Fonds PP - Hermann Rempel fonds

Hermann Rempel was born on March 10, 1925, in Friedensfeld, Ukraine, to Hermann and Helene (Isaak) Rempel. His father was a teacher, and Hermann was also educated to be a teacher, first in Kriwoj Rog in the Ukraine and then in Königsberg, East Prussia. He arrived in the Mennonite Central Committee refugee camp in Gronau in 1947, having been captured by the English army. There he met Susanna Wiebe, who would later become his wife. Susanna's family moved to Canada but Hermann could not accompany them because of his participation in the German army. Instead, he went to Paraguay in 1948 where he taught school in the Volendam colony. In 1951, he was able to immigrate to Canada. He settled in Winnipeg and was married to Susie Wiebe on September 1, 1951. Upon his arrival in Canada, Hermann worked in a factory for two years, then returned to school at the University of Manitoba where he obtained a Bachelor of Science in 1957, a Bachelor of Education in 1961, and a Master of Arts in 1970. He also began teaching in 1955, first in Treherne, Manitoba, and then at the Steinbach Collegiate from 1957-1960. He moved to River East Collegiate in Winnipeg in 1960, where he stayed until 1981, with a brief interlude at Westgate Mennonite Collegiate in 1966-1967. Hermann was active in several Mennonite churches in Winnipeg, including Sargent, Springfield Heights, and Douglas, and he also served as secretary for the Canadian Committee for the Reunification of Families Separated by the Second World War. This committee was formed by private Mennonite and Ukrainian citizens in 1961, and was active until 1969. Hermann died in 1982.