Skip to main content

A Traveler's Impressions of the Molotschna, 1927

In November 1927, Susanna Toews of Ohrloff, Molotschna wrote to her brother Gerhard in Canada, "Father is sleeping and the sisters are reading, even though they have read the stuff ten times. . .. Twice a week we get Das Neue Dorf. We read the most important material the first evening and then father reads the rest of it the next day" (note 1).

A youth in Friedensruh, Molotschna reported to the communist youth paper Die Saat in 1928, that their village receives 13 copies of Das Neue Dorf, 6 copies of Die Saat, one of the Moscow-based Deutsche Zentral-Zeitung, 16 copies of Die Trompete, 2 copies of Neuland, and some Russian papers as well. On average, 2 papers per household--all communist papers.

A Mennonite-based monthly agricultural journal, “The Practical Agriculturalist” (Der praktische Landwirt) had been approved for publication in Ukraine in 1924 but was shut down in December 1926. Government authorities in Ukraine were exasperated to see a “significant anti-Soviet religious periodical” and “widely popular” Mennonite church or faith-oriented paper Unser Blatt (“Our Paper”) had been approved in Russia for publication in October 1925 and was made available in Ukraine. It was shut down in 1928 (note 2).

In 1925 Das Neue Dorf--or "new village" --was created out of two smaller Bolshevik /Communist Party papers in Ukraine/Crimea and published twice-weekly. It was the “organ for the Bolshevik Party” designed for German villages of southern Ukraine. The Central Bureau of the German Section of the Central Committee of the Communist Party in Ukraine used the paper to address their on-going “Mennonite problem” and directed it on occasion to create pointed articles, such as: “What the Soviet power accomplished for Mennonites following the Civil War,” etc. Rural correspondents were explicitly directed to strengthen “supervision of abuses,” typically by publicly embarrassing former leaders with wealth or a connection to the church in almost every issue. Cartoons helped to get the message across, as did unsigned letters to the editors (see related post, note 3). But it also supported the official ethnic German cultural developments in officially German districts, advocated for sufficient land for the districts, and offered suggestions for a smoother transition and development to the new political environment.

One of the more measured articles is a type of travelogue through the Molotschna in 1927 (note 4); while it is only signed with the initials of the author (“H.R.”), he appears to be a fellow Low German Mennonite and Communist Party activist.

It is a longer article; here are some excerpts:

“About ten kilometers from [Rudnerweide] lies the village of Gnadenfeld. Here land division is now being carried out. It turned out that some land was being “hidden” [from the surveyor by those wanting to farm more land]. "Didn't you know?" asked the surveyor reproachfully. Everyone was silent at this question. The land share for each farmstead is 16 to 32 desiatina [17 to 34 hectare], yet some are without any land at all. For example, citizen H.D., who is a very hard-working farmer, has nothing except a pair of horses and wagons; he is a native of Gnadenfeld yet nevertheless has to lease some land from year to year.

Wernersdorf is just a small village. It is said that the people here are also poor, although today some farmsteads already look quite prosperous. Everything goes its daily course. Over the last year there have been only two incidents about which the good people of Wernersdorf became a bit disturbed. That was when the land surveyor was to come—this led to some "inconveniences" similar to those in Gnadenfeld, and then also when a new chairman of the village council was finally elected.

The former, they say, was an otherwise good man, but very forgetful in matters concerning the community or individual citizens. On every trip to Halbstadt he especially loved to stop in Tokmak on the way to look deeply into the schnapps glass. This did not suit the citizens of Wernersdorf in the long run, and it is firmly hoped that his successor, a former Red Army soldier, will do things better.

Wernersdorf is situated on the river. On the other side of the bank there is a Russian village. The relationship between the Germans and Russians is not very good. The Russian side often threatens with Makhno [anarchist leader], once they even said: "Makhno will be there in three days and then we will make an end with you Germans." Often there is stealing from the Germans, and the trail almost always leads to the Russian side. A direct hostility is palpable. The Germans do not look at the Russians like they do at their own kind, but from above down: "That's just a Russian."

Of course, a lot of ideological education (Aufklärungsarbeit) is needed here. The Halbstadt District should also contact the surrounding Russian districts and lead this work from both sides. National [ethnic] discord must not be tolerated under any circumstances. Festivals in honour of the Revolution could be celebrated together, meetings and gatherings could be held where German and Russian speakers would appear. Schools could also make joint excursions. The German farmers must show more good will towards Russian farmers, and help them with good advice, because the German understands farming here better. Many more suggestions could be made. It is not an easy task that stands before the district, but it must be solved and a rapprochement--more harmony between the German and Russian population--must be the goal.

The ethnic German schools in the district still leave a lot to be desired. There is still a great lack of German books and guides for the teachers. The material situation of the teachers is still weak. Particularly difficult and time-consuming for teachers is the filling out of the most diverse forms, lists and papers, which are sometimes sent by the rayon in heaps in the Ukrainian language (in German rayon) which are sent by the rayon sometimes in heaps.

The cooperative functions better now than it did when the [Mennonite led] "Union of Citizens of Dutch Origin" was in charge [notice the spin-ANF]. The latter, through its mismanagement, caused tangible damage to many a German farmer. It is only in the present situation that the individual German cooperatives have the opportunity to develop. The demand for goods is great. Comrade “A.,” who heads the cooperative in Pordenau, said that the necessary goods are not always available in Melitopol. People are forced to travel further to buy goods, which, of course, unnecessarily increases the cooperative's expenses. More attention should be paid to the German cooperatives, which are still weak thanks to the previous mismanagement, and they should be better served in Raysojus in Melitopol.

Ideological education is weak. One cannot find a proper reading hall in any village, i.e., where one can get hold of a German book or newspaper. Young people spend most of their free time in the streets. The district party committee should pay more attention to this matter and find ways and means to get closer to the German population. The Party Committee is hardly known in German villages; many do not even know that it exists. If you ask a German farmer about it, he will say: Well, is there something like that in Halbstadt, too?"

Moreover, in many villages there is not a single Komsomol- or party member. This, of course, makes the work exceptionally difficult, but nevertheless, there could be a somewhat closer connection between the German farmers and the party organization.

The church still plays an important role in these villages today. Like everyone else, the Mennonite enjoys complete freedom of faith. But even the sturdy walls of the Mennonite church (Bethaus) sometimes sway quite noticeably. You can see it in the apparently small things. "Did you go to Sunday school today?" a strict father asks his son. "No, I was playing," comes the reply. "There were only girls and two of the very youngest boys." The church in G. [Gnadenfeld] is to be renovated, but the money does not come in; the farmer knows better and invests in his farm instead. The question of conscientious objection is discussed and already there are young people who do not want to renounce the honour of carrying a weapon on behalf of the state of the working class.

The harvest has turned out quite well this year. Winter cereals were mostly good, while the summer cereals in places was very weak. The present winter sowing gives hope for the coming year.

One does not like to leave such a beautiful region. We hope that the German village, the German district, will continue to take an active part in the Soviet construction and serve as a model. H.R.”

            ---Arnold Neufeldt-Fast

---Notes---

Note 1: John B. Toews, trans. and ed., Letters from Susan: A Woman’s View of the Russian Mennonite Experience, 1928–1941 (North Newton, KS: Bethel College, 1988), 22f. https://mla.bethelks.edu/books/wedel_series/letters_from_susan.pdf.

Note 2: See GAMEO: https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Unser_Blatt_(1925-1928)(Periodical); AND https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Allrussischer_Mennonitischer_Landwirtschaftlicher_Verein. Most issues available at: https://chortitza.org/DPL.htm, AND https://chortitza.org/ZUB.htm.

Note 3: Related posts: https://russianmennonites.blogspot.com/2023/02/agitation-propaganda-and-strategies-of.html, AND (forthcoming).

Note 4: "Reiseeindrücke (Halbstädter Rayon, Kreis Melitopol)," Das Neue Dorf no. 19, 165 (1927), 3. https://martin-opitz-bibliothDek.de/de/elektronischer-lesesaal?action=book&bookId=via000095#lg=1&slide=0. My translation.

Print Friendly and PDF
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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...
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

Catherine the Great’s 1763 Manifesto

“We must swarm our vast wastelands with people. I do not think that in order to achieve this it would be useful to compel our non-Christians to accept our faith--polygamy for example, is even more useful for the multiplication of the population. … "Russia does not have enough inhabitants, …but still possesses a large expanse of land, which is neither inhabited nor cultivated. … The fields that could nourish the whole nation, barely feeds one family..." – Catherine II (Note 1 ) “We perceive, among other things, that a considerable number of regions are still uncultivated which could easily and advantageously be made available for productive use of population and settlement. Most of the lands hold hidden in their depth an inexhaustible wealth of all kinds of precious ores and metals, and because they are well provided with forests, rivers and lakes, and located close to the sea for purpose of trade, they are also most convenient for the development and growth of many kinds ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Mennonite Medical Orderlies in World War I

Russia declared war on Germany on July 20, 1914. Mennonite ministers and civic leaders met on July 22, 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 1 ). Mennonites knew that they would have to prove their patriotism in positive and tangible ways in order to retain property rights and privileges. Abraham Kröker, editor of the Friedensstimme , wrote just before the start of the war: “Do we not owe it our government and Russian neighbours to show that if a war … broke out, we would be ready to serve the interests of the Fatherland [Russia], and to help the needy?” D. H. Epp, editor of Der Botschafter , wrote: “We need to show ...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Beginnings: Some Basics

The sixteenth-century ancestors of Russian Mennonites were largely Anabaptists from the Low Countries. Because their new vision of church called for voluntary membership marked by adult baptism upon confession of faith, they became one of the most persecuted groups of the Protestant Reformation ( note 1 ). For a millennium re-baptism ( a na -baptism) had been considered a heresy punishable by death ( note 2 ), and again in 1529 the Imperial Diet of Speyer called for the “brutal” punishment for those who did not recognize infant baptism. Many of the earliest Anabaptist cells were found in Belgium and The Netherlands--part of the larger Habsburg Empire ruled after 1555 by “the Most Catholic of Kings,” Philip II of Spain. The North Sea port cities of the Low Countries had some limited freedoms and were places for both commercial and cultural exchange; ships arrived daily not only from other Hanseatic League like Danzig, but also from Florence, Venice and Genoa, the Americas and the Far Ea...
Post a Comment
Read more

Formidable Fräulein Marga Bräul (1919–2011)

Fräulein Bräul left an indelible mark on two generations of high school students in the Mennonite Colony of Fernheim, Paraguay. Former students and acquaintances recall that Marga Bräul demanded the highest effort and achievements of her students, colleagues and of herself—the kind of teacher you either love or hate but will never forget! In March 1947, Marga was offered a position at the Fernheim Secondary School ( Zentralschule ). A recent refugee to Paraguay from war-torn Europe, she taught mathematics, physics, and chemistry. In 1952, she was the only female faculty member ( note 1 ). Marga wedded a strong commitment to academics with a passion for quality arts and crafts. She provided extensive extra-curricular instruction to students in handiwork and was especially renowned for her artwork—which included painting and woodworking— end of year art exhibits with students, theatre sets, and festival decorations. Marga’s pedagogical philosophy was holistic; she told Mennonite ed...
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

“First Arrival of German Troops in Halbstadt” (Volksfreund, April 20, 1918)

“ April 19, 1918 will always remain significant in the history of the Molotschna German Colony. That which until recently could hardly be imagined has occurred: the German military has arrived to free us from the despotism, rape and pillaging of barbarous people and to reestablish the order and security of life and property--something desperately necessary for our land. For this we give thanks above all to the One in whose hands the peoples and nations and also individuals rest. ...” ( Note 1 ) Mennonites greeted their “guests and liberators” with festivities that included baked goods (Zwieback), meats and even the German anthem “ Deutschland, Deutschland über alles "—all before the watchful eyes of their Russian /Ukrainian neighbours. The troops arrived by train; and to the shock of most present, three bound prisoners—all well-known bandits and terrorists—“were brought out of one of the railway cars without any prior notice, lined up and shot right in front of us” as an exampl...
Post a Comment
Read more

"Should Holy Baptism be offered to Deaf-Mutes (1886)?”

In 1886 the General Conference of the Mennonite Congregations in Russia (elders and ministers) adopted the following resolution: “A deaf-mute who desires Holy Baptism may be baptized, providing he is not an idiot ( blödsinnig ), and an understanding of baptism is first introduced to him as far as possible” ( note 1 ). A. G. Ambarzumov, a Protestant Armenian who had been trained in Germany and Switzerland for teaching the deaf, started a small initiative in the Mennonite “Molotschna Settlement” in Ukraine/South Russia in the 1870s. After a difficult start, benefactors in the Molotschna embraced the idea of a larger institution for the deaf—the first such institution in South Russia--especially because of the demonstrable results produced in the lives of students. “After only four months, Herr Ambarzumov could demonstrate encouraging results; the students were able to pronounce almost all vowels and consonants and speak and write some words" ( note 2 ). The institution's n...
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