tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7858950.post115010703747224446..comments2023-05-31T14:16:36.022+03:00Comments on Otto's Random Thoughts: MennonitesJ. Otto Pohlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07457089758142264049noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7858950.post-54344896287344390342017-02-01T17:03:48.988+03:002017-02-01T17:03:48.988+03:00My mother was one of these. She was born in Zapo...My mother was one of these. She was born in Zaporozhye, Ukraine in 1928. Her people came from Danzig in the early 19th century, and had done very well there. Her grandfather introduced the stainless steel plow to the thick soil of the Ukraine, and was the first in the city to have an automobile. They lost everything in the Revolution. Her father was a professor of mechanical engineering and the designer of the first locally-made tractor in Zaporozhye, but as a German was always under suspicion. He was arrested in 1933 and became a zek, working on the Trans-Siberian Railway. She herself fled the Ukraine with her mother in 1944 when the German army retreated. She became a nurse in Bremen and emigrated to Canada in 1950 after her mother died.<br /><br />She died in 2014, but wrote a memoir of life on the banks of the beautiful Dniepr, "In the Arms of the River" by Louise Redford. It's a Kindle book on Amazon if you're curious about this tragic and lost culture.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7858950.post-19871422270265713732007-01-25T03:39:00.000+03:002007-01-25T03:39:00.000+03:00Hi! My parents are Mennonites and speak Mennonite ...Hi! My parents are Mennonites and speak Mennonite Low German, which has recently become a hobby of mine (I've written some stuff about it in my blog). My uncle Peter Wiens is the director of the Plautdietsch (that's the name of our Low German) Friends Society and I've written some articles in his Plautdietsch magazine. All my relatives live in Germany.<br /><br />Anyway, I am really glad to see some people interested in our group. How exactly did you get interested in the Mennonites?Nataliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13111750603344724011noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7858950.post-1150209192712497402006-06-13T18:33:00.000+04:002006-06-13T18:33:00.000+04:00Vanessa: I am not sure of the origin of the Menno...Vanessa: I am not sure of the origin of the Mennonites in Arkansas. The Mennonites as distinct religious sect. originated in Groningen, Holland where Menno Simons became the leader of a collection of Dutch, German and Swiss Anabaptists in 1537. Many of them then moved to the area around Danzig (modern day Gdansk) in the region of the Vistula. After 1772 they began to emigrate. Their refusal to serve in the military brought them into conflict with the Prussian state. Some went to the Russian Empire. This is the group that interests me.J. Otto Pohlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07457089758142264049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7858950.post-1150199101015641822006-06-13T15:45:00.000+04:002006-06-13T15:45:00.000+04:00We have, or had Mennonites here in Arkansas. When...We have, or had Mennonites here in Arkansas. When I was about ten years old, I met some of them when they were staying with my grandparents. My grandfather owned and manufactured carriages and the Mennonites came to buy them once a year. My grandparents always put them up overnight when they came. We were fascinated with their culture. I didn't know their origination until now.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17918955190046467930noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7858950.post-1150158707781761572006-06-13T04:31:00.000+04:002006-06-13T04:31:00.000+04:00Vilhelm: Thanks for the comment. I will post more ...Vilhelm: Thanks for the comment. I will post more on Mennonites in the USSR later. They wrote alot more about themselves than many other "repressed peoples" such as Meskhetian Turks or Balkars for instance. On the other hand the Soviet statistical documentation did not count Mennonites as a separate group from the rather large Russian-German population. Only in matters dealing with religious affairs do Soviet era government documents refer specifically to Mennonites. This makes figuring out statistical data on the group more difficult than it is for other peoples.J. Otto Pohlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07457089758142264049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7858950.post-1150150978408269942006-06-13T02:22:00.000+04:002006-06-13T02:22:00.000+04:00How very interesting. I'm looking forward to readi...How very interesting. I'm looking forward to reading more about this when you have come a little further on the subject.Vilhelm Konnanderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04506899921990227704noreply@blogger.com