year 1818, when the most blessed Emperor Alexander I on his journey from the Crimea to St. Petersburg honoured our colony [village] with his distinguished visit a...
Post a Comment
Read more