Mennonite Heritage Village Auxiliary is hosting a film night on March 26 at 7:00pm, showing the new film, The Russlaender Migration: From Revolution to Reflection. This is a documentary about the 1920’s migration of Mennonites who left the Soviet Union to come to Canada. Several years ago, Mennonite Historical Society of Canada created a cross-Canada train tour to commemorate this event in various Canadian provinces. This film uses the train tour and the accompanying events in each province to tell the story of the thousands of Mennonites who had experienced World War I, the Russian Revolution and Civil War, and a state of anarchy, before moving to Canada to start a new life.
I have a personal connection to this story, since both sets of my grandparents came from the Soviet Union in the 1920’s to settle in Canada. As a child, I heard stories at family gatherings, of life before the Russian Revolution, as experienced by my relatives. I also heard stories of starting a new life in Canada, including the hardships of starting over in a new country. As a young person, the stories held a sense of adventure, but later on, I began to wonder about the difficult experiences that my grandparents held inside and did not talk about: the family members who died by violence, or those who were taken away, never to be seen or heard from again.
This film is not only for people with direct family connections to the Russlaender story. In our growing and diverse community, we all know someone in our neighbourhood, in our church, or at our workplace who has been uprooted from an established life in another country. They have had to start over in Canada. Remembering the 1920’s experience of the Russlaender Mennonites will help us to understand our neighbours and friends who are creating a new home in our community. Although newcomers are assisted by communities and individuals, starting over continues to have many challenges.
Please join us on Thursday, March 26, to watch this relevant and interesting film. Admission is free but donations are gratefully accepted. The MHV Auxiliary will serve fresh coffee and dainties, so enjoy an evening of listening, learning and conversations.
