Here is a
section of a chapter on the political situation in the Mennonite colonies in
south Russia at the time of the Russian Revolution 1917-19 and thereafter from D.M. Hofer’s
book Die Hungersnot in Russland, which I have been translating this
winter. The threat of being murdered in
their beds was so dire, some Mennonites decided they had no option but to pick up guns to protect themselves, their families, and belongings. The 400-year tradition of non-bearing of arms
was set aside to kill and be killed.
In
April of 1918 the German military established itself [in south Russia], with
plans to remain for five to ten years. Their efforts and energy were directed
toward identifying the Bolshevists and restoring peace and order. The stolen goods were returned and the
thieves punished. Because those who had done the robbing were mostly Russians and
the ones being robbed were Germans, the Russians now suffered a great deal at
the hands of the German military. It is
only natural, therefore, that hatred against the Germans by the Russians as a
people was urged and stirred up. When
the news began to be spread that the Germany military would be withdrawing
because of unrest in Germany, many people were filled with fear and anguish
because it was clear that after the Germans left the heavy-handed power of the
Bolshevists would again be felt.
Unfortunately
these fears were fulfilled. While the German military was in power,
headquartered in Taurien, groups of bandits under the leadership of Makhno [leader
of an anarchist group] organized in the area of Alexandrowsk and targeted
isolated economic enterprises and little villages, robbing and often murdering
the inhabitants. It was apparent that these bands of anarchists with their terrifying
actions would find their way into Molotschna after the Germans left. Therefore the Molotschna inhabitants decided
to organize an armed Selbstschutz
(self-protection) army to protect life and belongings from the anarchists.
The
Mennonites were deeply conflicted about the issue. On the one hand they had maintained a
400-year tradition of non-bearing of arms in time of war. On the other, they
faced the practical question of reconciling how to deal with the heavily-armed
Makhnovites and basic principles of their faith regarding bearing arms. This question had already been discussed
earlier when the German military attempted to get small self-protection units
organized among the Mennonites. It was
also the main subject of debate at the Allgemeinen
Mennonitischen Bundeskonference in
Lichtenau in the summer of 1918 where a resolution
was passed to remain steadfast to the position of non-bearing of arms based on the witness of their forefathers Now [with heavily armed bandits at their
gates] they were faced with the
decision: To take up arms or to remain nonresistant.
The
arguments offered became more heated and urgent. One person told stories of assaults on defenseless
women; the number of refugees was increasing,
among them women with gunshot wounds to their breasts and
chopped-off limbs. Children were being killed in their mothers’ arms. They decided to fight. Some persons who only
a year ago believed that nonresistance in all cases was the right position had
changed their thinking entirely because of the experiences of the last year. Against their conscience, they had concluded that if circumstances required them to
do so. It was their duty to take up arms on behalf of their own people for the cause of
what was right and righteous, for freedom and law. They decided to fight with a weapon in their
hands.
In
their 400 years of history the Mennonites had never lived through anything
similar to what was happening in their midst—organized bands of lawless, armed
men completely disregarding the laws of the land maintaining order, causing the
peaceful populace to live in fear for their lives. Though the many years of undisputed tradition
was the reality, it was being set side. This issue forced many Mennonites,
especially those of the younger generation, to pick up arms to protect the
lives of their loved ones and the honor of their mothers, wives, and sisters. This change of thinking was not a great surprise, but took place with full awareness and after a
difficult inner struggle for many.
We don’t want to judge or condemn. We don’t know what we would have done in similar
circumstances. However, when one tries
to reconcile their decision with the sixth commandment given by God and the
teaching of Jesus to Peter, it is hard to understand. In his book Wehrlos? Rev. G.A. Peters from Ladekop writes as follows:
About three to
four months ago the Selbstschutz held back a front consisting of about 100
werst of Makhnovites, but the pressure by the bandits reinforced from the
North became too strong at the end of
February 1919 so that the Selbstschutz,
small in number and insufficiently armed, couldn’t hold out any longer. The last decisive battles were near Blumental
where the members of the self-protection group fought for five days without
interruption or reinforcements against a fiend ten times larger. These battles so depleted the Selbstschutz men that they fell down out of sheer
exhaustion and had to give up further resistance.
With
this defeat the fate of the Mennonites was determined. Whoever had the means fled to the Crimea. On
February 26 the Makhnovites invaded the Molotschna area. Nearly all inhabitants of the 27
Lutheran villages in the Prischib district as well as the people from the
villages from Halbstadt to Lindenau fled because they feared mass murder. When
they were given the assurance that as peaceful people they had nothing to fear,
many refugees returned.
These
roving bands [Makhnovites] soon vented their hatred toward the Germans freely
and aroused the lower Russian classes against them. The Mennonites were blamed for everything,
including the increasing inflation, but especially for the organization of the Selbstschutz. A whole row of young men from the Selbstschutz were shot on the spot where
they were found or hacked to pieces with swords. Others lost their lives in the area of the
cities Melitopel and Berdjansk in gruesome fashion. Mennonites were arrested by
the dozens, cruelly tortured, ridiculed, and often beaten until they lost
consciousness and then doused with cold water. Many were whipped with iron rods,
gun barrels, and leather boot straps until their flesh hung in shreds. Many
were crippled for life.
In
addition to this the Makhnovites brought more than ten thousand Russians into
the Molotschna, divided them among the villages, and demanded they be housed
and fed. They issued the stern warning that if the Russians complained about their treatment the most
severe punishment would be meted out to the Mennonites according to laws
established by the revolutionary government.
What that meant the Mennonites knew well enough. Many of these Russians
took advantage of every opportunity, demanding money, means of travel, and rich
cooked and roasted food.
Part
III One scholar’s analysis of why the Mennonites forsook their tradition of
non-bearing of arms.
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