''Peace Shall Destroy Many'' is the first novel by Canadian author

Rudy Wiebe Rudy Henry Wiebe (born 4 October 1934) is a Canadian author and professor emeritus in the department of English at the University of Alberta since 1992.

. The novel surrounds the lives of

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...

Mennonites Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Radic ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

during World War II. The book generated considerable controversy in the Canadian Mennonite community when it was first published, forcing Wiebe to resign his position as editor of the ''Mennonite Brethren Herald''. The book is considered the first novel about Canadian Mennonites written in English and spurred on a wave of

Mennonite literature Mennonite literature emerged in the mid-to-late 20th century as both a literary movement and a distinct genre. Mennonite literature refers to literary works created by or about Mennonites. Definition Mennonite literature, in the modern sense, usua ...

in the decades after its publication.

References

1962 Canadian novels Novels set in Saskatchewan {{Canada-novel-stub