Bibliography on Mennonites in World War II

Mennonite Library and Archives

Bethel College

North Newton, Kansas

(jdt rev1 9sep96)

This bibliography is by no means exhaustive. It is intended only as a starting point.

Bush, Perry J. Drawing the Line: American Mennonites, the State, and Social Change, 1935-1973. Ph.D. dissertation, Carnegie Mellon University, 1990.

Eller, Cynthia. Conscientious Objectors and the Second World War: Moral and Religious Arguments in Support of Pacifism. New York: Praeger, 1991.

Gingerich, Melvin. Service for Peace: A History of Mennonite Civilian Public Service. Akron, PA: Mennonite Central Committee, 1949.

Goossen, Rachel Waltner. "Conscientious Objection and Gender: Women in Civilian Public Service during the Second World War." Ph.D. dissertation, University of Kansas, 1993.

Keim, Albert N. The CPS Story: An Illustrated History of Civilian Public Service. Intercourse, PA: Good Books, 1990.

Keim, Albert N.; and Stoltzfus, Grant M. The Politics of Conscience: The Historic Peace Churches and American at War, 1917-1955. Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 1988.

Olinger, John C. A Place of Conscience: Camp Downey. Pocatello, ID: Idaho State University Press, 1991. (about the Civilian Public Service camp at Downey, Idaho; one of the very few camp histories)

Robinson, Mitchell Lee. "Civilian Public Service during World War II: The Dilemmas of Conscience and Conscription in a Free Society." Ph.D. dissertation, Cornell University, 1990.

Sareyan, Alex. The Turning Point: How Men of Conscience Brought About Major Change in the Care of America's Mentally Ill. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press, 1994.

Sibley, Mulford Q.; and Jacob, Philip E. Conscription of Conscience: The American State and the Conscientious Objector, 1940-1947. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1952.

Van Dyck, Harry R. Exercise of Conscience: A WWII Objector Remembers. Buffalo, NY: Prometheus Books, 1990.

Smokejumpers:

Cooley, Earl. Trimotor and Trail. Missoula, MT: Mountain Press, 1984.

Mundell, Asa, ed. Static Lines and Canopies: Stories from the Smokejumpers of 1943-1945, Civilian Public Service Camp 103, Missoula, Montana. Beaverton, OR: Asa Mundell, 1993.

Phifer, Gregg, ed. Smoke Jumper. Missoula, MT: Civilian Public Service Camp 103, 1944. 47pp., sort of a yearbook put out by the CPS men

Smoke Jumper’s Load Line [newsletter]. Seeley Lake, MT: Civilian Public Service Camp 103, 1943-1944. Also called simply Load Line.

Wenger, Roy E. CPS Smokejumper 1943 to 1946: Life Stories. Missoula, MT: R. E. Wenger, 1990-95. 3 vols. as of 1995

Mennonites in the military:

Bush, Perry, "Military Service, Religious Faith, and Acculturation: Mennonite G.I.s and Their Church, 1941-1945," Mennonite Quarterly Review 67 (July 1993): 261-282.

Regehr, T. D., "Lost Sons: The Canadian Mennonite Soldiers of World War II," Mennonite Quarterly Review 66 (October 1992): 481-491.

Sprunger, Keith L.; and Thiesen, John D., "Mennonite Military Service in World War II: An Oral History Approach," Mennonite Quarterly Review 66 (October 1992): 461-480.

The Mennonite Library and Archives also has over 250 tape-recorded interviews with Mennonites who served in Civilian Public Service or in the military. We also have a fairly complete set of camp newsletters from the Mennonite CPS units.