Vaccinations in Chortitza and Molotschna, beginning in 1804

Vaccination lists for Chortitza Mennonite children in 1809 and 1814 were published prior to the COVID-19 pandemic with little curiosity (note 1). However during the 2020-22 pandemic and in a context in which some refused to vaccinate for religious belief, the historic data took on new significance. Ancestors of some of the more conservative Russian Mennonite groups—like the Reinländer or the Bergthalers or the adult children of land delegate Jacob Höppner—were in fact vaccinating their infants and toddlers against small pox over two hundred years ago (note 2).

Also before the current pandemic Ukrainian historian Dmytro Myeshkov brought to light other archival materials on Mennonites and vaccination. The material below is my summary and translation of the relevant pages of Myeshkov’s massive 2008 volume on Black Sea German and their Worlds, 1781 to 1871 (German only; note 3).

Myeshkov confirms that Chortitza was already immunizing its children in 1804 when their District Office “reported an epidemic rampant among its children.” A nearby non-Mennonite German settlement (Joseftal) had 20 children die of smallpox that year. The newly arrived settlers in Molotschna in 1804 were also plagued by the same children’s disease, Myeshkov notes. Chortitza Mennonites in fact “begged” their government liaison, State Counsellor Contenius, for the cowpox vaccines. Smallpox is an acute, highly infectious often fatal disease; those exposed to cowpox are immune from smallpox.

Chortitza not only requested the vaccine, “but also instructions on how to vaccinate their children independently.” Both Chortitza and Molotschna settlers may have received information about the vaccines from officials at the Ekaterinoslav Medical Office, “who in 1804 often visited the resettlers housed in the town, and at the same time began to carry out vaccinations in the settlements of the governorate [e.g., Chortitza], beginning spring 1805. In March 1805, an official of the Medical Office named Becker was sent to Chortitza to carry out vaccinations and teach them how to administer the vaccinations.”

A few years later in 1808—on Contenius’ instructions—cowpox vaccines were administered in the German and Mennonite settlements along the Molotschna River. Some of it “had been obtained locally and some had been sent from Moscow.” An official by the name of Wannovius administered the vaccines. Soon thereafter a committee “for the dissemination of cowpox vaccination” was established in Ekaterinoslav, and the vaccination work among the colonists was done more systematically.

“Lists of children who had not yet received vaccinations had to be compiled in advance. Great importance was attached to education among the colonists, which was to highlight the benefits of the planned campaign.” Myeshkov cites one official who was convinced that "this saving remedy ... may be suitable not only to protect susceptible persons for all time from the mischief and cruelty of natural smallpox, but in time may also put a stop to its ravages altogether and to its most fatal traces among the people." The committee, Myeshkov shows, then thought it necessary and expedient to train colonists locally how to inoculate their own people with their own “inoculators".

Most interesting is a chart that Myeshkov inserts showing the progress of inoculation in the Molotschna Mennonite Colony in 1817. At the start of April 1817, 211 Molotschna Mennonite children were unvaccinated. Another 100 children were born between April 1 and December 31. Of these 311 children, 197 were vaccinated during this time. Twelve unvaccinated children died, and 102 children still remained unvaccinated.

This indicates some vaccine hesitancy in the colony though—as Myeshkov notes—“the available data indicate that the vaccination situation in the other [German, Swedish and Bulgarian] colonies was even worse than in the Molotschna.” If vaccinations were undertaken in an unsystematic way, it was “probably related to the availability of vaccine” he suggests, which had to be produced first.

“The hopes of the committee in Ekaterinoslav that the vaccine could be obtained locally from already vaccinated children were not fulfilled, because in the Molotschna colony, as in other colonies, the parents did not allow it.” That said, Colonial Physician Schulze “succeeded in keeping the number of unvaccinated children under control, partly because the vaccinations he administered were very rarely unsuccessful.”

Myeshkov’s footnotes direct the reader to the relevant primary documents that can help to reconstruct the life and times of Mennonites in a pandemic.

A Molotschna vaccination list from 1831 was also found in the twentieth century, recorded and subsequently lost (note 4). In the context of that 1831 cholera epidemic, Mennonite leader Johann Cornies wrote to his friend in Prussia, Johann Wiebe, on health measures and Mennonite attitudes towards fighting the epidemic: “We must … plead with [God] to turn this scourge away from our empire and our villages. With complete faith in the wisdom of our government, we await the Almighty’s ordinances without fear … whatever comes from God will serve our well-being.” (Note 5)

Myeshkov also has one reference to Jacob D. Epp’s diary, A Mennonite in Russia (note 6) which also has a number of personal references to vaccinations in Epp’s family in the 1850s.

In short, Russian Mennonites were gratefully vaccinating their children 217 years ago and most continued to ask the state for vaccines in the decades that followed.

---Arnold Neufeldt-Fast

---Notes---

Note 1: See 1809 immunization list for the Chortitza Settlement, https://www.mennonitegenealogy.com/russia/1809.htm, as well as the 1814 list: https://www.mennonitegenealogy.com/russia/1814c.htm.

Note 2: For example, Reinländer Elder Johann J. Friesen (b.1869, #134092)--who took his people from Canada to Mexico in 1923, and his wife--both had ancestors who vaccinated their children in Chortitza in 1809 and 1814. See Friesen’s ancestors--Abraham Friesen (#158055) and Peter Dyck as well as his wife’s ancestors--Peter Martens (GRanDMA #486885) and Johann Harms (#107755). The same for Bergthal Elder Johann Funk’s mother—vaccinated by her parents (#196100), or landscout Jacob Höppner’s granddaughter, Maria Hildebrandt (#197316). On Johann Friesen, https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Friesen%2C_Johann_J._(1869-1935).

Note 3: Dmytro Myeshkov, Die Schawarzmeerdeutschen und ihre Welten: 1781–1871 (Essen: Klartext, 2008). This is the source of the translated material above (pp. 168-171).

Note 4: See previous post, https://russianmennonites.blogspot.com/2023/05/a-mennonite-pandemic-spirituality-1830.html.

Note 5: No. 202, “Johann Cornies to Johann Wiebe, Tiege, West Prussia, December 30, 1830,” in Transformation on the Southern Ukrainian Steppe: Letters and Papers of Johann Cornies, vol. 1: 1812–1835, translated by Ingrid I. Epp; edited by Harvey L. Dyck, Ingrid I. Epp, and John R. Staples (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2015), 205.

Note 6: A Mennonite in Russia: The Diaries of Jacob D. Epp, 1851–1880, translated and edited by Harvey L. Dyck (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2013).

---

To cite this post: Arnold Neufeldt-Fast, "Vaccinations in Chortitza and Molotschna, beginning 1804," History of the Russian Mennonites (blog), May 29, 2023,

Comments

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, ...

Flooding as a weapon of war, 1657

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then these maps speak volumes. In February 1657, the Swedish King Carolus Gustavus ordered an intentional breach of the embankments along the Vistula River to completely flood the villages of the Danzig Werder. See the vivid punctures and water flow in 1657 map below; compare with the 1730 maps with rebuilt villages and farms ( note 1 ). In Polish memory this war is appropriately remembered as "The Deluge". Villages in the Danzig Werder (delta) from which Mennonites immigrated to Russia include: Quadendorf, Reichenberg, Krampitz, Neunhuben, Hochzeit, Scharfenberg, Wotzlaff, Landau, Schönau, Nassenhuben, Mönchengrebin, and Nobel ( note 2 ). In the war the suburbs outside the gates of Danzig suffered most; Mennonites lived here in large numbers, e.g., in Alt Schottland and Stoltzenberg. First, these villages were completely razed by the City of Danzig to keep the invading Swedes from using the villages to their advantage in battle. ...

“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 ...

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...

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 ...

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 ...

Mennonite “Displaced Persons” and MCC’s “Jewish Argument”

At the conclusion of the war Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) was fully aware that “their” 13,000-plus Russian Mennonite refugees in Germany did not qualify as displaced persons and for support from the International Refugee Organization. They were refused IRO “care and maintenance” as Soviet citizens, i.e., they were free to return home. MCC sought to convince the IRO that the Mennonite refugees were not “Soviet Germans” and--if they had became German citizens in Warthegau (also a disqualifier), it was done under duress ( note 1 ). Astonishingly MCC’s Europe Director Peter J. Dyck—later seen as the Moses of the Mennonites—proposed to top military personnel at US military headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany (USFET) in July 1946, that Mennonites be granted the same status as Jews as a persecuted people. “By a recent decree all Jews, regardless of their nationality, are automatically given the status of 'D.P.' [displaced person] on the grounds that they are victims of persecu...

The Flight to Moscow 1929

In 1926, my grandfather’s sister Justina Fast (b. 1896) and her husband Peter Görzen moved from Krassikow, Neu Samara (Soviet Union) to village no. 5 Dejewka, Orenburg. “We thought we would live our lives here with our children secure in the hands of God. But the times were becoming turbulent,” Justina recalled. In May 1929 they travelled back to Krassikow for Pentecost to visit with her mother, brothers and their families. But when they returned to their home, she writes, “… a large quota of grain was demanded of us. But we had nothing, and the harvest was not yet in. Then we heard that many were planning to move to Canada, including my three siblings with my mother, and my husband's three sisters too. My husband decided to go to Moscow first to see if it was possible and what was required for emigration. We made the decision to leave when the harvest was complete. At that time so many people were leaving [for Moscow], and early in September we sold everything we had. Only the b...

Immigration to Canada, 1923: Background

In April 1921 Mennonites in the Caucasus and Don Region officially petitioned Moscow for permissions to emigrate—which Lenin had “flatly refused.” Their rationale was more than economic. “The disruption of economic conditions leads to impoverishment, which again goes hand in hand with the degradation of morals and has an alarming impact on our youth, who are also constantly exposed to the pressure of brutal and ruthless agitation on the part of those in power. … This decay of our spiritual and economic goods will only become greater and more ruinous.” ( Note 1 ) Later that year and some months before the large-scale feeding operations could begin in the Soviet Union, American Mennonite Relief (AMR) commissioner A.J. Miller petitioned the Soviet Embassy in London for exit permissions for 20,000 Mennonites ( note 1b) . He was unsuccessful. Nonetheless in a highly secretive meeting in Ohrloff, Molotschna on February 7, 1922, key Mennonite leaders took a decision to work toward the re...

1873: First Russian Mennonites leave for North America

On February 4, 1873, ministers and elders held a special meeting in Elder Isaak Peters’ Pordenau Molotschna church ( note 1 ). It was a larger building with balcony, constructed in 1860 after the original 1828 stone church building had been torn down. They had put down deep roots in Russia; nonetheless Peters spoke strongly in favour of emigration and supported a decision to send land scouts to America. The team was given a mandate to negotiate for the possibility of some 50 to 60,000 Mennonite immigrants ( note 2 ). Eager to compete with the United States for settlers, the Canadian government passed an Order-in-Council on March 3, 1873 to create a Mennonite reservation of nine-and-one-third townships ( note 3 ). The twelve-member deputation—including two Molotschna elders—which had been sent to North America returned in September with a favourable report ( note 4 ). Despite divergent opinions on the ground, the first hundred Russian Mennonite agriculturalists arrived in the United...

History of the Russian Mennonites

Search This Blog