Molotschna's 50th Anniversary Celebration Plans, 1854

There is no mention of this celebrative event in Hildebrand’s Chronologischer Zeittafel, no report in the newly launched Prussian church paper Mennonitische Blätter, or in the Unterhaltungsblatt for German colonists in South Russia.

But plans to celebrate five decades of Mennonite settlement on the Molotschna River were well underway in 1853; detailed draft notes for the event are found in the Peter J. Braun Russian Mennonite Archive (note 1). Perhaps most importantly the file includes the list of names of the first settlers in each of the first nine Molotschna villages (est. 1804). While each village had been mandated a few years earlier to write its own village history (note 2; pics), eight of these nine did not list their first settler families by name. The lists with the male family heads are attached below.

By 1854 Molotoschna’s population had increased to about 17,000; more than half of those living in the original nine villages were landless Anwohner (note 3). Celebration plans were sketched out in detail for May 1, 1854. The event was to take place outdoors on the Johann Cornies (Jr.) family-owned Juschanlee Estate on the southern edge of the Molotschna Colony on the Juschanlee tributary.

The file includes a sketch of the seating arrangement (see pic). The district (political) elders and church elders were to sit on the podium which would include a speaker’s chair. In front of the podium in semi-circles were, first, the “veterans” (presumably the still-living pioneers) as most honoured guests; then behind them the village mayors and church ministers; behind them the school teachers, and then the other festival guests.

Schedule

1 pm Gathering
2 pm Begin of Celebration

Introduction
Song
Keynote Speech
Song
Reports and Memories

4:30 pm: Banquet

Conversations (freie Unterhaltung).

Conclusion

Short closing speeches
Closing songs

However when looking for a report on this milestone event, the record appears to be silent. What happened? The Crimean War had started December 1853--and there was an historic flood of the Jushanlee just weeks before the scheduled celebration.

The Unterhaltungsblatt offers an interesting report on the immediate impact of wartime activity and the flooding on the Molotschna Mennonites in those months.

"The Colonists and Mennonites of the Melitopol- and Berdjansk-districts willingly agreed to provide the troops of the 17th Infantry Division with the necessary horse-drawn wagons during their passage through the colonies, and actually provided 630 three- and four-horse carts at each station.

The landowner, Mennonite Johann Cornies (Jr.) built a temporary bridge across the Tashchenak valley on German wagons, the material of which cost him 1000 silver rubles.

Without this bridge the crossing of two brigades of the 17th Infantry Division, as well as artillery, would have encountered an unforeseen obstacle due to the unprecedented flooding of this valley at that time. Mr. Cornies personally supervised the successful crossing of troops over this bridge.

During the unusual flooding of the Juschanlee River, which on the morning of March 27 [1854] had swelled to 150 Faden (933 feet), and in some places it was even 5.5 versts (5.9 km) wide. Over the course of 70 versts (75 km) all bridges and dams flooded so that there seemed to be no possibility of crossing, and the second detachment of the Tarutinski Regiment was restrained by the water in the colonies of Altonau and Lindenau. With the choice of either waiting some 10 days until the water receded, or to return (north) to Halbstadt where all bridges and dams were inaccessible, Mennonites and colonists spared no sacrifice to erect floating bridges in those places that offered the detachment the possibility to cross safely to Melitopol …" (Note 4)

By spring 1854 not only were troops moving through these established, original nine Molotschna villages, but Mennonites had joined the war effort with large donations of food, wagons and horses. Mennonites also invested their time and equipment to transport food to the Crimean war zone; and Mennonites brought back wounded Russian soldiers into their once secluded colony, villages and homes for care (note 5). This, plus historic flooding that likely covered the venue grounds—the show piece for the prosperity Molotschna had achieved—meant that the planned 50th anniversary celebrations were probably cancelled.

---Arnold Neufeldt-Fast

---Notes---

Note 1: File 1762, microfilm reel 51, Peter J. Braun Russian Mennonite Archive, 1803-1920. Robarts Library, University of Toronto. See research guide translated and edited by Ingrid I. Epp and Harvey L. Dyck, https://www.mharchives.ca/holdings/papers/pdfs/PJBRussMennArchiveFA2.pdf.

Note 2: Margareta Woltner, ed., Die Gemeindeberichte von 1848 der deutschen Siedlungen am Schwarzen Meer (Leipzig: Hirzel, 1941), https://opacplus.bsb-muenchen.de/title/BV014463862.

Note 3: Delbert Plett, The Golden Years: The Mennonite Kleine Gemeinde in Russia, 1812–1849 (Steinbach, MB: Self-published, 1985), 89, https://www.mharchives.ca/download/1216/. On January 1, 1856, the Molotschna population was 18,148; 59% of families in the nine original villages were now Anwohner (renters). Source: J. Martens, “Statistische Mittheilungen über die Mennoniten-Gemeinden im südlichen Rußland (1. Januar 1856),” Mennonitische Blätter 4, no. 3 (1857), 30, https://mla.bethelks.edu/gmsources/newspapers/Mennonitische%20Blaetter/1854-1900/1857/DSCF0082.JPG.

Note 4: Unterhaltungsblatt für deutsche Ansiedler in südlichem Rußland 9, no. 8 (August 1854), 58, https://www.hfdr.de/sub/pdf/unterhaltungsblatt/1854_1-12.pdf. See previous post (forthcoming).

Note 5: See previous post, https://russianmennonites.blogspot.com/2023/01/mennonites-and-crimean-war-1853-56.html. See also James Urry and Lawrence Klippenstein, “Mennonites and the Crimean War, 1854–1856,” Journal of Mennonite Studies 7 (1989), 12, https://jms.uwinnipeg.ca/index.php/jms/article/view/748/747.

--Appendix (see attached lists)--

See attached lists of original settlers in Molotschna's first nine villages. As background, see 1848 village histories in Woltner, Gemeindeberichte von 1848. Much of the content is copied in Helmut Huebert, Molotschna Historical Atlas (Winnipeg, MB: Springfield, 2003), https://archive.org/details/MolotschnaHistoricalAtlasOCRopt.

Note a:

Altona: See Huebert, 109 (Woltner, 113-116): “13 Flemish families [only 7 named above] from the Marienburg area of Prussia settled to form Altona. … Only six families were able to build houses in the first summer because of the distance lumber had to be hauled, the rest over-wintered in earth huts.”
Münsterberg: Huebert, 161 (Woltner, 116f.) notes that 9 of these 21 families came from the Elbing area, 7 from the Tiegenhof jurisdiction, and 5 from the Marienburg region. “Besides the necessary team and wagon for transportation, most of the settlers had very little else …”
Fischau: See Woltner, 101.

Note b:

Halbstadt: See Woltner, 88-93.
Muntau: See Woltner, 94-96.
Blumstein: See Huebert, 113 (Woltner, 101f.): “Eight of the original families came from the Marienburg area, seven from the Elbing region and six from the Tiegenhof jurisdiction in Prussia. They came to Russia under the leadership of Gerhard Hildebrand, who, however, settled in Schoenau.”

Note c:

Schoenau: “21 settlers of Flemish background” (Huebert, 181; Woltner, 109f); the above list only has 18.
Lindenau: Woltner, 99, has the above plus: Martin Born, Isaak Löwen, Isaak Wiens, Franz Enns, Klaas Friesen, Peter Remfenning, David Hiebert, Jakob Klaassen, Klaas Fröse, Paul Klaassen. Huebert, 155: “The initial population of the village was 90, with 47 males and 43 females.”
Lichtenau: Initially “21 Flemish farmers” (Huebert, 149; Woltner, 98).

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