When I initially proposed this project, I had the title: "Field of Iron Crosses: A Social History of Volga-German Immigrants, 1876-1900."[1] I had always seen these crosses as part of the social fabric of Volga-German communities in Ellis County, Kansas. In most cemeteries, especially Catherine, many of the older graves are marked with these distinctive designs. I always thought this was a major tradition brought over from Russia.
That turns out not to be the case. The steel crosses first appeared in Catherine in 1902 when local blacksmith, Jacob J. Schmidt, wanted to design a special grave to memorialize his mother who passed away in 1885.[2] Schmidt saw one of these crosses in a Salina cemetery and decided to recreate it. The first cross took three days to make and most of the steel was imported from Philadelphia. Eventually, Schmidt started making more of them for others in the town and it became an landmark ensignia for Volga-German communities in Ellis County.
One job of a historian is to put all the facts on the table. Sometimes those facts do not align with popular memory. The tradition of these steel crosses has sentimental value to the citizens of Catherine, and I never want to take that away from them. However, making sure that there is a separation between popular rememberance and the historical record is one that a historian should take seriously.
Notes:
[1] I will use the term "steel cross" because "iron cross" has an association with Nazi Germany. I have seen both terms used in the literature.
[2] Samuel J. Sackett, “Steel Crosses in Volga-German Catholic Cemeteries in Ellis, Rush, and Russell Counties, Kansas," in American Historical Society of Germans from Russia (1975).
No comments:
Post a Comment