kidkilowatt
Ukraine
The family history is a bit confusing, at least to me. There seems to be a lack of hard fact when it comes to the specifics. Here's the gist of it: speculation has our family in the Netherlands 500 to 600 years ago. The way I understand it, the Reformation occurred and my family split with the catholic church, joined the protestant movement, and eventually chose to follow the teachings of Simon Menno. Therefore, technically we could be called Mennonites, but more about that in a bit. At this point I've heard two versions. The first being that at some point the family moved to Prussia (this was before German unification. Whether we were in what is now Germany or Poland I don't know) and after a time were being pressured to joing the Kaiser's army. Given that one of the principles of Mennonism is pacifism, they refused. Catherine the Great in Russia was trying to settle parts of what is now the Ukraine and struck a deal with the Mennonites--freedom of religion and freedom from conscription into the army if they settled and farmed the land. They took the offer and settled near Molochansk, Ukraine--east of Odessa, near the Black Sea. But once again, at some point, the Russians needed cannon fodder, so the Mennonites sent twelve men over to the United States to check out the New World. My family jumped on a boat and came to southeastern South Dakota and settled near Marion and Freeman. The second version skips the move from Holland to Prussia, taking my forebearers directly from Holland to the Ukraine.
Now, a word about Mennonites. Most people seem to have a lot of pre-conceived notions about them: they live communally, dress funny, oppress the women of their communities, etc... In my family's case, sometime before or after moving to America they chose not to live in large, communal settlements. In fact, I don't know that they ever lived communally. They did settle en masse in South Dakota, but they have their own farms, don't dress funny and use cars, tractors, cell phones, the internet...though they do take their pacifism seriously. Many either refused to be drafted for WW I and WWII and were imprisoned, or were conscientious objectors and were allowed to serve by working in army hospitals, etc.... I get a kick out of my leftoid friends who disparage communal Mennonites, Hutterites, the Amish, etc... What they think a true socialist/communist/cooperative society would really look like is beyond me. I guess it's more about copping a political attitude while gorging on the abundance that surrounds them. Hmmmm. And anyway, I'm not sure that one could still call my family Mennonite, as it's really a religious distinction, as opposed to ethnic or national, and we haven't been members of the Mennonite church for 2 or 3 generations. Though I have to say I'm proud of being a descendant of people who told the rich and powerful to go fuck themselves. I hope to carry that tradition into the future.
Ukraine
The family history is a bit confusing, at least to me. There seems to be a lack of hard fact when it comes to the specifics. Here's the gist of it: speculation has our family in the Netherlands 500 to 600 years ago. The way I understand it, the Reformation occurred and my family split with the catholic church, joined the protestant movement, and eventually chose to follow the teachings of Simon Menno. Therefore, technically we could be called Mennonites, but more about that in a bit. At this point I've heard two versions. The first being that at some point the family moved to Prussia (this was before German unification. Whether we were in what is now Germany or Poland I don't know) and after a time were being pressured to joing the Kaiser's army. Given that one of the principles of Mennonism is pacifism, they refused. Catherine the Great in Russia was trying to settle parts of what is now the Ukraine and struck a deal with the Mennonites--freedom of religion and freedom from conscription into the army if they settled and farmed the land. They took the offer and settled near Molochansk, Ukraine--east of Odessa, near the Black Sea. But once again, at some point, the Russians needed cannon fodder, so the Mennonites sent twelve men over to the United States to check out the New World. My family jumped on a boat and came to southeastern South Dakota and settled near Marion and Freeman. The second version skips the move from Holland to Prussia, taking my forebearers directly from Holland to the Ukraine.
Now, a word about Mennonites. Most people seem to have a lot of pre-conceived notions about them: they live communally, dress funny, oppress the women of their communities, etc... In my family's case, sometime before or after moving to America they chose not to live in large, communal settlements. In fact, I don't know that they ever lived communally. They did settle en masse in South Dakota, but they have their own farms, don't dress funny and use cars, tractors, cell phones, the internet...though they do take their pacifism seriously. Many either refused to be drafted for WW I and WWII and were imprisoned, or were conscientious objectors and were allowed to serve by working in army hospitals, etc.... I get a kick out of my leftoid friends who disparage communal Mennonites, Hutterites, the Amish, etc... What they think a true socialist/communist/cooperative society would really look like is beyond me. I guess it's more about copping a political attitude while gorging on the abundance that surrounds them. Hmmmm. And anyway, I'm not sure that one could still call my family Mennonite, as it's really a religious distinction, as opposed to ethnic or national, and we haven't been members of the Mennonite church for 2 or 3 generations. Though I have to say I'm proud of being a descendant of people who told the rich and powerful to go fuck themselves. I hope to carry that tradition into the future.