1936–1949 · event
International Mennonite Peace Committee
Mennonites organized international cooperation to support conscientious objectors and strengthen their peace witness.
Also searchable as: International Mennonite Peace Committee · IMPC · Jacob ter Meulen
Immediately after the Mennonite World Conference meetings at Amsterdam and Elspeet in 1936, a smaller gathering organized the International Mennonite Peace Committee. The committee sought to encourage the peace convictions of Mennonites and support those who faced difficulties because they refused military service.
The organizational meeting was held at Fredeshiem on 4 July 1936, with Jacob ter Meulen serving as executive secretary. Its work connected the confession of nonresistance with assistance to people under political pressure. War interrupted the early organization, and international cooperation had to be rebuilt after 1945.
A reorganized committee met in 1949 with representatives from European and North American Mennonite communities. Mennonite World Conference’s own historical account places this initiative within the development of shared global witness. The independently documented dates give substance to the chart’s peace-committee marker without guessing its tiny printed digits.
Sources for this history: [1] [2] [3]
