Blog #3
March 27, 2018
INTEREST IN MENNONITE
HISTORY
Each time we visit Ukraine, new experiences await us. This time we have been overwhelmed with
requests from mayors, museum curators, students and teachers, to tell the
Mennonite story. Sometimes the question
has simply been: “Who are the
Mennonites?” Other times they have asked
for our personal stories, how our families are connected to Ukraine. This has been an exciting development for us
to experience.
Mennonite Centre
On Sunday afternoon the Tokmak and Molochansk mayors, Tokmak
Museum staff and a group of about 20 students visited the Mennonite
Centre. Dave gave an overview of
Mennonite history from the 1500’s until the time when our families emigrated
from Ukraine. They seemed very
interested and were adding this event to a video they were entering into a
history competition. The purpose of the
competition was to research the history of their particular region, and learn
about the past in the area in which they live.
Shirokoye (Neuendorf)
We were warmly welcomed at the “Palace of Culture” in
Shirokoye on March 22 with the
traditional bread and salt. Various
officials, school principal, and students from villages of that region were
present. Here we also gave the history
presentation and shared our stories. We
were extremely pleased to hear the personal stories of two of the local women
whose grandmothers had had contact with Mennonites.
Olena told of her grandmother and her two children, ages 3
and 6, who were extremely poor. She had
lost her husband and four children. They
were without food, trying to stay warm in a pile of straw, feet bound with
cloth because they had no shoes. Out of
desperation they came to the home of a Mennonite family, who shared what little they had with them, saving
them from starvation.
A deputy, Irina, shared the story of her grandmother whose
parents were killed, leaving five children.
The parents had Mennonite friends who took in her grandmother when she
became orphaned and was very ill. They loved her and treated her as one of their own. She grew up in that family, learned how to prepare their traditional
foods, and was given a Singer sewing machine as a wedding gift. Because she had become fluent in the German
language, she was asked to interpret for the German soldiers, which helped to
save her life. Her ‘adopted’ brothers,
who had eventually moved to Germany, returned to visit Irina’s
grandmother. As a little girl, Irina
remembers receiving a doll as a gift, which she still treasures today.
Boris Letkeman, the director of the Mennonite Family Centre
in Zaporizhzhia, also shared his heart-wrenching story. Boris is a Mennonite who never left Ukraine
and loves his country dearly. Before he
was born his father was taken from the family.
His mother and brothers retreated with the German soldiers to Germany,
but were sent back, not to their former
home but to a concentration camp in Siberia.
Unbelievably, there they were re-united with their father after many
years. This was where Boris was born. Life was difficult beyond imagining! Many people froze to death. His father was a good mechanic and so his
life was spared. Without their faith
they could not have survived. Boris
encouraged the young people to trust God and love each other, saying that this
is the only way.
School # 90, Zaporizhzhia
A third event took place at School # 90. Students and teachers from 17 schools were
invited to participate. Again we and
Boris L. shared our stories. Many
students brought questions they had prepared but others approached us after the
meeting. They asked questions about Mennonite faith, traditional foods, what are the
requirements for church membership, where is there a Mennonite Church, etc.
Why this interest?
From what we understand the Soviet system systematically restricted information
about the minority groups that lived here prior to World War Two. The history of the Mennonite villages was not
available to the people for decades. A
keen interest is developing which is being fostered at many levels.
