THE MENNONITE BROTHERHOOD IN RUSSIA (1789 - 1910), P. M. Friesen, 1911

pitals for recuperation. Her Imperial Majesty has given highest decree to extend §262 584 THE STATE thanks to the settlers for their generosity. December 23, 1877 (Signature of the District official). §263 Nor were the Molotschna Mennonites of the Halbstadt and Gnadenfeld Volosts to be outdone in this humanitarian, patriotic service and spirit of sacrifice. The Halbstadt Volost founded a hospital in the Neu-Halbstadt Colony. This 100 bed hospital for sick and wounded soldiers 6 was built without any financial aid from the government. From October 1877 to March 1878, 174 wounded soldiers were treated here. The people of the Halbstadt Volost carried the full financial support for the total operation of the hospital except for the local physicians who rendered their services free of charge. This kind of co-operation was brought by the Gnadenfeld Volost to the service of the government. §264 2. a) In all other times of general need, also, when the state made efforts to alleviate such distress— the Mennonites have abundantly demonstrated their willingness to co-operate generously. Kamensky again substantiates (pp. 27ff) that the Chortitza Volost (from 1853 to 1892) spent about 100,000 rubles on national needs and Russian charitable institutions (over 60,000 during the Crimean War alone!). From 1876 to 1892, the (very small) Nikolaifeld Volost [daughter colony of Chortitza] gave 4,000 rubles and 300 rubles for the construction of an Orthodox church. The Schoenfeld Volost in the Alexandrovsk District (daughter colony of Molotschna, on landowner’s property) in a period of time from 1889 to 1892 (only 3 to 4 years!) placed at the disposal of the authorities products and money worth 12,561 rubles. The Molotschna Mennonites, then living in what was known as the Molotschna Mennonite territory, brought the following sacrifices between 1861-1862 to provide for the Bulgarian immigrants whom the government had permitted to settle in the Berdiansk District and who lived in the Mennonite colonies for many months. The Mennonites declined to accept 50,000 rubles which the government wanted to pay them as compensation for their support of these Bulgarian immigrants. The Mennonites loaned 900 tons of grain from their communal storage bin to the Bulgarian colony for food as well as seed and delivered it into the central storage bin cost free. The Lutheran and Catholic colonists in the Prischib (Molotschna) District proved themselves equally charitable. The imperial expression of thanks for these donations is given below: 7 “His Imperial Majesty wishes to express sincerest best wishes to the colonists and Mennonites of the two Molotschna Districts of the Taurida Province (including their regional and village administrators) for the praiseworthy manner in which they provided room and board for Preamble 585 the 6,000 Bulgarian immigrants (from Viddin) who spent the winter with them.” b) During the fam