The first post in this series (here) focused on the length of the journey that Benjamin Heinrich Buller and other Przechovka residents undertook both in terms of distance (around 900 miles) and the time it took to travel (walk) the complete route (five to seven weeks). This post turns to some of the bureaucracy that these Mennonites had to navigate in order to make the trek from Prussia to New Russia. It should be admitted at the outset that there is probably more that I do not know than what I do know. Caveat lector!
We have referenced a number of times two different types of immigration documents: a passport issued by a local authority in West Prussia and a visa issued by the Russian government. In simple terms, the former gave its holder permission to leave his or her immediate area, while the latter was required to enter another country (i.e., Russia). One might think of them in simple terms as exit and entrance permits.
1. According to Wikipedia, emigration laws and policies within the German Empire of which Prussia was a part varied not only from province to province but from locale to locale. Consequently, we are unable at present to describe precisely the laws governing the emigration of our Mennonite ancestors from the Schwetz area, which was within the province West Prussia, which was within the Kingdom of Prussia, which was within the German Empire. We can, however, provide a broad outline.
The Wikipedia article on “Germany Emigration and Immigration” (here) explains, for example:
Before each travel which would entail departure from immediate surroundings a passport had to be issued by the local mayor or the judge of the regional administration. Such papers were valid for the length of the journey or for one year. Identification had to be shown to each official who wanted to see them. Document controls could occur in the street, the next big town or at the first overnight stay.
Note that a passport was required for any travel away from one’s immediate surroundings, which the article later clarifies as farther than 8 miles from home. Clearly, these Mennonites wishing to travel to the Prussian–Russian border and beyond could not begin to do so without the legal authorization to do so, which is why we read repeatedly of a passport being issued before travel plans were finalized.
In all of the examples we have considered thus far, the passport was issued “from Marienwerder” (see the multiple examples on Rempel 2007, 137–39, 172–74). Located 20 miles northeast of Schwetz on the other side of the Vistula River, Marienwerder (modern Kwidzyn) was capital of the Marienwerder administrative district from 1815 until 1945. (The other administrative region in West Prussia was Regierungsbezirk Danzig.) As the regional capital, Marienwerder was the place where everyone in the district had to receive the document, or passport, authorizing the bearer to travel any significant distance.
One final note before we move on to the visa. If you recall, we wondered why Martin Kornelsen had an 1819 passport and then an 1820 passport followed by an 1820 visa (see here). We suggested that perhaps the passport was good for only a year, so that Martin had to secure a second passport when he was unable to emigrate before the year on his first one expired. The new information provided above confirms that hunch.
2. Nineteenth-century emigration involved two governments: one’s home government, which had to give permission for one to travel away from home; and the government of one’s future home, which had to authorize entry into the country. The visa, or entry permit, is the document that provided the latter authorization.
Turning again to Wikipedia, to the article “Visa History of Russia” (here), we read:
Under the Russian Empire, legislation was enacted, in phases and in sufficient detail, to regulate the order of entry, and the period of residence, of foreigners in Russia. The legislation specified the categories of foreigners who had the right of free entry to the country, who could stay and gain citizenship, as well those who did not have such a right. Foreigners arriving in Russia had to have a passport of their country, and have a form giving permission for a specified period of stay. Rules of admission were not the same for all, and depended on the category or specialization and on other factors (nationality, the purpose of travel, religion, etc.).
We have frequently read the visas for Alexanderwohl’s settlers, such as that for Martin Kornelsen, issued 17 August 1820:
Martin Kornelsen from Konopath, his wife Anna 32 (b. ca. 1788), step-sons Peter Buller 11 (b. ca. 1809), David Buller 7 (b. ca. 1813), step-daughter Anna Buller 9 (b. ca. 1811), daughter Maria 5 (b. ca 1815), Helena 1 (b. ca. 1819). Passport from Marienwerder issued on July 11, 1820. (Rempel 2007, 172)
All of the visas thus far considered were issued by the Russian General Consulate in Danzig. Whether or not Russia had other consulates in Prussia at this time, the Danzig consulate was clearly the one responsible for emigration from the larger region.
Only further examination will reveal the typical time frame from receipt of the passport to receipt of a visa (since the passport had to be secured for a visa to be issued), but the one month between the two in Kornelsen’s case seems to be fairly representative.
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Securing the paperwork authorizing emigration was not all that was required before our Mennonite forebears were able to journey to a new land and their new lives. There were also financial demands and considerations, which will be the subject of the following post.
Work Cited
Rempel. Peter. 2007. Mennonite Migration to Russia, 1788–1828. Edited by Alfred H. Redekopp and Richard D. Thiessen. Winnepeg: Manitoba Mennonite Historical Society.
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