Editing Hutterites (section)

== History ==
[[File:Spread of the Anabaptists 1525-1550.png|thumb|Spread of the early [[Anabaptists]], 1525–1550]]
[[File:Christoph Erhard - Von Münsterischen Widertauffern 1589 F.jpg|thumb|Bill of impeachment]]

=== Beginnings ===
{{main|Anabaptism}}

The [[Anabaptist]] movement, from which the Hutterites emerged, started in groups that formed after the early [[Reformation in Switzerland]] led by [[Huldrych Zwingli]] (1484–1531). These new groups were part of the [[Radical Reformation]], which departed from the teachings of Zwingli and the [[Swiss Reformed Church]]. In [[Zürich]] on January 21, 1525, [[Conrad Grebel]] (c. 1498–1526) and [[George Blaurock|Jörg Blaurock]] (c. 1491–1529) practiced adult baptism to each other and then to others.<ref>Anthony L. Chute, Nathan A. Finn, Michael A. G. Haykin. ''The Baptist Story'', Nashville, 2015, p. 12.</ref> From Switzerland Anabaptism quickly spread northward and eastward in the timespan of one year. [[Balthasar Hubmaier]] (c. 1480–1528), a Bavarian from [[Friedberg, Bavaria|Friedberg]], became an Anabaptist in Zürich in 1525 but fled to [[Mikulov|Nikolsburg]] in [[Moravia]] in May 1526. Other early Anabaptists who became important for the emerging Hutterites were [[Hans Denck]] (c. 1500–1527), [[Hans Hut]] (1490–1527), [[Hans Schlaffer]] († 1528), [[Leonhard Schiemer]] (c. 1500–1528), [[Ambrosius Spittelmayr]] (1497–1528) and [[Jakob Widemann]] († 1536).<ref>John A. Hostetler: ''Hutterite Society'', Baltimore 1974, pp. 10–11.</ref> Most of these early Anabaptists soon became martyrs of their faith.

=== Tyrol ===
Anabaptism appears to have come to [[County of Tyrol|Tyrol]] through the labors of Jörg Blaurock. The Gaismair uprising set the stage by producing a hope for social justice in a way that was similar to the [[German Peasants' War]]. [[Michael Gaismair]] had tried to bring religious, political, and economical reform through a violent peasant uprising, but the movement was squashed.<ref>[[Peter Hoover]]: ''The Mystery of the Mark-Anabaptist Mission Work under the Fire of God'', Mountain Lake, Minnesota, Elmendorf Books, 2008, pp. 14–66.</ref> Although little hard evidence exists of a direct connection between Gaismair's uprising and Tyrolian Anabaptism, at least a few of the peasants involved in the uprising later became Anabaptists. While a connection between a violent social revolution and non-resistant Anabaptism may be hard to imagine, the common link was the desire for a radical change in the prevailing social injustices. Disappointed with the failure of armed revolt, Anabaptist ideals of an alternative peaceful, just society probably resonated on the ears of the disappointed peasants.<ref>Werner O. Packull: ''Hutterite Beginnings: Communitarian Experiments During the Reformation'', Baltimore, Maryland, 1995, pp. 169–175</ref>

Before Anabaptism proper was introduced to South Tyrol, Protestant ideas had been propagated in the region by men such as Hans Vischer, a former Dominican.  Some of those who participated in conventicles where Protestant ideas were presented later became Anabaptists. As well, the population in general seemed to have a favorable attitude towards reform, be it Protestant or Anabaptist. Jörg Blaurock appears to have preached itinerantly in the [[Puster Valley]] region in 1527, which most likely was the first introduction of Anabaptist ideas in the area. Another visit through the area in 1529 reinforced these ideas, but he was captured and burned at the stake in [[Klausen, South Tyrol|Klausen]] on September 6, 1529.<ref>Werner O. Packull: ''Hutterite Beginnings: Communitarian Experiments During the Reformation'', Baltimore, Maryland, 1995, pp. 181–185</ref>

[[Jakob Hutter]] was one of the early converts in South Tyrol and later became a leader among the Hutterites, who received their name from him. Hutter made several trips between Moravia and Tyrol—most of the Anabaptists in South Tyrol ended up emigrating to Moravia because of the fierce persecution unleashed by [[Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor|Ferdinand I]]. In November 1535, Hutter was captured near [[Klausen, South Tyrol|Klausen]] and taken to [[Innsbruck]], where he was burned at the stake on February 25, 1536. By 1540 Anabaptism in South Tyrol was beginning to die out, largely because of the emigration to Moravia of the converts to escape incessant persecution.<ref>Werner O. Packull: ''Hutterite Beginnings: Communitarian Experiments During the Reformation'', Baltimore, Maryland, 1995, p. 280</ref>

=== Moravia and Hungary ===
In the 16th century, there was a considerable degree of [[religious tolerance]] in [[Moravia]] because in the 15th century there had been several [[proto-Protestantism|proto-Protestant movements]] and upheavals ([[History of the Moravian Church|Czech Brethren]], [[Utraquism|Utraquists]], [[Picards]], [[Minor Party (Unity of the Brethren)|Minor Unity]]) in [[Bohemia]] and Moravia due to the teachings of [[Jan Hus]] (c. 1369–1415).<ref>John A. Hostetler: ''Hutterite Society'', Baltimore 1974, p. 12.</ref>

Therefore, Moravia, where Hubmaier had also found refuge,<ref>John A. Hostetler: ''Hutterite Society'', Baltimore 1974, p. 13.</ref> was the land where the persecuted Anabaptist forerunners of the Hutterites fled to, originating mostly from different locations in what is today [[Southern Germany]], Austria and [[South Tyrol]].<ref>John A. Hostetler: ''Hutterite Society'', Baltimore 1974, p. 8.</ref> Under the leadership of [[Jakob Hutter]] in the years 1530 to 1535, they developed the communal form of living that distinguishes them from other Anabaptists, such as the Mennonites and the Amish.<ref>John A. Hostetler: ''Hutterite Society'', Baltimore 1974, pp. 17–20.</ref> Hutterite communal living is based on the [[New Testament]] books of the [[Acts of the Apostles]] (chapters 2 (especially verse 44), 4, and 5) and [[2 Corinthians]].

A basic tenet of Hutterite groups has always been [[nonresistance]], i.e., forbidding its members from taking part in military activities, taking orders from military persons, wearing a formal uniform (such as a soldier's or a police officer's) or paying taxes to be spent on war. This has led to expulsion from or persecution in the several lands in which they have lived.

In Moravia, the Hutterites flourished for several decades; the period between 1554 and 1565 was called "good" and the period between 1565 and 1592 was called "golden". During that time the Hutterites expanded to [[Upper Hungary]], present-day Slovakia. In the time until 1622 some 100 settlements, called {{Lang|de|Bruderhof}}, developed in Moravia and Kingdom of Hungary, and the number of Hutterites reached twenty to thirty thousand.<ref>John A. Hostetler: ''Hutterite Society'', Baltimore 1974, p. 31.</ref>

In 1593 the [[Long Turkish War]], which affected the Hutterites severely, broke out.<ref>John A. Hostetler: ''Hutterite Society'', Baltimore 1974, p. 61.</ref> During this war, in 1605, some 240 Hutterites were abducted by the [[Military of the Ottoman Empire|Ottoman Turkish army]] and their [[Nogais|Tatar]] allies and sold into [[Slavery in the Ottoman Empire|Ottoman slavery]].<ref>John A. Hostetler: ''Hutterite Society'', Baltimore 1974, p. 63.</ref><ref>Johannes Waldner: ''Das Klein-Geschichtsbuch der Hutterischen Brüder'', Philadelphia, 1947, p. 203.</ref> It lasted until 1606; however, before the Hutterites could rebuild their resources, the [[Thirty Years' War]] (1618–1648) broke out. It soon developed into a war about religion when in 1620 the mostly Protestant Bohemia and Moravia were invaded by the [[Habsburg monarchy|Habsburg]] [[Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor|Emperor Ferdinand II]], a Catholic, who annihilated and plundered several Hutterite settlements. In 1621 the [[Bubonic plague]] followed the war and killed one third of the remaining Hutterites.<ref>John A. Hostetler: ''Hutterite Society'', Baltimore 1974, pp. 63-65.</ref>

Renewed persecution followed the Habsburg takeover of the [[Lands of the Bohemian Crown|Czech lands]] in 1620 and in the end annihilated them there as an Anabaptist group. In 1622 the Hutterites were expelled from Moravia and fled to the Hutterite settlements in Hungary, where overcrowding caused severe hardship.<ref>John A. Hostetler: ''Hutterite Society'', Baltimore 1974, pp. 65-67.</ref> Some Moravian Hutterites converted to [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholicism]] and retained a separate ethnic identity as the Habans (German: {{Lang|de|Habaner}}) until the 19th century (by the end of [[World War II]], the Haban group had become essentially extinct).

=== Transylvania ===
In 1621 [[Gabriel Bethlen]], prince of [[Transylvania]] and a [[Calvinism|Calvinist]], "invited" Hutterites to come to his country. In fact he forced a group of 186 Hutterites to come to [[Vințu de Jos|Alvinc]] (today Vințu de Jos, [[Romania]]) in 1622, because he needed craftsmen and agricultural workers to develop his land. In the next two years more Hutterites migrated to Transylvania, in total 690 or 1,089 persons, depending on the sources.<ref>John A. Hostetler: ''Hutterite Society'', Baltimore 1974, pp. 72–73.</ref>

In the second half of the 17th century, the Hutterite community was in decline. It had suffered from [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] incursions during which the {{Lang|de|Bruderhof}} at Alvinc was burned down in 1661.<ref>John Horsch: ''The Hutterian Brethren 1528-1931. A Story of Martyrdom and Loyalty'', Reprint MacMillan Colony, 1985, p. 75.</ref> Towards the end of the century, community of goods was abandoned, when exactly is not known. [[Johannes Waldner]] assumes in ''Das Klein-Geschichtsbuch der Hutterischen Brüder'' that this happened in 1693 or 1694.<ref>Johannes Waldner: ''Das Klein-Geschichtsbuch der Hutterischen Brüder'', Volume 2, p. 223: ("In welchem Jahr aber die Gemeinschaft vergangen und aufgehebt worden, [...] dz kann man nit anzeigen. weil man [...] weder mündliche noch schriftliche Nachricht davon hat. [...] Aus einigen Umständen ist zu schließen, dass es ungefähr Anno 1693 or 94 zum End damit sei gegangen.")</ref>

In 1756, a group of [[Crypto-protestantism|Crypto-Protestants]] from [[Carinthia]] who in 1755 were deported to Transylvania by the [[Habsburg monarchy]], met the Hutterian Brethren at Alvinc. These Carinthian Protestants read the "account of the belief of the Hutterian Brethren" written by Peter Riedemann, which was given to them by the Brothers, and then decided to join the Hutterites.<ref>Johannes Waldner: ''Das Klein-Geschichtsbuch der Hutterischen Brüder'', Volume 2, pp. 273-274</ref> This latter group revived the Hutterite religion, became dominant among the Hutterites and replaced the Tyrolean dialect of the old Hutterites by their Carinthian one, both being [[Southern Bavarian]] dialects. In 1762 community of goods was reestablished in Alvinc.

=== Wallachia ===
In 1767 the Hutterites fled from Transylvania first to Kräbach, that is [[Ciorogârla]] in [[Wallachia]], which was at that time some {{convert|7|km}} from [[Bucharest]]. When the Hutterites left Transylvania, their number was down to 67 people.<ref>John A. Hostetler: ''Hutterite Society'', Baltimore 1974, p. 78.</ref>

In Wallachia they encountered much hardship because of [[lawlessness]] and the [[Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774)|war between Russia and Turkey]] (1768–1774). The Russians took Bucharest on November 17, 1769. The Hutterites then sought the advice of Russian army commander "Sämetin" (Генерал-майор Александр Гаврилович Замятин, General-Mayor Aleksandr Gavrilovitch Zamyatin) in Bucharest, who proposed that they emigrate to Russia where Count [[Pyotr Rumyantsev]] would provide them with land all they need for a new beginning.

=== Ukraine ===
On August 1, 1770, after more than three months of traveling, the group of about 60 persons reached their new home, the lands of Count Rumyantsev at [[Vishenki, Chernihiv Oblast|Vishenka]] in Ukraine, which at this time was part of the [[Russian Empire]].<ref>John A. Hostetler: ''Hutterite Society'', Baltimore 1974, pp. 91-92.</ref> In their new home, the Hutterites were joined by a few more Hutterites who could flee from Habsburg lands, as well as a few [[Mennonites]], altogether 55 persons.<ref>John A. Hostetler: ''Hutterite Society'', Baltimore 1974, pp. 93-96.</ref>

When Count Pyotr Rumyantsev died in 1796, his two sons tried to reduce the status of the Hutterites from free peasants ({{Lang|de|Freibauern}}) to that of [[serfdom|serfs]] ({{Lang|de|Leibeigene}}). The Hutterites appealed to [[Tsar]] [[Paul I of Russia|Paul I]], who allowed them to settle on crown land in [[Radychiv|Radichev]], some 12&nbsp;km (7 miles) from Vishenka, where they would have the same privileged status as the [[Russian Mennonite|German Mennonite colonists from Prussia]].<ref>John A. Hostetler: ''Hutterite Society'', Baltimore 1974, p. 100.</ref>

Around the year 1820 there was significant inner tension: a large faction of the brothers wanted to end the community of goods. The community then divided into two groups that lived as separate communities. The faction with individual ownership moved to the Mennonite [[Chortitza Colony|colony Chortitza]] for some time, but soon returned. After a fire destroyed most of the buildings at Radichev, the Hutterites gave up their community of goods.<ref>John A. Hostetler: ''Hutterite Society'', Baltimore 1974, pp. 103-104.</ref>

Because the lands of the Hutterites at Radichev were not very productive, they petitioned to move to better lands. In 1842 they were allowed to relocate to [[Molotschna]], a Mennonite colony, where they founded the village [[Hutterthal]]. When they moved, the total Hutterite population was 384 with 185 males and 199 females.<ref>John A. Hostetler: ''Hutterite Society'', Baltimore 1974, pp. 104-105.</ref>

In 1852 a second village was founded, called [[Johannesruh]] and, by 1868, three more villages were founded: [[Kushchove|Hutterdorf]] (1856), [[Neu-Huttertal]] (1856), and [[Scheromet]] (1868). In Ukraine, the Hutterites enjoyed relative prosperity. When they lived among German-speaking Mennonites in Molotschna, they adopted the very efficient form of Mennonite agriculture that [[Johann Cornies]] had introduced.<ref>John A. Hostetler: ''Hutterite Society'', Baltimore 1974, pp. 105-106.</ref>

In 1845, a small group of Hutterites made plans to renew the community of goods, but was told to wait until the government had approved their plans to buy separate land. A group led by the preacher George Waldner made another attempt but this soon failed. In 1859 Michael Waldner was able to reinstate community of goods at one end of Hutterdorf, thus becoming the founder of the [[Schmiedeleut]].<ref name=":1">[https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Dariusleut Dariusleut] at [[Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online]].</ref>

In 1860, Darius Walter founded another group with community of goods at the other end of Hutterdorf, thus creating the [[Dariusleut]]. Trials to establish a communal living in Johannisruh after 1864 did not succeed. It took until 1877, after the Hutterites had already relocated to South Dakota, before a few families from Johannisruh, led by preacher Jacob Wipf, established a third group with communal living, the [[Lehrerleut]].<ref name=":1"/>

In 1864, the Primary Schools' Bill made [[Russian language|Russian]] the language of instruction in schools; then in 1871 a law introduced compulsory military service. These led the Mennonites and Hutterites to make plans for emigration.<ref>John A. Hostetler: ''Hutterite Society'', Baltimore 1974, p. 112.</ref>

[[File:Hutterite migrations in Europe.png|thumb|700px|center|Hutterite migrations in Europe 1526–1874 before their move to North America]]

=== United States ===
After sending scouts to North America in 1873 along with a [[Russian Mennonite#First wave of emigration|Mennonite delegation]], almost all Hutterites, totaling 1,265 individuals, migrated to the United States between 1874 and 1879 in response to the new Russian military service law. Of these, some 800 identified as {{Lang|de|Eigentümler}} (literally, "owners") and acquired individual farms according to the [[Homestead Acts#Southern Homestead Act of 1866|Homestead Act of 1862]], whereas some 400 identified as {{Lang|de|Gemeinschaftler}} (literally, "community people") and started three communities with community of goods.

Most Hutterites are descended from these latter 400. Named for the leader of each group (the Schmiedeleut, Dariusleut and Lehrerleut, {{Lang|de|leut}} being based on the German word for ''people''), they settled initially in the [[Dakota Territory]]. Here, each group reestablished the traditional Hutterite communal lifestyle.

Over the next decades, the Hutterites who settled on individual farms, the so-called [[Prairieleut|Prärieleut]], slowly assimilated first into Mennonite groups and later into the general American population. Until about 1910 there was intermarriage between the Prärieleut and the communally living Hutterites.<ref>Rod A. Janzen, ''The Prairie People: Forgotten Anabaptists''. [[Hanover, NH]], 1999.</ref>

Several state laws were enacted seeking to deny Hutterites religious legal status to their communal farms (colonies). Some colonies were disbanded before these decisions were overturned in the Supreme Court.<ref>[http://www.umanitoba.ca/Law/Courses/esau/litigation/huttlitigationweb.htm]{{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090727194908/http://www.umanitoba.ca/Law/Courses/esau/litigation/huttlitigationweb.htm|date=July 27, 2009}}</ref> By this time, many Hutterites had already established new colonies in [[Alberta]] and [[Saskatchewan]].<ref>[http://www.umanitoba.ca/faculties/law/Courses/esau/litigation/huttlitigationweb.pdf]{{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090325215325/http://www.umanitoba.ca/faculties/law/Courses/esau/litigation/huttlitigationweb.pdf|date=March 25, 2009}}</ref>

[[File:Michael Hofer - Martyr.JPG|thumb|upright=0.7|left|Michael Hofer – Martyr]]
During [[World War I]], the pacifist Hutterites suffered [[Religious persecution|persecution]] in the United States. In the most severe case, four Hutterite men, who were subjected to military draft but refused to comply, were imprisoned and physically abused. Ultimately, two of the four men, the brothers [[Joseph and Michael Hofer]], died at [[United States Disciplinary Barracks|Leavenworth Military Prison]] after the [[Armistice of 11 November 1918|Armistice]] had been signed, bringing an end to the war. The Hutterite community said the men died from mistreatment; the U.S. government said the men died of [[pneumonia]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Smith|first=C. Henry|edition=Revised and expanded by Cornelius Krahn|title=Smith's Story of the Mennonites|year=1981|publisher=Faith and Life Press|location=Newton, Kansas|isbn=0-87303-069-9|page=545}}</ref><ref>Stoltzfus, Duane. ''Pacifists in Chains: The Persecution of Hutterites during the Great War''. Baltimore: [[Johns Hopkins University Press]], 2013.</ref>

=== Canada ===
The Hutterites responded to this mistreatment of their [[conscientious objector]]s by leaving the United States and moving to the Canadian provinces of Alberta, [[Manitoba]] and Saskatchewan. All 18 existing American colonies were abandoned, except the oldest one, [[Bon Homme Hutterite Colony|Bon Homme]], where Hutterites continued to live. Other colonies moved to Canada but did not sell their vacant colonies.

The Second World War reduced the public's acceptance of Hutterites.<ref>Canadian Encyclopedia, "Hutterites in Canada" https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/hutterites. Accessed March 28, 2025</ref> In 1942, the Province of Alberta passed the ''Communal Properties Act'', severely restricting the expansion of the Dariusleut and Lehrerleut colonies. Although [[disallowance and reservation in Canada|disallowed by the federal government]] in 1943{{snd}}the last time provincial legislation was so disallowed in Canadian history{{snd}}and eventually repealed in 1973, the act caused new colonies that were founded to be located in [[British Columbia]] and Saskatchewan.

The Hutterian Brethren Church was recognized by Parliament in 1951.<ref>[[Senate of Canada|Canada, Parliament, Senate]], “Evidence: Study on the present state of the domestic & international financial system,” [https://sencanada.ca/Content/SEN/Committee/421/BANC/pdf/37issue.pdf ''Proceedings of the Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Trade & Commerce'', 42nd Parl., 1st Sess., № 37 (2018‑03‑28–29)], pp. 18–49 at 19.</ref>

As of March 2018, approximately 34,000 Hutterites were living in 350 colonies in Canada. This was 75 percent of the Brethren living in North America.<ref name="Geographic Location">{{Cite web|url=https://hutterites.org/the-leut/distribution/|title=Geographic Location}}</ref> About half of them lived in Alberta colonies, with a lesser number in BC and Saskatchewan.<ref>Canadian Encyclopedia, "Hutterites in Canada" https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/hutterites. Accessed March 28, 2025</ref> During summer 2020, many colonies struggled with outbreaks during the [[COVID-19 pandemic in Canada]] because "Hutterite colony members eat, work, and worship together in community settings and share possessions", according to one report. The groups were taking steps to minimize the spread of the virus.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/manitoba-hutterites-covid-19-1.5691149 |title=Hutterites fear stigma could resurface as Manitoba COVID-19 cases rise, province offers more detail on cases |date=23 August 2020 |publisher=CBC News |access-date=23 August 2020 }}</ref>

One news report defined the business operations of colonies as "industrial grade farms that produce grains, eggs, meat and vegetables, which are sold to large distributors and at local farmer's markets".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/7233954/coronavirus-outbreak-hutterite-colonies/ |title=Canadian Hutterite colonies struggle with coronavirus outbreaks|date=30 July 2020 |publisher=Global News |access-date=23 August 2020 }}</ref>

Section 143 of the ''Income Tax Act'' of Canada, introduced in 2007 and modified in 2014 with section 108(5), contains special rules to accommodate Hutterite colonies. According to a 2018 [[Senate of Canada|Senate]] report, colonies do not file income tax returns as corporations, but as individual members:<ref name=":0">[[Senate of Canada|Canada, Parliament, Senate]], Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Trade & Commerce, [https://sencanada.ca/en/committees/report/57788/42-1 ''Interim Report Concerning Taxation of Hutterites in Canada'', 42nd Parl., 1st Sess., Rept. 21] (2018‑05‑31).</ref>

<blockquote>Based on a memorandum of understanding between the Hutterites and the Minister of National Revenue, section 143 creates a fictional trust to which all the property of the Hutterite colony and any associated income belongs. The trust's income may then be allocated to the individual Hutterite members, according to a formula set out in section 143, who can then claim the income on their personal tax returns.</blockquote>

In 2018, the Senate of Canada asked the [[House of Commons of Canada|House of Commons]] to review the legislation, because Hutterites were not being allowed to claim the [[Working Income Tax Benefit]] refundable tax credit (WITB), which was available to other farmers in Canada.<ref name=":0"/>

=== Partial return to the U.S. ===
During the [[Great Depression]] when there was economic pressure on farms, some Schmiedeleut moved back to [[South Dakota]], resettling abandoned property and buying abandoned colonies from the Darius- and the Lehrerleut. After [[World War II]] some Darius- and Lehrerleut also went back to the U.S., mainly to [[Montana]].