History of the Russian Mennonites

The biggest temptation of genealogical or in-group history writing is “hagiography”– literally “writing about the lives of saints,” i.e., idealizing a subject matter, writing about a person or people in an unreal, flattering light. Hence the title of James Urry’s classic: “None but Saints” (quote from an Alexander Pope poem: “ Vain Wits and Critics were no more allow'd, When none but Saints had license to be proud; ” note 1 ). Group histories like the Russian Mennonite story are cluttered with myths in need of deconstruction—whitewashed or highly selective accounts, e.g., of the “Golden Years,” of a persecution narrative—either by outsiders, or from the enemy group within because of division—of stories of amazing self-accomplishment, wealth or group accomplishment without recognition of privilege and context—or perhaps exploitation. Family storytelling inevitably leaves much unsaid, and most of that is up to the family to decide to record or not. For example, a birth out of we...