Plaque commemorates conscientious objectors
Descendants of conscientious objectors (COs) gathered around a new plaque to permanently mark the location of the Montreal River Alternative Service Camp. More than 50 people made the two-day bus trip to Montreal River, 120 kilometres north of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, on the shore of Lake Superior, to participate in this event Sept. 28,…
U.S. Anabaptist groups send joint letter to National Commission on Military, National and Public Service
Thirteen Anabaptist church groups in the United States have sent a joint letter to an independent U.S. federal agency making a strong statement of conscientious objection to war and military service, expressing gratitude for religious freedom guaranteed in the U.S. and urging the freedom not to participate in the military. The church groups include Mennonite…
Conscientious (tax) objectors
Like other Canadians, every year Ernie and Charlotte Wiens file their taxes. Unlike others in Canada, the La Salle, Man. farming couple doesn’t send the federal government everything it says they owe—the part that violates their conscience. For Ernie, 72, and Charlotte, 69, that’s the estimated 10 percent of Canada’s budget spent on the military.…
South Korea recognizes rights of COs
The Constitutional Court of Korea brought an end to 70 years of imprisoning conscientious objectors when it ruled June 28 that it is unconstitutional for South Korea not to offer alternative service options for COs. It is estimated that about 20,000 males have been punished for refusing military service since the first draft laws were…
Nonviolent action in history and today
“In the Second World War there were over 10,000 loyal Canadians who served Canada without weapons. What were they called?” This is the question Conrad Stoesz has been asking students at the Red River Heritage Fair for more than a decade. War has long been the popular narrative throughout history and it continues to be…
Carling Heights
This is the view that greeted Amish Mennonite farm boys Dan and Willie Brenneman when they were apprehended by military police and detained at the Carling Heights Military Camp in London, Ont. Despite their conscientious objector status, they were taken while working in a field in East Zorra Township in May 1918. For six weeks…
Audience finds CO play deeply moving
Glenn Martin’s voice was deep with emotion as he expressed appreciation for Yellow Bellies, a drama that describes the experiences of Mennonite conscientious objectors (COs) during the Second World War. During the talk-back time after the evening performance, Martin explained that his father had been a CO, serving at Montreal River Alternative Service Camp in…
Be a CO at tax time
Religious wars raged in 16th-century Europe between Catholics and Protestants. In northern Holland, Jan Smit was captured by the Catholics and was being pressed into service as an oarsman. His captors commanded him to join a crew of prisoners and row across the lake for a battle against Haarlem. But Smit declared, “I have no…
Contradicting the status quo
After exploring lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender/queer inclusion in the Mennonite church in This Will Lead to Dancing, the Stouffville, Ont.-based theatre company Theatre of the Beat is setting its sights on the experience of conscientious objectors (COs) for its new production. Entitled Yellow Bellies, the play is a historical drama that highlights the experiences and public response to…
CO Bunkhouse
Second World War conscientious objectors (COs) were often sent to provincial parks for manual labour, as part of their alternative service assignments. This photo, taken between 1941-45, depicts Mennonite men getting dressed in their winter clothes around the warmth of a wood stove. Smoke from the stove, with laundry hanging from the rafters, can be…
