Mennonitische Heime, e.V. (Germany)
Mennonitische Heime, e.V. (Mennonite Homes, Inc.) was organized on 17 June 1949 at the Thomashof, Germany, and registered 12 October 1949 at Neustadt a.d.W., Palatinate, under the name Mennonitisches Altersheim e.V., to operate homes for the aged on the basis of the Mennonite faith. Seven years later, on 24 June 1956, its purpose was changed to a general charitable service to old people, youth, and children, and its name changed to this form. Its field of service was West Germany, where in 1957 it operated three homes for the aged with 215 guests, practically all Mennonite refugees from West Prussia, Poland, and Russia. The homes were "Marienburg" at Leutesdorf on the Rhine, near Neuwied; "Friedenshort" at Enkenbach, Palatinate, near Kaiserslautern; and "Abendfrieden" at Pinneberg, near Hamburg in the North. All three homes were in rented buildings. The inmates received a daily support from the state, mostly based on their claims to reparations as refugees. In addition the Mennonite Central Committee contributed relief food, and many inmates worked in the homes and in attached acreage in food production. The homes were thus self-supporting.
The organization operated through an executive committee, a council, and a members' annual meeting. In 1957 the association had some 1,000 members, who were expected to contribute a remuneration of one-half Mark monthly toward overhead expense. The Executive Committee in 1957 was composed of Fritz Hege president, Richard Hertzler, executive secretary, Otto Regier, Gertrud Schowalter, and Gottfried Horsch. The homes achieved great significance in German Mennonite life. In addition to the spiritual work in the homes through visiting ministers from all Germany, other indirect and unplanned benefits included stimulation to greater giving by the members, larger inter-area Mennonite contact, and to scattered needy individuals, capital loans from the association's surplus, for building of homes for refugees, etc.
| Author(s) | Richard Hertzler |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1957 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Hertzler, Richard. "Mennonitische Heime, e.V. (Germany)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1957. Web. 19 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Mennonitische_Heime,_e.V._(Germany)&oldid=92776.
APA style
Hertzler, Richard. (1957). Mennonitische Heime, e.V. (Germany). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 19 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Mennonitische_Heime,_e.V._(Germany)&oldid=92776.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, p. 644. All rights reserved.
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