Mennonites, German Occupation, and the Elimination of Jews in Ukraine

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Issue Date

2024

Authors

Neufeldt-Fast, Arnold

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Type

Article

Keywords

Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Ukraine
World War, 1939-1945
Jews--History--20th century
Mennonites--Ukraine--History--20th century
Molochans’k (Ukraine)
Halbstadt (Ukraine)
Chortitza (Ukraine)
National socialism
War and society

Citation

Neufeldt-Fast, Arnold. “Mennonites, German Occupation, and the Elimination of Jews in Ukraine.” The Mennonite Quarterly Review 98, no. 1 (January 2024): 9-40.

Abstract

This paper seeks to identify and map out the social interactions between Nazi Germany, Mennonites in southern Ukraine, and local Jewish populations during the Holocaust by examining experiences and relationships in two of the region’s larger Mennonite settlement areas, Molotschna/Halbstadt and Chortitza. The paper also examines the content and impact of Nazi propaganda in ethnic German communities as well the pressure to officially change “Jewish-sounding” names to Germanic names in later applications for naturalization. This mapping of interactions aims to contribute to a fuller understanding of the complexities of twentieth-century Mennonite history in Ukraine under Nazi occupation and open a door towards a healing of memories. The focus on one small ethnic-religious group in its interactions with Nazi Germany during the time its Jewish neighbors are eliminated is a small contribution towards understanding how social relations shaped the evolution of the Holocaust.

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Publisher

Mennonite Central Committee

Copyright Notice

Copyright, Mennonite Quarterly Review. All rights reserved.

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Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License

Rights License Link

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

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