Melinda Wichmann

Press Citizen

As the 100-year anniversary marking the end of America’s involvement in World War I draws near, the Amana Heritage Society and the Amana Arts Guild are planning an exhibit that shares the story of the Amana men who served in spite of their pacifist beliefs.

In April of 2018, the two organizations will open a World War I exhibit using photographs, newspaper stories, artifacts and artwork to interpret the Colonies’ part in the war.

“We have a plethora of stuff from World War I,” said Jon Childers, executive director of the Amana Heritage Society. “We need to share it.”

In addition to interpreting the story through artifacts, the Heritage Society and Arts Guild are sponsoring a commemorative art project in which artists are invited to “adopt” a photo of a serviceman from the Society’s collection and create their own interpretation of it.

“Artists may create that person in any medium,” Childers says. The finished artwork will be displayed at both the Heritage Society’s museum in Amana and the Arts Guild center in High.

The years leading up to World War I were marked by hard feelings between many Iowa County residents and the German-speaking – and pacifist - settlers of the Amanas.

The question of who was required to serve in the armed forces and fight for the country and who was exempt brought out the worst in people. The trouble began in July of 1917 when President Woodrow Wilson called for troops, which resulted in a number of Amana boys aged 21 to 31 having to report to Marengo to register for the draft. Although they were called up to report to Marengo again in September, all the registrants were sent home at that time.

Things took a turn for the worse when, in January of 1918, the Amana boys’ plea to have their original classification status changed from 1 (eligible for immediate draft) to 2 or 4, meaning they would be deferred, was granted. Due to this, additional Iowa County draftees were called to take their place.

This was perceived as an act of disloyalty and nearly led to violence. On Feb. 24, 1918, an angry mob of Iowa County residents armed with rifles and revolvers set out from Marengo, headed toward South Amana in protest of the Colonies’ pacifist beliefs and exemption of the young men by the draft board. The sheriff hastily deputized 20 men who rode out to assure the mob did not resort to violence. It was reported the mob was stopped about a mile west of the border of South Amana and no blood was shed.

“Why does my son have to go but not theirs?” was a common question and the source of animosity between residents of the county who saw their sons answering the call to report to their local draft board while those in the Colonies were granted exemption on the grounds of their pacifist beliefs.

The Amana Colonies were settled by people who came to America to practice freedom of religion, Childers explained, and that included the belief of not bearing arms against others. Starting in 1714, the Community avoided conflicts in Europe and continued an unbroken line of pacifism after immigrating to the United States. This included avoiding fighting in both the Civil War and the Spanish American War as they were allowed to pay commutation fees that funded another soldiers to take their place.

That came to an end with the U.S. involvement with World War I as the government eventually rescinded the pacifists’ exemption. Men from the Colonies reported to the draft board and did indeed serve.

In addition to sending men into the military service, the Colonies themselves contributed substantially to the war effort by donating to the Red Cross, buying Liberty Bonds and War Savings Stamps. The Amana Woolen Mills were turned over to fill government contracts for a brief time and produced over 35,000 blankets for the troops. Childers estimates the Colonies’ contribution to the war effort was in the range of three million dollars, adjusted for inflation, which was approximately $2,000 per person.

Programming at the Amana Heritage Museum through 2018 will further explore the contributions of the people and industries of the Colonies as they supported America’s involvement in the war.