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Author: Arne Nagengast |
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Where does the name come from? It seems that the name is based on the south-west German / Swiss version of the word „Weiler" pronounced as „Wieler" in
the Allemanic dialect of this region and like „Weeler" in English. A Weiler is a small rural group of houses. The historic basis of the word „Weiler" is the Latin word „villa", which means house. The
original way of writing the name was obviously Wyler, Wiler, Willer or Wieler. The „h" in the name was added only at the beginning of the 19 th century. The Wiehlers are Mennonites. The history
of the family is closely linked to the history of Mennonites or Anabaptists as they were called in the 16 th century in Europe. Anabaptists were those baptized twice, once as innocent babies, unknowingly, and then again
as adults, as new believers. It was a derogatory name, coined by their enemies. In Switzerland they called themselves „Brethern", in Holland and northern Germany their name was „Mennonites", and in Moravia
they were called „Hutterer". The history of anabaptism has its roots in Zürich and could be qualified in modern terms as „the radical wing of the protestant reformation". Where is the
difference? Anabaptists: refuse military service, practise baptizing as adult, based on conviction and faith, proclaim a separation of government and church, say „yes" or „no" instead of „I swear...",
have their own schools, read and interpret themselves the bible, elect their own „prediger" and elders. Their conviction not only lead to the exclusion from the state church orientated main
stream of Zwinglian protestantism but to their persecution. Anabaptists were condemned, hunted, disowned, burnt, and drowned by the thousands. Finally, in the mountain area of the Berner Oberland the Anabaptists lived
in clandestine, as a church in the underground. The „Mirror of Martyrs", first published in 1631, reports the death of thousands of Anabaptists including the execution
Both were burned to death as anababtists on the market place of the city of Bern. You may ask why?
Simply because they did not follow the religious main stream of Swiss protestantism. Their sole „crime" was that their continued
existence would have upset the present world order - as defined by the Catholic and newly established Protestant state churches.
Dutch fellow-believers, together with the Dutch and Prussian Government intervened in Bern to make an end to the tortures, imprisonment, expropriation and forced expatriation.
At the beginning of the 18 th century the Bern authorities agreed (against payment in advance !) to the emigration of anabaptists.
During the 16 th and 17 th century Mennonites migrated into the lowlands of the delta of the river Weichsel and Nogat on the Baltic Sea mainly for two reasons: The country was empty as a result of wars and plagues and the sovereigns were tolerant. The majority of Mennonites in this region are of Flamish and Frisian origin.They continued to speak Dutch in Prussia up to the 19 th century. Along with the Dutch immigrants also came Mennonite refugees from Switzerland. Their names were Funk, Schellenberg, Wenger, Gerber, Berg, Lichti, Foth, Schantz and ...Wiehler. The first relative to be mentioned in the municipal records of the Hanseatic city Elbing is
Mennonite of Dutch origin. For centuries, Ellerwald, a refugee settlement, becomes the centre of origin of the Wiehlers. In the Mennonite elder’s chronicle of Elbing/Ellerwald of 1778 states that Berend Wielers father was
The land they rented was situated below the sea level. Draining and ditching were the first and main activities. Life certainly was hard for the first generations of Wiehlers in this region. When finally the economic situation improved, when the swampy wilderness was transformed into rich farm land, the political environment became difficult again. The sucessors of King Frederic the Great, a friend of George Washington, were less tolerant. To be exempted from the military service, they now had to finance the military academy in Kulm. For many of the Mennonites who had deeper longings, including many Wiehlers, this was again a reason to emigrate, this time to Russia. The shortage in farmland was another reason to go. Those who left were confronted with hardship for many generations: the Russian revolution, expropriation of privat farmers, deportation under Stalin to Siberia. Since 1920 many of the Wiehlers escaped from Russia to Canada, Paraguay, Uruguay, Mexico, Belize. You may recognize them by the fact that they do not have an „h" in their name, an addendum which was invented in Prussia only after their departure for Russia. In addition, some of the Wielers who emigrated from Russia to Latin America still speak „Werderplatt" today, the German/Dutch dialect of our forfathers. Without any doubt, all these Wielers who emigrated to Russia 200 years ago belong to our clan, although there is no direct contact existing any more in our days. More research should be done in order to discover the missing links. But also for those who continued living in Prussia, life became more difficult after 1868, when under Bimarck military service became compulsory for every- body, including Mennonites. On the other hand, more and more of the fellow-believers, including the Wiehlers became more „worldly" orientated and voluntarily joined the army in 1914. This did not happen in 1939, the beginning of the 2nd worldwar, but we do not know about anybody who refused to join the army. In 1945 the Wiehlers, like all Germans living in Prussia had to leave their homes and farms almost overnight, fleeing the Red Army. The escape on the road, over the Baltic Sea via Denmark, was dramatic.The list of relatives who lost their lifes contains 62 names and still is incomplete. Eleven Wiehlers, mostly children, died when their ship „Goya" was torpedoed by the russian navy. The Wiehlers who survived, found themselves as landless ex-farmers, as second-class people with little future in East- but mainly in West-Germany. Again there was for many of them a reason to emigrate to Canada, to the U.S.A. and Paraguay. So in our days (1995) approx 40 % of the Wiehler - clan is living in North and Latin America. Their share is growing fast. The 1st Wiehler-Tag was convened in 1921 in Grunau; 157 Wiehlers participated as you may see at the foto taken at that occasion. The 2nd meeting of the family took place in 1928 in the city of Elbing (today a Polish city called Elblag). The 3rd Wiehler-Tag 1995 in Weierhof/Germany, uniting 265 members of the family was a unique event and an occasion to renew and deepen the relations between the Wiehlers on both sides of the Atlantic. The list of adresses in the annex of this book should be helpful for this purpose. Wherever you travel, meet the members of the family. They are part of your identity and you are a part of the Wiehlers. What can we learn from 450 years of history of the Wiehlers? Persecuion, forced emmigration and discrimination due to intolerance and ignorance are the milestones of our history. The demise of our Westprussian homes and communities in 1945 was sad, but it also brought new opportunities and helped to revitalize a Mennonite identity. Today where almost all of us live in peace, in economic wellfare and protected by human rights we should stand up in order to help and support those who suffer from lack freedom, from intolerance, famine and ignorance. That is what we owe our ancestors!
Frank Wiehler (7.1.1.4.) If you want to know more about the history of the Wiehlers please contact |
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