The Fateful Years

In the year 1913, in the quiet village of Margenau, it seems peace and order will last forever. Peter Braun is coming of age and begins the Mennonite rite of passage, fulfilling his mandatory service in Imperial Russian army by working in the forestry service. But in 1914, everything changes. War breaks out and Peter is called to serve in a Red Cross unit. And when he finally returns home, Peter finds his country embroiled in a brutal civil war - one that ensnares even the peaceful villages of the Mennonite Molotschna. With no government to enforce law, bands of roving bandits subject them to unspeakable horrors. In desperation, these peoples consider forming Selbstchutz (self-defense units) defying their pacifist faith.

This classic work of historical fiction follows the lives and times of the Mennonite people who lived in Russia during these truly Fateful Years. This novel explores themes of war vs peace, theology vs praxis and fear vs faith. Having personally lived through the described events, author Gerhard Lohrenz provides a unique insight to this turbulent period.

Born into a quiet village in Southern Russia at the turn of the 20th Century, Gerhard Lohrenz came of age in a tumultuous time. The First World War threw Imperial Russia into a bloody civil war, and he witnessed firsthand the brutality inflicted on the Mennonite settlements. In the chaos Lohrenz was pressed into service, first for the White Army in a Red Cross unit, and then for the Red Army in the forestry reserve. After working as an official in the Soviet government he and his wife, Anni, immigrated to Canada in 1925. After completing his schooling, Lohrenz worked in public education before teaching at Canadian Mennonite Bible College. He finished his career as a pastor at Sargent Avenue Mennonite Church. Lohrenz was Chairman of the Manitoba Mennonite Historical Society, and wrote several books on Mennonite history, including The Mennonites of Western Canada and his biography Storm Tossed.