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Kroeker, Jacob (1872–1948)

Proper Title

Jacob Kroeker fonds

Dates of Creation

1926, [19-], [after 1948], 1998

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Biographical Sketch

Jacob Kroeker was a leading Mennonite theologian and writer who was born on October 31, 1872, in Gnadental, Molotschna, south Russia to Johann Jacob Kroeker (1847–1915) and Suzanna Konrad (1851–1887). After passing the state exam, he taught school for two years at a Mennonite school in Menlarstchick, near Spat, Crimea. He married Anna Langemann on July 18, 1894. She was born on August 4, 1873, to Johann J. Langemann (1846–1909) and Helena Wiebe (1843–1888).

Jacob attended a Baptist theological seminary at Hamburg and when he returned, he was ordained as a preacher and elder by David Schellenberg on August 18, 1898. He, with David Dürksen, served as traveling evangelists for the church. In 1906 he settled in Halbstadt and worked with his cousin Abraham Kroeker to publish Die Friedensstimme, the first Mennonite church paper in Russia. He was also one of the founders of the Raduga publishing house. He was drawn to a revival that was underway and was influenced by Dr. Baedeker. He began to attend and make presentations at conferences. He moved to Germany in 1910, where he devoted himself to theological study. He worked at producing a 14 volume set of the Old Testament.

During the war he served with Pastor Jack attending to the needs of Russian prisoners of war. He became a well respected theologian in Europe among the Mennonites and in the larger Protestant world. During the Second World War he and his wife left Wernigerode because it was in the Russian zone, and stayed in a home near Stuttgart, where he died in 1948. Some of his children emigrated to Canada.

Custodial History

The material in this collection has been collected by the archival staff and created a Jacob Kroeker collection.

Scope and Content

The material in this collection consists of a biography of Kroeker, two lists of books written by Kroeker, a book and sermon written by Kroeker. Most of the material is in German.

Notes

  • Volume 995.
  • Described by Conrad Stoesz January 20, 2000.
  • Accession nos.
  • Related Material: Abraham Kroeker fonds.

File List

Volume 995

1. Biography of Jakob Johann Kroeker by Helmut T. Huebert. – 1998.
2. Two Bibliographies of Kroeker’s writings. – [after 1948].
3. J. Kroeker, Die Zerfallene Kirche, [19-].
4. Sermon by Kroeker. – 1926.
5. Obituaries of Jacob Kroeker. – 1948.

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