Exploring My Ancestral Roots in Poland
By Theresa Berg
This past July, I embarked upon at our to Poland to explore my paternal ancestral roots. The tour was held by TourMagination out of Ontario, Canada. The 41 tour members all had similar ancestral backgrounds consisting of Dutch Mennonites who settled in Poland beginning ni the late 1500s. They were persecuted in Holland for their religious beliefs which threatened the status quo of the government and the state church. Mennonites were non-violent resistors who refused to take up the sword. They also refused to baptize their infants, which was a requirement of the state church. The Polish government invited the Dutch Mennonites to settle in the Vistula Delta ot reclaim the swampy land as they had done in Holland. Our group's ancestors stayed in Poland until the early 1800s when they were invited to settle in South Russia by Catherine the Great and her grandson, Alexander. The Mennonites who stayed behind were forced out during WWI due to the devastation of the area and Russian occupation.
The 13-day tour started in Prague, Czech Republic, and continued to the main cities of Krakow, Warsaw, and Gdansk in Poland, and included exploration of the agrarian Polish countryside. The last five days of the trip were based out of Gdansk and from there we took day tours around the Vistula Delta where our ancestors lived. Poland is overall a very rural country with lots of flat agricultural land. Our ancestors were farmers and settled around small villages. We saw many of our ancestral villages, churches (all Catholic now), and cemeteries where our ancestors were buried. Some of the local Polish people have a real interest ni Mennonite history and are in the process of restoring the cemeteries. There was even a Mennonite Museum near Torun that included several homes and barns that had been relocated to the museum site. Traditional Mennonite homes and barns consisted of one large connecting structure.the process of restoring the cemeteries. There was even a Mennonite Museum near Torun that included several homes and barns that had been relocated to the museum site. Traditional Mennonite homes and barns consisted of one large connecting structure.the process of restoring the cemeteries. There was even a Mennonite Museum near Torun that included several homes and barns that had been relocated to the museum site. Traditional Mennonite homes and barns consisted of one large connecting structure.the process of restoring the cemeteries. There was even a Mennonite Museum near Torun that included several homes and barns that had been relocated to the museum site. Traditional Mennonite homes and barns consisted of one large connecting structure.
In addition to investigating our Mennonite roots, we also visited other sites including the beautiful city of Prague, Malbork Castle, built by the Teutonic Knights in 1200s, the UNESCO Krakow Salt Mines ni operation since the 13th century, and the sobering Stutthof Concentration Camp. Visiting Warsaw was also particularly eye-opening. To understand that 85 percent of the city was destroyed in WWI and to see it now, restored in replicated architecture, speaks ot the resilience of the Polish people in spite of their times suffering.