Vistula delta Mennonites
Encyclopedia
Vistula
The Vistula is the longest and the most important river in Poland, at 1,047 km in length. The watershed area of the Vistula is , of which lies within Poland ....
between the late 16th century and 1945.
Origins
The Mennonite movementMennonite
The Mennonites are a group of Christian Anabaptist denominations named after the Frisian Menno Simons , who, through his writings, articulated and thereby formalized the teachings of earlier Swiss founders...
was founded by Menno Simons
Menno Simons
Menno Simons was an Anabaptist religious leader from the Friesland region of the Low Countries. Simons was a contemporary of the Protestant Reformers and his followers became known as Mennonites...
, a Dutch priest who left the Catholic Church in 1536 and became a leader within the Anabaptist
Anabaptist
Anabaptists are Protestant Christians of the Radical Reformation of 16th-century Europe, and their direct descendants, particularly the Amish, Brethren, Hutterites, and Mennonites....
movement. The Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
regions of Friesland
Friesland
Friesland is a province in the north of the Netherlands and part of the ancient region of Frisia.Until the end of 1996, the province bore Friesland as its official name. In 1997 this Dutch name lost its official status to the Frisian Fryslân...
and Flanders
County of Flanders
The County of Flanders was one of the territories constituting the Low Countries. The county existed from 862 to 1795. It was one of the original secular fiefs of France and for centuries was one of the most affluent regions in Europe....
as well as the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
regions of Eastern Frisia and Holstein
Holstein
Holstein is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is part of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of Germany....
became a center of the Mennonites. Religious persecution in the Netherlands under Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba
Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba
Don Fernando Álvarez de Toledo y Pimentel, 3rd Duke of Alba was a Spanish general and governor of the Spanish Netherlands , nicknamed "the Iron Duke" in the Low Countries because of his harsh and cruel rule there and his role in the execution of his political opponents and the massacre of several...
however forced many Mennonites to leave in the 16th century.
Danzig community
The first Anabaptist, a native of PrussiaPrussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
, is reported in 1526 in Marienburg
Malbork
Malbork is a town in northern Poland in the Żuławy region , with 38,478 inhabitants . Situated in the Pomeranian Voivodeship since 1999, it was previously assigned to Elbląg Voivodeship...
(Malbork). In the 1530s Dutch Mennonites moved to the area of Danzig (Gdansk) in the Polish
Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569)
The Kingdom of Poland of the Jagiellons was the Polish state created by the accession of Jogaila , Grand Duke of Lithuania, to the Polish throne in 1386. The Union of Krewo or Krėva Act, united Poland and Lithuania under the rule of a single monarch...
province of Royal Prussia
Royal Prussia
Royal Prussia was a Region of the Kingdom of Poland and of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth . Polish Prussia included Pomerelia, Chełmno Land , Malbork Voivodeship , Gdańsk , Toruń , and Elbląg . It is distinguished from Ducal Prussia...
, a town connected with the Netherlands by traditional grain trade. Menno Simons apparently visited the community in 1549 and in 1569 Dirk Philips
Dirk Philips
Dirk Philips was an early Anabaptist writer and theologian. He was one of the peaceful disciples of Melchior Hoffman and later joined Menno Simons in laying out practical doctrines for what would become the Mennonite church.- Biography :...
founded the first Mennonite Church in Danzig. Soon about 1,000 Mennonites lived in the city.
In 1552 the Danzig city council allowed Mennonites to practise their faith but refused to grant Mennonites the formal status of a Citizen, a situation unchanged until the city became a part of the Kingdom of Prussia
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
in 1793. As a result most of them settled in the suburbs of Schidlitz (Siedlce), Petershagen and Alt-Schottland (Stare Szkoty).
The relation between the city council and the Mennonites was often ambivalent. Though their faith was tolerated in general, protests of local craftsmen caused the ban of Mennonite traders and craftsmen to participate in the annual trade fairs. In 1582 local guild’s complaints against the employment of Mennonite linnen weavers by the Catholic St. Bridget's church were judged by the City council, which decided to limit the number of Mennonite weavers to one per abbey. In 1583 the council unsuccessfully requested the Polish King to dislodge the Mennonites in the suburb of Alt-Schottland while in 1586 the King asked the council not to tolerate this “human plague” inside the city.
However, the Mennonite community in Danzig grew and played an important role in grain trade with the Netherlands.
Vistula Delta settlement
Vistula
The Vistula is the longest and the most important river in Poland, at 1,047 km in length. The watershed area of the Vistula is , of which lies within Poland ....
became an appealing alternative.
Large areas of the Vistula Delta were in the possession of the city or its burghers. This area was however devastated in the horsemen’s war and furthermore destroyed by a severe flood in 1540. In 1543 the city council reported that many villages of formerly 15 to 20 farms did not exist any more.
Michael Loitz, a Danzig councillor and merchant, had received a thirty-year lease of an area at the river Tiege (Tuga) by the Polish King and in 1562 he invited Mennonites to settle here and cultivate the Vistula marshes. Dutch-style windmills to drain the swamps and Dutch-style houses coined the area from now on. Mennonites were allowed to run their own schools but had to pay school fees for the public school as well. While these charges remained usually undisputed the duties to local Catholic and Lutheran parishes were often refused.
The different origin of the Mennonites perpetuated in different theological opinions. While a conservative “Flamish” group dominated the Danzig community, a more liberal “Frisian” group existed along the Vistula. The “Flamish” group kept close contacts to the Netherlands, printed Dutch-language bibles and invited Dutch sermonizers, while the Dutch influence in the delta region declined.
Plautdietsch
Plautdietsch
Plautdietsch, or Mennonite Low German, was originally a Low Prussian variety of East Low German, with Dutch influence, that developed in the 16th and 17th centuries in the Vistula delta area of Royal Prussia, today Polish territory. The word is another pronunciation of Plattdeutsch, or Low German...
, a mixture of Dutch and the Low Prussian dialect of the Vistula Delta, became the typical language of the Mennonites in this region.The first German-language sermon in the Mennonite church of Danzig in 1762 caused protests of the community members and led to a return to the Dutch language, however in 1768 German hymnbooks were used and only some members continued to use Dutch.
Further emigration
In 1772 the Vistula delta and the Danzig suburbs became part of the Kingdom of PrussiaKingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
after the Partitions of Poland
Partitions of Poland
The Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland for 123 years...
, the city of Danzig after the second partition in 1793 (with 577 Mennonites).
In 1772 12,032 Mennonites settled in the now Prussian territory. Though their faith was tolerated, the Mennonites became subject of special laws and extra taxes.
Only men who had served in the Prussian Army
Prussian Army
The Royal Prussian Army was the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was vital to the development of Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power.The Prussian Army had its roots in the meager mercenary forces of Brandenburg during the Thirty Years' War...
were allowed to purchase land tenure, conscientious objectors were subject to special charges. These regulations led to a large number of young Mennonites without economical prospect.
In 1786 Georg von Trappe, a Colonization agent of the Russian
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
government, sought to recruit settlers for the regions
recently conquered from the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. In the following decades about 6,000 Mennonites, most of them from the delta settlements, left to Russia, forming the roots of the Russian Mennonites
Russian Mennonites
The Russian Mennonites are a group of Mennonites descended from Dutch and mainly Germanic Prussian Anabaptists who established colonies in South Russian Empire beginning in 1789. Since the late 19th century, many of them have come to countries throughout the Western Hemisphere...
. The first Mennonite settlement in Russia, Chortitza Colony, was founded by these emigrees in 1789.
The remaining Mennonites assimilated more and more. In the liberation wars of 1813 some young Mennonites were prepared to join the forces against Napoleon. In the Spring of Nations of 1848 Mennonites joined the armed municipal militia (Bürgerwehr), which included the right to bear arms. When after the foundation of the North German Confederation
North German Confederation
The North German Confederation 1866–71, was a federation of 22 independent states of northern Germany. It was formed by a constitution accepted by the member states in 1867 and controlled military and foreign policy. It included the new Reichstag, a parliament elected by universal manhood...
a general conscription was invented, the Danzig community managed to receive the exceptional permission to serve only in non-combat troops, however a group of Mennonites emigrated to North America to avoid all kind of military service.
At the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
about 1,000 Mennonites lived in Danzig, along with the rest of the populace Mennonites were expelled after World War II to West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
, many of them moving on to North and South America.
Notable members
- Johann CorniesJohann CorniesJohann Cornies was a Mennonite German settler to the Russian Empire.- Biography :Cornies was born in the Vistula delta Mennonite settlement of Bärwalde , near Danzig in West Prussia. He was a son of Johann Cornies and Aganetha Cornies...
- Jacob HoeppnerJacob HoeppnerJacob Hoeppner was one of two delegates selected by the Mennonite community in Danzig, Prussia, to travel to South Russia and evaluate land along the Dnieper River near Chortitza as a possible settlement. The Mennonites were recruited by Queen Catherine II the Great to settle on territory recently...
- Hilmar KopperHilmar KopperHilmar Kopper is a German banker and former Chairman of the Board of Deutsche Bank .Kopper was born in Osłonino to a Mennonite family, he was expelled after World War II He was employed as a trainee in Deutsche Bank in 1954 and spent his whole career there...
- Wilhelm MannhardtWilhelm MannhardtWilhelm Mannhardt was a German scholar and folklorist. He is known for his work on Baltic mythology, as a collector, and for his championing of the solar theory....
- Klaas ReimerKlaas ReimerKlaas Reimer was the founder of the Kleine Gemeinde, a Mennonite denomination now called the Evangelical Mennonite Conference.- Biography :...
Mennonite settlements
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Stogi, Pomeranian Voivodeship Stogi is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Malbork, within Malbork County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, in northern Poland... ) Karczowiska Górne Karczowiska Górne is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Gronowo Elbląskie, within Elbląg County, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in northern Poland... ) Lubieszewo, Pomeranian Voivodeship Lubieszewo is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Nowy Dwór Gdański, within Nowy Dwór Gdański County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, in northern Poland... ) |
Zelichowo, Pomeranian Voivodeship Żelichowo is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Nowy Dwór Gdański, within Nowy Dwór Gdański County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. It lies approximately north-east of Nowy Dwór Gdański and south-east of the regional capital Gdańsk.Before 1945 the area was part of... ) Pieczewo, Pomeranian Voivodeship Pieczewo is a settlement in the administrative district of Gmina Nowy Dwór Gdański, within Nowy Dwór Gdański County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. It lies approximately west of Nowy Dwór Gdański and south-east of the regional capital Gdańsk.... ) Lesnowo Leśnowo is a settlement in the administrative district of Gmina Nowy Dwór Gdański, within Nowy Dwór Gdański County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. It lies approximately west of Nowy Dwór Gdański and south-east of the regional capital Gdańsk.... ) |
Szkarpawa, Pomeranian Voivodeship Szkarpawa is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Stegna, within Nowy Dwór Gdański County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, in northern Poland... ) Stobiec, Pomeranian Voivodeship Stobiec is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Stegna, within Nowy Dwór Gdański County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, in northern Poland... ) Cyganek Cyganek is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Nowy Dwór Gdański, within Nowy Dwór Gdański County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. It lies approximately north-west of Nowy Dwór Gdański and south-east of the regional capital Gdańsk.... ) Tuja Tuja is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Nowy Dwór Gdański, within Nowy Dwór Gdański County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, in northern Poland... ) |