Book Reviews

Jewish Mennonite Ukrainian Committee. A Sharing of Diversities: Proceedings of the Jewish Mennonite Ukrainian Conference, "Building Bridges". (University of Regina, SK: Canadian Plains Research Centre, 1999) sc., 264 pp., $19.95.

Reviewed by Helene Friesen, Mennonite Heritage Centre, Winnipeg.

This volume is a collection of 19 papers selected from the ones presented by participants at the August 1995 tri-ethnic conference held at St. Paul's College, University of Manitoba. Organized by a committee consisting of members of the Jewish, Ukrainian and Mennonite communities in Canada in order to promote a more comprehensive perception of each other, the conference began with a sense of anticipation. When it ended three days later, a broad spectrum of topics and perspectives had been covered, and as broad a range of reactions and responses had been rendered.

Once inhabitants of neighbouring villages on the steppes of the Russian Empire, now neighbours on the prairies and in the suburbs of Canada, the three ethnic groups have in common their past experiences of suffering, marginalization and statelessness. But is this common experience enough to unite the three, or to enhance mutual empathy?

Bridges are built to span rivers and chasms in order to advance transit. In their moving toward finding a common ground, did presenters and audience succeed in the construction project at hand? Were bridges built?

The answer may depend upon the balancing of expectations of all participants with the intentional or unintentional level of controversy engendered by the topics themselves. That some papers contained controversial material and positions is undeniable, as is the possibility that certain topics may have created discomfort for some listeners.

Among the papers are several that ventured to strive to overcome the silence on the possibly most contentious topic, that of anti-Semitism. Harry Loewen addresses the associations between Mennonites and National Socialism and their approach toward Jews, 1933 to 1945. Sol Littman handles the sometimes antagonistic interaction between Jews and Ukrainians in Canada. Lionel Steiman's paper debates whether anti-Semitism was and is a Canadian tradition.

When reading Jars Balan's paper on Nestor Makhno as presented to readers of a Ukrainian paper in Canada in 1918 to 1920, try to imagine the thoughts and reactions of Mennonites in the audience, descendants of 1920s immigrants from Soviet Russia.

Discourse on the social and cultural aspects was also included. Gerald Romsa examines the attempts of Canadian Ukrainians and Jews to overcome the gap of understanding between the two. Nick Mitchell looks at the shared mythology of all three groups: exile. Ben-Z. Shek's paper illustrates how all three groups were portrayed in the writings of Gabrielle Roy. Women's history as such remains represented by Lisa Singer revealing the unrecognized contributions of Jewish women pioneers, 1880 to 1920. If similar treatment of women's history within the other groups had been included in the conference, comparisons could have been made instead of being merely speculated upon.

What so adroitly tied the conference together when it finally concluded, was the summary given by Fred Stambrook, a member of the conference planning committee and the general editor of this volume. Here, his Introduction does more than recap the papers: by taking on a broad overview of the papers presented, the prologue points out and analyzes many pertinent points of conjunction as well as disjunction in the parallel experiences over the histories of the three ethnic groups. His statement, "Let each group be honest about its past" (xiii) may well be the chosen motif for the dialogue to continue.

Readers may consider A Sharing of Diversities itself to be the bridge between the three groups, crossing the perceived divide that distinguishes each of them. Along with the conference, at the very least this volume can be construed as one of the solid spans upon which construction can continue.

Book Notes

George and Dorothy Unger of Goshen Indiana have published The Family of 3.8 Jacob Stoesz and Anna Wiebe: 1834-1996. This 209 page book is the third Stoesz genealogy book. This book focuses on the genealogical data of this extended family which have dispersed from Canada to the USA and Mexico. Books can be ordered from George and Betty Kehler , Box 2701, Steinbach, Manitoba, R0A 2A0, (204) 326-6791.

The descendants of Jacob Dyck (1924-1999) have published his memoirs and a genealogy register complied by Jacob Dyck in celebration of Jacob Dyck and Margarete Neufeld's 50th wedding anniversary in September of 1999. This 82 page book attempts to tell the stories of Jacob Dyck's life in Communist Russia, immigration to and life in Canada, in a way that makes "… the book interesting for grandchildren to read". Books can be ordered from Bruno Dyck (204) 474-8184.

Hot off the press is Victor Doerksen's translation of Gerhard Lohrenz's book Zagradovka. This book was originally published in the Echo Verlag Series in 1947. This expanded version documents the Zagradovka settlement in southern Russia where Lohrenz grew up and "…witnessed murder and mayhem…". This book retails for $10.00 and the whole set of eight books for $88.00, however, members of the historical society can receive a 10% discount on books bought through the society.