Preservings $20 Issue No. 26, 2006 - Home at Plett Foundation

Mennonitische Forschungsstelle
Gary Waltner, Archivist and Librarian, Weierhof, Germany
In 1948 the German Mennonite Historical
Society (Mennonitischer Geschichtsverein: MGV)
voted to establish a Mennonite library and archives,
the Mennonitische Forschungsstelle (MFSt).
Dr. Ernst Crous, along with his wife Rosa, both
librarians in the Prussian State Library, who had
been evacuated from Berlin with a part of the Library
to Göttingen in Lower Saxony in the early
1940’s, accepted the responsibility of collecting
and cataloging the small, but growing collection.
One compelling reason for starting the MFSt was
the fact that a good number of church books from
former East and West Prussia had been rescued
by Mennonite refugees when they were forced to
leave their homes. Since the churches no longer
existed, the question was raised as to where these
books should be deposited. These valuable documents
remain one of the most important archival
collections in the library today.
From it’s beginning until 1960, the collection
was located in the home of Ernst and Rosa Crous
in Göttingen. In that year, Ernst and Rosa Crous
decided to move back to Krefeld to a retirement
home. The collection was also taken to Krefeld
where it was housed in the city hall. Both Ernst
and Rosa Crous continued to work with the collection,
along with Irmgard von Beckerath, until
their death in 1967 and 1968. Since no one could
be found in Krefeld who was willing to take on the
responsibility of the collection, the MGV asked the
Principal of the Heimschule in Weierhof, Helmut
Haury, if room for the collection was available on
the campus of the Gymnasium (German Mennonite
Secondary School). A large room in the attic
of the schoolhouse was available, and in 1968 the
complete library was moved to Weierhof. Here
the collection was expanded by the inclusion of
Christian Neff’s library which until then had been
located in the parsonage of the Mennonite Church
at Weierhof. Dr. Horst Penner from the Nordpfalz
Gymnasium, along with Paul Schowalter, Elder
of the Weierhof Mennonite Church and Gerhard
Hein, Elder of the Monsheim Mennonite Church,
were placed in charge of the collection. In the
course of the next four years, all three became ill
and were unable to administer the library.
In 1974 the MGV decided to accept the offer
of Nelson Springer, head of the Mennonite
Historical Library at Goshen, Indiana to spend a
sabbatical year along with his family at Weierhof
to catalog the library and sort out the archival material.
This was done from June, 1976 until August,
1977. Shortly before Springer’s year ended, Gary
Waltner was asked to take responsibility for the
collection.
Over the years, the collection expanded until
the space on the fourth floor of the school was
overcroweded. Paul Schowalter helped procure
a yearly monetary grant from the local state of
Rheinland-Pfalz to help buy books, while many
people donated books and documents. Gary Waltner
served as the volunteer, part-time director of
the library and archives. Since he was employed
by the American government as teacher/principal,
much of the correspondence and work involving
the library had to be done evenings, week-ends,
or vacation time. Help for visitors left much to be
desired, and assistance offered to researchers was
often at a minimum.
None-the-less, the collection continued to
grow as new books were purchased, or donated
by private individuals. Many of the donations
were in the area of genealogy. Soon the attic room
became too small, crowded with boxes stuffed
into corners, magazines stacked in the aisles, and
a shortage of shelves. In order to keep abreast with
cataloging books, measures supported by the local
employment office to reduce unemployment were
initiated. Over the years, Christine Neff, Christa
Kägy, and Klaus Till were employed to carry on
the daily work in the library. Volunteers worked in
the library as time permited and others helped with
typing correspondence. Without their assistance,
the day-to-day administrative routine could not
have been accomplished.
Mexico Mennonites Provide Relief Aid
Co History Conference Was A Success
Conrad Stoesz, Winnipeg
In October, 2005, hurricane Stan devastated
Guatemala, El Salvador and surrounding countries,
as well as southern and central Mexico.
About 80 deaths were directly attributed to the
storm and another 1,500 to 2,000 deaths were
caused indirectly. Damage was estimated at
between one and two billion dollars (US).
The Low German Mennonites in the state
of Chihuahua, responded generously, donating
about 150,000 US towards disaster relief in the
southern Mexican state of Chiapas. They sent
representative to the disaster areas, and together
with Nicholas King, country Representative
for MCC, assessed the situation, and made
recommendations as to how best to respond to
the needs. Low German Mennonites also sent
local volunteers to do some of the reconstruction
work. There was tremendous local support
for this project. Individuals contributed to
the project, and the Old Colony Church near
Cuauhtemoc donated $100,000 US. About
2,000 Bibles were also sent to Chiapas, and
distributed through local Mexican churches.
Plans are to send another shipment of Bibles
in January, 2007.
This is a cooperative relief project including
the Low German speaking Mennonites, Spanish
speaking Mennonites, and Mennonite Central
Committee Mexico.
John J. Friesen, based on information
provided by Mary Friesen, director of Low German
programs, MCC Canada, and Peter Enns,
former Vorsteher (Administrator) of the Old
Colony Mennonite Church, Cuauhtemoc.
The “War and the Conscientious Objector”
Conference, held at the University of Winnipeg
on October 20-21, 2006, was an attempt
to talk about and remember the stories of the
people and their communities who strove to
be loyal citizens but also be true to their faith
and conscience in the Second World War.
Presenters from various backgrounds, including
Hutterite, Mennonite, former Jehovah’s
Witnesses, Doukhobors, and Quakers participated
in the two-day event, with more than 25
presentations.
The conference was well attended. High
school students and men in their 90s who had
served as COs were in attendance. People
interacted with the speakers whose papers
where not only historical, but also gave ideas
and challenges for the present.
Almost 11,000 men claimed conscientious
objector status and worked in forestry
camps, mines, farms, industry, hospitals, and
in the medial corps. Of these about 7,500 are
estimated to be Mennonite, although exact
numbers are difficult to determine because
the Canadian government systematically destroyed
its records related to the World War II
CO experience in Canada.
The CO’s work during the war was significant.
B.C. Minister of Lands, A. Wells
Gray, wrote in 1943 “[The CO workers] have
served a function of great national importance
and will continue to do so in these camps. The
need is as urgent as ever and they cannot be
replaced.” The importance continues today
with numerous aid agencies that grew out of
this experience including Mennonite Disaster
Service and others. For more information
about their CO experience visit www.alternativeservice.ca
While the conference focused on WWII,
there were also presentations about the Vietnam
war and the current Iraq war. Christian
Kjar recently deserted the US Marines and fled
to Canada because he realized he could not,
in good conscience, kill another person even
after all the training he received. He explained
how the indoctrination was carried out and
how he felt people were trained to devalue and
treat enemies inhumanely. What he was being
taught about Muslims in the Marines did not
reflect what he knew about these people from
the experience in his own family.
Conference organizers hope to provide the
sessions of the conference in video format in
the near future. For more information email
co@mennonitechurch.ca
Preservings No. 26, 2006 - 93