In 1874-1875, Mennonites came to southern Manitoba from Ukraine. The Canadian government, on 3 July 1873, had agreed to a privilegium under which Mennonites were granted an exemption from military service. Prior to the Second World War, Mennonites agreed to a program of alternative service as an expression of their faith and citizenship.
During the Second World War (1939-1945), 3,021 young men from Manitoba served God and Canada as Conscientious Objectors (COs) by doing alternative service. They served in hospitals, farms, Riding Mountain National Park, mines, lumber camps, remote schools, and other assignments. Supported by their families and churches, they served various lengths of time from 1941 to 1946, months after the war ended. Those men, after the war, returned to their homes with a new vision for service in and beyond their communities.
This monument commemorating COs of the Second World War, on Tenth Avenue Northeast in Altona, was erected in 2011 by the Mennonite churches of the Municipality of Rhineland.
Mennonite Conscientious Objector Monument (October 2024)
Source: Jean McManusSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.11119, W97.55358
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Conscientious Objection in Manitoba during the First World War by Amy Shaw
Manitoba History, Number 82, Fall 2016
This page was prepared by Jean McManus.
Page revised: 6 November 2024
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