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Home , Black Sea Germans, Germans in Turkey, Helen Boosalis, Menno Colony, Molotschna, Russian Mennonite

American Historical Society Of From

Work Paper No. 25 Winter, 1977 Price $2.50 TABLE OF CONTENTS

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE RuthM. Amen ...... …………………………………………………………...... …...... i

TWO POEMS Nona Uhrich Nimnicht ...... ……………………………………………………………...... ……...... ii

PASSAGE TO RUSSIA: WHO WERE THE EMIGRANTS? Lew Malinowski Translated by Dona B. Reeves...... …………………………………...... ……...... 1

THE FIRST STATISTICAL REPORT ON THE COLONIES - February 14, 1769. Prepared for Empress Catherine II by Count Orlov Translated by Adam Giesinger...... ……………………………………………………………...... …4

EARLY CHRONICLERS AMONG THE Reminiscences ofHeinrich Erfurth, S. Koliweck, and Kaspar Scheck Translated by Adam Giesinger...... ……………………………………………………...... 10 A VOLHYNIAN GERMAN CONTRACT Adam Giesinger...... …………………………………………………………...... 13

THE REBUILDING OF GERMAN EVANGELICAL PARISHES IN THE EAST An Appeal of 17 January 1943 to the Nazi authorities by Pastor Friedrich Rink Translated by Adam Giesinger...... ……………………………………………………...... 15

A BIT OF EUROPE IN DAKOTA: THE GERMAN RUSSIAN COLONY AT EUREKA W. S. Harwood ...... ……………………………………………………………...... 17

A VOICE FROM THE PAST: The Autobiography of Gottlieb Isaak Introduced & Annotated by Otto Bruntsch Translated by Otto Wenzel ...... ………………………………………………………...... 21

ADDITIONS TO THE LOAN COLLECTION Reviews by Emma S. Haynes...... …………………………………………………...... 24

VILLAGES IN WHICH OUR FOREFATHERS LIVED: THE PRISCHIB GROUP Emil Blank Translated by Adam Giesinger...... ……………………………………………………...... 29

(Continued on inside back cover)

Published by American Historical Society of Germans From Russia 631 D Street • Lincoln, 68502 Editor: Nancy Bernhardt Holland ©1977 by the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia. All rights reserved. THE VILLAGE: A DOCUMENTARY PORTRAIT FROM 1909 Jacob B. Janz Translated by John B. Toews ...... ………………………………………………...... 36

WE SING OUR HISTORY Lawrence A. Weigel...... ……………………………..……………………...... 40

MENNONITES IN Peter Klassen...... ………………………………………………………...... 42

MENNO COLONY IN : From to the Chaco 50 years ago Jacob B. Reimer ...... ………………………………………………...... 49

QUERIES AND SURNAME EXCHANGE Prepared by Arthur E. Flegel...... …………………………………...... 54

CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ISSUE ...... ………………………………………...... 58

COVER: German emigrants from Russia model the sheepskin Pelz, "great top-boots," bright skirts "falling like truncated cones . . . aprons of white or yellow or pink" and royally embroidered head shawls fashionable in the German- Russian colony near Eureka, one hundred years ago. The photographs appeared originally in Harper's Weekly July 11, 1896. See pages 17-20 of this issue. PRESIDENTS MESSAGE

Dear AHSGR Members:

I want to tell you about a very interesting experience I had recently. Lincoln had four distinguished visitors from the and I was fortunate enough to be invited to join a group having breakfast with them. The four included: Vladimir Alexandrovich Gusev, the Mayor of Kiev. He is Chairman the Soviet Executive Committee and Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the . Elkhan Beyukorgyl Kerimov, the Deputy Mayor of Baku, a port on the Caspian Sea. Maria Vasil-Yevna Krivenko, the Mayor of Kashira. Six of the forty mayors near are women. Vladimir Lesnyak, Secretary of the Soviet Association for Contact in Foreign Cities of Moscow. He served as an interpreter along with another person from the U.S. State Department and a Lincoln woman who spoke Russian fluently. The group was in Lincoln for one day to call on Mayor Helen Boosalis who was among the group of U.S. mayors who visited the Soviet Union last year. Each of the three tables at breakfast had one of the Russian dignitaries and an interpreter. I was seated next to Mr. Kerimov. Our interpreter was the Lincoln resident and she lost no time in telling him that I was the president of AHSGR. The group had already been told that many Germans from Russia lived in Lincoln. Before long I asked the question, "Will the time ever come when we whose ancestors came from the will be able to visit these ancestral villages?" The response came quickly. "Of course. You can go now. Tomorrow! Merely tell whom you will visit and the arrangements will be made." "But," I said, "I 't know anyone there. However, I would like to visit the village where my parents were born." "That can be done. This can be easily arranged with the In Tourist." Conversation switched to the election process and mayoral duties, during which time Mr. Kerimov noted that he has little free time, even as officials in this country. When he returns home very late his wife, too, looks at her watch and says, "Where have you been?" And now it was time for our charming visitors to leave for the airport. As we shook hands, Mr. Kerimov said, "Come to see us." To which I replied, "Thank you. I will. I'm glad for the information you have given me." Will it happen? We must continue to try. My brother Paul had received the same response from the Mayor of Kiev when he expressed an interest in attending the 1980 Olympics and then visiting Frank. David J. Miller has made some recent inquiries through a travel group. An AHSGR tour to Russia which would include visits to selected villages in all the areas from whence our people came as well as where they live now would be an unbelievably exciting adventure. Let's hope it will happen. And now let me wish for each of you a very merry Christmas and a New Year filled with everything your heart desires. Cordially,

Ruth M. Amen

PASSAGE TO RUSSIA: WHO WERE THE EMIGRANTS? Lew Malinowski Translated by Dona B. Reeves

With this issue, the Work Paper begins a series of articles on the colonization of Russia translated from Neues Leben, the weekly newspaper for Germans in the Soviet Union. The author of the Series. L. V. Malinowski, a doctoral candidate in history, is currently writing his dissertation on the history of the Soviet Germans before 1917. Like his group of articles which appeared in Neues Leben six years ago, the new series by Malinowski is of great interest to all Germans from Russia not only for the fascination of the articles themselves (and the information that the history of the Germans from Russia is an attractive topic for Soviet scholarship) but also because Malinowski's researches reveal the presence of materials from the earliest days of colonization still preserved in the Soviet Archives. The article above was translated from the 14 September 1976 issue of Neues Leben, pp. 6-7.

A Letter of Thanks to the Turkish Bandits Do you know what an Ulm "Schachtel" is? In the South German city of Ulm, two rather large tributaries join the Danube which from this point on becomes navigable. So it was that ships were built there for the purpose of transporting goods and passengers, the well known Ulm "Schachtel." These roughly constructed vessels were about twenty-five to thirty meters long, seven meters wide and had a wooden cabin midships. Above the cabin two platforms protruded crosswise, providing a vantage point from which the four rudders could be tended. The helmsmen could guide the awkward craft through the rapids which used to be rather numerous in the Danube. Of course, these "Schachtel" could only travel downstream. About four days were required just to go as far as Regensburg, the next important town on the Danube.

An artist represents a group of German Colonists en route to Russia on an Ulm "Schachtel." Flowing with the current of the Danube, the slight craft passes the spires of Ulm Cathedral on the way to Ismail.

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Model of an Ulm "Schachtel" (i.e. "box") in the City Archives in Ulm. Dimensions of a typical craft are as follows: Length of craft 30 meters Height of sides 150—160 centimeters Width of bow 7.5-8 meters Width of stern 80—200 centimeters Length of cabin 5-6 meters Height of gable 4 meters It was also from Regensburg that the recruitment of colonists for Russia was administered at the beginning of the nineteenth century: the Russian ambassador to the Imperial Diet had his headquarters here. Letters with reports about recruiting drives and lists of colonists went from here to Vienna, to the emperor's court, and on to Petersburg. Occasionally there was also a representative in Ulm who directed the embarkation of the colonists and, what was most important, issued them passports for the trip and for immigration to Russia. In part they were also issued by the Russian Embassy in Stuttgart, the capital of Württemberg. The entire trip to the by way of the Danube took about one and a half months. Many days, the travelers were compelled to "windfeiern," that is, to remain motionless in the water in their vessels because of unfavorable weather. The journey went not only through German and Austrian areas, but also weeks upon weeks through the Balkan states, which are now Yugoslavia and Rumania but were at that time ruled by the Turks, How the fertile country and the cheap prices among the "un-Christian" Turks must have surprised the poor colonists! In 1817, one of the colonists wrote home: "We often think how you must be suffering from want . . . everything here is a bargain, we buy the finest one-pound bread for a kreuzer ... a measure of wine for six to eight crowns ... if only we could share with you in your need ... so many Württembergers would have something with which to nourish themselves, and yet so many among us don't even have a shoe's breadth" [i.e. a foot of ground] .1 The passengers were greatly frightened by the Danube rapids. From time to time they would have to spend a night on board where they were attacked by insects and mosquitoes. Otherwise, the journey was more or less cheap and comfortable, not to be compared with the difficult overland trip from Ulm to Radzivilow on the Russian border. The land trip lasted all of two months on those unthinkably bad roads of that time and cost a family of from five to six persons at least 300 guilders. And that was a fortune. Any colonist would have to produce that amount on arrival at the border in order to be considered well-off. However, the rather contemplative Danube trip nearly became a disaster for one transport of colonists: in the summer of 1803, a vessel with 130 colonists was attacked by Turkish bandits near Silistria. This shipment was made up of forty families. There must have been at least several dozen valiant men among them. It is also probable that some of them had guns along, because they were traveling through unsecured territory and wanted to push on further into the Russian "wilderness." But even these men, mostly peace loving farmers and craftsmen, could not be a match for thirty heavily armed pirates on three ships. To be sure, they returned fire, but could not prevent the pirates from boarding the "Schachtel." One passenger was killed and another twelve wounded. The colonists capitulated. Completely looted and in mortal fear, they reached the next Turkish city on the Danube the following day, and spoke with the Pasha. They presented oral and written complaints about the attack and asked for reparation from the Pasha. The Pasha accepted their written complaint and sent it along with the petitioners to ... Constantinople! He said that the Sultan could decide what was to be done. In this way, he sought to pacify the colonists and to postpone the decisions as long as possible. So the plaintiffs were compelled to withdraw without a settlement and to press on. Arriving in , the colonists renewed their complaint — that was December 16, 1803. This time they turned to Duke Richelieu, the founder and governor of Odessa, to that famous "Duc," whose monument stands yet today in Odessa. The Duke reacted exactly like the Turkish Pasha and forwarded the petition to Petersburg. In the documents, titled "From an excerpt from the letter of Richelieu concerning the attack of the Turkish pirates suffered by the German colonists of the fourth shipment . . ."2 is included the list of heads of household who were bringing charges. The list also includes how much each passenger lost in the way of cash and goods in the attack. This inventory gives us some information about the relative wealth of the colonists as well as about their social position. The appraisal of losses, even if rounded off to the next high figure, was executed with utmost precision. It is clear that there can be no question of any equality among the immigrants. It suffices to say that the leader of the transport had lost a fortune of 2,500 guilders in the attack, but that the grim bandits had deprived the poorest colonist of 8 Taler pocket money and a "reserve" of 10 Taler. Three poor women who were traveling along had among them only 284 Taler. Of the forty families, four were rather well-off; they had an average of 1,564 Taler, of which each had 1,158 Taler in cash. These were the men who could have built up a farm even without aid from the crown. These were also the men whom the recruiters in Württemberg considered particularly desirable. However, they made up only 10% of the families and, even though 32% of the wealth and 46% of the cash was concentrated in their hands, that didn't help the recruiters to any degree. The second group of 22 families had assets of 300 to 1000 Taler each. These men could also easily settle in Russia but could scarcely stay solvent without state aid, for the establishment of a farm cost, according to the most modest estimates, about 500 silver rubles. (A Reichstaler at this time was worth approximately 1 silver ruble, both were worth about three marks [about $1.251.) The poorest group, 14 families, had an average of 122 Taler, of which about 55 Taler was cash. Almost all of the assets of the poor consisted of goods on their back; not even the greediest of the bandits could carry off much from them. One among them had all of 4 Taler in his pocket as the Turks climbed on board their vessel, swinging their sabres and shooting their pistols. All of this, then, the people would have brought to Russia as their total assets! But when they arrived in Odessa, their Taler jingled in the deep pockets of the Turks. The good Duke and his letter to the Czar attained only a financial advance extended to the colonists: Czar Alexander I agreed on a loan of 10,000 rubles for the lost 20,000 Taler, which even then had to be paid back after some years. With their attack, however, the Turks have preserved for us a historical document of invaluable worth. Who could have emptied the pockets of the colonists more completely than the pirates, and who could have reported the robbery better than those who had been robbed!

NOTES 1. Letter from J. Chr. Bidlingmeier from Galacia, quoted from K. Stumpp, The Emigration from to Russia from 1763 to 1862, Tuebingen, 1974, p. 85 [Translator's Note: Actually page 34 in the English edition]. 2. "Nach einem Auszug aus dem Brief von Richelieu über den von den deutschen Kolonisten des IV. Transports seitens der tuerkischen Räuber erlittenen Üeberfall .. ." State Archives in Leningrad (ZGIAL),Fonds 383, Rep. 29, No. 207, pp. 1-19.

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TRANSLATOR’S NOTES 1. Russian government officials settled in the Volga region about 3000 immigrant families who had been recruited in Germany through Russian embassies and consulates. The colonies they established were called Crown Colonies. The first thirty-three colonies in this list were on the west side of the Volga (the Bergseite) and the last eight on the east side (the Wiesenseite). 2. Under pressure from Russian officials, the vast majority of the colonists declared themselves "suited for agriculture," although many of them had had no previous farming experience, 3. 1 chetvert = 8 chetverik == 10 pood = 360 Ibs. 4. The names for the colonies used in the table were the official names, most of them, but not all, Russian. In most cases these were not the names used by the colonists. The names they used have been added to the table by us. 5. Baron Caneau de Beauregard made a deal with the Russian government to bring to the Volga region in return for certain financial considerations and special privileges in the new settlements. He recruited more than 1500 families and established them in twenty-seven villages on the east side of the Volga above . 6. The nine villages Solothum, Paninskoje, Zurich, Bern, Baratajewka, Basel, , Schaffhausen, and Glarus were originally on the Little Karaman river, out beyond Boaro. They failed to thrive there because the land was poor. Shortly after Orlov's census of 1769 they were moved to new locations along the Volga bank above Luzern, which had been the most northerly colony. During this move Bern was dissolved, its people being redistributed among the other eight colonies. 7. Casarsfeld, the outermost colony remaining on the Little Karaman after the move mentioned above, was dissolved in 3785 after a destructive Kirghiz raid. The survivors were assigned to other colonies. 8. LeRoy and Pictet, like Beauregard, made a special deal with the Russian government to recruit immigrants in Germany. They established sixteen villages in the Tarlyk river region and nine villages on the Great Karaman, all on the Wiesenseite. Kustarewo (Leitsinger) and Krasnorynowka (Keller) suffered greatly in the Kirghiz raids of 1774, many of their people being carried off into slavery. The villages were then dissolved and in 1776 the survivors were settled in a more sheltered spot near the Volga, founding Neukolonie. 10. In 1785 Chaisol and Otrogowka (Louis), the outermost colonies on the Great Karaman, were devastated by a Kirghiz raid and 130 people were carried off. Chaisol was then dissolved and its surviving people accommodated in Louis and Mariental. 11 De Boffe was the least successful of the special recruiting chieftains. He brought fewer than 500 families to the Volga and founded only eleven villages, all on the Bergseite. . Of the 104 villages founded in the Volga region in the 1760's, 103 were German and one was French. The French colony was Rossoschi. Its inhabitants were not interested in farming and gradually drifted off to the cities to other occupations. 12, Germans from other villages moved in to take their place.

View of the Volga with the Bergseite in the background. Photo courtesy of Mr. Joseph Schnurr of the Landsmannschaft der Deutschen aus Russland, Stuttgart.

9 EARLY CHRONICLERS AMONG THE VOLGA GERMANS Translated by Adam Giesinger

In the early 1820's Peter Lippert, a grain merchant of Katharinenstadt, one of the first wealthy men among the Volga Germans, became interested in doing something to preserve the history of his people. He prevailed on a number of survivors of the migration from Germany to write their reminiscences of the journey and of the early years in their new home. We do not know how many such reminiscences were written, but a few of them were found later in the century and were published by Pastor Kufeld1 in the Volga German periodical Friedensbote.2 They have been translated from the German by Dr. Adam Giesinger and will appear in this and some following issues of the Work Paper. In reading these chronicles one must remember that the writers were old men, some of them of little education, describing events that happened many years before. The dates and other details are not always exact and some of the experiences described are quite personal or pertained to a particular group of colonists only. But the chronicles give a fascinating eye-witness picture of the early days on the Volga, which later writers found very valuable. Seratz, for example, who wrote what is probably the best documented account of the founding and early development of the Volga colonies, made judicious use of these reminiscences in his work.3 I. Reminiscences of Heinrich Erfurth4 By a manifesto of Her Imperial Majesty Catherine II, of glorious memory, people were invited from Germany in 1764. The advantages offered to the immigrants were as follows: they would receive support adequate to their needs on the journey and for two years after their arrival on the settlement site; they would be given all possible help by way of buildings and money advances to get themselves established; they would be free of taxation for thirty years and would never be drafted for . Since many people in Germany had become impoverished through the Seven Years' War, they accepted this invitation, which promised so much. They spent a year on the journey. On their arrival they found that the sites for the colonies had been surveyed and each was free to choose the building lot that he desired. Lumber had also been transported to the site beforehand, so that the building of houses could begin immediately.5 To save lumber each house was shared by two families, the living rooms being side by side. Eventually it was realized that this was not a good idea and the plan was changed so as to have the living rooms at opposite ends of the house. Horses were bought from the Kalmucks, whose encampment was near the colonies. Some of these had not been broken and when they were hitched to a wagon they kicked it to pieces and ran off with the harness on their backs; rarely were they ever recovered. Farm implements and seed grain were distributed by the government, but the seed grain was given out so late that it failed to germinate. The largest cash advance given to an individual colonist was twenty-five rubles. It was a mistake on the part of the immigration agents not to insist that the people that they recruited have farming experience. They signed up shoemakers, tailors, and the like who first had to learn how to farm and thus held up progress. Because support money from the government did not always come when needed, the people became destitute and had to sell some of their most precious possessions at sacrifice prices to their Russian neighbors to acquire bread. The man in authority locally was an officer, one in each colony, appointed by the "Director" for the district. The leading one of these was Major de Monjou, who died in Katharinenstadt. Most of the other early village officers also died here, but a few returned to Germany. Because conditions were so bad in the new colonies, a few well-to-do people got the idea of deserting. They permitted themselves to be talked into an escape plan by the Russians of the village of Beresniki, who promised to guide them west to the borders of . Subsequently they were all murdered by these on an island in the Volga opposite Katharinenstadt. They were mostly people from Holland, men, women, and children, eighteen persons in all. To this day the island on which they perished is called Murder Island. In 1773, in the month of August, a part of the Pugachev army crossed the Volga to Katharinenstadt, plundered the merchants' shops and the salt storehouse, sought out the best horses and rode off with them. In the same year, in the month of September, the Kirghiz attacked the villages on the Great Karaman and dragged off many people into slavery. They were pursued, but our people were too weak. The Kirghiz killed eighteen of our men, among them Pastor Wernborner of Katharinenstadt.6 In the years that followed, the system of local government was changed, the new supervisory group

10 being called the "Economy-Directorate." The head of this body was Economy-Director Ogarev and in each district there was an officer appointed to serve as district commissar. In 1802 Privy Councillor von Hablitz visited the colonies. Through him it was ordered that silk-raising be introduced. This did not work out too well, but a few people received medals for their success in the early efforts. In 1797 there was another change in the local government system. The new supervisory body was now the "Tutel- Comptoir," at the head of which was Councillor von Roggenbach. The district commissars were abolished and in their place a Chief Mayor was elected for each district. At this time also land taxes were introduced. Written at Orlowskoi, 9 March 1822, by Heinrich Erfurth.

II. Reminiscences of S. Koliweck7 My father was a native of Bavaria from the town of Furth and served in a regiment which was stationed at the city of Regensburg. Learning about the exodus to Russia then under way, my father, with my grandfather and others of his countrymen, decided to join the migration to Russia, each of them hoping to make his fortune there. My father, with his wife Margaret, myself, and my three sisters, traveled on the Elbe river and by land to the city of Lubeck, where we took a ship that brought us safely to Oranienbaum. Although our journey involved danger and storms, the hand of God brought us into the harbor unharmed, We spent the summer in Oranienbaum, supported by state funds, until the beginning of winter. Then we were taken in covered sleighs, with many others of our countrymen, to Petrovsk in the province of Saratov and were assigned home sites in Mariental. Here we built ourselves earthen huts until the crown houses were ready. We were given a loan of 150 rubles, with which we bought horses, cows, and a plow to begin our farming operations. From that time until now, with God's help, we have managed to support ourselves. My father died three years after we arrived in Russia. With the help of my mother and sisters, I carried on the farming operations, until my mother too exchanged her earthly life for the eternal. My sisters got married and I too took a wife. Unfortunately a year after my marriage the Kirghiz attacked us, murdered many people, and dragged others away with them, including my young wife, of whom I never heard again. I then left my own colony and went to Katharinenstadt, where I learned the trade of tanner from the master-tanner Lotz. When I had finished my apprenticeship, I went to Astrakhan, where I lived for three years. Then I returned to Mariental, married again, worked at my trade, and fathered seven children, of whom four are still alive and are being supported through my farming operations. My wife died several years ago and I fervently hope that I also, now an eighty-year-old man, will soon have completed my pilgrimage and can journey over to the blessed abode that my Savior has promised me. Written at Tonkoschurowka (Mariental), 1 May 1822, by S. Koliweck.

III. Reminiscences of Kaspar Scheck8 It is on 6 May of the year 1829 that I am telling this story of my immigration to Russia from my German fatherland. I came with my father Peter Scheck and my mother Susanna. My father was a native of Bavaria and served for thirty-eight years as a soldier. After retiring from his regiment, hearing about the exodus to Russia then under way, he decided that he too would seek his fortune there. We traveled with others of like mind to the city of Lübeck, from where a ship carried us without special incident to Kronstadt. From there we traveled, partly by land, partly by water on the Volga, into the province of Saratov, where we were assigned to live in the colony of Susly (Herzog). Although I was very young then, I still remember vividly how difficult we found life in the new occupation, because my father had had no farming experience. We had to get along in the most primitive way. After eight or nine years the colonies had the misfortune of being attacked by Kirghiz on a plundering expedition. A number of men, who attempted to defend us, were murdered by the Kirghiz. Among these was my father, and a Protestant clergyman named Werrnborner and his schoolmaster Erfurt. In the following year I was married. My wife and I had two sons, of whom one is still alive. He is now forty years old, is married and has several children. May God bless us and our farming operations. I will forget the sorrows of the past and now, in my seventy-ninth year, will look forward to the end of my days, until it pleases the Lord to call me to a better life. Written at Susly (Herzog) by Kaspar Scheck.

11 TRANSLATOR'S NOTES 1. Johannes Kufeld was pastor at Reinhardt (Ossinowka) on the Volga from 1897 to 1908. 2. Friedensbote was published by Pastor Hugo Günther at Talofka (Beideck), beginning in 1885. 3. Gottlieb Beratz, Die deutschen Kolonien an der unteren Wolga in ihrer Entstehung und ersten Entwickelung (Saratov, 1915). 4. Friedensbote, XVI(1900), No. 11, 681-683. 5. This was not the experience everywhere. The lumber was often long delayed. 6. These events appear to have occurred in 1774 rather than in 1773. 7. Friedensbote, XV1(1900), No. 11,683-684. 8. Friedensbote, XVl(!900), No. 11, 684-686.

12 A VOLHYNIAN GERMAN CONTRACT Adam Giesinger

Unlike the Volga Germans and , who migrated to Russia in response to special invitations from Catherine II and Alexander I, the Germans who settled in came as a result of private initiative. Some of them wandered eastward on their own from the valley, Pomerania, Brandenburg, and Silesia, searching for land. Others came to Volhynia in response to invitations from Polish landowners who sought knowledgeable farmers to make their lands productive. Because they were not government-invited, they were not subject to the legislation which governed the life of the invited colonists of the Volga and Black Sea regions, nor, on the other hand, did they enjoy the special rights and privileges which Catherine's 1763 manifesto had bestowed upon those. The Volhynian immigrants received no free land grants from the crown, but had to rent land from private landowners, making the best deal that they could. In the early years of the nineteenth century, on into the 1860's, this was no great problem. German farmers had a good reputation, they were in demand and tended to receive relatively favorable terms from the landed nobility of the province. To illustrate the kind of agreements that were negotiated, we present below an example of a contract entered into in 1811 by a group of German with a Polish landowner of the Rovno district. It is translated from the German in Alfred Karasek-Langer and Kurt Luck, Die deutschen Siedlungen in Volhynian (Leipzig, 1931), pp. 22-24. The following agreement, to last forever, has been freely entered into by His Excellency the Noble Lord Waclaw Borejko, erstwhile Marshall of the Rovno district, member of the Education Commission, and Knight of St. Anne, on the one part, and the worthy Mennonite colonists Andreas Pankrac, his son Andreas Pankrac, Thobias Nachtigall, Heinrich Buller, Helena Derksen, Jakob Zilke, Jakob Richard, David Foot, Heinrich Dirks, Gotthilf Beese, Johann Nikel and his son Erdmann Nikel, Peter Unruh, Heinrich Foot, David Buller, Lorenz Sperling, Jakob Foot, Martin Beier, Thobias Sperling, Peter Sperling, and Heinrich Sperling, who vouch for themselves and for those absent, on the other part: 1. The aforementioned Mennonites and their descendants shall be forever free of taxes and seignorial duties, as well as of money payments in lieu of these, except for the land rent stipulated in this contract. They shall not be subject to compensation payments of any kind; shall not be required to provide quarters for soldiers or make money payments in lieu thereof, at the behest of their lord; shall not be required to furnish army recruits, as their lord's subjects have to do, or make money payments in lieu thereof; and shall enjoy also all the rights and privileges conferred on Mennonites in the Emperor's Privilegium.1 2. The said Mennonites shall be free to sell their agricultural products as they wish and to transport them anywhere, without making payment of any kind to their lord or to anyone else on the lord's domain. 3. They shall be free to pursue any trade or profession, without paying dues to a guild or to anyone else. 4. They shall enjoy undisturbed freedom in their religious beliefs and practices, shall not be subjected to pressure to become converts to another faith, and shall not be taxed to support the clergy of other confessions. In short, they shall enjoy the full religious freedom which His Majesty accords to all religions in his realm. They shall receive half a hide of land2 for a school and cemetery and the lumber needed for the building of the school. 5. They shall be provided with an exit road from their fields which will not be counted as part of their landholding and therefore not be subject to rent payment. 6. They shall be free to raise bees on their land without paying tithes or interest, as well as to erect a pottery. Regarding the produce of the bees which are now in the trees on their land they must negotiate with the owners of the bees. 7. To prevent damage to their gardens and fences, no one will be permitted to hunt with hounds over the areas belonging to them. 8. There will be provided for them and their descendants forever a free forest to furnish wood for fuel and lumber for building, fencing, and repairs. 9. If one or more of them, or the whole community, should suffer serious loss through a livestock epidemic, they will be granted remission of rent, being required to pay in such a year only one-half of the normal amount. 10. If they should be forced to leave their homes through war or other disturbance, they will be permitted to return unhindered when peace has been restored. 11. The land will be surveyed and measured out to the German community by a certified surveyor

13 at the landowner's expense. The trees on the land will be left for the colonists' use, except for the bees which live in them. 12. In case of necessity anyone may mortgage or sell his share of the land, provided that no rent payments are missed and that the seller does not leave the land until a new settler has agreed to take over and until the seller himself has paid all his debts to the community and to others, 13. The colonists may purchase brandy, beer, or other liquors wherever they wish, but only in the shops located on the lord's domain. 14. They will not be drafted for the repairing of roads and bridges and are granted free passage, without payment, on all roads and bridges forever. 15. The ponds filled with reeds will not be included in the land measurement, but if they should ever be put into condition for cultivation, rent will have to be paid for them on the same basis as the rest, that is, four gulden3 for each morgen.4

The landowner further promises the colonists the following: 1. There will be divided among them 33 hides of land, each containing 30 morgen measure, for which they will be expected to pay on New Year's Day annually 18 silver rubles per hide, that is, the equivalent of 120 gulden in the silver currency used here, 2. They will have three rent-free years, from 1 January 1812 to 1 January 1815. On the latter date the first payment of 18 silver rubles, i.e. 120 gulden, of land rent will be expected. 3. The milling of the grain for the colonist community shall not be done anywhere except at the lord's mill, with payment of the required fee. 4. Although the colonists will live under the jurisdiction of the lord's courts and government, they shall be free to elect judges of their own to adjudicate disputes among themselves, although the wronged party will always have the right of appeal to the lord. 5. As the lord has promised them free lumber for building, a section of forest will be assigned to each of them for this purpose. For firewood, however, they will have to cut their supply in the area assigned to the community for such use. 6. The lord will advance to each colonist 200 gulden in silver currency, which sum the colonists promise to repay in two installments, the first on 1 January 1814, the second on the same date in 1816. 7. The lands to be used for this settlement lie on the left bank of the river Horyn, starting at the Balamuta bridge near the village Zadworse; Uroczysko, Polanka, Medwied, Sielec, Rozany, Zakradie, Orlowica to the Udryck mill, Podbozkowa Pllanka, Pohale to the river near the Zadworze gardens, and others which will be found suitable during the survey of this region. This contract, to last forever, was prepared by both sides in the presence of witnesses and duly signed at Wysock, 19 April 1811. Signature: Waclaw Borejko Signature; Andreas Pankrac, Heinrich Buller, David Voth, Heinrich Dirks, Jakob Zilke, Gottfried Beyer, Jakob Richard, Heinrich Foot. The German Mennonites who made this contract with Lord Waclaw Borejko did not remain on his land "forever. " Tiring of the constant floods inflicted on them by the river Horyn in the early years, they moved on to the region in . Their place was taken by German Lutherans from the Vistula valley. These accepted the same agreement, but new clauses were added in 1828 which gave the new colonists substantially better terms. Such agreements, which continued to be made for half a century and under which many German colonists prospered, were generally well observed until the 1880's. Then, under Tsar Alexander HI, an era of discrimination set in, with intense pressure against German landholding in the province. This caused many Volhynian Germans to leave Russia and to migrate to Canada and the .

TRANSLATOR'S NOTES 1. The Privilegium was a document issued by Tsar Paul on 6 September 1800, at the request of the newly settled Chortitza Mennonites, clarifying their special religious and economic privileges in Russia. The full text appears in D. H, Epp, Die Chortitzer Mennoniten, Odessa 1889, pp. 97-101. 2. A hide (German: Hube) is an old measure of land used in and continental Europe. It was "enough land to support a family." Obviously this was somewhat variable according to place and time, 14 3. Gulden were gold and silver coins of various values formerly used in Austria, Germany, and the . As we see in a later section, at the time of this contract a gulden was such that 120 gulden were equal to 18 silver rubles. 4. A morgen was an old German measure of land which varied somewhat according to region. Generally it was about the same as an English acre.

THE REBUILDING OF GERMAN EVANGELICAL PARISHES IN THE EAST An Appeal of 17 January 1943 to the Nazi authorities by Pastor Friedrich Rink* Translated by Adam Giesinger

The German farmers in the Ukraine accomplished extraordinary feats during their 125-year history. They came from the oppressive conditions in little German states, where serfdom still prevailed, and settled here as free farmers with far-reaching privileges. Until twenty-five years ago they were largely self-governing. From their own resources they created institutions of higher learning, teacher-training and agricultural schools. They published several daily newspapers and a number of weeklies and monthlies. With persistent industry, they made arable huge tracts of steppe, swamp, and forest land, as large in area as some central European kingdoms. They developed crafts and industries. Through their accomplishments in economic and cultural spheres, they helped to establish our right to possess the land in the East and thus became valuable pioneers for a Greater Germany. The outstanding and often the only sustainer and supporter of German culture and customs in the East was the church. The pastors were the chosen leaders of the communities in all aspects of life. The Germans here avoided contact with the intellectual and political trends in their environment and continued to nurture the predominantly religious culture that they had brought with them from the mother country. Bolshevism brought this to an end by destroying the religious life of the Germans, more completely, than that of any other group. All German pastors were deported or murdered. The church buildings were converted into clubs or granaries or were torn down. When the region was liberated by German troops, one of the most fervent hopes was that religious life would now be revived. In the early days of the occupation, chaplains and theology students in uniform conducted worship services and administered baptisms, confirmations, and other religious rites. The people came in such crowds that the task became impossible. The number of children and adults wanting baptism ran into the tens of thousands. These people are now waiting for help from the Reich. Many communities have prepared accommodations for religious services, in the former church buildings or elsewhere. But there are no pastors. In the whole of the Ukraine and the neighboring region no Lutheran minister is left alive. Many communities have presented petitions to the German occupation officials asking for pastors and for religious literature. Others are backward about doing this because Germans from the Reich mock their religiosity or tell them that in Germany people no longer go to church. To deal justly with the Germans in Russia, we shall have to take into consideration their deep attachment to Christian religious views. These have given them their moral stamina, determined their attitudes, and were their pride. Even under the Bolshevik yoke parents continued to instil into their children the religious ideas that they had brought with them from Germany. For them churchlessness, godlessness, and Bolshevism are identical. To be a German is for them synonymous with being a Christian. One must realize that the Germans in Russia have not become estranged from the church and religion, as has happened to so many in the Reich in recent times, through the influence of the Enlightenment and the

* Translator's Note: A copy of this appeal was found among the "Captured German Documents" in the Library of Congress, , D. C. Pastor Rink, a co-worker with Dr. Kari Stumpp in gathering the 1942 reports from German villages in the Ukraine, used the kind of arguments for restoration of religious services that he hoped would sway the Nazis, but his appeal was ignored. The Nazis were not interested in reviving in Russia.

15 spread of materialism and Marxism. Nor have they experienced or taken part in the religious struggles that have taken place in modern Germany. If we expect of them that they turn away from the church, then it will be the turncoats who collaborated with Bolshevism that will do it. The more worthy people, those who have some self-respect, will be repelled and hurt. The least that we can do is to give them the time and the opportunity to think about the situation, to regain their composure and then decide for themselves. So long as there is a church in Germany which is protected and supported by the state, access to it should not be forbidden to them. They must not be made to feel that they are Germans with inferior rights. We must also face the fact that the present situation lends a helping hand to the subversive work of the sects and that those especially who live in mixed marriages will seek solace for their religious needs among the . In spite of the long period of Bolshevik rule, the German in the Ukraine and the neighboring regions has remained a sound and valuable human being. He has become fearful and unsure of himself only as a result of the terror. After the severe psychical shocks to which he has been subjected, he needs time and opportunity to regain a healthy and self-respecting pride. Regarding the Germans re-settled from West Volhynia in 1939-40, Alfred Thoss writes: "Here the peasantry is still the source of life, here are biological and psychical life-forces which now flow back into the German blood... . They are genuine, courageous, high-class people,. .. Look at them, healthy, thirsting for freedom. . . ." A similar statement can be made regarding all the other Germans in Russia, even if they have suffered more because of a longer period under Bolshevik servitude. They lived the whole time in open or secret opposition to Bolshevism; they were not infected by it; in fact they have become immune to it for all time. In the rebuilding of religious community life in the East, we are agreed that we must avoid all narrow confessionalism. We want to establish a "Union of Evangelical Congregations in the East." The leadership is to be entrusted to a triumvirate consisting of a representative of each of the three groups: Lutherans, Mennonites, and (). Needed for the work will be about fifteen pastors who formerly lived in Russia but are now in Germany. Needless to say, we agree that they must be politically acceptable.

The AHSGR solicits articles related to the history, culture, and folklore of the Germans from Russia in the Old Country and the New World for publication in the Society's Work Papers. The editor welcomes original research materials, translations, book reviews, short stories, drawings, photographs, poetry, letters, journals, diaries, recollections, and materials previously published elsewhere which may be of interest to members of the Society. Submissions will be edited to conform to the second edition of the MLA Style Sheet, Materials should be sent to the Work Paper Editor at 4207 Pony Express Road, Kearney, Nebraska 68847,

16 A BIT OF EUROPE IN DAKOTA: THE GERMAN RUSSIAN COLONY AT EUREKA* W. S. Harwood

Away out near the border-line of the two Dakotas, perhaps thirty miles from the Missouri and seventy miles from Fort Yates, lies a stretch of rolling prairie land where lives a colony of peasants the most remarkable, in certain ways, to be found in this country. They are self-isolated from the rest of the world, save as they communicate through the medium of their marketing place, the little town of Eureka. They have established a small section of Europe in the New World, and they are very, very slow to merge it into the type and texture of the newer civilization. Just a word of history may make the life of this colony more interesting; Toward the close of the last century the Russian government invited a large number of thrifty German farmers to go to the fertile region in the vicinity of the present city of Odessa, there to establish farms and to bear an agricultural influence upon the roving tribes in the region. Each family was given a comfortable farm and the utmost freedom was promised. They were to be exempt from military service, to be allowed to maintain their allegiance to the German state of which they were a political part, and were to be allowed the fullest religious freedom. They settled in villages, going out by day to till their farms and returning to their villages by night. But as the years passed, the Russian government began to lose sight of its old-time promises as new rulers came to the throne, and the peasants found their rights slipping away from them-found that in their courts, their language and their religion they were becoming assuredly more and more Russian than German. In brief, after many years, they sought a home in America. Emissaries came out from Odessa and looked over the plains of Dakota. Some time about the year 1870, large numbers of these German-Russians settled near Yankton. Ten years later another agent reached the western plains. He was commissioned to find a new home for more of the peasants who were tired of the encroachments of the Russians. He sought a degree of latitude as near to that of the Russian home of the peasants as possible. On the wide prairie where Eureka is located, just eleven miles north of the latitude of the city of Odessa, he chose a home for his people. The soil was like that of the region where they lived in Russia; the climate was the same; the country was one of absolute, not conditional, freedom. As soon as the news could be communicated to Russia the hegira from Odessa began. In 1887-88 over nine thousand came; in 1889-90 three thousand; in 1892-92 four thousand five hundred—all of them settling in the region close about Eureka, and beginning at once the cultivation of wheat on the same careful, methodical plans that they and their ancestors had followed from the old German days down. The largest number of them settled in the counties of McPherson and Campbell.

View of Eureka, South Dakota in 1892 when the market town of the German- Russian colony was the largest primary wheat shipping point in the world.

*This portrait of Germans from Russia on the Dakota prairie nearly 100 years ago was originally published in Harper's Weekly, July 11, 1896. pp. 689-690.

17 Some families were poor; many of them were in comfortable circumstances; some of them were rich, as wealth goes among those who till the soil for a living; but all of them were industrious, and inheritors of ancestral thrift. But they did not assimilate with American ways and customs-perhaps because there was neither opportunity nor inclination. They were a people by themselves as much as they were when, still German to the core, they toiled in the wheat-fields of Russia. The men assumed early the obligations of American citizenship, but for the most part they remained distinctively foreign. Recently I visited this queer town of Eureka, There are changes going on, but very slowly; and it will be more than one generation, as things are moving now, before these foreigners are fully Americanized. Low-roofed and broad are the houses of these peasants, veritable homes of earth. They are not the sod shanties of the western boomer by any means, for these foreigners have a way of building for the future. They construct their homes in curious fashion, and build them so substantially they will last half a century if necessary-last until greater prosperity and American influences shall call for houses of wood or stone. When the farmer had decided upon the location of his house, he ploughs up the heavy sod in the swale at the foot of one of the low Cotteau Hills and draws it to his house in long strips. This sod is the roof for his house. He has been making bricks for days, huge clay and straw bricks, perhaps twelve inches thick by eighteen inches long. The clay subsoil affords material for a brick that will last for years. After the bricks are sun-dried they are laid up for his walls, the joints being properly broken. The interstices between the bricks are filled in with clay in a soft mass, making the wall solid and about two feet in thickness. The color of one of these walls as you see it on the prairie is a dark soft gray; or when, as in some cases, it is plastered upon the outside, it is lighter in color. The walls are probably not more than seven feet high. From them coarse boards are built to a ridge-pole in the center to form a foundation for the sod roof. The sod strips are then laid upon the roof boards, still bearing their grassy furze, and the places between the strips are filled in with gravel and clay in a coarse stucco, making the roof rain and cold proof.

A colonist house and stable built of clay and straw bricks and sods.

The interior of the house is not so gloomy a place as you might expect. It is composed in some cases of only two rooms; sometimes there are four or five. In the center there is a wide hall. Opening from this are doorways to the other apartments. There are two heating plants in the house frequently, bordering upon this hall. They are built of clay and the granite cobble stones which are thick upon the prairie in the vicinity. These stoves or ovens are several feet square, and they have wide hearths and a somewhat rude top. There is a large chimney connecting with the roof. Hay or straw is stuffed into the stove. It burns furiously and with a tremendous heat. As soon as the smoke has passed up the chimney a damper in the chimney is closed, and the clay and cobblestones husband the heat for many hours. One firing at night and one in the morning are sufficient for the twenty-four hours. There are windows for ventilation and light, but the tendency in the severe cold weather is to keep the houses far too warm for health. The extreme contrast between the heat of the house and the cold of a Dakota winter is responsible for a great deal of eye trouble among these immigrants. Not only is the house cold-proof, but it is fire-proof, and the fiercest prairie fires may leap upon it and over it, and no harm come, while it would take a remarkably healthy cyclone to shake its squat walls. The walls are plastered with clay on the inside, and are then painted or kalsomined, the ceiling in almost all instances being tinted a pronounced blue. The walls are plain white or decorated. In this decoration much ingenuity is shown. The body of the wall will first be painted white. Then with long corn-cobs and

18 different colored kalsomines the walls are done in different colored strips the width of the cob's length, which is dipped in the coloring matter and rolled up and down the walls, making a queer but not inartistic graining effect. There is generally a piece of wainscoting of some neutral tint, from three to four feet high. The floor in the poorer houses is of clay, hardened stone almost, and easily swept. Floors of wood are found in the better class of houses. There is as much attempt at homespun adornment as you would find in the home of the average Western farmer, perhaps more, while some of the houses are furnished with some degree of luxury.

A typical early church in the Eureka Colony area, probably of adobe brick.

The home life of these peasants seems to be particularly happy. By far the greater number of them are church-goers, Lutherans and Presbyterians predominating. They have maintained their Old World simplicity at table, though their boards may be more generously garnished with delicacies than was the Russian custom. They buy but very little in the way of groceries. Sugar, tea, and flour will very nearly complete the list. They make large, fine loaves of bread in their big ovens, the steady and regular heat being especially adapted to such baking. Of desserts they are innocent. Vegetables they raise—or go without. Some meat finds its way into their larder if they raise animals for food themselves. I do not know that I ever saw a healthier lot of men, women, and children than those I saw filling the streets of Eureka on a market-day. Their menus may be meager, but their muscles are not. They are said to be a peculiarly honest people. The same simple, plain, common life they followed on the plains of Odessa has been followed here, and they have been wholly unprepared for the ways of the land-shark and the chattel-mortgage fiend. It takes not so very long a time for the men to drop some part of their Old World style of garb, their sharpvisored caps and their great top-boots and their leathern jackets, for they cannot so well replace them here, and they buy their new garments of the native type. But the women are slower to change. They are still clinging religiously to their bright short skirts, their white aprons, their shawls about their heads. The folded shawl about the head will be the last garment that will succumb to American influences. What a royal lot of colors they come out in on a market-day! Such gay finery as I saw—shawls for the head, of many hues, embroidered in fancy-colored silk-thread patterns; bodices of black or red or yellow; skirts of red or purple or green falling like truncated cones from the broad hips to the coarse shoes; aprons of white or yellow or pink-verily they presented a kaleidoscope of colors as they sauntered about the market-place or into the small stores, waiting for the horses or the oxen to finish their mid day meals; then to take up the long journey homeward across the dim prairies in the night. In person the women are small, given to breadth rather than to height. The men are strong of frame, of average height, and look to be possessed of great endurance. All of them have the rather sallow complexion so common among the immigrants from the realm of the Czar. These peasants are not only unique because they have brought into America a small section of Europe, maintaining their language and customs intact, but they have a claim to a uniqueness of another kind, in that they haul to market in the town of Eureka more grain than is marketed in any other primary wheat

19 market in the world. During the period between the day when the first load of wheat was drawn into Eureka last autumn and the time when the last load of the season was hauled in mid-February, there were unloaded from the wagons of these peasants three million bushels of wheat. In 1888 about nine hundred thousand bushels were marketed. Four years later this had been increased to two million bushels, and this year, so prodigious is the crop, another million bushels was added. Out of the wagons of these German-Russian peasants, who learned their trade of wheat-growing in the Old World, is unloaded more wheat year by year than at any other place in the world. From twenty to fifty thousand bushels of grain are marketed per day. Much of this is hauled in from long distances- sometimes sixty or seventy miles away from the town. Some of the farmers still cling to the ox team mode of locomotion, and haul their wheat by slow and laborious stages. The wheat is shipped out as rapidly as possible. There are thirty-one different grain firms represented among the buyers on the market, and there are about forty small elevators and grain warehouses, with a storage capacity of nearly three hundred thousand bushels. The grain comes in so rapidly that the train-loads of wheat are very heavy. Poor crops a few years ago caused the turning toward other produce than wheat, and some of the more progressive farmers are devoting a good deal of attention to stock and dairy farming. Some of the houses look at a distance to be abnormally long, due to the fact that the barn and the dairy are under the same roof—a continuation, in fact, of the house itself. While this town of Eureka is the end of the railroad and on the very frontier, and while some eight or ten saloons run at full blast, even in prohibition South Dakota, yet it is a remarkably sober and unquarrelsome lot of people who throng into this queer little place to send their wheat into the great arteries of trade. Almost to a man the male members of the colony smoke cigarettes; pipes seem to be at a discount. It will doubtless be many years before these peasants shake off their picturesqueness, if they shall be left to themselves as much as they are today.

Pioneer grain merchant Salomon Isaak at age 72, Well known throughout the Eureka Colony, the son of GottIieb Isaak was bedridden when his photograph was taken for publication in the August 2, 1937 issue of Life Magazine.

20 A VOICE ... FROM THE PAST* The Autobiography of Gottlieb Isaak Introduced & Annotated by Otto Bruntsch Translated by Otto Wenzel

This material below is a portion of the autobiography of Farther Gottlieb Isaak, which he wrote in old age. It was found in the Bible which he and Mother received from the congregation of Zion Church on the occasion of their Golden Wedding Anniversary. The Bible is in the possession of his daughter, Mrs. Magdalena Sailer of Tripp, South Dakota. It was she who found our father's manuscript and gave it to Pastor Otto Bruntsch when he visited her in August of 1933 .... He took Father's manuscript with him to New Leipzig, -his residence at the time-in order to make typed copies of it for the Isaak children who were still living. These included Salomon Isaak of Eureka, South Dakota, Magdalena Sailer of Tripp, South Dakota, Antonia Bruntsch, New Leipzig, North Dakota, and Emanuel Isaak, of Sheboygan, Wisconsin. The typescript was prepared exactly twenty years after the manuscript was written. Parenthetical information was added by Pastor Bruntsch. Eureka, South Dakota March 17, 1914 Gottlieb Isaak, born October 24, 1834, and Louisa Schuiz, born March 12, 1837. I want to write something about our marriage. We were married December 17, 1854 in Kulm, South Russia [Bessarabia],** We lived in Kulm for five years, troubled and burdened, primarily because of the shortage of land. Therefore, in harmony of minds, we left Kulm and went to Sophiental as tenants on rented land. At the time, the rental cost was not high, but the land had light and sandy soil. For this reason there always were crop failures to the extent that most of the time cattle and horses had to be sold to pay for the rent. In 1873 there was a complete crop failure, not only for us, but for the entire area. There was no bread, no seed, no animal fodder, and everything had to be sold. In addition to these troubles the misfortune of being elected the village mayor also came upon me. Many circumstances caused me to become involved with the administrators. [Presumably representing the Russian government regarding land and village management policies.] They were completely without any feeling. Our contract specified that in case of a crop failure, the rent money to be paid would be delayed for payment until the following year. I was constantly being asked for information [perhaps regarding the financial conditions of the village] but I held to the contract. I then received a letter from them stating that the contract had been sold to the Crown's broker and that the rent money had to be paid. If not, by that fall we would have to leave the colony. We had thirty days in which to decide. I also received orders from the Akkerman Justice Court that on the day [at the end of the thirty days] the mayor would have to appear before the court. This I did, but it had all been arranged previously for the judges to vote as one: "Submit the money or leave." I requested that the contract be read, which was done. When the paragraph with reference to crop failures appeared I stopped the reading and asked, "Is this as expressed in the contract?" The answer was, "It has been decided and there is no other way!" Then I asked, "For what purpose is the contract?" The answer was, "So you will know how to behave yourselves, and that settles the matter." What I thought I did not dare say, because then they would have commanded, "Wotmigimo kidei jim Ostrok," (which means, "Take him to prison'"). I had to borrow the money from the entire community and then repay them.

*With this issue the Work Paper initiates a continuing series devoted to letters, diaries, journals, and personal recollections of Germans in Russia and in the New World. Members are invited to submit translations and/or clear Xerox copies of such manuscripts and typescripts for possible inclusion in future Work Papers to the Work Paper Editor at 4207 Pony Express Road, Kearney, Nebraska 68847. **Material in brackets throughout the article was added by the translator who received a Xerox copy of the typescript from William R. Brown of South Plainfield, New Jersey, the son of Elma Sailer Brown who obtained the typescript on the west coast while visiting relatives there during the summer of 1976.

21 Oh how this gave me the urge to emigrate. Up to now I had been working with some strangers for Dimitov [apparently a Russian word or name, perhaps an employer, or a government agency]. Since the boys were too far away to be of help and the Czar was taking one young man after another into war, our desire to emigrate was strengthened. In the year of 1878 this servitude ended. Oh, with what pleasure I could say good-bye to all of these privations. We arrived safely in Dakota. We sought out an area which had not been taken up by other farmers, namely where Parkston is now. There we built our home. There my wife and children and I could begin to work for ourselves. We had no money, however, so I and each one of the children were ready to hire out to someone for wages. The wages we received amounted to more than three times what I had to pay in Russia. Everything the children earned came into my hands and was used to take care of our needs. The debts I had made in Russia during the bad year of 1873 amounted to 330 rubles. I had to pay the same amount in dollars because of the exchange rate and interest which had accrued. We also were able to build, break up twenty-five acres of land, purchase a pair of oxen, one cow, and some swine. During the summer we had a Baschtan (a piece of broken land in which cucumbers, pumpkins, and especially watermelons were planted), the likes of which we never had again. After four years, with everyone helping, all debts were paid. With the labor of our hands we obtained a home and a barn and could say, "Now this is ours." Oh, how lucky each one of us felt to be freed from servitude. My brother Johann [John] picked us up from Yankton [South Dakota] and we stayed with him until we came to the wide open prairie. It was a spacious, flat, and completely unfenced area. There were a few other families here. Only with great trouble did we find a half section of land. But settlement was so rapid that Parkston came into being in just seven years. At that time there were only three land jurisdictions. Because the boys wanted to homestead some land, but there was no more available in the area, they had to move north. So I said, "Children, if you are going to leave I too do not wish to remain here." Immediately a buyer was found and I sold the farm. We had to go to our new destination by a round-about way, however: first, south to Yankton, from there to St. Paul [] then on the Northern Pacific Railroad to Hebron [North Dakota]. When my wife and I had our first look at those hills we were of one mind: "In this place we do not want to die." Nevertheless, we had plenty of food, fodder, seed, and swine there. We planted a huge amount of potatoes, and broke up thirty acres of land which was also planted and seeded. We also erected a sod house, spacious enough to hold the family. From there we constantly drove out in search of better land. It was very dry; there was no rain. When the time came for haying, there was no grass, and what was planted and seeded did not come up. The potatoes remained in the ground and we didn't get a penny for them. We were fearful that everything, man and beast, would have to die from hunger during the next winter. Then Salomon (his son), and Johann [John] Klein (Father's son-in-law, Regina's husband) went to a place sixty miles from Hebron and arrived at Mercer County. On the Knife and Missouri rivers, there was an area of land inhabited by several Irish and English folks who busied themselves only with hunting. There also were a few German families from Hannover [North Dakota]. On the higher ground and on the plains there were no settlers. This was exactly what we wanted. Klein and I purchased company land [perhaps railroad] while the children, like other settlers (still other families had come to North Dakota) homesteaded government land. Here again were the wide open spaces. But we had a hard time making it through the winter because of the shortage of feed. That fall our family had so many visitors that every meal had to be served twice. During the nights, our visitors were bedded down on hay which had been spread over the floor. It was a very hard winter with more snow than we had normally experienced. We were, however, able to console ourselves with the belief that we were in a good land, which made us all feel content. But soon, a disturbing situation came up: I became a county commissioner. There were four who were English and one German-me. Oh, what a time I had! The county was badly in debt, in spite of the fact that only a few people lived there. Almost everyone had his mind set on getting something out of the county. Where the cornmissioneres were in session the bills came in thick and heavy and were accepted. It was always "Yes." but most of the time I said, "No," until finally a change in the number of bills coming in was affected. Eventually more Germans became county commissioners and the county was released from the burden of heavy debts, but not during my time. I was only there for six years! David (his son) and Meving (a business partner in Eureka, South Dakota) offered me a partnership with them in a business [a hardware store]. I had misgivings, wondering if the wife and I had the proper deter-

22 mination for this. I then lay the deal before Salomon and Klein. They soon changed our minds when they said, "Do you think we want to remain here? At the first opportunity that comes along we are going to leave." As a result of this information, I took the business proposition. After six years of residence in Mercer County, we left and came to Eureka, South Dakota, in the year of 1892. During that same fall the Adam Sailer family [Sailer was Isaak's son-in-law] came, and in 1893, Salomon, Klein, and Netzer (Father's son- in-law, Emily's husband, who died in 1914) also came. During the first year our business suffered quite a few losses. What caused this misfortune for us was the fact that most of the settlers were very poor. Each time they purchased something they would say, "Of course, you will have to write this up as a charge." Then after three or four years we'd receive the information that this or that customer had moved away from the area. Because of this, many of the notes we had received were worthless and the business suffered so much that we had to dissolve the partnership. There was not enough work or income for all of us. As this juncture, Sailer (Father's son-in-law, Magdalena's husband) moved to Mannhaven, North Dakota, He had a good business there. Salomon went into business with Raab (an English businessman in Eureka, South Dakota who sold feed and farm implements). So it came to the point that I, like the other two (Salomon and Sailer) gave up the business to David alone. Neither of the two, nor I, could demand the return of our investment. The two did however receive a few notes payable and a small portion of their partnership share, but I had the loss of even that, and left the business empty-handed. This left me with nothing of my own except the house. I then purchased, for the two of us (for himself and Mother) a smaller lot and house on which I had to pay interest. But we had, thank God, a more tranquil life than we had had while in business. Too, from the larger house we had a steady rent income, which took better care of our needs than the business had. We also received some help from Bruntsch (the husband of his youngest daughter, Antonia) and the Sailer's. So Mother and I were able to lead a peaceful life. Then, after fifty years of marriage, the dear Lord gave us the blessing of celebrating our Golden Wedding Anniversary on December 17, 1904. (It was the first Golden Wedding Anniversary ever in Eureka and for that reason the whole town took part. The pastor of Zion Lutheran Church arranged the celebration. His name was H. Reinhardt.) In consequence of having had pains for years which finally became almost intolerable, Mother was confined to her bed until the first of May, 1905 when the dear Lord released her from her suffering. Thereafter I sold my small house, paid the debts, and then the beloved [perhaps used as an antonym] journeys began. Every one of the children wanted me to live with them. This arrangement lasted for eight years until when at Emanuel's (his youngest son who lived at Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and was Sunday School superintendent in Pastor Weng's congregation) I was struck with rheumatism so severely that life became bitter for me. I should never have left Emanuel, but I lacked the patience to remain. I arrived here in Eureka on the 28th of October with the hope that in a drier climate my illness would soon leave me. However, the dear Lord arranged it so that I was forced to ask Him to be my doctor. This happened on November 30, 1913 at one o'clock in the morning. I left my bed, and in the rocking chair I began to talk as follows: "I'm supposed to believe that Your Word is truth and I do firmly believe it. And You have said, 'All that you ask for in my name I will give you.' Now You can prove the truth of Your Word to me by removing my pain." Then I fell asleep and later awoke. The pains were gone. * * *

Here the autobiography ends abruptly. May the autobiography with its account of the wonderfully answered prayer be a blessing to all who read it. Father often told me that from that night on—when the Lord and Savior took away his rheumatism—he never had the pain again. He spent the last years of his life with his daughter Magdalena Sailer who took care of him with true filial devotion until he was called home to his Heavenly Father. May the Lord reward her in eternity! Father Gottlieb Isaak died at 10:55 p.m. on January 20, 1921 in Tripp, South Dakota at the age of eighty-six years, two months, twenty-seven days. He was buried beside Mother in the Lutheran cemetery in Eureka, South Dakota on January 24.

23 ADDITIONS TO THE LOAN COLLECTION

An Angel on My Shoulder by Paul Kalmbach. Philadelphia and Ardmore, Pennsylvania: Dorrance and Company, 1977. 155 pages. Reviewed by Emma S. Haynes The "angel on my shoulder" to which Paul Kalmbach refers is the pious spirit of his mother whom he left behind in Russia when he came to the United States as a sixteen year old boy. His life story makes fascinating reading. Paul Kalmbach's paternal grandfather was a schoolteacher in the Bessarabian colony of Postal, who, in the second half of the nineteenth century, migrated to the German village of Dohnowka, approximately twenty miles south of Krasnodar in the Caucasus. This is where Paul was born around the year 1897. The first part of his life went by in happy fashion. The main occupations of the settlers were raising wheat and corn and making wine. But there was also time for swimming and fishing in the Banur River which marked the southern edge of town. During the winter months sleigh rides behind prancing horses brought enjoyment to the inhabitants of the village. This pleasant life was interrupted when Paul's father bought a flour mill and vegetable processing plant in the area further east. But misfortunes plagued the family. First the mill burned to the ground and then Paul's father suffered a heart attack. The rebuilt mill was leased to a manager, but eventually the family returned to Dolinowka where the father died, leaving the mother with two sons, John and Paul, and two daughters, Maria and Rosalia. Hard times now followed the family. John, the oldest son, attended a gymnasium (junior college) in Krasnodar, but Paul and the rest of the family were treated as hired hands by their step-grandfather Beltz. After John's graduation, he acquired a position in the Commercial Bank of Krasnodar and asked his relatives to join him there. At first Paul worked as a messenger boy in the bank, but when his uncle, a German Congregational minister in Calgary, , invited him to come to Canada and study for the ministry, Paul accepted the offer with much excitement. Grandfather Beltz showed his humanity for once by giving the necessary steamship money, and in the fall of 1913, the young emigrant arrived in the New World. Upon reaching his uncle's home, Paul found it necessary to learn the . He rapidly went through the public school in two years. During the summer months he worked as a hired hand for various farmers and in the fall of 1915 he was able to enroll in the academy of Redfield College (South Dakota) which was subsidized by the German Congregational Church. had already started and hostility against the college and its students became rather virulent as it continued. It was also difficult to get letters from Russia and Paul was continually worried about his family. After the war ended, he heard from Rosalia that his mother was still alive and that Maria, John, and she (Rosalia) were all married. In the early 1920’s, Paul left Redfield to come to Irvine, Alberta, to help some distant relatives whose father had died of a heart attack. Paul and a friend bought the store which the family had been running, but times were extremely bad for everyone. Eventually, he went to Chicago where he became a salesman for the Liggett and Myer Tobacco Company. However, he always felt his mother's disapproval of this act and in 1924 he decided to return to the ministry. Dr. Obenhaus, superintendent of the German Congregational Churches, recommended York, Nebraska, where Paul was also able to attend the local college and thus continue his education. One year later he accepted a call to Cheyenne, Wyoming, where he was ordained. It was also at this time that he met his future wife, Amelia Ament, at the home of Rev. W. Strauch, pastor of the German Congregational Church in Fort Collins, Colorado. Kalmbach rented a cottage in Cheyenne from a Mexican and bought second hand furniture for it. However, on their wedding night the young couple discovered that both the house and mattress were infested with bed bugs. Kalmbach's humor is never more evident than in his description of this memorable night spent killing bugs. From 1926 to 1933, Kalmbach and his wife served the St. Matthew German Congregational Church in Odessa, Washington. It was here that their two daughters, Loretta and Dorothy Lee, were born. In spite of the depression years, he continued to send a monthly check to his mother in Russia. But the congregation fell in arrears on his salary and he found it necessary to accept a church in Hastings, Nebraska. This was at a time when German church services were changing to English and Kalmbach had to give double sermons in English and German. He found this quite a strain and after three years left for Biola, , outside Fresno. Although Rev. Kalmbach had something good to say about all of his churches, he seems to have a special fondness for the people of the Fresno area. They come from the Wiesenseite of the Volga and have a 24 unique sense of friendliness. On the day of his arrival, he was visited by four members of the church board whose names in English meant: Wolf, Bear, Fox, and Rabbit. Rev. Kalmbach told them laughingly that they must be living in the millennium if a wolf, bear, fox, and rabbit could get along so peacefully. The years 1940-1947 were spent in the Zion Congregational Church of Portland, Oregon. Afrer the United States entered the war against Germany, Paul Kalmbach got a moonlighting job as an interpreter on the Russian ships which docked in Portland -harbor for repairs and cargo. One of his reasons for taking this position was to try and find out what had happened to the German people of the Soviet Union. But he did not discover anything definite until 1947 when the Red Cross called to ask if he knew a Robert Beltz who had come to Germany from the USSR. This was the son of Paul's sister Maria. Through Robert Beltz he was told that his sister Rosalia, her husband, and Maria's husband had all been shot by the communists and that his eighty-two year old mother had died while being exiled to . This news brought Kalmbach to the verge of a nervous breakdown and resulted in his retirement from the ministry. He turned to real estate and during the following years was quite successful. Paul Kalmbach's old age was saddened by the death of his faithful wife from cancer, but he is comforted by the presence of his two married daughters and his six grandchildren. He ends his book by affirming his faith in and love for the United States of America. As the daughter of a German Congregational minister who served several of the churches which Rev. Kalmbach describes, 1 found this book fascinating reading. But even those members of AHSGR who do not belong to the Congregational Church will be attracted by the warmth, humor, and genera] humanity which Paul Kalmbach constantly shows. This volume is available for purchase at $7.95 from Dorrance and Company, 35 Cricket Terrace, Ardmore, Pennsylvania 19003.

East Wind: The Story of Maria Zeitner Linke. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing Company, 1976.240 pages. Illus. Reviewed by Emma S. Haynes Ruth Hunt, who resides in Southern California, gathered the material for this book from Maria Zeitner Linke, a Russian- born German now living in the Black Forest of Germany. It is a gripping story of brutality in Russian prison camps but also of the resilience of the human spirit. Maria Zeitner's father was a German businessman whose own father had come to the Ukraine in the nineteenth century but had retained his German citizenship. Shortly after Maria was born, in 1908, her father and her two uncles moved to the Volga German village of Urbach where they started their own factory for the manufacture of farm implements. The family was Baptist in religion, although the father had been originally Lutheran and the mother Mennonite. Maria tells that they would often drive to Norka to attend Baptist church services and that people from there would visit them on Sunday afternoons. (I am inclined to question this statement, however. The colonies of Urbach and Norka were quite some distance apart, on opposite sides of the Volga. It would have been impossible to visit back and forth on the same day. Maria was only six years old when she left Urbach. She could have been confused, or perhaps Ruth Hunt made the mistake.) Everything went well for the Zeitners until World War I broke out. In September 1914, Maria's father and two uncles were arrested and interned in as German nationals. In January 1915, Mrs. Zeitner with her three children, Franz, Maria, and baby Alice, was also arrested. They left by train for Cheljabinsk in Siberia and were then put on sleighs for the trip further east. By mere chance they met Mr. Zeitner in a primitive Bashkir community to which he and other German nationals had been sent. In the spring of 1916 the family moved to a Cossack village named Werch Kisilsk where they remained for the next two years. By this time all Russia was engulfed in the Civil War between the Reds and Whites. Werch Kisilsk was burned to the ground and soon thereafter Maria's brother Franz was drafted into the . Years later the family received a message from him saying, "The wind is blowing from the east and it will carry me away. Farewell." Mr. Zeitner became more determined than ever to get back to Germany, and after much difficulty and many adventures he and his family did get there in 1920. Berlin became Maria's future home. In 1930 she married Fred Linke but no children were born to this union. During World War II her husband was drafted into the German army and she obtained a position as

25 interpreter for those Russians who had been brought to Germany to work in defense plants. In the closing days of the war she left Berlin to say goodbye to her mother who had gone to a small village near Dessau to escape from the bombing. Maria's mother begged her to flee west with her but Maria felt that she should go back to Berlin to be with her father. Before she had an opportunity to do this, the Russian army arrived and she was arrested. While she was being brought in a truck for questioning, Russian soldiers raped her and then tried to hang her. But her life was saved when some German soldiers suddenly arrived and the truck was forced to leave. Maria spent the next nine years in various prison camps on vague charges of having been a German spy. The fact that she could speak Russian was held against her. There were long marches on bleeding feet; there were interrogations in which she was beaten and stamped on; there were days in which the prisoners received no food or water; and there were nights of stifling heat or bitter cold in their cells. She was put in prison camps at Landsberg an der Warthe and in the notorious Buchenwald concentration camp. The latter place had been built by Hitler but now it was used by Russian authorities for 16,000 German inmates. Not all of her guards were sadists. Maria recounts several stories of kind-hearted Russians including a Major Nikitin and an unnamed Russian soldier who smuggled bread to her. In January 1950, there were rumors that everyone would be released from Buchenwald. But instead of receiving freedom, the prisoners were turned over to the communist East German government and were taken to a camp at Sachsen Waldheim. It was here that Maria spent the next four years. At various times she worked at shearing rabbit fur from great heaps of unwashed skins, or in the sewing room or infirmary. Prisoners could now write periodically to their relatives and could receive food packages. Eventually in July 1954, she was released from prison and allowed to cross the border to Friedland. From here she went on to Stuttgart and a joyful reunion with her parents. Her indomitable spirit and courageous faith had finally won out. This volume is available for purchase at $8.00 postpaid from AHSGR, 631 D Street, Lincoln, Nebraska 68502.

A Song in Siberia: The True Story of a Russian Church that Could not be Silenced by Anita and Peter Deyneka, Jr. Elgin, Illinois; David C. Cook Publishing Company, 1977. 235 pages. Illus. Reviewed by Emma S. Haynes. This book tells the story of an underground Baptist church in Barnaul, Siberia, and of its members, both Russian and German, who are defying the might of Soviet authorities. Before writing this volume, Anita and Peter Deyneka interviewed many former members of the Barnaul church who had emigrated to West Germany and were thus able to speak freely. During World War II, Stalin found it necessary to unite all of Russians people against the German invaders. Consequently, he granted concessions to Orthodox and Protestant churches and in 1944 allowed the formation of the All-Union Council of Evangelical Christian-Baptists which combined most evangelical Protestant groups into one official denomination. It was at this time that the Barnaul church was organized. Barnaul is one of Siberia's most important centers, with a population of approximately half a million. It is the capital of the Altai region located one thousand miles east of the Urals and two thousand miles west of the Pacific. In 1941 Stalin deported many Soviet Germans to this area. One of them, a man identified as Reinhold, met in 1944 with about ten other Christians. The group bought a frame house at 67 Radishchevskaia Street which became the first Baptist church building in Barnaul. Reinhold and his wife lived on a collective farm outside the city and would walk ten kilometers each way to the church on Sunday morning. By 1958 there were over five hundred members of the congregation. Then, in the early sixties, a new attack on religion was launched. The Soviet government issued a letter of instruction to Baptist leaders in Moscow condemning evangelistic preaching and saying that children under eighteen could not attend religious services or be baptized. Members of the Barnaul church objected to these new rules. As a result, their church lost its official sanction and was closed by the government in January 1961. Members now met secretly in private homes, but they were subjected to hostility and harassment from their atheistic neighbors and to interrogation by the secret police. Their homes were searched and any Bibles, hymnbooks, or other Christian literature were confiscated. Fines were levied on Christians who allowed their houses to be used for services. On Christmas Eve 1962, the Baptist church on Radish chevskaia Street was reopened, but since the previous conditions imposed by the government were still in effect, many members continued to hold unregistered meetings.

26 These are just a few of the things which then happened to unregistered Baptists. On December 27, 1962, the presbyter of the church, Dmitrii Miniakov, and four other men were arrested and sent to prison. They were later released, but in August 1967, Miniakov was arrested for a second time and sentenced to another three years. On November 9, 1971, he was again arrested but this time he went on a hunger strike and had to be moved to a hospital. After one month he was returned to his family and is now living in western Russia. In the town of Kulunda, about two hundred miles southwest of Barnaul, Nikolai Khmara and his wife joined the unregistered group of believers. During the Christmas holidays of 1963, Khmara and several other people were arrested. On January 11, 1964, his wife received a telegram saying that her husband had died and that she should come and get his body. When the casket was opened, the Christians found that he had been brutally tortured. There were burns on the soles of his feet and the palms of his hands. The nails on his toes and fingers as well as his tongue had been torn out. Pictures were immediately taken of the dead body and sent to Soviet authorities in Moscow. When there was no response, a delegation was sent. They were received by the Office for Religious Cults who promised to conduct an investigation. One month later an official commission did come to Barnaul. It found that the accusations of the Christians were true and recommended that a pension be given to Khmara's wife and children. In March 1966, a new building which the unregistered congregation wanted to use as a church was bulldozed to the ground. In November 1971, after they were subjected to further harassment, 130 members of the church decided to turn in their passports. A committee was sent to Moscow and laid the passports on the desk of a secretary. This act was considered particularly shocking and resulted in the loss of jobs for many of the believers involved. In May 1972, just two weeks before President Nixon visited the Soviet Union, twenty members of the registered church went to Moscow where most of them succeeded in entering the American embassy to tell the story of how they were being mistreated by the communists. The Dynekas estimate that at any given time since 1961, approximately 150 Baptists from unregistered churches in the USSR have been in jail and that their supporters have sent approximately 300 letters and telegrams to Soviet officials, the United Nations, other churches in the USSR, and elsewhere. Many of these messages have reached the West. These unregistered groups are sometimes accused of a self-righteous certainty that theirs is the only road to . But they are worthy of respect for their steadfast courage and their unshakeable faith in the teachings of Christ. This book is available for purchase at $3.95 from AHSGR, 631 Street, Lincoln, Nebraska 68502. Please enclose 50 cents for postage and handling.

The AHSGR Archives and Historical Library housed in the Greeley (Colorado) Public Library contains in addition to maps, manuscripts, and documents, several hundred books which may be checked out to members of the Society through Interlibrary Loan. Members of the Society may request any volume in the AHSGR collection from their own local libraries which will then order the books from the Greeley Library and check them out to the member requesting them. No more than three items will be loaned at one time. Materials may be checked out for a period of one month. Members will be required to show a current AHSGR membership card when requesting items and will be charged for return postage at the library rate. A fifty page Bibliography of the AHSGR Archives and Historical Library provides a short description of each item in the AHSGR collection. Copies of the bibliography are available at $2.00 each (plus fifty cents for postage and handling) from AHSGR, 631 0 Street, Lincoln, Nebraska 68502.

27

VILLAGES IN WHICH OUR FOREFATHERS LIVED Emil Blank Translated by Adam Giesinger

This time we move eastward along the Black Sea coast to a region lying to the north of the western part of the . Here, in the pre-1914 era, there were two groups of colonies, separated from each other by the Molotschna river. East of the river were fifty-six Mennonite villages, the largest and most prosperous of the Mennonite settlements in Russia, and west of the river were the twenty-seven villages of the Prischib group, eight of them Catholic, the other nineteen Evangelical-Lutheran. Chronicles for the Prischib colonies, written by Emil Blank, appeared in the Odessa-Kalender, 1913, pp. 107-133, and 1914, pp. 124-137.1 A selection of these, in translation, is given below. PRISCHIB Prischib is the central village of the twenty-seven that belong to the Prischib district. It is fifty versts from the regional capital and eighteen versts from the Prischib railway station. Along with Tiefenbrunn, Waldorf, Alt-Montal, Hoffental, Alt-Nassau, Weinau, and Durlach, it lies at the foot of a chain of hills, which start in the northeast, change direction a few times and eventually disappear south-westward into the Sea of Azov. East of the hills is the Molotschna river, which separates the Prischib district from the Halbstadt (Mennonite) district and also forms the boundary between the Melitopol and the governmental regions. From the high points on the hills, looking downward, one sees a beautiful broad valley. In this valley, at the junction of the two steppe rivers Tokmatchka and Tshingul, Prischib was established. From here onward the combined waters of the two streams form the Molotschna. At the time of the founding the river had a large volume of water, but it is now so choked up with mud that it partially dries up in the hot part of the year. The village was founded in the year 1804 by 61 families, with 176 persons of both sexes. Today it has a population of 810, 410 males and 400 females. While in all the other colonies the inhabitants are either all Evangelical-Lutheran or all Catholic, in Prischib both groups are represented, about eleven-twelfths being Lutheran, the rest Catholic. The former have a church, for which the foundation was built in 1811, but because of the French invasion in 1812 construction was postponed for a time and was not completed till 1823. The government contributed 60,000 rubles from the imperial treasury, in two installments, to pay for the building. It is a rather small church, which is far from having adequate space to accommodate the large number of people that belong to the parish. There is probably no other parish that has done so little for its church as Prischib. The Catholics have a prayer hall in a rented building. Both a Lutheran pastor and a Catholic priest reside in the village. Prischib has the only school [in the district] in which the three lowest classes of a gymnasium, except for French and Latin, are being taught. It is a so-called Zentralschule [Central School]. The two clergymen teach religion in this school, each to the students of his own faith. Information regarding the history of this school will be of interest. The first building was presented to the Prischib district for the founding of the school by the landowner Falz-Fein.2 This was a great service to these colonies, for many of our most useful men owe their knowledge and training to this school. The school was opened in 1873 with one teacher. In 1900 it was moved to its new home on the hill, a beautiful building which cost more than 30,000 rubles. In addition to the religion teachers of Lutheran and Catholic faiths, eight teachers are now employed at the school. The library and science laboratory are well equipped. In addition to the Zentralschule, Prischib has a girls' school, founded by a private group of supporters. It is accommodated in rented rooms and is still in a precarious financial situation, for our colonists are not progressive enough to see the desirability and need for supporting such an enterprise with public funds. High praise must go to the men who got this work started in spite of all the obstacles. There are now six teachers employed in the girls' school. In the two-class elementary school there are now four teachers employed, working in four separate classrooms. The school for the deaf, founded by Pastor Baumann (murdered in 1904),3 has two teachers, Theodor Hoffmann and son, descendants of a family of teachers. It has its own schoolyard and building. On the main street, barely visible, is a beautiful two-story building which houses the offices of the Prischib village government, as well as those of the district [volost] government- Also on this street is the fine new home of Gottlieb Schaad, the present owner of the well-known Schaad book publishing firm. Behind the house is the printing shop.

29

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Formerly the main occupation of the inhabitants of Prischib was farming, but more recently trade and manufacturing have become predominant. Most of the landowners of the village now rent out their land to Russians living in the neighborhood; only sixteen to eighteen still farm their own land. As a result livestock-raising also has become almost negligible. The cabbage gardens, which formerly brought a good income, have now disappeared, but fruit trees still bring in some revenue. The village owns 3122 dessiatines of land, 469 dessiatines of it unfit for cultivation. There are 113 farmyards. The village is not noted for the cleanliness of its streets, particularly around the Glockler hostelry. Prischib has a post office, a pharmacy, a hardware store, several dry goods and specialty shops, a hairdresser's salon, an iron foundry, a large lumber yard, a cement factory, two tile factories, a leather goods factory, a tannery, a brewery, a flour merchant, several wine shops, cabinet makers, wagon builders, interior decorators, tailors, and shoemakers. A telephone connects the volost office with the office of the Land Captain4 at Michailovka and with the regional capital Melitopol. Building lots take up more and more space each year and the population increases substantially through the influx of people from other places. The teachers Johann Hoffmann and F. Schamota, who have served faithfully in the elementary school for many years, are still being treated in a rather step motherly way in the matter of salary, and are not shown any special gratitude, although this community has a sufficient number of educated people, former district secretaries, teachers, and others, who should know better. As in many other colonies, there is no longer a characteristic mode of dress in Prischib. Most of the people wear city fashions. One often sees mongrel figures who can not bring their behavior into harmony with their fashionable clothes; in spite of their fine exterior they betray a peacock-like awkwardness at every step. Only recently, for instance, a number of women and girls attended the Lord's Supper service dressed as if for a ball, creating great scandal. WEINAU Weinau, founded in 1804 by about 37 families, today has 495 people, 253 males and 242 females, living on 54 village lots. The village is forty-two versts from the regional capital Melitopol, eighteen versts from the Prischib railway station, and seven versts from the church, the doctor, and the district government office, all at Prischib, It lies in the Molotschna valley, but somewhat farther away from the river than the other colonies in the valley. Lying between it and the river is a relatively large piece of low land. The northeastern part of this was divided up by the settlers for tree plantations, the boundaries of each settler's portion being marked by a mulberry tree hedge. This hedge was given special care in the early years because its leaves, twigs, and branches were needed to feed the voracious silkworms then being raised by our forefathers for silk production. Today some of the hedges have disappeared; others have been replaced by more useful plants. The part of the lowland lying just below the village was converted into vegetable gardens (cabbage plantations), which brought the housewife many a needed penny. The southwestern area was left as meadow. It has been surrounded by a dam on the land side, so that it is watered by the overflow of the Molotschna in the spring. By this means Weinau has managed to provide itself with a good hay crop almost every year. The pieces of forest that belong to each of the village landowners were formerly beautifully healthy, but the present generation does nothing to promote the growth of the trees, so that one little forest after another dies out. It is saddening for a lover of nature going past such a plantation to see tall trees, and not just a few, among the green ones, stretching their bare, dried-up branches complainingly heavenward. The forefathers of the people of Wienau, without exception, came from Württemberg, The Swabian dialect is still preserved unchanged, as it is in the neighboring little village of Durlach, whose founders also came from Württemberg, The village was named after a place in the old homeland. Weinau has 2107 dessiatines of useful land and 330 dessiatines unsuitable for use. Cultivation of the land is not easy. The village lies at the southeastern edge of its landholding and down in the valley. Horses therefore have a long and laborious road out to the fields, the climb up the hill being more than a verst. The land under cultivation lies northwest of the village and is entirely level, with no depressions. As a result of well-regulated farm practices the soil has been providing good crops in the last decades. The fertile black earth layer here often reaches a depth of more than two feet. Orchards and vegetable gardens provide for the people's needs and in favorable years the fruit trees even produce a little revenue. The water in the wells has a high concentration of saltpeter. Because of this, a number of farmers have resorted to the drilling of artesian wells and the community itself has had a large artesian well drilled at the southeastern end of the village. This provides a plentiful supply of water, as well as feeding a fish pond. The main occupation of the

32 inhabitants is grain farming. Livestock raising is secondary. The livestock count in 1912 showed 389 horses, 298 head of cattle, and 84 pigs. Sheep raising, which was done on a considerable scale in the old days, right down to the eighties, has now been completely abandoned. In the year 1910 the brothers G. and Ch. Zohner established a factory for the building of farm equipment, but this does not appear to be thriving at the present time. In addition to this there are several blacksmith shops, a cabinet maker's shop, two retail stores, and a tile factory. The old school building had to give way to a new one a few years ago. This is a well-lighted building, which provides two classrooms. The deceased landowner Ch. Zohner, a colonist of this village, presented an organ to the school. The former teacher Fr. Blank, still living here, gave it some visual education materials, As a result, this school is one of the best in the district in respect to furnishings and space. For some years now K. Fossler has been teaching here with great effectiveness. The community has recognized this by raising his salary this year by 200 rubles, so that he now receives a total of 800 rubles annually. Hats off to a community that does not find it a burden to give respectable pay to a good, faithful, and conscientious teacher! The teacher's assistant receives an annual salary of 300 rubles. The number of schoolchildren fluctuates between sixty and seventy-five. HEIDELBERG Heidelberg is a Catholic parish center and is the largest village of the Prischib group. It has 136 farmyards, with a population of 891, 457 males and 434 females. But the number of children at school is much smaller than in Prischib. In the year 1912, Prischib had 159 schoolchildren registered with four teachers, while here there were only 113 children with two teachers. Because of the ravines in this area, the village is laid out somewhat irregularly and does not make a good impression. There are well-built bridges over the ravines, without which communication between people living on opposite sides would be impossible in the spring. The church was built in 1842. As in Prischib, the government contributed a large sum for the construction, something like 50,000 rubles, it is said. It turned out that the cost of the building was somewhat less than this amount and, instead of using the balance to decorate the interior of the church, the good people of that time returned it to the government. Today this would be unlikely to happen. The parsonage, located not far from the church, is large, beautiful, and comfortable. The parish priest here for a long time was Father Schamne,5 who enjoyed great popularity not only in the Catholic colonies but also among the Lutherans. Since 1897 Father Hoffmann has been parish priest. The organists have changed very frequently in the last ten years, some of them staying little more than a year. This is an unusual phenomenon. In Prischib, for instance, the position of organist passed from father to son, and the son has long since celebrated his twenty-five-year jubilee. The school system here, as in other colonies, has suffered and still continues to suffer from one serious ailment, irregular attendance. The children come to school too little and for too short a period of their lives, particularly in the Catholic villages, where school attendance stops at the age of twelve or thirteen. The long summer holidays have to be abolished and the children have to be sent to school regularly and without interruption. In Germany the summer holidays last for only four weeks, in some places even less than that. There is another three or four week break in September, the so-called potato holidays, and otherwise, except for Christmas and Easter holidays, the children attend school the year round. Objectives which are very difficult co attain in our colonist schools, for the reasons mentioned, can be attained with ease by the teachers there. According to a decision at a meeting of district government representatives on 12 June 1912, a secondary school (Zentralschule) is to be established here, if the authorities give permission. Heidelberg and vicinity will then be richer by another institution promoting intellectual and cultural development. The more education, the more light! Heidelberg has a resident doctor and a pharmacy. The main occupations of the people are grain-growing and livestock- raising. The village landholding lies right around the village, making the cultivation relatively easy. There are 5883 dessiatines of useful land and 242 dessiatines unsuitable for use. No other village has as many windmills as Heidelberg, which has six of them. There are several retail stores, a cooper's workshop, a tile factory, and some smaller artisans' shops. About 200 yards above the village there is a man-made pond, which often breaks, as it did, for instance, in 1912. The earth is piled up in a somewhat primitive way, so that the dam can not resist the pressure of the oncoming water in the spring. There is also a second pond. Livestock-raising is a main industry here, more so than in any of the other colonies of the district, The statistics for the year 1912 give the following count: 746 horses, 733 head of cattle, and 432 pigs.

33 HOCHSTÄDT This village, which lies on the level steppe-land, is the center of Hochstaedt parish, the seat of the doctor for the medical district of this area, and the location of the district pharmacy. The church, built in 1870 at a cost of 47,000 rubles, is one of the largest in southern Russia, being second in the size of its accommodation only to the Friedenfeld church in the Alexandrovsk region.6 It has a fine organ and an expensive clock in its tower. Unfortunately the chimes of the clock have been silent for some years because the parish is unwilling to spend the money for repairs. The main street of the village is the route of the highway for all types of vehicles traveling from the Prischib railway station on to Prischib, Halbstadt, and Tokmak. There are no drainage ditches and as a result, after prolonged rain and especially at the spring thaw, the street becomes a hopeless quagmire. How the poor horses are hounded and tortured to pull wagons through this mire and bog! Apart from the sinful torture of animals, the evaporating foul-smelling stagnant water and the fine dust whirling up from the road in the summer are dangerous to the health of the inhabitants of the village. Pastors, doctors, pharmacists, teachers, and others have been preaching in vain so far; nothing has been done about the problem. The colony was founded in 1808 and consists of 58 farmyards, each 120 feet wide. Most of the founders came from Württemberg and Saxony. The present population is 490, 270 males and 220 females. The main occupations are grain growing and livestock-raising. There is no important amount of trade and manufacturing, nor of fruit-growing. The colony has 2569 dessiatines of useful land and 69 dessiatines not useful. The landholding extends from northwest to southeast, with the colony lying at the extreme southeast end, twelve versts from Prischib, seven versts from Prischib railway station, and forty-five versts from the regional capital, Melitopol. The school has two classes. As in other colonies, the teacher's living quarters are small. Too little is done for the comfort of the teacher's family in all villages. Such a family ought to have as a minimum a bedroom, a children's room, a dining room, a bath and laundry room, and an office for the father. Nor does the teacher's salary correspond to today's cost of living. He receives a mere 600 rubles for both his teaching and his secretarial work for the local government. The assistant teacher receives a yearly salary of 350 rubles. FRIEDRICHSFELD This village is located eighteen versts from the district government center (Prischib), six versts from Prischib railway station, five versts from doctor and pastor (Hochstadt), and fifty versts from the regional capital (Melitopol). At its founding is 1812, it was given 4130 dessiatines of useful land and 62 dessiatines not useful, the second "largest landholding of the villages of the Prischib district. The population today is 629, 303 males and 326 females, living on 107 village lots. As the older buildings were for the most part reduced to ashes in the fires of 1871 and 1872, most of the farmyards are now provided with well-constructed modern buildings. In spite of this the village itself, because of its wide triangle-shaped street, does not present an attractive appearance. It lies in a trough-shaped valley, with the houses up on the slopes on both sides. In the spring and at times of heavy rainfall the bottom of the valley is filled with water, so that one needs the foot-bridge to get across to the farmyards on the other side. Behind the villages a large pond has been constructed. The cultivation of the fields is convenient here, since the land lies right around the village. Because the sheep-land7 owned by the Prischib district is nearby, Friedrichsfeld colonists, like those of neighboring Rosental, can easily rent land, to which circumstance this colony owes its prosperity to a considerable degree. Livestock-raising is carried on only for the colonists' own use. Fruit and vegetables are grown only to a limited extent and there is little manufacturing and trade. The village does have two stream-powered flour mills which provide the region with flour. The school building has reached a venerable old age and no longer serves its purpose effectively. The classrooms are low, the school benches are old style, visual aides and other such useful materials are lacking. KOSTHEIM This village, founded in 1810, now has 49 farmyards, with 400 people. Its landholdings consists of 2233 dessiatines of useful land and 36 dessiatines not useful, all of which lies right around the village, making its cultivation easy. The land is level except for a small depression behind the gardens on the north side, where a pond has been constructed by building a dam, In cultural matters Kostheim is like the other villages. It is the parish center for the Catholic villages of this area. Until a short time ago it did not have a church of its own, but only a prayer hall, this in spite of the fact that it has long had a resident parish priest. In the year 1911 the newly-constructed church was

34 blessed. It is a stately structure, in Gothic style, which cost about 30,000 rubles, raised partly by voluntary contributions and partly by taxation of the parishioners.

Catholic Church in Kostheim, built in 1911.

Trade and manufacturing are almost non-existent here and fruit-growing is neglected. The village is eighteen versts from the district government center (Prischib), seyen versts from Prischib railway station, two versts from doctor and pharmacy (at Reichenfeld), and thirty-eight versts from the regional capital (Melitopol).

TRANSLATOR'S NOTES

1. The actual title of this publication was Neuer Haus- und Landwirtschafts-Kalender für deutsche Ansiedler im südlichen Russland, but, because it was published in Odessa by the Odessaer deutsche Zeitung, it was commonly called the "Odessa- Kalender." The writer of these chronicles, Emil Blank, was a teacher, as one would surmise from some of his comments. 2. The landowner Falz-Fein was a descendant of a German immigrant of the 1760's who acquired vast areas of land in the Black Sea region. He was reputed to have the largest landholding by an individual in southern Russia. 3. Pastor Baumann, his wife and youngest daughter were murdered in their home in Prischib during the night of October 26, 1904 by robbers. He had served in Prischib since 1881. 4. The Land Captain (zemsky nachalnik) was a Tsarist official who supervised the work of village and district governments in a certain area. He could nullify an election and could veto decisions of local government bodies. 5. Johannes Schamne, born in the village Graf on the Volga Wiesenseite, had the distinction of being the first colonist son to be ordained to the priesthood in 1864. He served in Heidelberg from 1886 to 1897. 6. Friedenfeld was the parish center of a large group of daughter colonies founded by sons of the Prischib colonies. When the settlers there, in the early years of the century, asked for permission to build a church, the somewhat anti-German Russian governor in that region vetoed their plan and insisted on a more expensive one which he thought would be beyond their means. But the colonists raised the money and built the largest church in that part of Russia. 7. The sheep-land was a piece of reserve land given to each group of German colonies at their founding. It received its name from the fact that it was used for sheep-raising in the early years. Later, when grain-growing became more profitable, it was usually rented out in parcels to individual colonists, with the revenue going to the district government. In Prischib and in some other areas the funds so accumulated were used to buy land for the founding of daughter colonies. The Prischib district had 9335 dessiatines of sheep-land.

35 THE RUSSIAN MENNONITE VILLAGE A DOCUMENTARY PORTRAIT FROM 1909 Jacob B.Janz Translated by John B. Toews

Jacob B. Janz was born on June 13,1884 in Conteniusfeld, a village in the Molotschna Mennonite colony. He received his teacher training at the Halbstadt Teacher's College, located in the same settlement. At the age of nineteen he accepted his first school in Fischau. His description of the village was written on October 21, 1909 after he had lived there for some five years. In 1924 Janz joined the mass migration of Mennonites to Canada, settling first in southern , then moving to Coaldale, Alberta in 1927. Age, family resonsibilities, and poverty prevented him from obtaining a teaching certificate in the new land. He became a farmer until his retirement in 1946. He died in 1972. The account which follows was found among his personal papers after his passing. The description of Fischau is self-explanatory. Janz records his impressions of the village setting and its immediate environment. He provides the reader with a strong sense of the physical world which must have governed the life of the typical villager. Plains, valleys, hills, sloughs, the river, roads, crops, vegetables, trees, and shrubs-all are graphically portrayed. Farms and farming methods are carefully described. Janz's brief comments on the cultural activities of Fischau may raise some questions about the quality of intellectual life in Mennonite and German villages generally, but should not be regarded as the norm for other settlements. Corrective perspectives on cultural life are possibly provided by two dimensions: the diversity of newspapers and periodicals circulating in one small village as well as the widespread Mennonite practice of borrowing books and periodicals from neighbors. One area of village life is missing in the account: it makes no mention of any religious activities. FISCHAU It is not coincidence that this village carries its name, for last summer some 200 pood1 of fish were taken from its waters. The village was founded in 1804. The families who settled here came from , namely from the Danzig, Elbing, and Tiegenhagen regions. Even today there is still a village there [West Prussia] by that name [Fischau], though it has no Mennonite church. The leaders [of the migration] are given as Claus Wiens and Jacob Wiens as well as Jacob Neumann. Originally the village was built on a low, swampy area and as a result the inhabitants suffered much from the spring floods of the Molotschna [river]. This area is characterized by the many, almost completely filled depressions and holes, probably the old foundation excavations and cellars. Even today it is almost always covered with water in the spring. At that time the saltpeter, marshy soil here becomes so saturated that is impossible to move either with horse or wagon. Furthermore the soil here is completely unfruitful and is especially unsuitable for planting trees and shrubs. These circumstances alone would have given the settlers sufficient reason to seek a better place for the establishment of a village and to leave the old site. In the end it took the drastic measures of a Johann Cornies2 to force them to leave the old site; finally at his insistence the village was relocated in 1834. Currently the village is situated further northward and does not have to fear the floods; even the basements are not affected by the water table. The same cannot be said of the neighboring villages of Lindenau and Schonau. The village lies approximately 2 1/2 verst east of the Molotschna [river] ,3 It is 10 verst to Halbstadt, 110 verst to Berdyansk. The road goes from north-northeast to south-southwest and is rather uneven. II The neighboring villages are; Schonau, three verst NNE; Lindenau, two verst SSW; Bogdanovka, two and one-half verst west.. . . Ill The land area belonging to the village forms a rather even plain to the east of the village. It only rises somewhat at three places and forms hills ( — "Hewels"). The first of these is approximately one and one half verst from the village; the other five and one-half; the third, nine verst. Two valleys wind through these hills: the first in a northwest direction lies some five verst from the village with the name "Little Valley"; the second called "Wolf Valley" is six and one-half to seven verst from the village in the direction northeast to southwest. West of the village the plain descends into a broad valley with many waterholes and bogs. Every year this valley is almost entirely flooded, thanks in part to a 250-300 sazhen4 canal from the Molotschna built on its northern border. This produces bountiful hay harvests and good pasture for the cattle. A 200 sazhen long earth dam holds the water as long as is considered necessary [for irrigation]. This irrigation means a great deal of communal labor, namely cleaning the canal after ice, snow etc.; the improvement of the dam, the

36 diversion of the water, where at times several hundred loads of manure or rubble are needed. The excess water is drained by a depression ("salt gorge") similar to an old streambed and flows back to the Molotschna through the lands [belonging to] Lindenau. A small amount of water is also drained through a gully running parallel to the "salt gorge," the so-called "little gorge." Hills are everywhere. In earlier times there were some twenty-eight; currently there are barely ten which still have the character of a hill. IV The soil, in which winter wheat grows especially well, consists mainly of sand mixed with black earth. A broad vein of clay runs along Wolf Valley. On the highest land ridges the soil has a substantial clay component. In the portion of the meadow which is flooded the ground contains a rather deep layer of humus soil which the water has deposited over the years. The rest of the pasture area has salty ground, which is substantially less fruitful. Most of the sloughs and depressions have a saltpeter soil and look like small snow patches after they have dried. Where the saltpeter content is substantial nothing at all grows; where the concentration is less one sees the so-called "saltpeter grass," burdock, reed, [and] rush. The stretch south of the village to Lindenau is marshy ground which is not really suited for plant growth. That is why the road is not enclosed with trees here, as is the case with the rest of the road from Halbstadt to Altonau. In the wet spring months, as already indicated under item one, the road often becomes impassable. In order to correct this difficulty a number of dams have been raised with strong fences on either side. Even these dams frequently fail and it would be desirable if a [regular] highway were built on this stretch. A roadway lined with trees follows the first ridge of land; it leads from Schönau to Orlov. V On the western border of the village land is the Molotschna [river]. At this juncture this steppe stream has little water and is overgrown with broad expanses of reeds and rushes. Only the deepest areas do not dry out during the summer. Here a few fish survive in the swampy, smelly water. The fish types found here are mainly carp, more seldom pike and others. When the snow thaws in spring the Molotschna rises and at times spills over its banks. During this time the many swamps in the meadow valley fill up. The fish in the river seek a better abode and end up in the swamp. Here they await sure death. As soon as the weather becomes warmer the hunt for the water inhabitants begins with hooks and nets, items which almost every home possesses. It then appears as if the swamps were goldmines and one often sees ten to twelve nets in a single swamp. Since every net needs the services of three to six men, the swamp portrays a very lively scene especially when, in addition, one hears the many vivid expressions of joy and disappointment. As can be anticipated, the pleasure of the catch is much greater than the enjoyment of the meat itself. When, after a prolonged drought the water in the swamps begins to smell and rapidly disappears, a fish fry is no particular delicacy because the meat of the fish takes on the smell of the slough and will scarcely keep a day. Those fish, which have escaped death until now, perish pitifully when the water finally vanishes and are then eaten by the storks and ravens. Before this however, many are taken and placed in the village pond and so are saved from extinction. This [pond] is located in one of the sloughs and is fed by an artesian well. It was made in 1906 with the so-called "magazine money" received from the government and is about ninety-nine sazhen deep: Fischau has about seventy normal wells from eighteen to thirty feet deep. In connection with the sloughs one should also mention that they attract a large number of migratory birds in spring and fall: geese, ducks, sea gulls, snipes, loons, herons, even swans - but one rarely hears a shot fired; the inhabitants do not espouse hunting. There are approximately fifteen sloughs. Some of them have received special names. .. . VI There are twenty-two full sized farms (Vollwirtschaften) in Fischau, of which eight have been divided in half. At present there are thirteen half-farms, eleven full and three persons with one and one-half farms. Each farm is entitled to 65 dessiatines arable land with the following subdivisions: farmyard —1.5 dessiatines; forest — .64 dessiatines; summerf allow — 52.25 dessiatines; hay land — 2 dessiatines; the rest, 8.61 dessiatines, is pasture. Of the twenty small farms (Kleinwirtschaften) only seven function as such. The rest have either been bought together into estates (chutors) or belong to the larger farmers. Every small farm has fourteen dessiatines arable land in addition to the farmyard. The land of small farmers is found on the extremity of the village holdings some seven to eight verst distant. It is furthermore separated from the rest of the land by the rather deep Wolf Valley, which from the standpoint of the village's location makes it very difficult to farm. Even for the management of the large farms the setting of the village is not a suitable one. The entire land holding contains 1972.04 dessiatines, of which only 1717.80 dessiatines can be utilized. The rest of the 254.24 dessiatines are wastelands. The combined farmyards with garden and vegetable area make up 41 dessiatines. The

37 cultivated land of the village measures 1337 dessiatines; the forest plantation -13.67 dessiatines; hay land - 44 dessiatines; the rest of the dessiatines together with the waste land, some 536.37 dessiatines, constitute the pasture land. VII Officially the village has 109 families with 234 males and 229 females. Only 60 families with 276 souls are currently living here. There are 15 non-Mennonites (Russians, , Lutherans). . . . VIII Land cultivation, as is the case in many other Mennonite villages, utilizes the three-field system. The winter crops, wheat and rye, do better than the summer crops: barley, oats, millet etc. There are even attempts to dispense with spring planting and to use rye and even wheat as feed for the domesticated animals. One would search in vain here for [special] feed crops. Sugar beets, Japanese millet etc. are not planted here, since one can still harvest enough hay, five to twelve loads per farm. Corn is also not grown. On the melon patch, in addition to the usual plants, sunflowers can often be seen. Fruit growing is in a bad state here. The main reason is the strong saltpeter content of the soil, which most fruit trees cannot tolerate. The so-called wild pear trees feel quite at home in this soil, and are frequently found in most gardens. The standard types of cherries, pears, and apricots grow quite well, but there is no question of growing more exotic fruit. Grapes are found only here and there and no [serious] consideration can be given to the cultivation of vineyards. Forest trees, by and large, grow rather well: the acacia, oak, elm, poplar, maple, mulberry, and the olive bush. Less common are ash, willow, chestnut, and very seldom the lime-tree, juniper, pine. All these trees were introduced by the first settlers. As native wood producing plants one could possibly mention the almond bush and perhaps also the liquorice, all of which have survived until today. IX Of the domesticated animals cattle are the most important. Most of the cattle which are sold go to Odessa. X Handicrafts, industry, and trade are poorly developed. Located here are one trestle wind mill, two motorized hammer mills, one implement business, one flour store, one hardware store. The craftsmen include two blacksmiths, one locksmith, three painters, three shoemakers, one joiner, one wagon maker, one tailor, one peddler. XI At most there are four families who wish to emigrate. The same number have recently migrated to Siberia. XII The nearby Russian village of Bogdanovka has limited [economic] importance. It supplies workers, mainly servant girls. Schapiro, the grain broker, is resident there and buys up most of the wheat, which is then transported from his village to the railway station. A butcher supplies most of Fischau with fresh beef and mutton. The shoemakers in Fischau get their leather from Bogdanovka as well. The bazaars held there seldom attract any buyers [from Fischau]. Cabbage seedlings, fish, and many pigs are brought from Bogdanovka for sale here. Every Sunday the so-called "seed women" inundate the village with their bags of seed.5 The Fischau community is compelled to hire a field watchman to guard the grain fields in the vicinity of Bogdanovka against geese and cattle. From time to time there are disputes with the Russian neighbors on the other side of the Molotschna so that in some instances the police have to be called in to help. XIII Associations, whatever type they may be, do not exist. Likewise no evening gatherings for reading are held. The need to read is satisfied by the following newspapers: fourteen copies Friedensstimme (4.50) 63.50 rubles three copies Odessaer Zeiting (10.00) 30.00 rubles seven copies Mennonitische Rundschau (3.00) 21.00 rubles three copies Kinderbote (1.20) 3.60 rubles one copy Botschafter (5.00) 5.00 rubles one copy Christenbote (1.25) 1.25 rubles one copy Feierstunden (2.40) 2.40 rubles one copy Nachbar (2.40) 2.40 rubles one copy Niva (8.00) 8.00 rubles A total of 137.15 rubles is spent for the newspapers. The outward appearance of the village is not particularly striking. The houses are mostly covered (thatched) with straw. Three farms are virtually unchanged since the time of the relocation. This is explained by the fact that virtually no fires have occurred. It is perhaps striking that no trees and hedges are planted in Fischau. This can be explained by the fact that Fischau was relocating when these plantings were made in the other villages and was therefore exempted from this task.

38 TRANSLATOR'S NOTES 1. Pood (Pud) — A Russian measure of weight equaling ca. 36 pounds. 2. (1789-1848) arrived in Russia as the 16 year old son of Mennonite immigrants. By 1830 he was the wealthiest Mennonite in the Molotschna settlement, deriving his income from both his agricultural and industrial ventures. In the larger Russian Mennonite community he was chiefly remembered for his breeding of cattle, sheep, and horses as well as his forceful promotion of tree planting. Because of the authority granted him by government officials he was at times referred to as the "Russian Mennonite Czar." 3. Verst — A Russian measure of distance equaling ca. .66 of a mile. 4. Asazhen measured 2.31 meters and was comprised of 3 arshins (1 arshin =71.12 cm.). 5. This term probably refers to sunflower seed, a standard snack among the colonists and the native Russian population.

WE SING OUR HISTORY Lawrence A. Weigel

In the search for songs our forefathers sang, one becomes excited and interested whenever reference is made to one of their songs in publications or books concerning the Germans from Russia. This was the case when I read an article in Work Paper No. 9 (October, 1972) entitled "Pioneer Stories from the Volga" written by Emma Schwabenland Haynes. Mrs. Haynes refers to a book written by a man named Christian Zuge entitled Der Russische Kolonist, in which he records experiences of his trip to Russia during the migration of 1764-1767. Mrs. Haynes relates that, "He tells, for example, that as his Russian-bound boat left Lubeck and hit the high seas, the German passengers in the crowded dark hold found themselves lurching from side to side. Practically none of them had ever been on a ship before, and they became thoroughly frightened. Catholic members of the group began reciting the rosary, and Protestants began to pray. Then, the Catholics struck up a litany, and at that point the Lutherans began singing a lovely hymn ., ." entitled "Befiehl du deine Wege" (p. 21). Immediately after reading the article, I became curious and determined to learn more about this song. It was evident that our Lutheran forefathers put their trust in the Lord during this tough journey on the Baltic Sea, and they turned to this hymn to express their feelings while the Catholics showed their trust in the Lord by praying the rosary and litany. This then, became for me all the more reason to try and find all of the words and the melody. After searching in all of the church books I had, I was unable to find the song. Five years passed. When H. J. Tholen, a jeweler for whom I had worked a number of years, was taken to the local rest home recently, his wife gave me one of his treasured song books entitled Sonntagschul Harfe. I was overjoyed when I found the song "Befiehl du deine Wege" in this book. Both the words and melody were recorded. I mentioned what I had found to Ruth Amen, and she too found the song in her family hymnal Gesangbuch mit Noten which was used at church in conjunction with the Wolga Gesangbuch, which did not have the notes but indicated which tune to use. After I received the song from Miss Amen, I realized that perhaps many of our AHSGR members are familiar with the song, but since the two versions I now had, when compared, showed the words identical, but the melody completely different, I felt even more interested in this song. This song must have meant a lot to our forefathers over two hundred years ago. Today, as we reflect on the songs they sang, this particular one becomes all the more meaningful. The words were written in 1676 by Paul Gerhardt. Quoting from the Gesangbuch mit Noten we read: "Aber nicht allein zum Singen, sondern auch zum Lesen sind die Köstlichen Lieder da! Wie mancher hat z.B. schon beim Lesen des Liedes, ''Befiehl du deine Wege' seinen Kummer und seine Sorgen vor dem Herrn niederlegen konnen." (Not only for singing, but also for reading, we have these valuable songs. Many a person for example by reading the song "Befiehl du deine Wege" was able to convey his grief and his cares to the Lord.)

Befiehl du deine Wege, Entrust your ways Und was dein Herze Kränkt, And whatever grieves your heart, Der allertreusten Pflege To the most faithful care of Him Des, der den Himmel lenkt. Who rules the heavens.

Der Wolken, Luft und Winden Just as He gives direction Gibt Wege, Lauf und Bahn To the clouds, air, and winds Der wird auch Wege finden, So God will also find a way Da dein Fuss gehen kann. To make a path for you to follow. Dem Herrn musst du vertrauen You must place your trust in the Lord Wenn dir's soll wohl ergeh'n. If you wish to succeed in life. Auf sein Werk musst du schauen You must look upon His creation Wenn dein Werk soll gesteh'n. For your own deeds to endure. Mit Sorgen und mit Grämen, The Lord will not accept your Und selbst-gemachter Pein worries, grief, and self-made pain, Lässt Gott sich gar nichts nehmen as a means to gain His favor. Es muss erbeten sein. Only through prayer will He help you.

40

MENNONITES IN BRAZIL ... * Peter Klassen

It is my purpose here to tell of the youngest child of the worldwide Mennonite family-the Mennonites in Brazil. This "child" is now sixteen years of age. The first group of thirty-three families, one hundred and eighty persons, arrived here in the early days of February, 1930. Our leader was Heinrich Martins. These families were a small part of those who left their home, often in night and darkness, to congregate at Moscow and work for their emigration from Russia in the summer and fall of 1929. They took this step for the sake of their children and their faith. The story of the escape of these homeless people is generally known, and need only be mentioned here. How gladly would all of their number have entered Canada at that time! But the doors of that favored land were closed. So the flow of emigration was directed to Paraguay and Brazil. Of a total of five thousand souls in that group, only one thousand succeeded in entering Canada, The Settlements For a homesteading territory for these newly-arrived Mennonites the province of Santa Catharina was selected through the co-operation of the German and Brazilian governments. This province belonged to the Hanseatic Colonization Board. The historians of the future will tell whether this was the right choice. This much we know: the majority of the families who settled there in the years from 1930 to 1934 did not take a permanent foothold; but moved upward to the hill country of the neighboring province, Parana, near the capitol city, Curitiba. So today we have two settlements to consider; the one is the mother-colony on the Krauel River, which we always call Witmarsum; the other is Curitiba. In addition to that, a large number of families were moved about thirty kilometers from Witmarsum and were settled on the hillside of Stoltz-Plateau. In the year 1940 this group numbered one hundred and four families. By 1934 the settlers began to leave Stoltz-Plateau, so that today there are only ten of these families left, and they are still connected with Witmarsum. (One kilometer equals two-thirds of a mile.) Single persons and single families are scattered in the towns of Blumenau, S. Paulo, Rio de Janerio, and elsewhere. But the two colonies I mentioned first are more or less closed, I

From the steppes to the primeval forest of Brazil (1930 ) *

Reprinted from Mennonite Life (January, 1947) pp. 37-43.

42 have no accurate statistics at hand, but I think I can safely say that Witmarsum, together with Stoltz-PIateau, has one hundred and five families; Curitiba has two hundred; and the outlying districts have about fifty families. A Difficult Beginning The first thing to do at Witmarsum was to cut down the forest and clear the ground for homesteading. Conditions here were very different from the steppes of Russia. Everyone will understand that the work brought great dissappointment, [sic] much sweat, and tears. The farmers who were used to harvesting their wheat and other grains on broad, level prairies had to plant their corn and other crops on the hilly slopes, between trees and tree stumps, with hoe in hand. Then there was the total lack of means that first year. The first aid came from Germany and Holland, Also the Mennonites of took part. However, they assumed more responsibility for the settlement in Paraguay. So it is quite natural that the North American Mennonites are less acquainted with the Brazilian settlement than with the Paraguayan. Cooperativa Agricola Through well-laid plans the settlers in those first years were supplied with food and tools for farming, until they were able to stand on their own—some sooner, others later. Toward the end of the first settlement-year a farmers' co-operative was organized, the Sociedade Cooperativa Agricola Witmarsum. Every family was to be a member of this co-operative. The brethren of Holland advanced the cost price of a saw-mill, a flour mill, and two stores. The first manager, Heinrich H. Loewen, of Gruenfeld, South Russia, kept this position for seven years; he had to be original and resourceful to overcome the many difficulties of the pioneer period. Gradually the co-operative grew to a creditable business concern, which gives definite advantages to the individual families. The blessings that the co-operative has brought and still brings to the settlement are best seen when one compares it with the un-organized colonists, who are left to their own fate, and often throw themselves into the arms of the vendists, the private business men, to obtain credit. Many have been ruined in this way. The co-operative has saved our settlers from such a fate. Making a Living The main crops in Witmarsum are corn, aipin (Manioka), and other tuberous fruits. There is a large starch factory in Witmarsum, belonging to the co-operative, which makes starch out of aipin. This fruit

The home of Dentist Hans Klassen at Witmarsum

43 is very high in starch content. This Curitiba community is better equipped for milk production, so there the first concern is fodder for cattle. They raise corn, wheat, rye, and various grasses, but all for green fodder; of course, dairying also requires much concentrate, such as wheat meal or cottonseed meal, linseed meal, corn meal, and other substances. These are expensive. By hard work and a surprising resourcefulness, the Mennonites in both places, Witmarsum and Curitiba, attained a certain degree of prosperity in a comparatively short time. At least, many of them have a comfortable living; and there are few who live from hand to mouth, or who suffer want. Most of the Mennonites in Curitiba are dairymen. It is now a city in its blossoming period, with a population of 125,000; and three-fourths of the milk demand is supplied by the Mennonites. Others are employed in factories and business places. A comparatively high percentage of our people have their own business or work shop. Wood-working heads the list. One is surprised in what a short time this adaption and conformity to such entirely new circumstances could be made. Here we should add that the Portuguese language also had to be learned. Needless to say, the older ones among us, with few exceptions, will not learn the language, nor will we ever feel quite at home here.

Education And now about our schools; I regret there is not much to say about them. In recent years they have been taken from us. In the early years our schools sprang up rapidly, one after another. For a while we also rejoiced over our secondary school, or Zenfral school, as we called it in Russia. The teachers had had their training and practice largely in Russia. Naturally, both languages were taught. We, as teachers, took the state examinations in the Portuguese language, to meet all the requirements. But in the year 1938 our schools ceased to be ours. They became state schools, and the teachers had to be native ; nothing but Portuguese was allowed to be taught in the elementary schools. The school buildings still belong to us. The government is renting them from us. The teachers are appointed for us, and have no contact with our community. We are not allowed to teach our own language after the pattern of the Canadian week-end schools. In Curitiba many Mennonite children—possibly eighty or one hundred this year—attended the town schools; others go to the large Catholic private schools, which keep the boys and girls separated. These schools are the best in town. We cannot have our private schools, because our teachers, having been born abroad, are not native Brazilians. It is not easy for us to give up completely the educational control, especially since we have very able pedagogical talent of our own. I would like to name, for example: Jacob Schellenberg, Johannes Janzen (formerly ), David Enns (formerly Ufa and Molotschna, who died in 1939), H. H. Loewen (formerly Einlage, Gruenfeld, and other places), H. Berg, and others. Compared to our sister-settlements of Mennonites in other parts of the world, we feel a definite handicap as far as schools are concerned.

Religious Life In the religious area we feel this handicap also. Until four years ago we had our worship service, as had been customary, in the . Since then the law has been enforced that only the Portuguese is to be used in church services. We hardly knew how to conduct our church services, since we had been in the country but a few years; and only our children and young people could speak the native language. We were not familiar with the Portuguese Bible. For some time we had no church services whatever, except that at weddings and funerals we had short ceremonies in Portuguese, led by the author of these lines. But in April, 1943, we received permission from the government to explain the Scripture text in the Low German language as a supplement to the service in Portuguese. This was allowed for the sake of our old people. The fact that Low German became the church language is unique in the four hundred years of the existence of Mennonitism. We appreciate this consideration of the government very much. The two Mennonite branches represented here-the Mennonite Church and the Mennonite -always have their services together, at both places, Curitiba and Witmarsum. It is unthinkable that we should have separate services. Only the monthly meetings, for Communion and business discussions, are held separate. We have joint instruction classes in Sunday school for children and young people. The Women's Society does a good work for home missions. At last we are ready to build us a real church in Curitiba. Until now we had all our services in the school houses. We are glad that contact with the churches in Paraguay has been established through visitation and by other means. The contact with the larger and stronger churches of North America is becoming closer. The we receive from there carries much blessing with it.

44

..

Peter Klassen, the writer of this article, his wife. two of his children and two grandchildren.

A teachers conference. (On the porch from left to right: D. Enns, Johannes Janzen, Alexander Rosenfeld. J. Schellenberg, K. Janzen, P. Klassen. Bottom; Hans Klassen, K. Funk, tians Janzen.)

War and Peace During the war-years we Mennonites have experienced no oppressions here. On the contrary, we received very courteous treatment. We must never forget that about this country. We had nothing to do directly with the war. According to the taws of this country, only native Brazilians are called to military service. The first children who were born here are sixteen now. So we have four years of grace left. We do not yet know whether it will be possible for our young men to obtain exemption from military service. First of all, the fundamental position of our Mennonites toward the military question must become clear. The Need for Fellowship To summarize it all: Since the first seven lean years have been conquered, we have had good possibilities for industrial development. This is true of Witmarsum and of Curitiba. Culturally we have retrogressed. In our church and religious life, a certain vagueness is prevalent; and it is hard to establish our aims. But we stand under God's protecting hand; His Word is living among us. I should also add that our Mennonites in Brazil are exposed to various dangers, particularly because our group is really very small. Furthermore, we do not have the possibilities to develop independently as our sister congregation in Paraguay. There is danger in being isolated from the main stream of Mennonite life and experience. It is quite inevitable that we will become ingrown racially, as well as mentally and spiritually. We need the correction and training which comes from the larger and older sister congregations, who are stronger in intellect and in spirit.

Editor's Note: A visit with Mennonite colonists at Witmarsum, Brazil will be a highlight of the AHSGR visit to to participate in the celebration of the centennial of the arrival of Germans from Russia to Latin America.

48 IN PARAGUAY From Canada to the Chaco 50 years ago* Jacob B. Reimer

Paraguay has a population of 2,380,000 of which 12,000 are Mennonites. The country is divided into two halves. East Paraguay, with a subtropical climate, has regular rainfall and good vegetation. West Paraguay, on the contrary, known as Gran-Chaco, has a hot and dry climate and an occasional frost in wintertime. The rainy season is not the same every year. The Chaco has a stony soil, hardwoods, thorny bushes, various cactus plants and other vegetation which gives it a uniqueness. The Gran-Chaco reaches also into and . It was in this territory where the Menno Colony was begun in 1927-28. This settlement was established by the Sommerfeld and Chortitza Mennonites that came from and , Canada. They did so because they objected to a new law of education introduced after World War I. This law made English obligatory in elementary schools, which had not been the case when the Mennonites came from Russia to Canada 100 years ago. They feared the loss of their private German schools. In 1921 a delegation sent to the Chaco obtained from the Paraguayan government the assurance of religious freedom, and the promise that they could have their own school system and their own administration if they would settle in the Chaco. Without a thorough investigation of the Chaco, a considerable number of the Sommerfeld and Chortitza Mennonites decided to migrate to the Chaco of Paraguay. This migration materialized five years later. A total of 284 families, or 1,742 persons, left Canada in seven groups between November, 1926 and November, 1927. The land consisting of 1,875 hectares, or 4,500 acres, was sold to them by the Corporacion Paraguaya for $12 per hectare, which was much too high a price. The first group arrived in Puerto Casado, a small airport on the Paraguay River, on December 30, 1926. Since the land was not yet surveyed, the group remained here for sixteen months, which was an extremely disappointing beginning for the settlers. Much of the money to be used for the settlement was spent during this time without any progress. In view of the fact that the health conditions were extremely difficult, an epidemic of typhoid fever broke out, resulting in 171 deaths. Three hundred persons returned to Canada, disappointed by what they had experienced. Once the settlement began, the pioneers had first of all to develop roads through the wilderness following the trails of the military posts established in the Chaco. This was a difficult beginning at the time of the rainy season. The purchase of the land included a railroad to be furnished by the company that sold them the land, but this was only in the beginning stage and never completed. This increased the hardships of the pioneer conditions. Consequently the settlement had a very hard beginning and the meager capital brought along was absorbed by these hardships and delays in the early stage of the settlement. The Beginning of the Settlement At last in the middle of 1928 the settlement of the exhausted pilgrims could begin. The land was surveyed and the sites for the buildings of the village were distributed by lots. Thus, the indescribably difficult task of taming Chaco began. The settlement consisted of 1,300 persons in 14 villages. All but one continue to this day. Just about everything was needed. There was no hospital and no medical help. Even though the number of deaths decreased, many suffered because of sickness and the change of climate, including typical tropical diseases, sore eyes, and hook worm. Until this time the Chaco had been occupied only by nomadic Indians. This isolation had its advantages and disadvantages. It was a protective wall against the "world" from which the Mennonites escaped. As far as the economic development was concerned, it seemed an insurmountable disadvantage. The special rights which the Paraguayan government have for the taming of the Chaco included the privileges of self-government, private schools in the German language, and the exemption from military service. These were the reasons why the Mennonites chose the Chaco in spite of the hardships of the climate and undesirable economic conditions. Today these guaranteed rights are shared by those Mennonites who came from Russia around 1930 and established the Fernheim settlement, and again after World War II the Neuland settlement. All enjoy these privileges. The climatic conditions are extremely severe. The Chaco is located between 57 and 63 degrees latitude and 19 and 25 degrees longitude. Being transplanted from Canada to the sub-tropical climate of the Chaco

*Reprinted from Mennonite Life (September, 1974), pp. 54-6

49

Intently observing a busload of North American visitors, a group of Indians stands at a picket fence and hitching rail in the town of Loma Plata, the business center of Menno Colony in the Paraguayan Chaco. Some 10,000 Indians, mostly Lengua and Chulupi tribes people, live in the area of the three Mennonite colonies in the Chaco. caused many diseases and hardships. They had to be endured without hospitals, medicine, medical doctors or nurses. The economic crisis in Canada and other parts of the world delayed help and made a return to Canada for those who would have liked to do so, nearly impossible. Thus there was no alternative but to stay and try to survive. The Paraguayan Bolivian War The war between Paraguay and Bolivia, known as the Chaco War (1932-35), took place in the neighborhood of the Menno settlement. It sounds like a paradox to say that there was more benefit derived from it than hardships inflicted. The army considered itself as a protector of the settlement. The military hospital was made available to the Mennonite settlers. Here those got help that suffered from trachoma and other diseases caused by the change of climate. The military became the first to buy produce from the settlers. Today Menno has a good modern hospital with two doctors and sufficient personnel. Nevertheless the severe heat in summertime causes fatigue and a weakening of the desire to work. In view of the fact that most of the capital had been used up before the settlement started, great hardships had to be overcome. Those who had some money left loaned it to those who had none. Much experimentation and much time was needed to produce crops for a livelihood. The land agency that had sold this land gave some help. An agricultural experiment station was established and the sponsoring agent provided some credit for seeds and food. Cows and oxen were obtained. The granted permission for self-government entailed new responsibilities in administrative matters. Gradually this problem was solved. The Mennonites had "privileges" and responsibilities which they had enjoyed in Canada and before that in Russia. However, they had to develop a tradition and practice to start

50 to administer all social and economic institutions, including the building of hospitals, acquiring of medical personnel, finding a market, and keeping order in the household of Menno. This included also the building of roads, which depended entirely on their own efforts. The major solution of the problems that the brotherhood faced was the establishment of a Cooperative Administration in 1936. This body became the economic agent that bought and sold products, built the roads, the hospitals, and the traditional Mennonite schools. The spiritual level of the community had to be raised. The notion that the migration to the Chaco had been motivated by the desire to maintain the status quo on all levels had to be overcome. The conservative elements, who had sacrificed so much for this cause, were slow in accepting changes. Progress in the Chaco Fortunately the colony had men who, with vision and much patience, untiringly introduced the needed and feared changes. Step by step, progress had to be made by convincing and proving with every move that it was necessary and Christian and in the Mennonite tradition. This was particularly difficult in regard to raising the level of education. The Cooperative Administrative Office established the hospital, an industrial center, a business office and even a secondary school with a dormitory. The training of teachers and more progressive tamers contributed considerably to the progress of the settlement. Another significant step was the purchase of a considerable amount of land adjacent to what had originally been bought. This time it was obtained for 25 cents per acre instead of $5.00 as had been the case. Much of the land had to be cleared of shrubs and trees, so that the younger farmers could settle. Roads had to be built and first aid stations had to be established as well as stores, because of the distances. Help from the MCC In 1958 the Menno settlement received a long term loan from the Mennonite Central Committee. It was used to purchase agricultural machinery such as tractors and bulldozers and to establish a modern dairy, an oil press and many other projects. This resulted in definite progress. The milk and cattle industry has been considerably improved. This branch of the economy of the settlement produces 55 per cent of all income.

Home of a Mennonite colonist in Kleefeld, Gran-Chaco.

51 In October, 1972, the total population of the settlement was 5,384 persons in 938 families. Of these, 562 families are involved in agriculture. In addition to this 2,300 Indians are located in the territory occupied by the Mennonites and the colony is responsible for them. During the first years there were only several hundred Indians. Through the influence of the Mennonite missionaries, the Indians have stopped killing infants, thus increasing their number considerably. Through medical care, the health conditions have been improved. However, the hunting territory has been decreased through the purchase of the land by white settlers. This has increased the responsibility toward the Indians as far as the Mennonites are concerned. About 260 Indian families have been settled on land and taught farming skills by the Menno colony. Many more will do so as soon as they have an opportunity. The Indians had to get used to an entirely new way of life when they turned from hunting to agriculture. This project is not without problems.

Economic Progress Every family is a member of the Cooperative. The surplus income of the organization is used for the construction of roads and support of the hospital, etc. The remaining income is added to the capital. The following establishments are of particular significance for economic progress; a cotton gin, a dairy, an oil press, an electric plant, a communal pasture, and a tanning factory which uses an extraction from Quebracho wood. Since the trans-Chaco highway from Asuncion to the border of Bolivia has been finished, the Cooperative has taken over the freight transport of the colony. This has solved many of the transportation problems of the settlement. Menno has an administrative house as well as a business center in the city of Asuncion, including a store, and a cold storage unit for such products as cheese and butter which are marketed in the capital. The above arrangements have reduced the cost of the freight 50 per cent. Formerly butter, cheese, and eggs had to be

Menno Colony today: Industrial scene at Loma Plata shows electric power plant under construction (left) and peanut processing mill.

52

Location of Mennonite settlements in Brazil and Paraguay. Reprint courtesy of Mennonite Life, January, 1947. transported to Asuncion by plane. Through German economic help it has been made possible to improve the industrialization of the settlement. Air-conditioned trucks have added to the efficiency and the economic life considerably. Since the 71 villages and places of the settlement are scattered over a large area, the Cooperative has established a business center in Loma Plata and three branches in remote villages. The central office has radio contact with the office in Asuncion and the branches. Telephone service is also being introduced. Since the income from the Cooperative enterprise is taking care of most of the settlement expenses, there are hardly any taxes. Some visitors from abroad, not fully informed about the conditions, have been misled to come to negative conclusions in regard to the economic basis of the Menno settlement. It is based on a democratic foundation and life in Menno without the Cooperative business structure is unthinkable. It is not only the basis and the core of the Mennonite settlement, but also greatly benefits other Paraguayans, including the Indians. The Menno pioneers were the trailblazers of the Mennonites in Latin America. One hundred years ago they came from Russia to Manitoba, from where they moved on again after a fifty-year sojourn. For them pioneering is built-in.

AHSGR TRAVELS TO SOUTH AMERICA

While celebrating the Centennial of the arrival of the first Germans from Russia in South America members of the AHSGR who participate in the Society's people to people tour will have the opportunity of becoming acquainted with the Mennonites of the Chaco and Witmarsum colonies as well as Volga Germans of Entre Rios and Dutch and Schwabian settlers in Brazil. Members who wish to reserve places on the tours scheduled for January-February 1978 should do so by calling AHSGR Headquarters (402) 477-4524, immediately.

53 QUERIES A "CAN YOU HELP?" GENEALOGY SERVICE

In an effort to help you achieve maximum success in your search for information, we ask you to please observe the following suggestions and requirements for insertions. 1. Copy must be neatly submitted and as accurately detailed as possible. 2. Copy should be typed or legibly handwritten to avoid error in transcription. 3. Copy should be brief and specific. It is better to have two insertions than one that is too lengthy and involved. 4. Copy should make use of abbreviations as recommended in Work. Paper # 17. 5. The Genealogy Committee must reserve the right to edit copy submitted. 6. QUERIES are accepted at the rate of 5¢: per word, and will appear in two consecutive Work Papers. Info re CONRAD LENHARDT b abt 1854 Frank Saratov Rus. mar Mary (Margaret) KNOPF(?); ch: LENHARDT Mary, Carl (Conrad), Katherine, George Henry, Mollie, Alice. To USA abt 1877, mvd to Edmonton, LENHART Alta, Canada. Mrs. Beverly (Lenhart) Wagoner, Box 187, Broadwater,NE69125 LEONHARDT

SCHAFER Wish to correspond w desc fr vil on Jerusalan R: Wiesenmueller, Friedenberg, Merkel, Gnadentau, MÜLLER Volga Reg. Names: SCHAFER, MÜLLER, KINDSVATER, STUCKER, MAI, FRITZLER, KINDSVATER GALLOWA, JUNG, STRECKER, others. Betty Ashley, 3367 N. McCall, Sanger, CA 93657 STUCKER Info re MARIA KATHERINE SCHMIDT b 29 Sept 1853 So Volga, mar Georg Adam SCHMIDT SCHLOTTHAUER, par, bros & sis. Bernice Getschman.

Info re KATHERINE ELIZABETH EIRING (EYRING) b 5 Jan 1826 So. Volga, d 2 Sept 1899; mar EIRING SCHMIDT; all imp data. Bernice Getschman, Box 3330 Visalia CA 93277

REINHARDT Info re JACOB REINHARDT b abt 1868 Reinhardt Colony Volga, mar Beate DIENER. Info re bros Gottlieb, Peter, David, sis Elizabeth. To USA abt 1902. Info re vil Reinhardt/inhabitants. Margaret Kade, 912 Niagara, Sheboygan, WI 53081

WALTER Info re GEORGE WALTER b 23 Nov 1868, wife KATHERINE MARGARETA LEONHARDT b 25 July 1870, arrived USA ab 1891; Donald Adam Walter, 334 W. Park PI., Spokane, WA 99205

SURNAME EXCHANGE

The Surname Exchange is designed as a research tool to enable AHSGR members who are researching similar names to engage in correspondence that can be mutually beneficial. It is composed of two parts: Section I, names under research; Section II, names of researchers. Section I is an alphabetical listing of all surnames actively under study, with a corresponding alphabetized numerical Index Key to the names and addresses of researchers in Section II. Both Sections I and If of the Surname Exchange should be used in conjunction with Clues 77 and Work Paper No. 23 and 24.

SECTION I ALBATTY - A37 (Kind, Markstadt, Volga) BALDE - E26 (Urbach, Volga) AMEN - N8 (Frank, Volga) BANKARDT - H35 (Frank, Volga) AMEND - L48 (Walter, Volga) BASTRON - L50 (Frank, Volga) APPELHANZ - L49 (Rothammel, Volga) BAUER - W27 (Kolb, Volga) ARTZER - G39 (Rothammel, Volga) BECKER - R54 (Kassel, Black Sea)

54 BEGLAU - R5I (Beresina, Bessarabia) HENRY -- R53 (Norka, Volga) BEISEL - S67 (Dreispitz, Volga) HERBEL - S40 (Dreisptiz, Volga) BIBELHEIMER - S45 (Neiberg, Germany) HERMANN - E26 (Schafer, Volga) BIEBER - L49 (Rothammel, Volga) HILL - L48 (Volga Region) BIERWAG - M72 (Tarutino, Bessarabia) HOENKE - M72 (Denewitz, Bessarabia) BLEILE - H45 (Black Sea Area) HOFFMAN - G23 (Odessa, Black Sea) BOEHM - G23 (Kathcrinental, Black Sea) HOFFMAN - Tl (Balzer, Volga) BORGENS - L50 (Frank, Volga) HOHNSTEIN - S41 (Norka, Volga) BOSCHEE - K17 (Kassel, Black Sea) BRAUN - C7, Sl18 (Karlsruhe, Black Sea) JACOBS - E25 (Pfeiffer, Volga) BRUCKER - G23 (Karlsruhe, Black Sea) BURGHARDT - E25 (Pfeiffer, Volga) KAISER - G16, R5 (Norka, Volga) KAISER - M71, Tl (Balzer, Volga) DEGELE - H36 (Hoffnungstal, Black Sea) KASSLER - H45 (Mannheim, Black Sea) DEINES - Y4 (Norka, Volga) KEIL - B7 (Straub, Volga) DIEDE - S40 (Black Sea Area) KESSLER - R52, (Selz, Black Sea) DITTER - H44 (Frank, Volga) KESSLER - S40 (Gluckstal, Black Sea) DOERING - S41 (Straub, Volga) KIENZLE -K17 (Hoffnungstal, Black Sea) DOERR - A37 (Kind, Markstadt, Volga) KLAR - P38 (Russian Poland) DREILING-S118 KLEIN - H45 (Selz, Black Sea) DUDEK - H36 (Vambark, Bohemia) KLEIN - S67 (Dreispitz, Volga) KLOBERDANZ - G39 (Rothammel, Volga) ECKHARDT - L50 (Frank, Volga) KLOTZ - R54 (Kassel, Black Sea) ENGEL - B12 (Balzer, Volga) KNOLL-Sl18 ERBS - R49 (Denhof, Volga) KOCH - C7 (Landau, Black Sea) ERTEL - E26 (Schafer, Volga) KOCH - R54 (Kassel, Black Sea) KRAMER - G39 (Rothammel, Volga) FINNING - Y4 (Norka, Volga) KRUEGER - K21 (Friedenstal, Bessarabia) FISCHER - C7 (Landau, Black Sea) KRIEGER - S41 (Norka, Volga) FRANK - C7 (Landau, Black Sea) KROSKOB - R54 (Frank, Volga) FRANK - G39 (Rothammel, Volga) KUHN - M72, Sl18 (Tarutino, Bessarabia) PREIMARK - K21 (Friedenstal, Bessarabia) KUNZMAN - K29 (Bukovina, Hungary) FRITZ - H36 (Hoffnungstal, Black Sea) PUCHS (FOX) - G39, G40 (Rothammel, Volga) LAMBRECHT - E25 (Pfeiffer, Volga) LAUER - G39 (Rothammel, Volga) GEHRING - R54 (Kassel, Black Sea) LEBSOCK - R54 (Frank, Volga) GENSBURGER - G23 (Beresina, Bessarabia) LECHMANN - L49 (Rothammel, Volga) GERBER - E25 (Nickelsdorf, Austria) LEONHARDT - W18 (Volga Region) GIEBELHAUS - G16 (Norka, Volga) LORENZ - P7 (Kutter, Volga) GIESINGER - H45 (Mannheim, Black Sea) LUTZ - H36 (Hoffnungstal, Black Sea) GRAFF - G40 (Rothammel, Volga) GROHL - S53 (Politz, Pommerania) MACHALEIT - A37 (Kind/Markstadt, Volga) GROSKOPF - R54 (Frank, Volga) MAHRLY (MAHRLE) - K21 (Neu Elft, Bessarabia) GUMKE - R5I (Tarutino, Bessarabia) MARHLY - K21 (Neu Elft, Bessarabia) GUNTHER - B8 (Frank, Volga) MARKS - P38 (Blichna, Russian Poland) MILLER - B8 (Frank, Volga) HARDUNG - L48 (Frank, Volga) MILLRT - R49 (Denhof, Volga) HARSCH - H36 (Hoffnungstal, Black Sea) MUELLER - S67 (Dreispitz, Volga) HARTMAN - G39 (Rothammel, Volga) MUELLER - M72 (Kulm/Mannsburg, Bessarabia) HARTUNG - H44 (Frank, Volga) HASZ - M72 (Kulm/Mannsburg, Bessarabia) NAGEL - G16 (Norka, Volga) HEFLEY - S40 (Dreispitz, Volga) NAZERNUS - P7 (Kutter, Volga) HEIEN - N8 (Ostfriesland, Germany) NEIWERTH - R54 (Neu Weimar, Volga) HEIN - M32 (Kutter, Volga) NEUMANN - P38 (Russian Poland) HEINBISCHER - H44 (Frank, Volga) NIES - S40 (Glückstal, Black Sea) HEINRICH - G16 (Mariental, Volga) HENKE - M72 (Denewitz, Bessarabia) OSTER - W18 (Odessa Black Sea)

55 OTTERSTETTER - P21 (Leipzig, Bessarabia) SCHULZ - M72 (Dennewitz, Bessarabia) SCHULZ - S67 (Dreispitz, Volga) PATZER - P21 (Leipzig, Bessarabia) SCHUPP - S53 (Westphalia, Germany) PAULI - R5 (Norka, Volga) SCHWAB - H45 (Mannheim, Black Sea) PFAFF - W18 (Volga Region) SCHWAB - N8 (Gruenburg, West Prussia, Germany) PFENNING - Y4 (Norka, Volga) SCHWAB - R49 (Denhof, Volga) POLANSKY - K29 (Bohemia) SCHWARTZ - P38 (Rypin, Russian Poland) SEHER - S41 (Straub, Volga) QUINDT - S67 (Dreispitz, Volga) SINGER - R50 (Goebel, Volga) SOKOLOWSKY - S67 (Dreispitz, Volga) RAAB - A37 (Kind/Markstadt, Volga) SPETTER - G40 (Rothammel, Volga) REDLER - K29 (Rastadt, Black Sea) SPRENGER - K17 (Kassel, Black Sea) REICHARDT - K29 (Rastadt, Black Sea) STAUBER - R51 (Klostitz, Bessarabia) REIFSCHNEIDER - M32 (Kutter, Volga) STECKLER - G23 (Karlsruhe, Black Sea) REIN - R53 (Merkel, Volga) STEINBACH - G40 (Rothammel, Volga) RESCH - R50 (Hildmann, Volga) STIEB - R50 (Goebel, Volga) REUER - K17 (Hoffnungstal, Black Sea) STROH - H35, R53 (Frank, Volga) REUSBICH - R5 (Norka, Volga) STUMPF - W18 (Warenburg, Volga) RIEDEL - S118 RIESE - S62 (Nieder Monjou, Volga) TAUT - M73 (Kolb, Volga) ROEDEL - R51 (Beresina, Bessarabia) THOMAS - C7 (Karlsruhe, Black Sea) ROGEL - L49 (Rothammel, Volga) TIEDTKE - K21 (Zolledre, Russia) ROH - Tl (Schilling, Volga) TIEDE - S40 (Johannestal, Black Sea) ROSS - G16 (Norka, Volga) RUDIN - S62 (Volga Region) UTTKE - M72 (Tarutino, Bessarabia) RUDY - B7 (Pobotschnoje, Volga) UTZ - R54 (Neu Weimar, Volga) RUHL - L49 (Rothammel, Volga) RUPP - S67 (Dreispits, Volga) VOGEL-POHL - S53 (Politz, Pommerania) RUSSHART - R51 (Borodino) RUTT - M73 (Kolb, Volga) WAGNER - B7 (Pobotschnoje, Volga) WAGNER - B8 (Frank, Volga) SANDER -Sll 8 WAGNER - R52 (Selz, Black Sea) SAUER - R5 (Norka Volga) WALGER - S62 (Beckerdorf, Volga) SCHACHTERLE - S45 (Odessa, Black Sea) WALKER - H35 (Frank, Volga) SCHAEFER - E26 (Urbach, Volga) WALTER - W18 (Volga Region) SCHAEFER - L50, W18 (Frank, Volga) WEBER - H45 (Mannheim, Black Sea) SCHANEMAN - R53 (Norka, Volga) WERTZ - P7 (Beideck, Volga) SCHENK - P7 (Kutter, Volga) WILHELM - B7 (Pobotschnoje, Volga) SCHLEGEL - R49 (Denhof, Volga) WILL - S40 (Johannestal, Black Sea) SCHLIEGER - R5 (Norka, Volga) WIRTZ - G23 (Speier, Black Sea) SCHMIDT - K17 (Hoffnungstal, Black Sea Area) WITTMANN - S67 (Holstein, Volga) SCHMIDT - S40 (Kraft, Volga) WUNSCH - P38 (Gozdy, Russian Poland) SCHMIDT - S53 (Politz, Pommerania) SCHMIDTBERGER - Sl 18 YOST - Y4 (Norka, Volga) SCHNELL - S62 (Volga Region) SCHNELLER - K29 (Bukovina, Hungary) ZAPPEL - G23 (Bessarabia) ZEILER - L50 SCHOENEMAN - R53 (Norka, Volga) (Frank, Volga) SCHOENHALS - S40 (Stephan, Volga) ZELLMAN - K21 (Zolledre, Russia) SCHOENHOLZ - H44 (Frank, Volga) ZIEG - B12, M71 (Balzer, Volga)

56 SECTION II (*Address Changes)

Al Maj. Norman C. Altenhof, 253 Elizabeth Ave., St. Johns Newfoundland, Canada A1B 1T6* A34 Mr. & Mrs. Larry Anderson, 312 Fairchild Circle, Offutt AFB, NE 68113* A37 Mrs. Suzanne (Brown) Anderson, 601 Arbor Dr., Vandenberg AFB, CA 93437

B7 Mrs. Fonda (Wagner) Baseit, 707 Park Lane, Champaign, IL 61820 B8 Ms- Dianne E. (Carstens) Bomentre, 600 Blaine, Norfolk, NE 68701 B12 Mrs. Eleanor (Werner) Burson, RR 3., Timberlane Acres, Churubusco, IN 46723 B60 Mrs. Ardella (Strobel) Bennett, 6832 Russell Ave., S. Richfield, MN S5423* B63 Mr. & Mrs. William J. Bollig, Rt. 4, 13313 Rd. 37, Sterling, CO 80751*

C7 Mrs. Violet (Brown) Carrigan, 5227 Kirkwood Pl., No. Seattle, WA 98103

D27 Mr. Gordon J. Dobler, 3911 Gate, Troy, MI 48084*

E3 Mrs. Louise (Glantz) England, P.O. Box 552. Midland, TX 79701 * E21 Mrs. Wayne (Irmgard Hein) Ellingson, 333 Wartburg Pl., Dubuque, IA 52001* E25 Mrs. Mary L. EIIingson, 22532 Reynolds Dr., Torrance, CA 90505 E26 Ronald & Roxanne (Schaefer) Ertel, 1530 So. 26th St., Sheboygan, WI 53081

G16 Reuben H. Gablehouse, 1840 Forest Ave., Boulder, CO 80302 G20 Dr. Chas. Gebhardt, 5822 Our Way, Citrus Heights, CA 95610* G23 Mrs. Robin Dee (Michael) Gensburger, 3801 Ashley Shores Dr., Charleston, SC 29405 G31 Ray Gohnert, 6259 Hokett Way, San Jose, CA 95123* G39 Mrs. Margaret (Kloberdanz) Gorrell, 909 E. Main St., Osage. IA 50461 G40 John C. Graft, 454 Kingwood Rd., Linthicum Heights, MD 21090

H12 Mrs. Nancy (Bernhardt) Holland, 4207 Pony Express Rd,, Kearney, NE 68847* H35 Mrs. F. LoRayne (Walker) Hopkins, 2601 Shadow Ct., Ft. Collins, CO 80521 H36 Mrs. Leia (Degele) Harrison, 303 5th St., McCook, NE 69001 H44 Franklin & Charlene (Schoenholz) Harding, Rt. 2, Overton, NE 68863 H45 Miss Kathy Hayes, 1819 Queen Anne Ave., Seattle, WA 98109

K17 Arthur Kinzle, 10578 Ainsworth Dr., Los Altos, CA 94022 K21 Dallas Krueger, 320 No. Colfax St., LaHabra, CA 90631 K29 Mrs. Kathy (Polansky) Kelly, 941 No. 18th St., Blair, NE 68008 K36 Karl V. Karlin, % Phillips Petroleum Co., Phillips Bidg., Rm. 1702, Bartlesville, OK 74004*

L34 Mrs. Joe (Flossie Gourlay) Libra, Box 299, Deer Park, WA 99006* L47 Lynn M. Luker, 220 W. Las Flores Ave., Arcadia, CA 91006* L48 Mrs. Judy Lewellen, P.O. Box 776, Hayden Lake, ID 83835 L49 Vincent J. Lechmann, 2036 Bordner Pl., St. Paul, MN 55116 L50 Mrs. Barbara (Bastron) Latham, 4151 Camino De La Cembre, Sherman Oaks, CA 91423

Ml 7 Mrs. Esther (Heinze) Miller, % St. Barnabas Church, 3955 Orange Ave., Long Beach, CA 90807* M32 Mrs. Helen (Reifschneider) Marlow, Rt. 3, Rupert, ID 83350 M71 Mrs. Carol (Hinze) McKenzie, RR 1, 1325 Kiplinger Ave., York, NE 68467 M72 Daniel Lee Mueller, Box 448, Tyndall, SD 57066 M73 Richard & Arlene (Rutt) Murdock, 756 N.E. Main, Blackfoot, ID 83221

N8 Mrs. Marilyn (Amen) Novotny, Rt. 1, Elm Creek, NE 68836

P7 Mr. & Mrs. Donald C. Price, 215 West Platte Ave., Ft. Morgan, CO 80701 P21 Robert H. Patzer, 2341 T. St., Merced, CA 95340 P36 Mrs. Sharyne L. (Trupp) Peterson, 1825 W. Ocotillo #195, Phoenix, AZ 85015*

57 P38 Mrs. Linda (Marks) Pauling, 267 Pegasus, Lompoc, CA 93436

R5 Emanuel & Anna M. (Miller) Reisbick, 2645 S. Leyden, Denver, CO 80222 R49 Mrs. Amelia (Schlegel) Rettig, 284 31 3/4 Rd., Grand Junction, CO 81501 R50 Ms. Vera Resch, 2498 Old Concord Rd., Apt. 304 A, Smyrna, GA 30080 R51 Mr. & Mrs. William R. Roedel, Star Rt., Box 708, Hamer, ID 83425 R52 Mrs. Jeanne (Mentzer) Reidinger, 2416 E. Parkside Ave., Orange, CA 92667 R53 Harold & Violet (Stroh) Rein, Rt. 2, Minatare, NE 69356 R54 Mrs. Karmen (Becker) Rowe, 350 West Maple #37, Pocatello, ID 83201

S8 John Spies, % Hughes Aircraft Co. Bldg. 170C Mail Sta. A., El Segundo, CA 90245* S40 Mrs. Anneva (Schoenhals) Sander, Box 421 Seiling, OK 73663 S41 Floyd L. Seher, 6006 N. Park Ave., Tacoma, WA 98407 S45 Rev. Raymond Schachterle, 3235 Perry St., Denver, CO 80212 S53 Myron L. Schmidt, 3204 12 Ave., S.E., Calgary, Alta, Canada T2A OH1 S62 Robert M. Schnell, 34 W. 391 Illinois St., St. Charles, IL 60174 S67 Ralph V. Sokolowsky, 974 North 520 East, Orem, UT 84057 S83 Mr. & Mrs. Jacob Schauerman, 1911 Avenue J. Nederland.TX 77627* S86 Dr. & Mrs. Louis Schwartzkopf, 1601 Albany St., Apt. 206, LaGrande, OR 97850*

Tl Mrs. Clara (Hoffman) Turner, 4833 So. Mead St., Seattle, WA 98118

V3 Mrs. Florence D. Valentine, 989 Mesquite Dr., Sierra Vista, AZ 85635*

W18 Donald A. Walter, 334 W. Park Place, Spokane, WA 99205 W29 Ms. Janet Walthew, 23402 66th West, Mountlake Terrace, WA 98043

Y4 Darrell H. Yost, 3034 28th West, Seattle, WA 98199

CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ISSUE

ARTHUR E. FLEGEL who prepares Queries and the Surname Exchange for the Work Paper served this summer as chairman of the Society's Eighth International Convention. Historian ADAM GIESINGER, retired from a teaching career at the University of Manitoba, has been commissioned by the AHSGR to write a history of the Society's first decade. EMMA SCHWABENLAND HAYNES serves the Society from her home in Washington D.C. as a reviewer, researcher, author, and editor. Poet NONA UHRICH NIMNICHT is a new member of the Golden Gate Chapter of the AHSGR. Her work has appeared in Aldebaran Review, Colorado Quarterly, and a number of small magazines and anthologies. Translator DONA BATTY REEVES has returned to her position as professor of German language and literature at Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos after a summer of research in Germany. JACOB B. REIMER of Loma Plata, Paraguay has served as Oberschuize, i.e. mayor of the Menno Colony he describes in his article. Professor JOHN B. TOEWS is Chairman of the Department of History at the University of Calgary. He is the author of several books and numerous articles on the Germans from Russia including The Mennonites in Russia from 1917 to 1930. LAWRENCE A. WEIGEL continues his collection of music and folklore of the Germans from Russia in the rich ethnic mine of his native Ellis County, . OTTO WENZEL lives in Austin, Minnesota where he devotes a good deal of his time to historical and genealogical research as well as translating.

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