Ingrid Rimland
Encyclopedia
Ingrid Rimland, Ed.D. (born May 22, 1936 in Halbstadt (Molotschna
) in Ukraine) is a Ukrainian-born American author, child psychologist, activist and former social worker. She has written several novels loosely based upon her own experiences from growing up in a Mennonite
community in Ukraine and as a refugee child during WWII. Her best known novel, the critically acclaimed The Wanderers (1977), tells the story of the plight of Mennonite women caught in the social upheavals of revolution and war.
community in Ukraine she grew up trilingual (German, Russian and Ukrainian) in the then-Soviet Union. Her family had been wealthy prior to the Russian revolution, but the community faced persecution under the communist regime due to their pacifist beliefs and heritage. In 1941, when she was five years old, her father was deported to a Siberia
n concentration camp by the Soviets
and she never saw him again. Most of her family was exterminated by the Soviets. Fleeing the Red Army
, she ended up in Germany with her mother in 1945. After several years as a refugee, they emigrated to an isolated Mennonite community in the rainforests of Paraguay
in 1948, with the help of Dutch and American Mennonites. In Paraguay, Ingrid married and had children. She moved to Canada
in 1960 and to the United States
in 1967, becoming a US citizen. In the US, she obtained a doctorate in education in 1979 and worked as an educational psychologist in California public schools, specializing in special education and migrant education for children, and simultaneously running a private practice in child psychology.
in the 1980s with the help of, notably, Simon Wiesenthal
. In the 1990s, however, Rimland met and befriended Ernst Zundel
, who later became her second husband, and became involved in right-wing causes, acting as the ostensible manager of his controversial website.
Molotschna
Molotschna Colony was a Russian Mennonite settlement in what is now Zaporizhia Oblast in Ukraine. Today is called Molochansk with a population of under 10,000. The settlement is named after the Molochna River which forms its western boundary. Today the land mostly falls within the Tokmatskyi and...
) in Ukraine) is a Ukrainian-born American author, child psychologist, activist and former social worker. She has written several novels loosely based upon her own experiences from growing up in a Mennonite
Mennonite
The Mennonites are a group of Christian Anabaptist denominations named after the Frisian Menno Simons , who, through his writings, articulated and thereby formalized the teachings of earlier Swiss founders...
community in Ukraine and as a refugee child during WWII. Her best known novel, the critically acclaimed The Wanderers (1977), tells the story of the plight of Mennonite women caught in the social upheavals of revolution and war.
Biography
Born into a Russian-German MennoniteMennonite
The Mennonites are a group of Christian Anabaptist denominations named after the Frisian Menno Simons , who, through his writings, articulated and thereby formalized the teachings of earlier Swiss founders...
community in Ukraine she grew up trilingual (German, Russian and Ukrainian) in the then-Soviet Union. Her family had been wealthy prior to the Russian revolution, but the community faced persecution under the communist regime due to their pacifist beliefs and heritage. In 1941, when she was five years old, her father was deported to a Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
n concentration camp by the Soviets
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and she never saw him again. Most of her family was exterminated by the Soviets. Fleeing the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
, she ended up in Germany with her mother in 1945. After several years as a refugee, they emigrated to an isolated Mennonite community in the rainforests of Paraguay
Paraguay
Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
in 1948, with the help of Dutch and American Mennonites. In Paraguay, Ingrid married and had children. She moved to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
in 1960 and to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1967, becoming a US citizen. In the US, she obtained a doctorate in education in 1979 and worked as an educational psychologist in California public schools, specializing in special education and migrant education for children, and simultaneously running a private practice in child psychology.
Literary work
Most of her literary work is self-biographical to various extent. Her 1977 novel The Wanderers, which remains her most recognized work, traces the decimation of a pacifist people during the Russian Revolution, anarchy, famine, the Stalinist purges, escape from Ukraine, and eventual resettlement in the rain forests of Paraguay. Her 1984 book The Furies and the Flame is her biography as an immigrant and deals with her struggle to raise her handicapped child. Her trilogy Lebensraum (literally, "life-space"), that was published after her political conversion (see below), received less favorable reviews.Political activism
In her third, and least known, book, Demon Doctor, Rimland tells of her quest to find Josef MengeleJosef Mengele
Josef Rudolf Mengele , also known as the Angel of Death was a German SS officer and a physician in the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. He earned doctorates in anthropology from Munich University and in medicine from Frankfurt University...
in the 1980s with the help of, notably, Simon Wiesenthal
Simon Wiesenthal
Simon Wiesenthal KBE was an Austrian Holocaust survivor who became famous after World War II for his work as a Nazi hunter....
. In the 1990s, however, Rimland met and befriended Ernst Zundel
Ernst Zündel
Ernst Christof Friedrich Zündel is a German Holocaust denier and pamphleteer who was jailed several times in Canada for publishing literature which "is likely to incite hatred against an identifiable group" and for being a threat to national security, in the United States for overstaying his visa,...
, who later became her second husband, and became involved in right-wing causes, acting as the ostensible manager of his controversial website.