KIT Volume XX No 1 April 2008 - Reprint2

Keep In Touch Newsletter
Volume XX No 1 April 2008
This Newsletter provides a forum for people who have lived in the Bruderhof, as well as their families and friends. The opinions expressed are those of the writer and are not necessarily shared by the volunteers who produce the Newsletter.
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Contents
A Reminder for Our Readers 1 Up Coming Gathering at Bulstrode 1 Werner Friedemanns Life 1 EuroKIT-Gathering at Klaashof 3 New Life in a Religious Community: 5 Reflections on the lives of our Parents Kurt and Marianne Zimmermann 6 Confrontation between the Bruderhof and the German National Socialist Government 1933 to 1937, II 9 Details about the Keep In Touch Newsletter 12
Bulstrode Gathering on the last Saturday in April - Invitation

By Andrew Harries To all Ex-Bruderhofers and friends: I have been able to book the room we had last year and a few times before at Bulstrode again, . The room is available from 10.30 am to 5.30 pm. We have been asked that everyone sign in at reception upon arrival. Date: Saturday, April 26th, 2008. WEC International have kindly allowed us the use of the dining room at the back and access
to hot water, so we can make our drinks. We will bring milk, sugar, tea and coffee. We
recommend that folks bring some food along to share. Just as we did last time we can sit outside on the veranda with access to the lovely park. Please, no alcohol or smoking.
We suggest that people make a small contribution to a little fund we can give to the people there as a thank you for their kindness in allowing us the use of the room and grounds. Please pass this on to others who don't receive the Keep In Touch Newsletter.
A Friendly Reminder for our Readers

The "new Keep In Touch Newsletter, which was inaugurated last December, is not affiliated with the former KIT-Peregrine version, although it continues that publication's tradition of serving its readership by disseminating "news and views", along with reports and articles provided to the editors by reader-contributors. (You will find the editors addresses on last page.) To support this effort, the editors and production staff must depend on reader contributions. We are very grateful for the subscriptions and donations already received, but must remind our readers that for this venture to continue, sustained funding is required. If you have not already done so, we encourage you to do your part! The suggested annual contribution, until we can better gauge actual costs after the first full year of operation, is US$ 20, or UK 10, or Euro 15. Subscribing the email Newsletter would help us save printing and mailing costs We are planning three issues this year. The next two will be published in August and December 2008. For your convenience: Readers living in USA can send a cheque or cash to Tim Johnson. Canadian residents are asked to pay only cash to him. If you want to transfer the money on a bank account, then please get into contact with Tim. Address: Tim Johnson, 155 Garden Lane, Decatur, GA30030, USA. Tel: ++1-404-373-0633; Email: timchowki@comcast.net Those living in England can pay by cheques, cash, or bank transfer. Please get into contact with Joy MacDonald for transfer details. Address: Joy MacDonald, Foxglen, Pinemount Road, Camberley, Surrey, GU152LU, UK. Tel: ++44-(0)1276-26938; Email: joy.macdonald@homecall.co.uk For Germany and other Euro-countries, Linda Jackson has opened a Euro-account in Germany: Volksbank Brggen-Nettetal EG, BLZ: 31062154, Kontonummer 2201052010, Objektbezeichnung: KIT. For other foreign currencies Euros can be deposited into the account using: IBAN: DE52 3106 2154 2201 0520 10, or BIC: GENODED1KBN. Linda asks all of you who transfer their money to send her a short note. Address: Linda Jackson, 7 Severn Street, Longridge, Lancashire, PR3 3ND. UK. Tel: ++44-7703-133369 or ++44-1772-784473; Email: lindalj@btinternet.com Please clearly identify the money, however sent, as "KIT support". We very much hope that all of you will appreciate the April Newsletter. The Volunteer Group: Erdmuthe Arnold, Linda Jackson, Tim Johnson, Charlie Lamar, Anthony Lord, Joy MacDonald, Dave Ostrom
Werner Friedemanns Life

By Erdmuthe Arnold Werner Friedemann died peacefully January 9th, 2008 at the age of ninety-three in Bremen. Since his wife, Erna had passed away July 1st, 2007 (see Keep In Touch No 3 2007), he had been longing to follow and be united with her again. They had been together seventy years. They met for the first time on the Rhnbruderhof in 1934, were part of the youth group on the Almbruderhof in 1935/36, and got married at the Cotswold-Bruderhof in 1937. Werner had become ill ten weeks before his death. He was cared for in the old folks home led by his granddaughter Andrea in BremenRnnebeck. Daily during Christmas time, various ones of his eleven children, twenty-five grandchildren and fourteen great grandchildren gathered in his apartment. Thus he was surrounded with love and peace. His daughter Anna Schultz also came from Canada with her husband to be with him. They sang together Christmas songs. Communication with Werner remained until the last day. The departure was a very special experience for his whole family.
Photo: Werner 1994
The funeral service which took place on the cemetery grounds of Bremen-Grohne on January 16th, was a gathering of gratitude and happy memories. Except for Anna, all children with their families were present. They all felt a deep thankfulness to have had both parents for such a long time. Werner Friedemann jr expressed gratitude towards God, for leading and sheltering the large family through many decades, and through difficult times. He welcomed many old friends and members of the Free Christian Church within the Brethren movement. From England John Holland and William Few (Wiegand) came, whom several of the Friedemanns hadnt seen for more than forty years. Marili Matthus-Friedemann, the oldest daughter, wrote in her report (here freely translated into English):
Keep In Touch ewsletter
Vol XX o 1 April 2008

or to become a follower of Jesus Christ. Eberhard Arnold baptized him in July 1935 together with his friend Wilhelm, with Erna and three other novices. Soon after that, Liechtenstein was no longer a safe place for German men under the age of twenty-five. So in February of 1936 the community decided to start a new Bruderhof in England. All the men of military age were sent off to England in several groups, or on their own. Werner, Wilhelm and Gerd Wegner took the route over Switzerland, Italy, France to England together with their trip leader, Hans Meier. Wilhelm reported many details about this rather hazardous adventure and also about the community achievements during the years in England (published in the KIT Newsletter No 1 January 2006). Again hard pioneer work had to be done building up the Cotswold Bruderhof in Ashton Keynes, Swindon. After1936 many English people joined the community. Werner recalled especially fondly the visit of the two Hutterian brothers, David Hofer and Michael Waldner. Before travelling to Germany, they stayed in the English community for several months. According to the book David Hofers Reise nach Europa 1937 (David Hofers Trip To Europe 1937, published by James Valley Book Centre, Elie, Manitoba, 1990), they arrived February 9th, 1937. Werner and Wilhelm were invited by the Hutterians to share a room. They were most impressed to listen to the daily evening prayer of these religious North-American brothers. Werner thought it a great failure that this tradition was not continued by the new European Hutterites. He also told me (2004), The brothers sensed clearly that our community was being led in the wrong direction. Later that year, on June 21st, 1937, Werner and Erna were married. Their first two girls were born in England. After World War II started, the brotherhood decided to emigrate.
Erna and Werner on the day of their engagement on the Cotswold Bruderhof
Together we sang many of the songs our parents loved most (Auf denn die Nacht wird kommen, Ich bin durch die Welt gegangen). Irene accompanied us on her accordion. She had organized a slide show with pictures from Primavera; this way fond memories from old times came back. The Service gave us an opportunity to thank those who had cared for our parents during their last years, in a self-sacrificing, devoted way; especially Irene, her daughter Andrea, and our brother Werners wife, Brbel. They all were lovingly engaged in an effort to enrich our parents life in their old age, and to make them feel comfortable. We do thank everyone who visited our parents, who talked to them on the phone, or wrote cards. We children are very grateful for all our parents did for us. We always shared an open house for guests and friends. We loved the simple and uncomplicated atmosphere of our home. Mama had always a comforting heart for our problems; and with his mocking humour, Papa would always calm stressful situations down. Mothers understanding and pliability contrasted fathers sometimes nearly stubborn principles in a superb way. They stood together in unshakeable love and faithfulness. We as a family look back on an adventurous and active past, but from now on, will have to do so without our beloved parents. From the bottom of our heart we want to thank them for their prayers, understanding, love and security. We know Papa and Mama are now together with Jesus. They will be much happier there than they already were on Earth. Werners Religious Ambitions Began Early Christian Werner Friedemann was born in Liebert Wolkwitz in eastern Germany September 30th, 1914, the last of nine children. Ten years later the family moved to Borna. As a schoolboy Werner loved to sing; he became a member of the church choir and learned to play the trombone. At the age of fourteen he became an apprentice baker. Through his friend Gruner, he got to know the C.V.J.M. (Christlicher Verein Junger Mnner / SCM, Student Christian Movement), and joined the group. So began his deep religious interests. After his baker's apprenticeship, Werner was unemployed ; a fate he shared with most young people after World War I in Germany. He got into contact with the Mttlinger Christian community, which had begun to live and work together on a farm in the outskirts of Eisenach. Their longing was to live as is described in the Sermon on the Mount. This was the same community Wilhelm Fischer joined. In his report, published in the KIT Newsletter No 3, November 2005, on pages 15/16 Wilhelm writes about that time. 1934 the community was at the brink of dissolution. The group contacted the Rhnbruderhof seeking urgent help. Hans Zumpe and Georg Barth were sent to Eisenach on May 26th, 1934. Hans Zumpe mentions that trip to the settlement Ziegelwald in his report The Confrontation Between the Bruderhof and the German NationalSocialist Government 1933 to 1937. He was glad that four young members came back with them to the Rhnbruderhof. (Wilhelm came a week later.) Three of them got baptized: Werner, Wilhelm, and Waltraut von Schengel (Wiegand). Werner set to work in the bakery. Soon a mishap occurred. A friend of the Bruderhof gave the community flour to bake bread. This was a special treat. Everyone watched Werner prepare the dough, and helped heat the oven. But only green, wet fire wood was to hand. It was impossible properly to heat up the oven. In the end the bread loaves were soggy, and inedible. To the great disappointment of the whole community, the much anticipated bread most likely was fed to the pigs. This was an absolute nightmare for Werner. Feeling guilty as can be, he wanted to leave immediately, and go on mission to Africa. But then he got to know and like Erna Steenken. So life looked bright again! Like other German young men Werner had to leave Germany in March, 1935 to escape compulsory military service. He was sent to the Almbruderhof in Liechtenstein. Unusual labour awaited him there. Often, several times daily, he had to walk down the valley to get the provisions the community needed, and carry them up the mountain on his back. No matter whether it was raining, cold or stormy, he had to climb a steep grade with an altitude change of 1500 meters. Other work had to be done as well. At the same time the community experienced joyful events and marriages. Risky outings up into the mountains with other young people were fun. Soon Werner decided to join the Bruderhof. It had become clear to him that he had only the choice between a life in Nazi-Germany,
Except for three people, the whole community left for Paraguay in several groups at the end of 1940 and in 1941. Under hard, tropical conditions the next Bruderhof, Primavera, was built up in the central district San Pedro (120 kilometers north from Asuncin, and 50 kilometers east from Puerto Rosario). For the next twenty years this farm- and forest-land became home to a whole new generation. Nine more children were born to the Friedemann family. They lived in Ibat for most of the years. The heat made it impossible for Werner to work in the bakery. So he became the skilled cobbler of the community. Like many Bruderhofers he acquired the skills to work in many departments. During the last years in Primavera, Werner worked in the wood turnery in Isla Margarita, where all the wonderful bowls, candlesticks, vases and other items were made from tropical hard woods. They were sold in Asuncin, Montevideo, and in other cities of South America. Orders also came in from Europe and the USA. [Continued on page 4]
KIT 2008 KLAASHOF- Hinsbeck, Germany. 11th - 14th July 2008 (for full details see newsletter, July 2007)
KLAASHOF has been booked as the meeting venue for three days, from Noon Friday to Noon Monday, at a standard charge of
60.00 / 90.00 / $120.00 per person for weekend.

This includes the use of the premises, with a spacious open air area with lounge chairs, three evening meals and drinks (tea, coffee, fruit juice, beer, wine etc.) throughout the day and evening. (Anyone visiting one or two days only, pro rata.)
This payment is required in advance. Please send Payment as soon as possible to:
GB pounds - Linda Jackson, Halifax (KIT 2008), Sort Code: 11-18-11 Account Number: 20084612 Euros - Linda Jackson: Volksbank Brggen-Nettetal EG. BLZ: 31062154, Konto Nr. 2201052010, Objectbezeichnung: KIT from other currencies Euros can be deposited into the account using: IBAN: DE52 3106 2154 2201 0520 10, BIC: GENODED1KBN $ US dollars). Tim Johnson checks or cash made out to Tim Johnson. Address: 155 Garden Lane, Decatur, GA30030, USA. Please let me know when you have put money into either the GB pounds or Euros account, thank you, Linda. (contact details below) I will send a receipt card, which will give you access to the premises and to drinks etc. Make cheques/checks/money orders payable to Linda Jackson or Tim Johnson respectively. Anyone arriving early Friday afternoon will also be treated to a sample of Frau Klaass delicious freshly baked cake. We are arranging a visit to Venlo market on Saturday morning, and in the afternoon a horse and wagon ride, around the area - with beer on tap. On Sunday we thought a leisurely walk through the forest would be nice, maybe a climb up the tower in the forest, followed by lunch at the Waldesruh, a lovely hostelry among the trees. In between, there will be plenty of time to hang out and chat etc. ote, the area is flat, and bikes are readily available for hire. We hope it will be an enjoyable relaxing weekend with friends.
Where to stay:
You will need to book your own accommodation. Anthony and Rita have arranged a special price at the following hotel: Hotel JOSTE (about 1,5Km from Klaashof) Familie Germes, Wankumer Strasse 3, 41334 Nettetal Telefon: 0 21 53 / 916 70 eMail: info@hotel-josten.de Fax: 0 21 53 / 131 88 Internet: www.hotel-josten.de Telephone Mr. Hans Germes and state clearly that you are booking as part of the KIT group. 15 double @ 80,-- per Room/night, 4 single @ 65,-YOUTH HOSTEL (this is a nice YH and very convenient can be reached by a short walk on foot through the forest.) They also offer single and double rooms with WC and shower. Bookable direct, NOT ON LINE. Jugendherberge Nettetal-Hinsbeck, Zirkus-Jugendherberge, Heide 1, 41334 Nettetal-Hinsbeck hinsbeck@jugendherberge.de Tel: +49 (0)2153-6492 http://www.hinsbeck.jugendherberge.de Fax: +49 (0)2153-89598 There is also space at the back of the Klaashof for a number of tents. Please contact Linda for details if you wish to camp. This is a very popular holiday venue, and hotel/youthhostel places in the area are booking up fast. Please book asap. If you are unable to get a booking in either of the above, let me know, and we will try to locate a vacancy nearby. Flights There are many airports near Nettetal. (see July KIT,) Linda Jackson, 7 Severn Street, Longridge, Lancashire, PR3 3ND. UK +44 (0) 1772 784473 +44 (0) 7703 133369 e-mail: lindalj@btinternet.com
The tower
wintery view from the tower
a walk through the forest
Klaashof,
Klaashof, part of the yard
Herr & Frau Klaas prepare the BBQ

[continued from page 2]

begun to sell, and which they brought with them from the Macedonia community. This enterprise became the capital investment for the Bruderhofs flourishing economic future. But could these reasons justify the cruel and harsh happenings of 1961 when nearly seven-hundred people, often large families with little children, were no longer wanted and sent away? Half of the first Bruderhof generation were left to fend for themselves, after twenty or twenty-five years of communal work and life. By the selling of Primavera, Wheathill and Sinntal they were robbed of their part of communal property and homelands, along with their dreams. Georg Barths letter was only one of at least twelve 1972 Round Robin letters sent to dismissed members. One was by Heini Arnold. Werner answered him on December 21st, 1972. He told him very pointedly that he just couldnt accept the special treatment of the people in power any longer. It was not Jesus Christ in the centre of the community's faith, but the Servants. To underline his position, Werner quoted a guiding principle by C. H. Spurgeon: We should treat a man like a man, and God as God. Then we can go forward on our path. We should fear only God, nobody else, and nothing. Werner also reminded Heini that he had refused to talk to him when he came down to Paraguay in 1961. He suggested they both should forgive each other where ever injustice had happened. Although Werner went into detail in his letter, he only received a vague reply from Heini, in which he asks for forgiveness if he has hurt him or Erna. A ew Start for the Family in Germany Back to 1961: Without money, and without their knowing what to do in this frightening and unhappy situation, the family found support in Hans Meier (then living away from the community). He helped the Friedemanns get back to Germany by ship. They arrived in Bremen on a very cold winter day around Christmas time. The port was full of ice; the family shivered with cold in their tropical summer garments. They had to find a place for thirteen people, and were allotted a small apartment with two and a half rooms in the reception camp, Lesumer berseeheim. This cramped start was their next challenge. But as former refugees, expelled from Nazi-Germany in 1936/37, Werner and Erna got German Reparation Payments. They also were given the possibility of making payments into the pension fund for the years they lived abroad. After two years in the camp they were able to finance a small home. Aged almost fifty, Werner found work in a paper mill in Bremen-Lesum. In spite of all the difficulties, he saw to it that all his eleven children learned a profession. Some of them even managed to get a university degree. It was of great importance for Werner and Erna to be part of a Christian community: to have a religious home. In Bremen they joined a Baptist congregation in Lesum. After growing a little older, and confronted with severe ailments, they turned to the Free Church of the Brethren, where they felt welcomed in midst of their local group.
The Wood Turning Troup in Isla Margarita 1959 having second breakfast. From left: Steven Marchant, Werner Friedemann, Christoph Boller, one of the Hssy twins, Simeon Braun and Karl Hundhammer.
In 1961 the years in Paraguay ended most abruptly. Primavera was dissolved when five new brothers from the USA, and Heini Arnold invaded the Paraguayan community. Werner recalls Will Marchant, Bud Mercer, and Christoph Boller being the responsible persons in Isla Margarita and Ibat that year. The young people especially welcomed the Americans. The wish to escape the isolation of Paraguay was certainly one of their motives for doing so. However, without sufficient explanation and justification, members were asked to leave. Together with many other families, the Friedemanns were confronted with a totally incomprehensible situation. Interrogations about earlier years began in a very small circle. Werner was sent away for several months while members of the New Brotherhood tried to persuade Erna to stay in the community by reminding her of her baptismal vow. She was told that only she and her girls could travel to the USA; her husband and sons were to be dismissed. Although Erna was treated with antidepressants, she realized what was being asked of her just in time. She decided to stay with her family. The Reasons for the Bruderhof Crisis of 1961 Only more than ten years down the road was some light shed on what actually happened in Primavera in 1961. At the end of 1972 the Bruderhof sent several Round Robin letters to certain ex-members accusing Hans Zumpe of loveless leadership in the early forties. In one of these letters, Georg Barth mentions the following members excluded by Hans in 1942: Hardy and Heini Arnold, Fritz Kleiner and Emmy Arnold. In 1944, fifteen members had been placed either under "the great ban (and) given over to the devil, or excluded for some time. Georg named Hardy, Heini, Hans-Hermann and their mother Emmy Arnold, Peter Mathis, Bruce Sumner, Hans Meier, Dorli Bolli and Lene Schulz. The spouses: Anni Mathis, Annemarie Arnold, Luise Sumner, Sekunda Kleiner and Gertrud Arnold stayed on the Bruderhof with their children, but were excluded for some time; George and Gertie Vigar were also disciplined. According to Georgs letter, the exclusion document from 1944 was decided unanimously by the brotherhood, but Georg gave himself and Hans Zumpe the blame, and repeatedly speaks about the loveless and cruel way in which things were done. He and Hans supposedly wanted to extinguish the influence of the Arnold family, expel them, and secure (our) own position of power. Migg Fischli and Werner both told me that they were asked to take the two older Arnold brothers to Rosario in 1944. So a punishment, long forgiven and forgotten according to Hutterite rules, appears to have had serious subsequent repercussions. Heinis hour of personal triumph and revenge, through the takeover of Primavera, had come at last. Since his fathers death in November, 1935, Heini had been seeking the leadership of the Bruderhof. The books about Heini Arnolds life confirm his claim of leadership. Several of his attempts had failed and ended up with Church Discipline, and not only for Heini himself. But at last, after he became the Servant of the Word in Woodcrest in 1955, he found allies in some of his new American brothers, who knew little of Heinis history. They, for their part had another reason to close down Primavera, with its costly hospital: Community Playthings, which had
Getting Skills as Cobbler on the Bruderhof

By Barnabas D. Johnson, January 9th, 2008 My father always spoke very fondly of Werner because in the early Paraguay days Werner taught him how to be a cobbler. As a child, I thought of my dad as a cobbler, both in Primavera and in Wheathill. He
Cobbler Werner Friedemann at work 1945 in Isla Margarita

Photo: Dieter Holz today; he told Historian Phil Fairclough about his years in Wheathill
even had a little cobbler's shop in Forest River. He said his cobbler's shop was a good place to bring a guest or someone else one needed to talk with you could hand them a simple but useful job, fix a shoe or two, and have a good, productive chinwag. After my family was expelled, my father returned to the fulltime practice of law in England. A few days after he died, in 1979, I visited from America and noticed that at the back front of the car garage my father had a sort of "cobbler's shop" where well, he had cobbler's tools, including a super-sharp knife that mum gave me and which I shall always treasure. By all appearances, dad remained something of a cobbler at heart until his dying day. I told this to Werner, about a decade ago, and he was very touched to think how special he had always been in my early memories and in my father's warmest recollections of Primavera. I'd guess my dad could make a klepper in his sleep! Once acquired, one always treasures such a skill, and treasures even more ones teacher. Dear Werner, rest in peace!
ew Life in a Religious Community

By Toby Neal, from the Shropshire Star In 1949, when an orphaned German youngster, and his two brother arrived in south Shropshire, they were too frightened to get off the bus. A feature in the Shropshire Star of September 24th, 2007 begins with that sentence. Keep In Touch asked the Editor for a reprint allowance, which thankfully, was granted. Left hand a copy of seven year old Dieters passport photo from 1949. After a long journey, seven-year-old Dieter Holz and his young companions arrived at their destination in the wilds of south Shropshire, to receive a greeting which was both memorable and terrifying. We were met by people dressed in 19th-century clothes hair covered, long skirts, men with dark clothes and beards, recalls Dieter. We were frightened. They had to tempt us out of the bus with bars of chocolate. The youngsters from a childrens home in Germany had fetched up at the Bruderhof religious community in the Clee Hills, an austere and puritanical society in which members were made to give up all their possessions for the common good. The Wheathill settlement, - Upper and Lower Bromdon, and Cleeton Court comprised about 500 acres of land with several farm buildings. Dieter, an orphan, arrived in 1949 and stayed there until he was 16. He continues to live in Shropshire, at Brockton, near Shrewsbury. His extraordinary story has been uncovered by historian Phil Fairclough, of Shawbirch, Telford, as part of his continuing research into the post-war period in which Shropshire was the home of thousands of displaced people from Europe and German prisoners of war. Fairclough is writing a book which will be called When Europe Came To Shropshire. Dieter lived in Pln, in North Germany. His father Arnold was in the German Army and, the last they heard of him, he was on the Black Sea in Southern Russia. When Dieters mother died of cancer in May 1948, he and his two brothers and a sister were left orphans. They ended up in a childrens home near where they lived. I am sure that our relatives would have housed us soon enough if they had been approached, recalls Dieter, who is 65. It all happened very quickly. A pastor from a church arrived and told us we were going to England. The childrens home clearly knew all about it and let us go. At our age we just did not question it. The three Holz brothers were among a group of ten which were sent by train to Hamburg, and then by cargo boat to Hull. In Hull we were met by two members of the Bruderhof Community, Guy and Eleanor Johnson. They were from the Wheathill Bruderhof. We really did not know anything about this group and only learned about their beliefs as our time with them lengthened. Arrangements had been made with Corvedale Motors to take us in a new green 29-seater bus all the way from Hull to Cleeton Court, which is about 1,000 feet up in the remote Clee Hills. We arrived at 9.30pm as it was getting dark. For the disorientated new-comers, their first task was to learn English.
We were kept at Cleeton Court for three months, only talking English in the class. It is ironic that when I became 12 they decided we all should learn German again so as not to loose touch with our roots. We did the normal range of school subjects, and religious studies was not pushed too heavily on us. After school and in the holidays we worked round the farm, looked after animals, picked fruit, sugar beet and potatoes. It was hard work. We were very self contained and did not know much about the outside world except from the few outside workers who worked on the farm. The Bruderhof was split up into various families. We were with Alice and Owen Humphries, who cared for two other children, Roger and Daphne, and all of the ten Germans. The only problem was that our new foster parents could not speak German. Alice and Owen were wonderful Yorkshire people and treated us extremely well. We all slept in single-sex dormitories. It was warm and comfortable and the food was good, mostly grown on the farm. Breakfast and supper were taken with our family, but the main midday meal was taken in the hall at Lower Bromdon with the whole community of about 200 people. Dieter says the farm was becoming quite profitable when the community leaders decided to sell it in 1961, ending the communitys Shropshire connection after 20 years. It was a very austere and puritanical community. The head was called Servant of the Word and he had considerable power over the rest of us. It was only with his permission that you could marry. He decided who was to be admitted or who was to be asked to leave. When entering the Bruderhof you had to surrender all your possessions. This even included womens engagement rings. All was sold, and the money went into a common account. If you were asked to leave you got nothing back. Interrogated It seems to me they were obsessed with the idea that we youngsters were about to have wild orgies in the dormitories if only! and could not be trusted to restrain our sexual urges. We were interrogated and asked to confess to doing it. It was never explained, but after Ausschluss forced exclusion in a caravan for a few days beatings, and continual exhortations to confess, most of us agreed we had done it and had to beg forgiveness by the brotherhood to be allowed back in. It was really quite crazy. Dieter says that many things the community did for himself and his brothers were good, and most of the time they had a very happy and free childhood. And when eventually given the chance to return to Germany, both he and his brothers decided to stay in England.
Wheathill 1945: The back of Lower Bromdon

Zimmermann, after all means carpenter. He was of a rebellious nature and freethinking. As a youth my father experimented with communism, socialism and anarchism; he was rather gregarious, and not afraid to challenge authority. He would have fitted in well with the Hippie movement of the 1960s here in the United States. He had long hair and wore sandals and was on his way to India to get to know Gandhi. At the start of that trip he made a detour to the Bruderhof. There he found a bunch of people who were open minded and held visions of a life, living as equals, and sharing everything as told in the Sermon on the Mount. Their enthusiasm infected my father In particular Fritz Kleiner challenged him to give his all. My mother, Annemaria Hilbert, came from a deeply religious family of pastors and missionaries. Her father died early, and the family had great difficulties making ends meet. My mother wanted to study music, which she did, and all the familys resources were dedicated to her studies, with the idea that she would become a teacher, and in that position earn much needed money to support the family financially. Annemaria (called Marianne on the Bruderhof) was an accomplished organ player; she played violin and most of the wind instruments. She wrote music, and had a keen mind. Until right to the end, intellectually stimulating books about music, history and politics and autobiographies of famous people were of special interest to her. A job advertisement for a teacher caught her eye and she applied for it with the intent of earning money for her mother and younger siblings. Fate would have it that it was the Rhnbruderhof. She applied, got the job, and somehow Eberhard Arnold got her to stay, teach, but not receive any money for her services. My mother, too became infatuated with the early spirit of the community, and wanted to stay and experience this new life. Eberhard took her under his wings and she developed a close relationship with the elder Arnolds. My father also got this same special attention. This close bond left a great impression on both my parents and they remained his lifelong supporters. So much so, that they always had a framed photograph of Eberhard Arnold in their bedroom. I never liked it. To me it was tantamount to worshipping the individual, and it appeared to go against everything my father seemed to stand for. Happy Times in Primavera As a young child I loved and adored my parents. My father was a true nature lover. He loved working with wood. He would take us for long walks through the forests and teach us all about the different kinds of trees and plants. Sundays were never complete without a hike into the forests and campos of Primavera to go fishing or swimming. We all learned to swim very early. Whenever we were on one of our walks he would sing songs about the forests, and many of the old German wandering songs. My mother was very much the same. She had a keen eye for nature. She would paint post cards of the many different wild flowers we had on our property in Primavera. She loved music, and all my siblings learned to play a musical instrument; it was kind of expected, but she never pushed us. She just tried to encourage us to do our best. Some of my siblings became good musicians; my oldest sister Renate was good on the violin and recorder, but Mathilde was a musical dud. Emmy was very accomplished on the recorder. Try as I might, my lack of finger dexterity prevented me from reaching any acceptable level of proficiency. I had no problem reading music and therefore became the official page-turner when my mother and my older sisters played together. I just loved music, and hearing it turned me on. We all loved to sing at home, for breakfast, Vesper [afternoon tea time] and then again before going to bed. I remember many of the German evening songs and lullabies, as there was always a baby to sing to sleep. After myself there came Kurt and David. Of the two, only David played an instrument; he liked to play the recorder. Next in line came Annemarie and Christa. Both became accomplished violin players. Angelika was next. She fell into the period where my parents spent years away from the Bruderhof, or were in and out, and again, in and out. She liked to play the recorder. My youngest brothers Eckehart and Johann Alison both played the clarinet in High school band in the USA. So music was always a great part of our home life. Music was also what my mother contributed to the community in the early years, and during all the years in Paraguay. We always looked forward to Sunday evening family supper, when we sang many songs, and both of our parents would tell us stories about their childhood and years as young adults. My father was rebellious and
Reflections on the Lives of our Parents Kurt and Marianne Zimmermann

By Hans Zimmermann, January 2006 Introduction: This report was written in response to a strange, provocative and presumptuous letter addressed to the children of Kurt and Annemaria (Marianne) Zimmermann by a certain Ruben Ayala from the Maple Ridge Bruderhof, Y. In his letter, dated ovember 25th, 2005 he was telling us about his friendship and special relationship with my mother, who died on April 13th 2005. At the time I had no idea who this man was, or what his position on the Bruderhof might be. Keep in mind that not one of my siblings living on the Bruderhof had the courage or the decency to notify us living outside of the community. We werent permitted to visit our mother on her death bed, neither were we invited to her funeral. Mr. Ayalas letter must have had the support of, or it even might have been commissioned by Johann Christoph Arnold and other Servants of the Word.To me Ayalas letter was like rubbing salt into an open wound. The reader may draw his own conclusion from my reflections, which may show some bitterness. But I just could not let such an affront be unanswered. There was no reply. one was expected. Keep In Touch has edited the letter slightly. What Did they Stand For? Ever since the death of my mother I wanted to write something in her memory, and in my fathers memory. Who were they, what did they meant to us, and what did they stand for in "truth and honesty?" But it is impossible to write about them without also telling about the shameful way in which they were abused and exploited, by both Heini Arnold, and subsequently by his son Johann Ch. Arnold.
Kurt and Marianne in ew Medow Run September 1982
I know my mother would not have approved about what I will have to say, as she was totally committed to the life on the Bruderhof. She gave the Servants of the Word, and in particular Heini Arnold, all the benefit of any doubt. My father on the other hand, while also totally committed was willing to challenge Heini when he felt that he deviated from what the original objective and spirit of the community was. My mother always had a special place in her heart for single young men who languished in the Bruderhof. Among them, Hannes and Daniel Habakuk, Friedel Sondheimer. Wolfgang Lwenthal studied music under my mother and became a prolific poem and song writer. There may have been others in the early years who I never got to know. One thing I do know is that she made a great impression on many people on the Bruderhof, both children and adults. Maybe so much so that the Arnolds felt threatened. We will get to that later. Like you, Mr. Ayala, many people have asked me to write about my mother, so here is my story. Background Both my parents were born in 1908, my father in June, my mother in November. My father had a difficult childhood. He grew up in Berlin; his parents had a hard time making a living. He became a carpenters apprentice, and was supposed to carry on this family tradition.

forward to this wonderful oratorio. Musical get-togethers were frequently quite spontaneous. Anyone who wanted to joined us at our or some one elses home especially around Christmas time. This was our way of Christmas carol singing in Primavera. People sang from the heart and without inhibition. My own relationship with my mother started to drift apart when I began to question her uncompromising support of everything the Bruderschaft decided, even when it was of questionable nature. Her standard answer was, "You have to trust the Brotherhood." I became sceptical. The Closure of the Hospital and Loma 1960 Things started to change in Primavera when it was decided to close the hospital in Loma Hoby, and to sell all the land from there west, plus the cattle to our neighbors the Mennonites. This was in 1960. Who was behind this? Again, a Brotherhood secret. This much I know: the push came from the United States Bruderhof. One of the new American doctors, Milton Zimmerman, was a moving force behind this. I was away from the community at the time, working on a large ranch in Paraguay. My mother wrote that they were going to move back to Germany with most of the family. They wanted to see me before they left. This, I certainly wanted to do, as my mother was a big influence on my life. While our bond had lost its closeness, she nevertheless continued to talk straight to me. She also kept me supplied with books from our library, she picked the subjects, as she wanted me to continue to be intellectually stimulated and keep growing. I left the job on the ranch and returned to Primavera. I had only a few weeks with my parents and family before they left for the Sinntal Bruderhof in Germany with all my youngest siblings from David on down. [Editors note: They were booked on the Over-Sea-Virgin flight of Varig, like many other families from Primavera and El Arado, August 1960.] All the older children of our family stayed in Primavera. Shortly thereafter things started to unravel in Primavera. A succession of Americans came from the USA [beginning 1961], a cunning bunch of lawyers and others who blind-sided the folks down under. Heini's goon squad had a plan to exact his revenge; they isolated the opposition and then picked them off one by one, neutralizing them or sending them away. Closures of Primavera, Wheathill and Sinntal When a good part of the damage had been done, our truck came back from Puerto Rosario one day with a big box. It was unloaded and opened, and out popped Heini, buck teeth first to the surprise and possibly the dismay of many. It did not take them long to announce that the Bruderhof in Primavera would be dissolved and closed and all the willing really the hand picked people, would either go to England, Germany or the United States communities. The rest, those deemed unfit or undesirable were sent away with little or no financial support. Once Primavera was closed and sold, Heinis next move was to close the communities Wheathill, in England and Sinntalhof, in Germany. This too happened in 1961. My parents, with their three youngest children were sent away to reconsider their commitment. Keep in mind, there was never a question of belief or commitment on the part of my parents; this was Heini's way to let them know he would brook no opposition. Two years later, after much hardship, they were called back. This, however had such an effect that my youngest siblings had lost all appetite for the Bruderhof. [Editorial note: Kurt und Marianne joined the Bulstrode Bruderhof during the year 1963, and travelled separately to the States after its closure in 1964. They lived in Woodcrest. Only a year later Kurt was excluded for some time, and sent to Newburg, New York.] Heini was on a mission to discredit anyone who had been in Primavera during a time when he was excluded in the early 1940s by the Brotherhood. He had tried to gain control over the opposition of the other Paraguay pioneers. Heini felt it was his right to assume leadership because the founder of the Bruderhof was his father, Eberhard Arnold. [Editors note: It is worth noting that Heini, though the middle child of Eberhard successfully neutralized both his brothers and his sisters' husbands by removing them from positions they had held. They no longer could control his excesses.] People like my mother were no longer allowed to do what they had done in Primavera. After my family returned, my parents had to show humility, and be cut down to size, as we say in German: "Man hat sie abgesgt!"
The Zimmermann family in Loma Hoby 1955/56. outspoken, even as a child, and that got him into trouble at times. It was really interesting to listen to those anecdotes. My mother would tell us about the wonderful summer vacations her family would spend at the Baltic Sea, which we call the Ostsee in German. Here her relatives had a large property. She never told us, and we only found out recently that the famous rocket scientist Wernher von Braun was a close relative of ours. I gather they knew each other at that time. A high level of intelligence was evident on my mother's side. This was her dirty little secret. She was not proud of the fact that Wernher was the father of the German V2 rocket with which the Nazis blitzed England. On the other hand, Hardy Arnold would not hesitate to mention that he went to the University with Wernher von Braun in Germany. I knew about this man already as a young child, as Hardy Arnold followed the developments and theories of space exploration and would tell us about it. Would we have been proud to be the relative of Wernher von Braun? Probably yes. Would we have looked him up once we were in the USA? Again probably yes, especially my engineering brothers. My sister Mathilde knew about our famous relative, but she was too timid to tell us. I always wondered who that person was, but Mathilde was like a clam, which would not crack. My father had a terrible industrial accident in our sawmill in Primavera. The large flywheel of the lumber cutting machine hit his head and he was in a coma for several weeks with a cracked skull and a broken jaw. He eventually recovered but was never quite the same anymore. It affected his health for the rest of his life. He had frequent dizzy spells and his balance was a little off. Climbing ladders was no longer possible. However this did not stop him; he remained as tenacious and hard working as ever. My mother remained influential in the school. She taught German, literature and, always, music. She was athletic and very active. One of her great loves was to rehearse and lead the community choir. We had many music loving people in Primavera who would get together just to sing and play their instruments. The choir rehearsed cantatas by Bach, Schtz, Buxtehude and many others. It was a big event when we performed parts of Hndels Messiah; the whole community looked
Kurt Zimmermann working in the sawmill

My parents however had a great deal of value to Heini because of their close relationship with Eberhard Arnold. Here is where I fault my mother. She let herself be used by Heini because of her complete commitment and dedication to the community life. She accepted the humiliation of not being allowed to teach music anymore, or be actively involved. My father, however voiced his displeasure about this treatment, and openly confronted Heini. Besides this, there were other reasons fabricated to send him away. My mother must have been distressed, or the Bruderhof felt that if they sent her away together with my three youngest siblings, she might turn my father around to accept the new way of life on the Bruderhof, "a la Heini Arnold."

read it. I know my side to the metamorphosis of the Bruderhof. We experienced it first hand. Seasons come and seasons go. Johann Ch. Arnold (JCA), the appointed leader of the Bruderhof through nepotism wants to make his mark. In March 1988, a new Bruderhof was opened in Germany, the Michaelshof in Birnbach, Westerwald. A faithful cadre was to be stacked on this Hof who could still talk about the beginning days. What about sending the Zimmermanns? After all, they knew Eberhard Arnold personally. In early 1993 it was decided to send both my parents, and since my father required a 24-hour-attention, his son David, wife and children in addition to my sisters Mathilde and Annemarie were sent along, also Jrg and Renate Barth, and some of their children as well. This time my mother objected, stating that it was unreasonable to send our father to Germany in that condition.His illness, after all was so advanced that he could die any day. My sister Angelika was very upset and wanted to file legal action to prevent this travesty from happening. I felt it would be a waste of money, time and energy to do so, because these people did not really care what was right or wrong as long as it served their interest. Verena Arnold, JCA's wife, persuaded my mother to agree to it for the sake of the rebuilding of a Bruderhof in Germany. My parents were to travel as soon as possible to the Darvell Bruderhof in England while my father was still alive. He had no say in this. I guess they did not want to ship a corpse. They were to stay there until living quarters were ready. We came back to our home late from vacation at the end of May, 1993, and found a message on our phone that Papa had died a week ago in Darvell. That was very upsetting to me. I wondered how my mother was holding up. We got the customary glorification by the Bruderhof of any member who passed away, recounting my fathers last days and his subsequent burial. Several months later I received a letter from my mother; she was still in Darvell. The contents and the tone of the letter were very depressing. Knowing that my mother was not in the best of health, I feared she might not last long herself. This scared me and I wanted to see her one more time alive. I called my brother, Eckehart in Colorado and asked him if he would like to join me on a visit. He, too was eager to see mother, and so we let her know we would be coming in two weeks, to which the Bruderhof agreed. Our Encounter with Mother in Darvell We had a surprise welcome at the Heathrow Airport; my old friend Bastel Hssy picked us up. I was still smarting from losing our home in Primavera where we had worked so hard together. I wanted to know how they could justify what was done; he must have felt rather awkward, my putting him on the spot like that. Mother was glad to see us. It seemingly gave her a great lift. My brother David, who was already in Germany came over to be there as well. We spent several nice days together, including a day's trip to Eastbourne and the Seven Sisters. Eckehart, Annemarie and I put our running gear on and ran several miles from peak to peak overlooking the channel way below. David drove my mother and Mathilde to a meeting point further down the coast. Mid October it was very blustery and cool. They dragged Mama to a stone outcropping, and I found her there shivering, cold and nearly blue. I was worried and asked her if she is cold and shouldn't we get her back into the van? She in her stoic way said, oh, I'm OK. I did not think so and insisted we get back into the van, drive into Eastbourne, and have a warm lunch.
The Exclusion was Disastrous My parents were sent away to Monticello, New York in 1966, where they lived in a dinky little trailer on a wet and muddy field next to two large chicken coops. Here my father was to work collecting the eggs and cleaning out the droppings. This was very hard work. My mother tried her hand at it, as well collecting eggs. For her this was very strenuous, and she soon had to stop because of her ailing back. On top of this, the stench in a chicken coop makes a pig sty smell like French perfume. My parents lived there in those cramped conditions for several years. The boys slept in bunk beds. My sister had no privacy; she had to sleep on the couch in what was the small living and dining room. My father was very bitter, and blamed Heini for putting them into this misery. I had just been discharged from the Army when I discovered them in these horrible conditions. They did not even have a phone. The first thing I did was call the phone company and order a phone line. In addition, I had to buy a telephone pole which my brother Eck and I had to plant. Only then did they install a phone. It was a party line, but at least now they could communicate with the rest of the world. My mother had the nerve to say that compared with other people they had it very good. Yes, so good that it eventually put our father into the hospital. He never fully recovered again. My father was unrelenting, and the stress on our mother was visible. So the Bruderhof took my mother and my youngest brother Johann Alison back. My sister Angelika moved to Schenectady, New York to go to college. My brother Eck stayed with my father another year before he moved to Rochester to start his college education in engineering. By now my father was so sick, and needed constant medication. The Bruderhof moved him into an old age home in Liberty, New York to rot. [Editors note: Before that, Kurt must have been in Woodcrest for a short time.] He stayed for two or three years in Liberty. I visited him numerous times there, and even took him to our weekend house in Hunter, New York to give him a change of place. My brother Eck, by then in Colorado took him out there for a week, something he really enjoyed. For that week they took him off all the medication and he immediately felt much better. My father was miserable. He wanted to be back with his wife and his children, but Heini remained a thorn in his side. We were not in any position to help him on a permanent basis. When married, my sister Angelika tried to keep him for a while, but by now my father needed full time attention, and it was dangerous to leave him alone in the house. He had become very forgetful. I tried to tell my father to forget his pride, say yes to everything the Bruderhof asked from him so that they would take him back. Eventually, it must have been 1980, he could return, for which I was very happy, because, like my mother, his belief in the communal life was never in doubt. It did not interest me to know what the conditions were, but I can only imagine that he had to grovel in front of Heini. The next several years my parents lived in New Medow Run in Pennsylvania. Visiting Father for the Last Time The next and the last time that I saw my father in New Meadow Run was either in 1991 or 1992. By then he was confined to a wheel chair and needed 24 hour attention. He could not do anything for himself anymore. We pushed him around the property, and he showed us the place where he hoped to be buried, under a beautiful big tree. He also confided in me that Heini had called for him when he was on his deathbed to ask him for forgiveness. That did not surprise me: the last act of a coward! In the meantime, however, he always called on my parents when someone had to praise the greatness of his father Eberhard Arnold, and the early days of the Bruderhof. Before that Heini commissioned a book to rewrite the history of the Bruderhof, "Torches Rekindled" by Merrill Mow. My mother sent me the book; I have yet to
The outside Zimmermann siblings 1997 in Berlin, actively involved in the Marathon September 1997. From left: Kurt, Eckehart, Angelika, and Hans (the author of this article).
After lunch, and feeling much warmer again, we drove back to Darvell. On the way home we sang one song after another, we had a great time. That evening after the communal meal in the dining room, moving pictures were shown of Palm Grove, the new community in Nigeria. Later we got together with Bastel Hssy at my mothers and sister's home. Here, for the first time we had an open and general discussion about many subjects: Bruderhof life, and how it interacts with the rest of the world, social orders, and other matters. My mother raised a rather interesting subject. JCA had made supposedly a rhetorical statement, which was, "Now that we have black members, what does the rest of the community think: Should we let them marry with our white daughters?" My mother asked me what I thought about it? I told her that as a principle, no objections, however given how things work on the Bruderhof, not a good idea. I said, JCA "will nur Eindruck schinden" meaning he wants to be politically correct, or at least appear to be. My mother then asked me what I meant with that, and I shot back, You know very well what I mean, and the subject was dropped. We all know only too well the disastrous consequences this social engineering had. To the best of my knowledge, JCA did not force one of his own daughters to marry a Nigerian. Mother Moved to Germany and Back to the USA We stayed in England for nearly a week. It was another month before my mother and sisters moved to Germany to be "Poster Girls" for the Arnold cult. The media was invited to watch eighty-year-old ladies dancing German folk dances. Pathetic! We also know how the confrontational attitude of the Bruderhof clashed with the local townspeople which drew national media attention. After they had vilified some of the locals as Nazis, and extorted zoning concessions from the town, they pulled out of Germany again in 1995, deeming the political climate too hostile. Some people, however think that their business prospects were not so promising, so the corporate main office pulled the plug. Rather than sending my mother back to Darvell where my father is buried, she was sent back to the USA to be at the beck and call of JCA. As one of the few remaining members from the initial years of the Bruderhof, she was an invaluable asset to him. This was another shameful abuse and exploitation. When I questioned my mother about this in a letter, she replied that she was totally dedicated to the Bruderhof and would go to where she was needed: an obedient foot soldier; we call this, in German, "Kadaver Gehorsam." At the same time the debate between KIT folk and the Bruderhof was heating up. Any one who still had parents on the Bruderhof and wrote articles in KIT, or was associated with it, received a letter from their respective parents stating that they no longer could visit them even in sickness or at time of death. This is, again one of the twisted perversions and cruelties of the Bruderhof. I received my obligatory letter from my mother to this effect. I replied to her that I did not believe she wrote that letter of her own accord, and that she was dictated to do so. No denial on her part would make me think otherwise. As expected the denial came; what could she do? An old widow fights against the Bruderhof corporate office? To my mother's credit, we remained in contact on a steady basis, exchanging letters and cards for holidays and birthdays. I was grateful that she was able to stay in contact that way. She remained remarkably
Together with her inside daughters Marianne celebrated her 90th birthday 1998. From left: Christa, Annemarie, the jubelee, Mathilde, Emmy and Renate
lucid until the end, and her letters had content, albeit at times very much "Bruderhof speak". She kept up with the news, and had a keen sense of what was going on in the world right to the end. We last saw each other in June of 2002, when I made a trip to New York and my wife Bettina asked to see her. Mother had been sick, off and on, and by now was confined to a wheel chair. We always marveled at the way she came back again and again. We had a nice visit. We met at a restaurant on the Hudson River. My brother David and his wife Annie also came down. We had a good and long talk, knowing that this most likely would be the last time. My mother always had high hopes for me, meaning that I'd become part of the Bruderhof. I'm afraid there was too much of my father in me, and independence, especially spiritual independence, was too important for me. Mr. Ayala, what I did find very disturbing and interesting was your comment about how the Bruderhof kept my mother from going to her grand daughters wedding. It was the ultimate cruelty some one could inflict on an old grandmother. It seems so petty and inhuman that until the very last day the Bruderhof has to let you know who is in control, and whose orders have to be followed. We children will retain fond memories of our parents for what they gave us and what they stood for. Our wish would be to have spent more time with them as adults, with more open exchanges of ideas; ideas which would have been beyond the confines of Bruderhof ideology. As do my other siblings who are not on the Bruderhof, I feel lucky that we were able to cut ourselves loose. By the time I received notice of my mother's death, well after her burial, I had already accepted the fact I would not see her again. Even if I had been invited to go to the funeral, I would not have gone. I had already made peace with my mother with the understanding that we had our differences. To me death is part of life. We feel sorrow when a person dies, but can, at the same time be happy if it was a life worth living. For my mother, who died April 13th, 2005, life had a meaning, and this is what kept her going. We should all be so blessed.
The Confrontation between the Bruderhof and the German ational-Socialist Government 1933 to 1937 Part 2
By Hans Zumpe THE SCHOOL A D CHILDRE S HOME U DER THREAT OF CLOSURE Civil servant Huetterot dealt with the letter; he was a man one could talk to. Unfortunately he did not promise to read the enclosed document, but on the contrary, tried hard to convince us that we must change if we were to avoid dire consequences. We asked what consequences he was talking about, and Huetterot actually gave us the information we wanted to hear. He said that the school and the childrens home must be closed down, guests must be banned, and you may no longer engage in propaganda; all that is in the past! Now we knew which way the wind was blowing. We tried to point out several areas where common ground could be found with the new government, but he just answered: Yes, but what about the protocols? He had extracted sections of the confiscated protocols and put them together accordingly. We studied the results. Huetterot had very care fully cut out sections of two or three lines at a time, and now read to us something that we had once mentioned in conversation, things like predator of the state, Awaiting the Kingdom of God in Marxism, and the like. Hans Boller and I also had been asked to look around in Kassel, to see what the chances of selling the Bruderhof would be in the event we had no other option. We spoke to the C.V.J.M.-Secretary, Paul Herzog. [C.V.J.M. stands for Christlicher Verein Junger Mnner / SCM, or Student Christian Movement.] But he was quick to take leave of us as soon as he heard the Gestapo was interested in us. We also went to the Governor [of Hessen-Nassau], Freiherr von Mombart. He received us in
10
Hans Zumpe, 1931, the author of this documentation

unsettling. Unruh said repeatedly, that all German Mennonites were behind the new government, and were even prepared to do military service. BRAVE WORDS BY THE THEOLOGIA , KARL HEIM We stood all alone. That became clear in the days that followed. Eberhard Arnold often said: If we disappear, no one will even notice! Karl Barths periodical Von der Freiheit des Evangeliums [Freedom in the Gospel] encouraged us at the time. He wrote decisively in support of freedom of speech for which he was later expelled from Germany. There were still some very brave men around. We were very grateful for the expert opinion presented by the professor of theology, Karl Heim, on the 26th of November, 1933. They were very brave words during those days. His expert opinion is reproduced here in its entirety: I have kept in touch with Eberhard Arnold, son of the deceased church historian in Breslau, since his student days. I have seen the personal sacrifices and hard farm labor the founding of a growing community has cost him. In these hard times establishing this farm in the heart of Germany has been achieved only by dint of sheer hard work. The early Christian community of goods, which is practiced on the Bruderhof, in accordance with the Hutterian Brothers of the time of the Reformation is much older than any political communism, and has absolutely nothing to do with the latter. On the contrary the active brotherly love that reaches out every year to hundreds of financially and emotionally poor compatriots, giving them a home and work for however long is needed has contributed more to overcome political communism at the core than anything that is happening today to overcome Marxism. From what I have heard, the plan is to dissolve the Bruderhof, because its members live together according to Franciscan ideals. True to Hutterian tradition, each member individually refuses to take part in any form of violence, which of course includes military service. Dissolving the Bruderhof in haste would result in quite a number of farming families being left penniless out on the streets and forced to emigrate, as they are without private means. According to their religious vows they cannot deviate from their lifelong commitment and the rules of their community. For foreign policy reasons alone, I would consider such forceful measures unwise. If the Germany of today were to force these selfless people to emigrate, it would result in tremendous damage to Germanys reputation abroad. Furthermore, for the following reasons, I cannot see any legitimate reason to take such drastic measures: 1) the Bruderhofs early christian community of goods has no more to do with political communism than the co-operative community organization of the Brdergemeine [Brothers Community also known as Herrnhuter]. The Bruderhof is just the expression for a religious bond. 2) The rejection of military service, as practiced here, is a purely personal matter. The use of force by the state is explicitly recognized as essential. This stance has nothing to do with pacifism. If, for example, Catholic monks are allowed to abstain from military service, because they are bound by the vows of their order, it is difficult to understand why this exception cannot also be made in this case. Landrat von Gagern, our old District Councilor, also remained well disposed towards us. He now worked in the same position in Melsungen. THE BRUDERHOF IS THE SUBJECT OF A AUTHORITIES MEETI G On the 1st of December we once again called on the authorities at Kassel, only to find new problems had arisen. Some relatives of our Bruderhof members who could not understand our way of life, had spoken to the authorities. Amongst them was the mother of Edith [Boeker, later married to Hardy Arnold] with the assertion that she had been forcefully taken from her home. I found out from the person responsible, senior civil servant von Kruse, that this could influence the imminent decision of the authorities regarding the future of our Bruderhof. It was terrible not knowing what the next day would bring a stressful state of affairs which would last for a long time. So, again I proceeded to the ice-cold Governor and at least managed to find this out from him: On the 11th of December a meeting between the Gestapo, the District Councilors and the Governor was to take place to discuss
his big SA uniform, standing before us, arm raised in silent Nazi salute. When we asked for advice, he said it had nothing to do with him; the matter was in the hands of the Gestapo. The first thing we did on our return was to try to get a teacher from outside, in the hope we would then be able to keep the school. In a letter on the 22nd of November we asked Dr. Kellner, the local education officer in Kassel to put one of the authoritys certified teachers at our disposal. In the days that followed it soon became clear to us that we would have to close the school and the childrens home, and take other appropriate action. We made the decision to take the children to safety. As long as our future in Germany was in danger, the children entrusted into our care could not remain on the Bruderhof. These separations were painful. Hans Boller drove to Kassel with Luise [Kolb later married to Bruce Sumner] and Erna [Steenken later married Friedemann], Georg [Barth] took Edgar Zimmermann to Nrnberg, Marie [Eckardt] took Rudi [Hildel] to Fulda, I took Helmuth Breitstein to Hanau and Liesel [Wegner later married Arnold] to Darmstadt. We had to find accommodation for the children somehow. Before their departure we met in the kitchen for an extremely sad Brotherhood meeting, made even more so because it was right at the beginning of Advent. Every one of us who knows what this time means on the Bruderhof, can well imagine how we felt that year. ESTABLISHI G CO TACT WITH OTHER COU TRIES We would need to do a lot more travelling. Hans Meier went to Switzerland, and from there wrote to the Hutterites in Canada and to Hardy Arnold in England. We hoped that with help from abroad we could avoid the worst. Hans Meier tried to find out if we could establish ourselves and the school in Switzerland. At the same time he made enquiries about Czechoslovakia and the possibilities of settling there. I went to visit various German Mennonites, for example Christian Hege in Frankfurt am Main. We had hoped to find a connection through the well established Anabaptists, and jointly to fight the government for concessions in respect of our Faith. These visits were a great disappointment to us. Christian Hege, the joint publisher of the Mennonite Encyclopedia was a very timid little man. During my visit he endured extreme agony because someone might have heard us or seen us together. He did speak a lot about his ancestors, but he didn't really look like someone who was prepared to be a martyr. A visit to another group was also fruitless. On the 12th of December I was sent to Karlsruhe to visit Professor Unruh, the most important Mennonite in Germany. He had lead the emigration of the Russian Mennonites into Paraguay. Unruh, however, was fully convinced that National Socialism was right. The five hour discussion was extremely OTES BY THE EDITOR: Hans Zumpe presented a condensed version of this report during meetings in Primavera on 26th and 28th July 1945 for the 25th anniversary of the Bruderhof. While quotes from Eberhard Arnold and newspaper clippings etc. are reproduced verbatim, the Hans Zumpe report has been edited using modern terminology, but eliminating none of the content. More about the history of this account and its translation into English can be found in the Introduction to Hans Zumpes Report from 1945 in the Keep In Touch Newsletter No 3 Dec. 2007, page 8. There also begins the first part of this report. Comments in angled brackets [ ] are explanations by the editors. SA: Nazi Sturmabteilung/Braunhemden SS: Nazi Schutz-Staffel/Schwarzhemden
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threatened dissolution of the Bruderhof. Both ministers were asked in view of the seriousness of this event to ensure that our property was not split up, but that our cultural achievements should be maintained. We referred to Emil Mller and his attempt to retract the land he had sold to us and declare it as a not saleable Erbhof [a family farm of small size]. The Minister of State for Agriculture replied to our submission with a friendly instruction regarding the Reichserbhofgesetz [which came into effect 1933 by the National Socialists]. In the last paragraph Darr actually confirmed that he understood one of our basic principles. Darr explained: I will leave it up to you to lodge an application at the "Anerbengericht" [a specific law court dealing with complaints regarding the succession for farmland]. Let me note that the approval of the "Anerbengericht" is given on a voluntary jurisdiction basis according par. 37 of the "Reichserbhofgesetz." A real lawsuit from which you want to abstain according to your principles is therefore not possible. FRIE DS WITHDREW During these difficult weeks of Advent we printed a note which we sent to our friends together with the pamphlet Light and Fire. Here are the most important passages from this Adventsgru der Arbeitsgemeinschaft des Bruderhofs [Advent Greeting from the Bruderhof work community]: This time it is not possible for us to send out a detailed Advent greeting as we did for 1932 although we have an even stronger urge to greet all those who participated in our inner striving during the past thirteen years to live in the way the early Christians lived. With fond thoughts and heartfelt thanks we turn specifically to you as friends of the Bruderhof, who have enjoyed our publications in the past. Along with this brief greeting we enclose our pamphlet Light and Fire. We hope that this special edition of an important chapter from the book Innenland will answer many of your questions. Above all, this pamphlet can clarify the relationship of a community based on the creed of Christ to the historically important events of today. The subtitle of the publication reads: Das Weltgericht der Weltgeschichte und das sammelnde Licht der Gemeinde Christi [The Last Judgement of World History and the Gathering Light of the Community of Christ]. This gives a statement of our creed, namely that by the fire of Gods fury and judgement the power of order will be born, even while the light of Christs love will gather enemies in the unity of the community order of total love as an expression of the innermost heart of God. With this belief as our foundation, we continue to work and live as always, in the same way as the Hutterites did for four hundred years.
everything. Mombart also said that if we wanted to give him some information for the meeting, we could do so. We put together an extensive memorandum, Material for the Meeting about the Bruderhof and posted it on the 6th of December. Apart from the clarification of various misunderstandings and the explanation of our positive attitude towards the state, we were very open in setting out the things about the new regime that filled us with concern. Because of this, the petition was of even greater importance, reaching far beyond the Bruderhof. In Germany there had not been many who so openly denounced what had become the basic principles of National Socialism. The relevant section of this petition reads as follows: From the standpoint of our faith, and in this positive context, our strictly confidential and normally closed brotherhood meetings expressed yet again the innermost Christian based concern in the following points. We are at variance with the government but beg you not to confuse our outspokenness with hostility. From the commitment to our faith we dearly love and honor all the men of the government. "1.) The present governments demand for the primacy and absolute authority of the state and the rule it exerts over its people through the imposition of its ideology gives us cause for serious concern. Such a situation inevitably brings a community which is bound to Christ into the most difficult conflict of conscience, because obeying God and the Kingdom of Heaven must be our first priority. "2.) Faith is a necessity for the life within the community; this freedom of conscience seems to be at risk, endangering the freedom of conviction which asks nothing more than for us, his followers, to live by the best, the purest spirit of Jesus Christ, who for us is the only leader, master and liberator. 3) Freedom of speech and education are of the greatest importance to the apostolic mission of Jesus Christ; without these we cannot survive. For this reason, all faithful Christians must obey the call of God, without looking to the left or to the right. We ask you to clarify to what extent this will still be possible in Germany. 4.) So we are facing an extremely difficult and tormenting moral dilemma concerning whether or not todays reigning national movement, the elevation of the individual and the state with its commands should stand above God and His word, above Christ and the Holy Spirit, when all those called to Christianity must honor God above all else and must obey God before man. 5.) In particular the appearance of the absolute belief in the purity of the Aryan blood, especially of the Nordic type, arouses Christian concern that the divine measurement of justice and equity towards people with other blood is violated. 6.) Finally, history has warned us over the centuries, that in spite of the best intentions of the responsible leader, any harsh judgment imposed by the state will affect the guilty, the partially guilty and also the innocent. Most of all the innocent representatives of the love of Christ and his justice may feel the full force of the punishing fury, even though the actual intention of all this severity was to be directed at the evil and corruption, in which these Christians had no part whatsoever. From our hearts we beseech you not to judge us as unfriendly, even treacherous or inflammatory, nor think of it as merely possible. Please recognize as the absolute truth burning and concerned love as the foundation and the reason for this stand. It is the love that seeks for truth; the love from the heart that strives to believe and hope for all that is good and right and is prepared to suffer any hardship arising from this; the love from the heart that embraces all adversaries, and has a genuine willingness to be taught and enlightened by Gods word and truth, wherever representatives of limited human understanding have gone astray. In this memorandum we also informed them about having heard rumors that the Bruderhof would barely last for another four weeks. If this was the case, we asked them to give us time to wind up our affairs in peace, particularly as it would otherwise be impossible to adequately meet the obligations concerning our creditors. In the middle of December we submitted more petitions. They were sent to the Prussian Minister of Culture, Bernhard Rust, and to the Reich Minister of State for Agriculture, Dr. Darr. We drew attention to the
Rhnbruderhof schoolchildren 1931 from left: Werner Helwig, Wolfgang Loewenthal, Hnsel Helwig, Rudi Hildel, Uwe Hellwig, Jrg Barth, Marta Kunzelmann, Inge Kunzelmann, in front of her Walla von Hollander, Eberle Hellwig, Elfriede Braun, Roland Keiderling, Gertrud Braun, in front of her Peter Keiderling and Rita Kunzelmann (private photo)
We hope to be able to stay in our beloved German homeland and continually renew the contact with our friends for whom our witness is important. May we be led together even more closely in recognition that the Kingdom of God is near. So we greet you again with the Advent wish for the fulfilment of peace! We did not receive any answers to our Advent Greeting. It was clear that people were retreating from us.
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came up the steps stuttering in agitation, the S S S S S S S has visited CREDITORS DEMA D PAYME T you He refused point blank to deliver any more coal to us and Of course the publicity of the house search in November had an effect demanded his money. That was in December, and our money had been on our creditors, who came in droves, all worried about their money. I spent on the numerous journeys. We were short of heating fuel, and remember one in particular, who brought with him a very tall armed SSeverything else too. man, who positioned himself in front of me in a threatening pose while the creditor demanded his money. I also remember the coal man who To be continued in next issue _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ext ewsletter (planned for August): Please send your letters, articles, poems, etc., to Charlie or Erdmuthe. Contributions are welcomed. The most convenient and less costing way to post the ewsletter is by email. Contact details for volunteers who produce Keep In Touch: Charles Lamar: receives/edits articles, letters, etc. Address: PO Box 460141, San Francisco, CA 94146-0141, USA. Tel: ++1-414-386-6072 Email: rastus@mindspring.com Erdmuthe Arnold: receives/edits articles, letters etc, she makes the layout; address: Ostendstrae 22, 60314, Frankfurt, Germany. Tel: ++49-69-444099 - Email: erdmuthe.arnold@t-online.de Linda Jackson: maintains address lists, sends out email newsletters, collects Euro donations. Address: 7 Severn Street, Longridge, Lancashire, PR3 3ND. UK. Email: lindalj@btinternet.com - Tel: ++44-(0)1772-784473 or ++44-(0)7703-133369 Dave Ostrom: mails USA and Canada paper newsletters. Email: ddostrom@msn.com Anthony Lord: mails paper newsletters for Europe and the rest of the world (Argentine, Brazil, Paraguay, Australia). Email: lord@lomac.de Please ote: If you need an enlarged printout of the Newsletter (size A3) please contact Linda.
Depending on which currency you use, please send your money to: Tim Johnson: US$ cash or checks made out to Tim Johnson. Address: 155 Garden Lane, Decatur, GA30030, USA. Tel: ++1-404373-0633; Email: timchowki@comcast.net Joy MacDonald: UK checks, cash or Bank transfer. Please check details with Joy. Address: Foxglen, Pinemount Road, Camberley, Surrey, GU15 2LU, UK. Tel: ++44-(0)1276-26938. Email: joy.macdonald@homecall.co.uk Linda Jackson: Euro checks, cash or Bank transfer. She has opened a Euro Kit account in Germany. Volksbank Brggen-Nettetal EG, BLZ: 31062154, Kontonummer 2201052010, Objektbezeichnung: KIT. From other currencies Euros can be deposited into the account using: IBAN: DE52 3106 2154 2201 0520 10, or BIC: GENODED1KBN for foreign currency. Linda asks all of you, who transferred their money to give her a short notice. Address: see her address above.
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Keep In Touch Newsletter

Volume XX No 1 April 2008

Bulstrode Gathering on the last Saturday in April - Invitation

A Friendly Reminder for our Readers

Werner Friedemanns Life

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60.00 / 90.00 / $120.00 per person for weekend.

wintery view from the tower

a walk through the forest

Klaashof, part of the yard

Herr & Frau Klaas prepare the BBQ

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Getting Skills as Cobbler on the Bruderhof

Cobbler Werner Friedemann at work 1945 in Isla Margarita

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ew Life in a Religious Community

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Reflections on the Lives of our Parents Kurt and Marianne Zimmermann

Kurt and Marianne in ew Medow Run September 1982

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Kurt Zimmermann working in the sawmill

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