Fernheim Colony

Fernheim Colony is a Mennonite colony located in the Paraguayan Chaco in Paraguay's Boquerón Department. In the late 1920s, several thousand Russian Mennonites left their homes, fleeing from Stalinism. With the help of Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), wealthy North Americans who sponsored refugee families, and a flexible Paraguayan government, around 2,000 Russian Mennonite immigrants formed the Fernheim Colony between 1930 and 1932. The Fernheim Colony was the second Mennonite colony to be established in Paraguay, following the Menno Colony. Its economy is based primarily on agriculture, especially cotton, peanuts, beef, and dairy products. In 2008 the Fernheim Colony had just over 3,900 inhabitants who lived in 24 villages.

Paraguay. World Factbook 2006

History

Initial Settlement/Origins

In July, 1921, in an effort to encourage immigrants to settle the Paraguayan Chaco, Paraguay's government passed a law, the "Letter of Privilege from Paraguay” #514, that granted religious groups certain freedoms such as exemption from military service and the oath, the freedom of religion, the right to establish and direct their own schools using German, and imports free of tariff for 10 years after their arrival.

In late 1926 and 1927, 1,778 Mennonite immigrants came to Paraguay from Canada. Since the land they had been promised was not initially ready for settlement, the immigrants were forced to stay in the coastal city of Puerto Casado for an extended period of time. There typhoid and other diseases claimed 200 lives, and 300 more returned to Canada. By 1928, however, Mennonites were able to settle their land. This original settlement became the Menno Colony. The next group of Mennonite immigrants to Paraguay were Mennonites from Russia fleeing repression under Stalin. While some 21,000 Russian Mennonites had already fled in the early 1920s due to the Russian Revolution, many stayed behind. In 1929, intensified communist anti-religious legislation convinced many Mennonites to try to emigrate from Russia. Twenty to thirty thousand Mennonites went to Moscow to obtain permission to leave Russia, but only 6,000 were able to flee, gaining temporary asylum in Germany on November 22, 1929. The group originally hoped to go to Canada, but the Canadian government refused them entry. As an alternative, MCC suggested that they move to Paraguay in light of Paraguay's religious tolerance. In January 1930 MCC helped organize transportation and resettlement in Paraguay. From 1930 to 1932 slightly more than 2,000 Russian Mennonites came to the Paraguayan Chaco where they established the Fernheim Colony. In 1931 members of the Fernheim Colony followed the same system of self governance that they had used in Russia. Under this structure, congregational groups united to deal with issues of “mutual interest, negotiations, and relevant decisions” The community's "Kommission fuer Kirchenangelegenheiten," (Commission for Church Affairs) or KfK, gave oversight to teaching religion in schools, training ministers, maintaining Bible schools, and the overall religious welfare of the colony. The KfK represented the congregations to outside entities, and also mediated affairs between congregational groups.. On May 4, 1932 the Paraguayan government decree No. 43,561 officially granted members of the Fernheim Colony the rights they were entitled under the original 1921 edict regarding the religious freedom and autonomy of immigrant groups.

Early Hardships

Throughout its initial years the Fernheim Colony faced many hardships. The colony's water situation was an especially serious problem. Digging wells was dangerous because of the sandy soil, and the settlers had difficulty finding fresh water. Epidemics, made more severe by the lack of fresh water, killed some 8% of the immigrants, and because the Russian immigrants failed to successfully implement Russian farming techniques in the tropical climate, they experienced severe food shortages. As a result of increasing intra-communal tension over scarce resources, one third of the Fernheim Colony left in 1937 to form the Friesland Colony in Eastern Paraguay.

Electronic Resources

Rachel Nafziger's Student Paper for History 318: Anabaptist History (Goshen College, Fall 2008)

Annotated Bibliography

• Dyck, Cornelius J. and Peter P. Klassen. "Fernheim Colony (Boquerón Department, Paraguay)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online (GAMEO). http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/F47.html/?searchterm=fernheim%20colony

This article on the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online gives a detailed overview of the Fernheim Colony's history.

• Dyck, Cornelius J. and Peter P. Klassen. "Filadelfia (Fernheim Colony, Paraguay)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online (GAMEO). http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/F525.html

This article from the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia explains the relationship between the Fernheim Colony and Filadelfia. Since 1931, Filadelfia has been the center for Fernheim’s economy as well as its social services.

• Harvey, Reuben. The Russian Mennonites and Indians of Colonia Ferheim [Sic]: They Were Left to Die, 1930. Filadelfia, Fernheim Colony, Paraguay: Harvey, 1982.

Reuben Harvey describes what life was like for Russian Mennonites as well as the local indigenous population in the Fernheim colony. Though he includes some historical background and government policies, most of the book focuses on his experience visiting Amish friends, then moving to Paraguay to help build houses from 1970-1981. He includes many pictures, as well as personal narratives from people living there. The book is self-published.

• Klassen, Peter P., and Gunther H. Schmitt. The Mennonites in Paraguay. V. 1., Kingdom of God and Kingdom of This World. Weierhof, Germany: Mennonitischer Buchversand, 2004.

Translated by Schmitt from Klassen’s original German text, this book describes the genesis of Paraguayan Mennonites. Klassen describes how Mennonite cohesiveness helped them to survive, work together, and ultimately to thrive. Chapters 12 and 19 are particularly relevant for the history of the Fernheim colony.

• Klassen, Peter P., and Gunther H. Schmitt. The Mennonites in Paraguay. V. 2., Encounter with Indians and Paraguayans. Winnipeg, MB: Mennonite Books, 2002.

Translated into English by Schmitt from Klassen’s original German text, this book focuses on the interactions between the Mennonites and the local people in Paraguay. Of particular interest is the interaction with the Ayoreo people, who were feared by white people until Kornelius Isaak attempted to contact the Zamuco tribe. Though Isaak died of his wounds he sustained from a member of the Zamuco tribe, the Ayoreo came out of the bush soon afterward and no longer fought. Klassen recounts how the Ayoreo adapted to a Christian way of life. Now the spears they once used for war or hunting sit in a museum.

• Cooperativa Colonizadora Multiactiva Fernheim. http://www.fernheim.com.py/.

This is the official website of the Fernheim Colony. Written in Spanish this website describes the colony's history as well as its activities as an agricultural cooperative. The site allows readers to contact the cooperative and see a list of local events. While the site focuses primarily on the cooperative's work the history section is a lucid account of the colony's story.

• Reimer, Gerhard. "The 'green hell' becomes home: Mennonites in Paraguay as described in the writings of Peter P. Klassen." Mennonite Quarterly Review 76 (2002): 460-80.

Gerhard Reimer condenses many of Paraguayan Mennonite scholar Peter P. Klassen's works. This article provides an excellent broad overview of the Mennonites in Paraguay as well that gives the reader a useful chronological framework.

• Mennonite World Conference. Mennonite and Brethren in Christ World Directory. Brochure. Clovis, CA: Author, 2006.

This Directory is a good source for finding contacts, both in Paraguay and around the world.

• Balzer, Jake K. and Ratzlaff, Gerhard. One Body, Many Parts: The Mennonite Churches in Paraguay : Versatile Church, Militant Church, Graciously Blessed Church. Paraguay: G. Ratzlaff, 2008.

Recently translated from the original Geman text this is a very informative source about Paraguayan Mennonites. Published in 2008 it offers helpful figures, in-depth description of many Paraguayan Mennonite individuals, and discussion about the denominational diversity of the Mennonite Church in Paraguay.

• Smith, Willard H. and Peter P. Klassen. "Paraguay." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online (GAMEO). http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/P370.html

This article describes some of the geographic and demographic qualities of Paraguay as well as a brief description of the variety of Mennonite groups that live in Paraguay.

External Links

Fernheim Colony on Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online.

Fernheim Colony Official Website

Paraguay on Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online.

Acknowledgments

Rachel Friesen compiled much of the information presented here in an undergraduate research paper (History 318: Anabaptist History, Goshen College, Fall 2008).