The conscientious objectors of World War II were honoured at the Mennonite Heritage Village on Saturday morning with the unveiling of a new monument.

Elbert Toews is a member of the board who made the conscientious objects cairn possible. He says the idea for the project came from a similar monument built in the Winkler area.

Toews says Mennonites have a long heritage of faithful non-violence which is one of the driving factors that led them to move to Canada. He notes this cairn is a symbol of the convictions of Mennonite pacifism but it is also dedicated directly to the conscientious objectors of World War II.

“It is also specifically about those who during World War II when the government modified their response to the Mennonites somewhat by not allowing them total freedom from going to war they then said 'you are going to have to do something in its place', so the CO's were the conscientious objectors then who did not wish to take up arms but where then allowed to do something else for the country.”

Toews says there were approximately 125 people in attendance at the unveiling including a number of conscientious objectors from World War II. He says it was humbling to stand in front of those who made tough decisions during such a troubling time. He notes we are lucky to live in a country that acknowledges the kinds of commitments we make and the convictions we have.

Mennonite Heritage Village Executive Director Barry Dyck says the cairn was set up near the saw mill.

“We have kind of put it at one of our main intersections in the village where lot's of people pass by. We have located it here next to our saw mill. The saw mill comes to us from Riding Mountain National Park where it was used by conscientious objectors during the second world war, so this is becoming a bit of a cluster of conscientious objector information here.”

Steinbach Mayor Chris Goertzen also attended and spoke at the unveiling. He says it was powerful and important to recognize veterans on Remembrance Day. He notes it is also important to recognize other views.

“There are many different views of how you contribute to peace in our country and this is a very important story to be told for our community. As I look around in this crowd I see many people who are directly connected to this story of conscientious objectors and it is important for us to recognize the importance of this story to our history.”

Barry Dyck says they are honoured to have the cairn on the MHV grounds. He notes if this monument can in some way influence people to think about resolving conflict in our community in a non-violent way than it is serving a very valuable service.