Schmiedeleut

[1] In 1857 some Hutterites under the leadership of George Waldner tried to reestablish community of goods in Hutterdorf, Ukraine, then part of the Russian Empire, after having abandoned this custom in 1819 in Radichev, but this first attempt failed.

[4] Shortly after World War I, two Hutterite conscientious objectors, Joseph and Michael Hofer, died in an American prison.

This and the growing anti-German sentiment caused the emigration of the Schmiedeleut to Manitoba, Canada, in the following years.

In 1992 the Schmiedleut started to divide into two subgroups over several questions like certain management procedures of the Kleinsasser group, financial ventures and a lawsuit over patent rights with another Hutterite.

Elder Jacob Kleinsasser of Crystal Spring Colony in Manitoba condoned all these things, while a conservative group opposed them.

Schmiedeleut today are the more progressive branch of the Hutterites, especially the "Hutterian Brethren" who were the followers of Elder Jacob Kleinsasser.