[Ger-Poland-Volhynia] Why Did They Leave?

Wed Apr 23 11:27:41 PDT 2008

By way of seconding Jerry's warning about family lore, let me relay a few 
tidbits from Michail Kostiuk's new book, Die deutschen Kolonien in 
Wolhynien.  He says that the earliest Mennonites received unlimited rental 
agreements--even better than 99 years!  German settlers in Oleksandrowka in 
1816 also got contracts with no time limit.  In 1835, however, Prussians 
settling in Staryi Sapust and Stanislawowka could only wangle 20-year 
contracts.  In the 1860s, he says, contracts varied between 20 and 40 years, 
if I read him (or his translator) correctly. But soon the average contract 
was limited to 12 years.

It should be noted, however, that the Peitsch family apparently rented their 
land from the government.  The fact that some Germans rented government land 
seems to be often overlooked.  According to Kostiuk, in 1903, 17,322 persons 
on 507 separate settlements, rented government land. In the Owrutsch area, 
such settlements began as early as 1807, and in Rowno area in 1812. 
Unfortunately, Kostiuk says nothing about the terms of these contracts, but 
could it be that the government might have offered a 99-year lease?  It 
doesn't seem likely, but I think that we just don't know.

Incidentally, renters of state land had a harder time of it, says Kostiuk. 
Officials wanted to treat them as regular "state peasants" rather than as 
"settlers".  Ultimately, the government wanted to combat Germanization of 
Volhynia by importing Russian peasants to the area.  Since the government 
had more control over its own lands, it probably seemed natural to try to 
force Germans off this land whenever they could so Russian peasants could 
buy it with help from the Peasant Land Bank.  Forcing them to accept 
"peasant" status was one way to do this (Kostiuk gives several examples). 
EVEN IF the Peitsch family had a 99-year lease, some eager local official, 
driven by nationalism to try to "russify" the area, might have maneuvered 
the family off the land under some ruse or other, even long before the lease 
had run out.  I'm just guessing, of course, but I think this is possible.

But just when you begin to think you understand the situation, up pops 
another strange fact.  We know that the government (or rather some 
officials) tried to clamp down on German landholding in Volhynia (again) in 
1907.  Between 1901 and 1907, says Kostiuk, 8043 colonists were accused of 
violating the 1892 law forbidding rental of land by Germans.  But of these 
cases, only 503  actually made it to court.  More surprising yet, between 
1908 and 1910, the Senate (a kind of supreme court) ruled increasingly in 
favor of the colonists, considering rental agreements as "eternal" (ewiges 
Mietverhältnis), and this forced local officials to extend contested rental 
agreements.  If anyone can explain to me the difference between a 
"Pachtvertrag" and a "Mietverhältnis", or why the Senate would have begun 
favoring colonists while Governors, Ministers and Duma members were trying 
to squelch them, I'd appreciate it.  Kostiuk has a way of raising questions 
without answering, or even being aware of, them.

Anyway, thanks to Darrel and Jerry for raising the issue.  I wish we knew 
more about it.

Dick Benert
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jerry Frank" <FranklySpeaking at shaw.ca>
To: "Darrel Goth" <gothdarrel at yahoo.com>; "Ger-Poland-Volhynia List" 
<ger-poland-volhynia at eclipse.sggee.org>
Sent: Tuesday, April 22, 2008 8:59 PM
Subject: Re: [Ger-Poland-Volhynia] Why Did They Leave?

>I just wanted to add a comment regarding the veracity of family
> lore.  I don't think that we should rely on family lore for historic
> accuracy.  It may contain components of accuracy but the sum total
> may be wrong.
>
> For example, in Darrel's quote, the writer says that her ancestor's
> 99 year lease had run out.  If that is true, then the lease would
> have been contracted in about 1802 or so.  There are two problems
> with that.  First, there were virtually no Germans in Volhynia in
> 1802 to enter into such a contract.  While some farmers started
> trickling in around 1816, there were still none of consequence until
> the 1830s and the vast majority did not begin to arrive until after
> 1860.  Secondly, the emancipation of serfs did not happen in this
> region until the 1860s.  So, such lease contracts probably did not
> begin until around that time.
>
> The way in which the Russians changed laws in the latter half of the
> 19th century was a complex process that changed over time.  The
> impact on the Germans was clearly very negative but precisely how
> each of our different ancestors reacted in their decision to migrate
> to North and South America may have to remain a mystery.
>
> I say all this not to react harshly to the original author's words,
> but rather to simply point out the caution is needed in dealing with
> family lore.
>
>
> Jerry Frank - Calgary, Alberta
> FranklySpeaking at shaw.ca
>
>
> At 09:01 AM 22/04/2008, Darrel Goth wrote:
>
>
>
>>Hi Darrel,
>>
>>I know the subject of land laws is very complex.  Summarizing it, as
>>I did, with the words  ".....continually changed land laws,
>>especially in the province of Volhynia. These laws, in various ways,
>>attempted to limit the purchase of property by German-Russians." is
>>probably too brief, but covers a lot of ground.  Thanks for taking
>>the time to write and share this information with others on the list.
>>
>>Yours truly,
>>
>>Jack Milner
>>
>>-----------------------------------------------
>>
>>Darrel Goth wrote:
>>>Jack because of the conditions you stated you can also add this to
>>>"Why Did They Leave."
>>>
>>>after 1906, when the Peasant Land Bank took possession of many
>>>properties that German colonists had been leasing. To make these
>>>lands available for purchase by Russian peasants, the colonists
>>>were forced to leave when their lease ran out.
>>>
>>> From Peitsch family History:
>>>
>>>Mr. Ludwig Peitsch immigrated to Canada from Wolynian, Russia with
>>>his wife, Ernestina and with his two little girls: Mathilda and
>>>Florentine, and his mother (Maria) in the year 1901.
>>>The farm they operated in Russia was leased from the government on
>>>a 99 year lease, and was managed by his father and grandfather. The
>>>lease had become due, so they decided to sell what they owned and
>>>immigrated to Canada, as many others did.
>>>When they arrived in Winnipeg, Manitoba, they had $800.00 on which
>>>they lived for a little
>>>while in Winnipeg. They then came to the Green Bay district and
>>>bought 100 acres of land, and later 60 acres more, by the
>>>Brokenhead River, where they lived and raised a family until the
>>>Lord called Ludwig unto himself in 1940. His son, Arthur and wife,
>>>Milly now reside on the home place.
>>>With all the hardships that confronted them they were happy to live
>>>under the leadership of a great Monarch, Queen Victoria. Thanks be
>>>unto God for a great country - the Dominion of Canada. We hope and
>>>pray it will remain as it is.
>>>by Mrs. Adolph Rattai (nee Magdalena Peitsch)
>>>
>>>Darrel Goth
>>>
>
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