On Thursday, Oct 21, Dr. John P. R. Eicher presented a lecture summarizing the main idea of his recent novel, “Exiled Among Nations: German and Mennonite Mythologies in the Transnational Age.” The book was published by Cambridge University Press, 2020, and recently received the 2021 Dale W. Brown Book Award.
Eicher is an assistant professor at Pennsylvania State University – Altoona. He became interested in the Mennonites during the Chaco War, which occurred between Bolivia and Paraguay and lasted from Sept. 9, 1932 to June 14, 1935.
“Mennonites are a nonviolent group of people,” Eicher said.
He was interested in how the Mennonites handled their lives during the war.
Eicher discussed his novel through a PowerPoint presentation, highlighting the main points from it. The Mennonites were split into two groups: Menno Colony and Fernheim Colony. Each colony had similar customs, but they were perceived differently.
Neither wanted to spread nationalism or conduct religious ecumenicism while migrating. Despite that similarity, each colony had different reasons for doing so.
“The Menno Colony did not like nationalism or religious ecumenicism,” Eicher said. “They were voluntary migrants, who wanted no outside connections.”
The Fernheim Colony were a group of refugees who wanted many outside connections. They primarily joined outside organizations and also participated in the Nazi movement while in Germany.
When arriving at their destinations, each colony adopted identities within those areas.
To display the timeline of each migration, Eicher mapped them out.
The Menno Colony moved from Russia and arrived in Canada in 1874. Then they moved from Canada to Paraguay in the early 1920s.
“The Canadian government invited them as migrants and Germans,” Eicher said.
The Canadian government also invited them as Christians and farmers. While settling there, they primarily made their living off of farming.
The Menno Colony then decided to leave and eventually arrived and settled in Paraguay in 1926.
The Fernheim Colony left Soviet Russia, but some migrated to Germany and China in 1929. Then they moved to Paraguay in 1930 and settled next to the Menno Colony.
A lot were farmers, but some became teachers and doctors. Upon arriving at Paraguay, some had to relearn farming.
Around this time, the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) helped conduct religious ecumenicism. In other words, to promote unity among Christian churches worldwide.
It was founded in 1921 as a global Mennonite church, bringing Mennonites together, even from Russia. However, it broke apart due to a lack of popularity. It repopulated in 1929, and it managed to unify Mennonites globally along with other nations.
Afterward, Eicher developed a “Plot” progression of The Fernheim and Menno colonies’ travels much like a Biblical storybook. He focused on how each colonies’ experiences during their travels changed them using his two terms: “Comic Progression” and “Tragic Progression.”
He associated the Menno Colony with a Comic Progression. Throughout their travels, they believed that God was leading them to their destinations.
“In a Comic Progression, a problem becomes a crisis, but it gets better at the end,” Eicher said.
The Menno Colony believed any problem was a test from God, and He would restore them with what Eicher called a “happy ending.”
The Fernheim Colony, on the other hand, endured a Tragic Progression.
“In a Tragic Progression, there is a crisis, but it gets worse,” Eicher said.
They thought they belonged in Russia but were forced to move out. While migrating, they faced what Dr. Eicher called an “ambiguity.” They were unsure of their roles in the world.
In China, they faced a tragedy that made them move to Germany.
“When getting persecuted by the communist government, they fled to Germany,” Eicher said.
In Paraguay, they devised new endings to their story. They also hoped that living there was temporary and would return to Russia.
Dr. Eicher closed his presentation with some takeaways. One major one was to pay attention to stories groups tell about themselves.
“Be aware of how we identify others and what their stories are,” he said.
Dr. Eicher’s event was sponsored by the Young Center and professor of history and Anabaptist studies Dr. Steven Nolt.
“Each year, the Young Center conducts the Dale W. Brown Book Award,” Nolt said.
Judges outside of Elizabethtown College read selected works and novels and announce the winner each spring. The winner is then invited to campus to deliver the Dale Brown Lecture in the fall.
