German Mennonite Sources Database

Welcome to the German Mennonite Sources Database. This is the most extensive digital collection of documents published by or about Mennonites in Germany between 1800 and 1950. The purpose of the database is to provide free and open access to a rich resource base for scholars, family researchers, and members of the public interested in German Mennonite history.

Readers of German will find fascinating materials on any subject relating to Mennonites in Germany during the nineteenth or twentieth centuries. Topics range from Mennonite congregational and intuitional life to historical, educational, and missions activities, involvement in Nazism and other political movements, military participation, peace declarations, and many more. Researchers will find material on issues of longstanding Anabaptist interest, including nonresistance and the oath, as well as less expected topics, such as an 1859 Mennonite-authored article on vampires in the world's first journal of folklore.

The German Mennonite Sources Database developed out of seven years of research conducted by historian Ben Goossen for his book, Chosen Nation: Mennonites and Germany in a Global Era (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2017). Because digitization was initially conducted for personal research use, it should be noted that some images are blurry and some documents are incomplete. While most documents included here were published in Germany, some relevant materials published in other countries have also been included. Researchers interested in unpublished materials, such as letters or conference minutes, are encouraged to consult archives in Germany, North America, or elsewhere.

Documents on this site fall into two categories: newspapers and books. Newspapers are filed alphabetically, while books are labeled by date of publication, the author's last name, and title keywords. A full list of available newspapers and books can be found below. There, newspapers are listed with dates of coverage in parentheses and country of publication, if other than Germany, in brackets. Book titles are listed alphabetically by author.

Questions and comments about the German Mennonite Sources Database should be directed to Editor Ben Goossen or the Mennonite Library and Archives.

These materials are made available for educational and scholarly use. If you are a legal rights holder and are concerned that you have found material on the site that should not be here, please contact the MLA.

Newspapers

Books

Contact the Mennonite Library and Archives

Mennonite Library and Archives
Bethel College
300 East 27th Street
North Newton, KS 67117-1716
Phone: (316) 284-5304
Fax: (316) 284-5843
mla@bethelks.edu