As previously noted, the village was in the historical Polish region known as Mazovia (or Masovia; Polish: Mazowsze); the location of Deutsch-Wymysle in Mazovia is indicated by the asterisk in the map below. We might also notice the general location of the Schwetz/Przechowka community, which was in an adjoining region known as Kujawy (or Kuyavia); the asterisk above “Kuyavia” provides the approximate location of that Mennonite center.
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| Map modified from original created by Winnetou14. See further here. |
In 1762 Mennonite emigrants from the West Prussian congregations of Przechovka near Schwetz and of Montau-Gruppe near Graudenz made their way upstream into Poland and settled in the province of Warsaw, district Gostynin, not far from the town of Gombin (Gabin), and founded the Deutsch-Wymysle village and congregation. In 1764 a second group arrived from Przechovka.
Peter J. Klassen offers a similar account:
Farther up the river from Thorn, not far from the city of Plock, another congregation developed, with members from a number of nearby villages. This church was located in Deutsch (Nowe) Wymyśle. In the 1760s some Mennonite families emigrated here from Przechówka, the Gruppe-Montau region, and elsewhere, and established a new congregation in Wymyśle. (2009, 95)
Others, however, tell a different story. According to the Nowe Wymyśle entry in the Catalogue of Monuments of Dutch Colonization in Poland (see here),
The village was founded by Kajeten Dębowski in 1781 and was settled by: Jakub Konarski, Jerzy Drews, Jan Konarski, Jan Goln, and Dawid Górski. Under the agreement, the colonists undertook to clear the forest on the assigned area (half a włóka per colonist [roughly 22 acres]). They were granted a 7 year rent-free period in exchange. After the land had been cleared, its acreage was measured in order to determine the settlers’ duties. The contract also provided for extensive legal and governmental autonomy. They were under the direct judicial authority of the district courts and were outside of the landowners’ jurisdiction.
Although the village initially was settled by the Evangelical [i.e., German Lutheran] colonists it constituted one of the three most important Mennonite centers in Mazowsze for many decades. The Mennonite community was established in 1813 by settlers who moved here from villages located near the Vistula (e.g. Sady).
Although the village initially was settled by the Evangelical [i.e., German Lutheran] colonists it constituted one of the three most important Mennonite centers in Mazowsze for many decades. The Mennonite community was established in 1813 by settlers who moved here from villages located near the Vistula (e.g. Sady).
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| Aerial view of modern Nowe Wymyśle. |
We will return to the question of the founding of Deutsch-Wymysle as time and abilities permit. For now let me say simply that the better evidence and arguments seem to come from the second explanation. Robert Foth, the main advocate of the first version, is clearly familiar with Deutsch-Wymysle: his family lived there, and he has provided the copy of the church records that we will begin exploring in future posts. That being said, his view seems to rest more on the oral tradition passed on over the last two centuries than on documentary evidence.
The attribution of Deutsch-Wymysle’s founding to the Polish noble Kajeten Dębowski and German Lutheran Olędrzy (see here), on the other hand, appears better supported by the historical record, as argued by Wojciech Marchlewski (1986) and Erich L. Ratzlaff (1971). In the first place, an argument that names the actual individuals involved is more compelling than one that refers vaguely to certain groups performing the same actions. This explanation is also supported by contemporary government documents and comports well with what we learned of the Olędrzy: it is perfectly reasonable that one group of Olędrzy (German Lutherans, or Evangelicals, as they are often called) founded the village and reclaimed the land, then sold the leases to another group of Olędrzy, namely, Mennonites, which included some Bullers. These Mennonites may have entered the area and purchased leases gradually over the course of several decades, which would account for a community memory of being in the area from the beginning, so to speak; nevertheless, we should not confuse Mennonite presence with a Mennonite founding of the village or the establishment of a church in the eighteenth century.
Why raise this question now? As we look at the record of Bullers and other Mennonites in Deutsch-Wymysle, we should ask if the evidence tilts us toward one explanation or another as to the founding of Deutsch-Wymysle and the first Mennonite presence there.
Note
* Apparently Kajeten Dębowski was the Polish noble who owned the land; he leased it to the five named Olędrzy for development.
Works Cited
Foth, Robert. 1956. Deutsch-Wymysle (Masovian Voivodeship, Poland). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1956. Available online here.
Klassen, Peter J. 2009. Mennonites in Early Modern Poland and Prussia. Young Center Books in Anabaptist and Pietist Studies. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Ratzlaff, Erich L. 1971. Im Weichselbogen: Mennonitensiedlungen in Zentralpolen. Winnipeg: Christian Press.
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