Harder, Peter B. (1868-1919)
Peter B. Harder, a Mennonite educator and writer, was born 15 July 1868, at Halbstadt, Molotschna, Taurida, Russia, a son of Bernhard Harder (1832-1884), prominent minister, teacher, and poet. P. B. Harder was a schoolteacher for 36 years and wrote a German grammar which was used in most Mennonite schools in Russia. Of his literary works the best known are the novel Die lutherische Cousine, and Lose Blätter, a collection of short stories and poems in which Harder with great ability and power of observation portrays Mennonite life in Russia in his time. The latter appeared in Aufwärts. A larger work, also about Mennonite life, ready in manuscript, could not be published because of the outbreak of World War I. Peter B. Harder selected and edited 213 of the songs written by his father Bernhard Harder, which were published by J. Friesen in 1902 with the title Kleines Liederbuch. Geistliche Gelegenheitslieder. Because of his small salary and large family Harder through all his life had to battle against poverty. He died of typhus in 1919, as did his wife, Helena (Epp) Harder in the province of Ufa in northern Russia, where he was teaching school.
Bibliography
Görz, Heinrich. Die Molotschnaer Ansiedlung. Steinbach, 1951: 167.
Hege, Christian and Neff, Christian. Mennonitisches Lexikon, 4 vols. Frankfurt & Weierhof: Hege; Karlsruhe: Schneider, 1913-1967: v. II, 255.
Janzen, J. H. "The Literature of the Russo-Canadian Mennonites." Mennonite Life (January 1946): 22 f.
Neufeld, K. G. ed. Aufwärts: Blätter für Sänger und Dirigenten und für Liebhaber des Christlichen Gesanges. 1909 - .
| Author(s) | Heinrich Goerz |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1956 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Goerz, Heinrich. "Harder, Peter B. (1868-1919)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1956. Web. 16 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Harder,_Peter_B._(1868-1919)&oldid=169158.
APA style
Goerz, Heinrich. (1956). Harder, Peter B. (1868-1919). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 16 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Harder,_Peter_B._(1868-1919)&oldid=169158.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, p. 661. All rights reserved.
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