View source for Allgemeiner Mennonitischer Kongress (Russia)

The Allgemeiner Mennonitischer Kongress was the name of an organization of all Mennonites in [[Russia|Russia]] to represent their economic and cultural interests. This <em>Kongress </em>came into being immediately after the [[Russian Revolution and Civil War|Revolution in 1917]] through the efforts of the <em>Molotschnaer Mennonitische Verein. </em>The first and only <em>Kongress </em>convened in Ohrloff, Molotschna, 14-18 August 1917. A total of 198 delegates took part, representing the various Mennonite settlements, groups, and interests. [[Unruh, Benjamin Heinrich (1881-1959)|Benjamin H. Unruh]] was elected first chairman and Johann Heinrich Janzen functioned as recording secretary.

Reports were heard from representatives of the various Mennonite settlements, the young men in alternative service, etc. Lectures were given on matters pertaining to the new provisional government, the ownership of land, agriculture in general, the Mennonite schools, etc. The delegates worked in four sections—political, cultural, legal, and organizational. It was decided to establish a permanent <em>Allgemeiner Mennonitischer Kongress</em> to regulate and administer the public civic matters of all Mennonite communities similarly to the <em>[[Allgemeine Bundeskonferenz der Mennonitengemeinden in Russland|Bundeskonferenz]] </em>in the spiritual realm. Lawyers, engineers, farmers and university-trained educators and theologians discussed vital questions of this crucial day on a high level. Approximately 75 percent of the delegates had secondary school training, of whom 15 percent had university training. The matter of education, the men in alternative service, and the relationship of the Mennonites to the new Kerensky government were some of the major concerns of the <em>Kongress. </em>The <em>Kongress </em>would very likely have become the most important organization of the Mennonites of Russia if political developments had not doomed it to a premature death.

The newly founded <em>Kongress </em>never convened again for several reasons: the civil war made an all-Russian Mennonite meeting impossible for years; later the [[Verband der Bürger holländischer Herkunft|<em>Verband der Bürger Holländischer Herkunft</em>]] for the [[Ukraine|Ukraine]] and the [[Allrussischer Mennonitischer Landwirtschaftlicher Verein|<em>Allrussischer Mennonitischer Landwirtschaftlicher Verein </em>]]for the rest of Russia were organized; and the radical communistic course of the new government made the <em>Kongress </em>impossible.
= Bibliography =
<''Protokoll des Allgemeinen Mennonitischen Kongresses in Ohrloff,Taurien, vom 14,-18. August 1917.'' Reprinted in ''Mennonitische Warte'' (January 1938 ff.)
{{GAMEO_footer|hp=Vol. 1, pp. 60-61|date=1955|a1_last=Krahn|a1_first=Cornelius|a2_last= |a2_first= }}
[[Category:Inter-Mennonite Boards and Organizations]]