Benjamin H. Unruh

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Benjamin H. Unruh (left) with Harold S. Bender, around 1930

Benjamin Heinrich Unruh (born September 17, 1881 in Philippstal, today Timir Bulat, Russia ; † May 12, 1959 in Mannheim , Germany ) was a Russian-Mennonite or Russian-German professor, author and historian.

Life

Benjamin Unruh was the tenth of eleven children of Heinrich Benjamin Unruh, a parish elder of the Mennonite Church in Karassan, and his wife Elisabeth, b. Wall born. He attended the Orloff Central School in the Mennonite settlement of Molotschna . He obtained the teacher examination at the Russian middle school in Simferopol and in 1899 the Russian state examination in Kharkov . From 1900 to 1907 he attended two colleges in Basel , Switzerland , studied at the university and in the early years he attended a seminary at the same time. At the end of his academic years he married Frieda Hege in Bavaria . Returning to Russia, he taught German and religion at the Halbstadt Commercial School. During this time he wrote a Bible study for the Mennonite schools in Russia, which led to controversy in some circles. Due to the worsening conditions in Russia as a result of atheistic communism , Unruh was selected by the Russian mennonites in 1920 as a member of a study commission looking for opportunities to emigrate to other countries. His task took him to North America and Western Europe , where he settled in Karlsruhe in 1920 . In 1937 he received an honorary doctorate in theology from the University of Heidelberg . For many years he was a lecturer for Russian language and literature at the Technical University of Karlsruhe .

From the beginning of his time in Germany, he helped Mennonites from Russia to emigrate to Canada and Paraguay as Commissioner of the Canadian Mennonite Board of Colonization and later for the Mennonite Central Committee . After the Second World War , he worked tirelessly for the many Russian-German refugees . He was a member of numerous organizations that represented the rights of Russian Germans , including “Brothers in Need” and the Landsmannschaft der Deutschen von Russia , where he was elected as a founding member of the advisory board. He became widely known for his commitment to the displaced .

After the death of his wife, he married Paula Hotel. He died on May 12, 1959 in Mannheim.

Works

His most important work was undoubtedly the scientific and historical book on the Mennonite migrations. It contains lists of names from original documents from various censuses of the Mennonites in West Prussia and Russia and contributes significantly to the understanding and genealogy of Russian mennonites.

  • The Dutch-Low German background of the Mennonite migrations to the east in the 16th, 18th and 19th centuries. Self-published, Karlsruhe-Rüppurr 1955.
  • Assistance and leadership in the Mennonite World Aid Organization 1920 - 1933. H. Schneider, Karlsruhe 1966 self-published, 1955.
  • The cross as a message for our time. Diesterweg, Frankfurt a. M. 1934
  • The collective education. Eckart-Verlag, Berlin-Steglitz 1931
  • Revolution and Reformation in Russia. H. Harder, Wernigerode aH 1928

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Johann Kampen: 50 years of the country team of Germans from Russia . landsmannschaft-der-deutschen-aus-russland.de. Retrieved June 2, 2012.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Unruh, Benjamin H.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Unruh, Benjamin Heinrich
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Russian-German Mennonite representative
DATE OF BIRTH 17th September 1881
PLACE OF BIRTH Philippstal , Russian Empire
DATE OF DEATH May 12, 1959
Place of death Mannheim , Germany