Historical Investigation. "What motivated the emigration of Mennonites from the U.S.S.R. to North America in the mid- 1920's?" By:

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1 Historical Investigation "What motivated the emigration of Mennonites from the U.S.S.R. to North America in the mid- 1920's?" By:

2 Section 1: Identification and Evaluation of Sources The question I have chosen to investigate is What motivated the emigration of Mennonites from the U.S.S.R. to North America in the mid-1920 s? The two sources I have chosen to analyze in this section are Dietrich Neufeld s A Russian Dance of Death and Frank H. Epp s Mennonites In Canada, The former is a primary source with an introduction that is a secondary source, while the latter is secondary. Dietrich Neufeld s A Russian Dance of Death was originally published under the pseudonym Dirk Gora, and was originally written in French. According to Global Anabaptist Encyclopedia Online (GAMEO), Neufeld lived in Russia during the Revolution and has numerous publications after having moved to America in The journal consists of three parts which were all published in German. Al Reimer, in the version I used in my investigation, translated all three parts into English. He says, in the preface of the publication, that I have carefully compared the author s English translation with my own parts I and III have not been translated before. At this point, one would question the credibility of Al Reimer. According to GAMEO, Al Reimer was a professor at the University of Winnipeg and holds a PhD in English from Yale University. He has grown up immersed in Mennonite culture and is known to have translated and edited numerous accounts. Judging by the credentials of Al Reimer, he seems to be a very credible translator of the work of Dietrich Neufeld. In my investigation, I mostly used the introductory information by Al Reimer, the secondary source in the publication. However, although I did not directly use this information in my investigation, reading the words of Dietrich Neufeld gave me great insight to the way that the Bolshevik Revolution and anarchist raids affected his family, however it is noted that Neufeld s opinion about certain aspects could be biased, or may not tell the full story.

3 Frank H. Epp s Mennonites in Canada, was an extremely useful secondary source for me, as it provided in-depth historical information along with some analysis of events from the exact time I was researching- the mid 1920 s. In analyzing this source, the first thing to notice is Mr. Epp s Mennonite last name. Again, according to GAMEO, Epp was a part-time pastor in the Mennonite Church. This small piece of information suggests that some of his analysis could be biased toward his culture. Nonetheless, Epp is extremely educated in theology, communications, and history. He has experience as a school teacher, and at one point was director of Conrad Grebel College, as well as a professor of history. He has also traveled to the Soviet Union to do research. The purpose of his book, Mennonites in Canada, , is to historically inform the public of the Mennonite s struggle for survival as per the cover of the book. A good reason to use this source would be that it is heavily based on much research and historical expertise by Epp himself.

4 Section 2: Investigation Introduction The journey of the Mennonites in Russia began with the manifestos issued to them by Catherine the Great in 1762 and 1763 inviting them, among other Europeans, to settle in Southern Russia to farm the land. The German Mennonites were known to be very prosperous farmers in Prussia, and, after some convincing from a representative of Catherine the II and a successful visit to scope out the lands and meet with Catherine the Great by Jacob Hoeppner and Johann Bartsch 1, the Mennonites decided to migrate in The main motivation for their decision to leave, however, was the increase in taxes the Mennonites had to pay in Prussia to the Church of the state rather than their own Church. Upon refusing to pay these taxes, the government banned the Mennonites from buying any more land. Their migration was mostly based on their oppression, and opportunity in Russia. 2 Russia granted certain privileges to the Mennonites; mainly, a separation of foreigners and natives which allowed the Mennonites to operate independently. This boded well with the Mennonites as self-determination was a large part of their society: they conducted their own religious, educational and civic affairs within their colonies. The Mennonites were also granted full religious freedom and exemption from military service for all time. 3 Pacifism and freedom of religion was vital to their emigration into Russia in the late 1700 s. Upon settling, they quickly established two large colonies, Chortitza and Molotscha, where many Mennonites in Manitoba date back to. Because of their extreme success in farming 1 Cornelius J. Dyck, An Introduction to Mennonite History (Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 1981), 164, 165,178, "Prussia to Russia," Mennonites,, accessed February 28, 2018, 3 Dyck, 165

5 and industrial work in Russia, the Mennonites became very prosperous and wealthy and contributed well to Russia. Six percent of the industrial production in Russia was carried out by the Mennonites which made some of them incredibly wealthy. 4 The successful economic conditions the Mennonites had allowed them to run many educational programs and civic programs. According to Cornelius J. Dyck, these programs were unmatched anywhere in the Mennonite world at that time. 5 Some of these programs included homes for the aged, orphanages, hospitals, a school for deaf-mutes, psychiatric facilities, and a school of business. They had established 400 elementary schools and 13 high schools, four trades schools and one Bible school. There were also around 250 Mennonite students that were attending high-level Russian schools and others studying abroad. 6 The Mennonites did extremely well for themselves, specifically in education and industry. However, in the early 1900 s a number of significant events led to the eventual migration of many Mennonites from this so called motherland to Canada. The main factors that motivated the emigration of Mennonites from the U.S.S.R. to North America in the mid-1920 s was the communist regime resulting from the Bolshevik Revolution, deadly attacks by Nestor Makhno, and the horrific Great Famine of Bolshevik Revolution and Communism (1917) At the start of the Bolshevik Revolution, Mennonites were quite (naïvely) delighted as the Bolsheviks had promised to end World War I, which meant that their sons could return home 4 Ibid, Ibid, Dyck, 179

6 from the war. 7 However, their opinion of the Revolution would soon change for the worse. The communist result of the Bolshevik Revolution completely uprooted the Mennonite way of life which was previously granted by Catherine the Great in , therefore making it clearer to them that things were changing in this place they called home, and their culture and lives were no longer safe. The Bolshevik Revolution was a conflict between the Romanov bourgeois capitalists of the Russian provisional government and the Soviet Bolsheviks. The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, defeated the Russian Romanov government and thus took control of the country with a new communist regime. This made Russia, now called the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) 9, the first communist state. 10 Communism in the USSR caused moral dilemmas and persecution for the Mennonites as communist ideologies prohibited religion, forms of selfdetermination, and made it easier for anarchist/revolutionary raids to occur throughout their colonies as the Mennonites were viewed as counter-revolutionary. 11 One major factor that led the Mennonites to emigrate from the USSR was the statesanctioned persecution of those with religious beliefs. A decree by Vladimir Lenin in 1918 stated that the church would no longer have any legal status and the right to own property or to teach religion in schools to minors was prohibited. 12 This led to considerable atheistic propaganda that 7, Frank H. Epp Mennonites in Canada, , 2nd ed., vol. 2, 2 vols., Mennonites in Canada (Toronto: Macmillan of Canada, 1982), 139, 142, 143, 144, Deutsche Welle ( "Catherine the Great and the 'Russian-Germans' Culture Arts, music and lifestyle reporting from Germany DW ," DW.COM,, accessed February 28, 2018, 9 Dyck, History.com Staff, "Russian Revolution," History.com, 2009,, accessed February 28, 2018, 11 Epp, Carl Schlichting, "In-Situ Treatment of Paints in a Ukrainian Catholic Church," APT Bulletin 20, no. 4 (1988):, doi: /

7 was spread throughout schools and public areas. Hundreds of Russian Orthodox church leaders (mostly bishops and priests) were subject to murder and torture during these times, and there was no reason the same couldn t happen to Mennonite church leaders. 13 The practice of the Christian faith is foundational to the Mennonite culture and without tolerance from their country, the USSR simply was not an acceptable or safe living space for them. The new communist government did not hesitate to eradicate all aspects of selfdetermination from the USSR which significantly affected Mennonites: their society and churches were self-educated and self-governed. With the new dictatorship in place, their selfgoverned villages were suddenly replaced by revolutionary councils made of soviet peasants, workers, and other locals, or as Dietrich Neufeld puts it, assorted riff-raff. 14 This new council would take food, clothes, and livestock as currency from their colonies. This demonstrates the power the USSR had over the minority Mennonites under the new regime. The Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 resulted in a communist USSR which contributed to much discrimination and persecution of the Mennonites to the point of abandoning their valued pacifist ways for self-defence. This persecution and discrimination was predominantly due to their culture and way of life which clashed with communist beliefs. This includes aspects of selfdetermination and religion, and issues such as pacifism and the right to own private property for their agrarian way of life. The rejection of these aspects of faith and culture prompted many 13 Dmitrij V. Pospelovskij, A history of Soviet atheism in theory and practice, and the believer (Basingstoke u.a.: Macmillan, 1988), Dietrich Neufeld and Al Reimer, A Russian dance of death: revolution and civil war in the Ukraine (Winnipeg: Hyperion Press for the Mennonite Literary Society and the University of Manitoba, 1988), 1, 2, 3.

8 Mennonites to consider moving to another country even if it meant leaving behind wealth, family and friends. Nestor Makhno (1919) The communist regime introduced by the Bolshevik Revolution paved the way for anarchists such as Nestor Makhno to cause terror throughout the USSR, persecuting those who were counter-revolutionary, specifically the Mennonites. With law and order in the USSR under Vladimir Lenin completely in shambles, it was much easier for bandits and other rebels to (allegedly) side with the Soviets to raid villages and country sides, particularly the Mennonite colonies due to their notable non-communist ways of life. Because of the growing terrorism directed against the colonies, the Mennonites were forced to take up arms for the first time in centuries 15, in order to defend themselves against anarchists such as Nestor Makhno. Nestor Makhno had now become a household name in many Mennonite families, notorious for his unforgettable violent acts towards the Mennonites during his two Reigns of Terror over two successive winters. 16 Motivated by the prosperity of the Mennonites from their tireless farming and industrial work 17, Makhno swept the colonies raping, robbing, and murdering Mennonites. The Soviet Government made no attempts to stop these massacres as the Mennonites were not only enemies of the Makhnovites but also the Bolsheviks. During this 15 Epp, Neufeld, 3 17 Ibid, 2

9 period around 700 Mennonites lost their lives to the anarchist Makhnovites. 18 According to firsthand account by a Mennonite victim of Makhnovite raids from the Sagradovka colony, Nearly everybody in our village was struck down or murdered old men of eighty as well as infants of a few weeks. This terror lasted from 7 to 8 o clock, and during that time ninety-six persons were killed. After the bandits had robbed us of all our money and such personal belongings as they could carry with them they set fire to the buildings and departed for the other villages 19 In conclusion, the reign of Nestor Makhno in many regions of the USSR inhabited by Mennonites involved some of the worst persecution the Mennonites had faced to date. This demonstrated further that their culture was no longer tolerated and vulnerable to violent measures of persecution by Nestor Makhno, with the apparent endorsement from the Soviet government. It was becoming more essential that the Mennonites emigrate as not only their freedom of religion was on the line, but also their lives. The Great Famine ( ) To make matters worse, after years of the Bolshevik Revolution and persecution the Mennonites, along with all of the USSR, suffered through a terrible famine which was really the last straw for Mennonite settlement in Russia before their trek to Canada. 20 One of the worst disasters in Europe since the Medieval black plague was the Russian famine of The previous years of constant war led to a severe economic decline in 18 Ibid, 3 19 C. Henry Smith, Smith's Story of the Mennonites (Newton, Kansas: Faith and Life Press, 1981). 20 Epp, 139

10 Russia and millions of citizens did not have adequate access to food. 21 To contribute to the problem, Russia was also facing extreme drought, one region only receiving 0.3 centimetres of rain in This period involved so many deaths that it was impossible to keep accurate records. It has been concluded that around 5 million citizens lost their lives to the famine, although some would argue it was closer to 8 million citizens. 23 According to Alpha History, citizens of Russia were forced to eat whatever they could find for survival such as acorns, tree bark, weeds, and corpses of dead animals. Although the complete extent is unknown, cannibalism was also present during this period, involving a human flesh black market, the digging up of bodies, and numerous murders. 24 Starving citizens were advised to grind up the bones of animals in order to create a bread substitute. This plague of famine swept over all of the USSR, and the government had no means to intervene. Diseases also began to sweep the nation such as cholera, typhus (which affected many Mennonites 25 ), typhoid fever, and even the bubonic plague resurfaced. 26 To say Russia was at an all-time low would be an understatement. As aid workers began to arrive, dead or starving corpses were observed lining the streets. 27 The fellow Mennonites in North America at the time were made aware of the dire conditions of Russia from their friends in the Molotschna colony, and thus formed the now 21 "Famine of ," Seventeen Moments in Soviet History, January 04, 2016,, accessed February 28, 2018, 22 "The Great Famine of 1921," Russian Revolution, July 02, 2015,, accessed February 28, 2018, 23 Ibid 24 Ibid 25 Epp, The Great Famine of Ibid

11 world-renowned relief organization, Mennonite Central Committee, to send aid to those suffering in the USSR. 28 In summary, the Great Famine of created horrific conditions in the USSR and it is assumed that many Mennonites lost their lives to either starvation, disease, or a combination of the two. After suffering through persecution as a result of war and communism, anarchist raids, and then the worst plague of famine Europe had seen in centuries, the Mennonites were forced to emigrate in search of a better and more prosperous future. Conclusion To conclude, the Mennonites faced much suffering in their lives and societies before ultimately deciding to emigrate to Canada. Privileges granted to them by Catherine the Great in the late 1700 s, specifically religious freedom and freedom to not bear arms, became completely obsolete and dismissed by the change in government which was the result of the Bolshevik Revolution. This led the way for anarchists such as Nestor Makhno to terrorize Mennonite colonies, and the accumulation of years at war in the USSR created the conditions for one of the worst famines to sweep an entire country in All these were major factors to the eventual emigration to Canada by the Mennonites in the mid 1920 s from the USSR. Studies). 28 Lucille Marr, The History of Mennonite Central Committee: Developing a Genre (Journal of Mennonite

12 Section 3: Reflection I really enjoyed writing this historical investigation because the topic was extremely interesting and personal for me. I have a strong Mennonite background from both sides of my family, that dates back to the Molotschna and Chortitza colonies. It was very eye-opening to discover how horrible living conditions were for the Mennonites in Russia, some of whom were my ancestors. While researching, sometimes I would get side-tracked and start looking at biographies of people such as David Duerksen from the Molotschna colony, or looking at all the people who lived in those colonies, and realizing I had family or friends with those same last names. It really gave me, personally, a greater sense of cultural awareness through history, and the reasons why I am living in Canada today. Because of my strong Mennonite cultural ties, I do, however, recognize that some of my analysis could be biased, as in most situations I naturally sympathize with the Mennonites rather than, for instance, the Bolsheviks. However, I believe that it is very difficult to find a historical account that is un-biased, as all of us as humans have opinions of our own about the things we research. That is why it is important to weigh both sides of the story in order to create a valid argument. I found that my research question, What motivated the emigration of Mennonites from the USSR to North America in the mid-1920 s limited me in doing so. This is because my question is solely focused on identifying specific events that led up to an inevitable event identified in my question; in this case, the emigration to North America. It was difficult to identify events that maybe made them want to stay, because, in the end, they did in fact leave. Based on this, I came to the conclusion that it was more important to focus on what made them leave than what didn t.

13 Bibliography: MHSC. Accessed February 28, atio.html. ( Deutsche Welle. "Catherine the Great and the 'Russian-Germans' Culture Arts, music and lifestyle reporting from Germany DW " DW.COM. Accessed February 28, "Catherine's Manifesto 1763." Norka. Accessed February 28, Dyck, Cornelius J. An Introduction to Mennonite History. Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, Epp, Frank H. Mennonites in Canada, nd ed. Vol vols. Mennonites in Canada. Toronto: Macmillan of Canada, 1982 "Famine of " Seventeen Moments in Soviet History. January 04, Accessed February 28, History.com Staff. "Treaties of Brest-Litovsk." History.com Accessed February 28, History.com Staff. "Russian Revolution." History.com Accessed February 28, Kroeker, Wally. An Introduction to the Russian Mennonites. PA: Good Books, Marr, Lucille. The History of Mennonite Central Committee: Developing a Genre. Journal of Mennonite Studies. Neufeld, Dietrich, and Al Reimer. A Russian dance of death: revolution and civil war in the Ukraine. Winnipeg: Hyperion Press for the Mennonite Literary Society and the University of Manitoba, Pospelovskij, Dmitrij V. A history of Soviet atheism in theory and practice, and the believer. Basingstoke u.a.: Macmillan, "Prussia to Russia." Mennonites. Accessed February 28, "Russia." Russia - GAMEO. Accessed February 28, Schlichting, Carl. "In-Situ Treatment of Paints in a Ukrainian Catholic Church." APT Bulletin 20, no. 4 (1988): 14. doi: /

14 1981. Smith, C. Henry. Smith's Story of the Mennonites. Newton, Kansas: Faith and Life Press, "The Great Famine of 1921." Russian Revolution. July 02, Accessed February 28,