Mennonites and Low German

• Persecution prompted movement of early Anabaptists throughout Europe to “free cities” where religious tolerance was at least temporarily guaranteed

• • Among these free cities was Danzig (Gdansk) - a Hansa city in the north of present-day Poland
  • Mennonites and others from northwestern Europe were welcomed here for their skills in land reclamation, much in demand in the marshland of the Vistula Delta