Rempel, Nikolai Peter (1891-1938?)
Nikolai Peter Rempel: farmer, carpenter, and collective secretary; born 6 January 1891 on an estate near Station Sofiefka, Schlachtin Mennonite Settlement, South Russia, to Peter and Margaretha (Thiessen) Rempel. He was the youngest of six children in the family. On 8 July 1928, he married Katharina Neufeld in Ebenfeld, South Russia. The couple had three children, one of whom died in childhood. In the autumn of 1937, Nikolai was arrested and exiled. One telegram arrived from him a year later, but he presumably died not long afterwards.
Nikolai (or Nicolai) grew up on an estate in South Russia. He completed Zentralschule in Gnadenfeld before continuing on with his education in Berdyansk and then spending a few years at his parents’ home, likely working on the estate. He was then drafted into the Forstei, spending six years in forestry service at the Anadol Camp. In 1926, Nikolai bought some land in Friedensdorf, Molotschna Mennonite Settlement. On 8 July 1928, he married Katharina Neufeld, daughter of Jakob and Maria (Kaethler) Neufeld, from Estate Ebenfeld near Gulyaipole. They settled in Friedensdorf, Molotschna Mennonite Settlement, where Nikolai had bought some land. They had a son and two daughters, one of whom died at age two.
With collectivization, Rempel became secretary of the Friedensdorf farm but was arrested several times and imprisoned in Melitopol. After his release, he moved several times before returning to Friedensdorf, where he worked as a carpenter. In the fall of 1937, when something went wrong with a project, Nikolai and three of his helpers were arrested and taken to jail in Waldheim, where they were presumably tried and sentenced to exile. Other than one telegram sent a year after his arrest, Nikolai has not been heard from since then and likely died in exile. His wife and two surviving children joined the Great Trek and reached Canada in 1948.
Bibliography
GRANDMA (The Genealogical Registry and Database of Mennonite Ancestry) Database, 6.06 ed. Fresno, CA: California Mennonite Historical Society, 2011: #352629.
Obituary. “Katharina Rempel.” Der Bote 62(18 Dec. 1985): 6.
Rempel family information.
Toews, Aron A. Mennonitische Märtyrer: der jüngsten Vergangenheit und der Gegenwart, 2 vols. [Abbotsford, B.C.]: Selbstverlag des Verfassers, 1949-1954: v. II, 198-199.
| Author(s) | Susan Huebert |
|---|---|
| Helmut T. Huebert | |
| Date Published | May 2011 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Huebert, Susan and Helmut T. Huebert. "Rempel, Nikolai Peter (1891-1938?)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. May 2011. Web. 19 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Rempel,_Nikolai_Peter_(1891-1938%3F)&oldid=84471.
APA style
Huebert, Susan and Helmut T. Huebert. (May 2011). Rempel, Nikolai Peter (1891-1938?). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 19 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Rempel,_Nikolai_Peter_(1891-1938%3F)&oldid=84471.
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