KIT October 1997, Vol IX #10 New 10-5-97

former Bruderhof members/residents KIT Newsletter October 1997 Volume IX #10
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The KIT Newsletter, an Activity of the KIT Information Service, a Project of The Peregrine Foundation P.O. Box 460141 San Francisco, CA 94146-0141 telephone: (415) 821-2090 FAX (415) 282-2369 http://www.matisse.net/~peregrin/ KIT Staff U.S.: Ramn Sender, Charles Lamar, Vince Lagano, Dave Ostrom, Brother Witless (in an advisory capacity) EuroKIT: Joy Johnson MacDonald, Susan Johnson Suleski, Carol Beels Beck, Elizabeth Bohlken-Zumpe, Benedict Cavanna, Leonard Pavitt, Joan Pavitt Taylor
The KIT Newsletter is an open forum for fact and opinion. It encourages the expression of all views, both from inside and from outside the Bruderhof. We reserve the right to edit submissions according to guidelines discussed at numerous KIT conferences. Obviously, it's seldom easy to know exactly how best to carry out KIT's mission of allowing many voices and various points of view to be heard. We do not, and cannot, vouch for the validity of any opinion or assertion appearing in the KIT Newsletter. The opinions expressed in the letters that we publish must remain those of the correspondents and do not necessarily reflect those of KIT editors or staff. Yearly subscription rates (11 issues): $25 USA; $30 Canada; $35 International mailed f/ USA; 20 mailed f/ EuroKIT to UK & Europe
KeepInTouch TheWholeKitAndCaboodle Toll-Free Phone for former Bruderhofers in need of advice and referrals: 1 888 6 KINDER -------- Table of Contents -------Renatus Kluver Erna & Werner Friedemann Renatus Kluver Bruderhof Suit Targets Newsletter - The Times Herald Record Ex-Bruderhof Resident Convicted - The Times Herald Record Wayne Chesley Blair Purcell replies to R Zimmerman Wayne Chesley Blair Purcell report on Dave Maendel trial Mike Leblanc Oklahoma Bombing Touches BruderhofThe Norfolk Register Citizen
http://www.perefound.org/KIT10_97.html
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Hutterites Investigated - The Times Herald Record Cult Parallel Drawn - The Times Herald Record Complex Issues- The Times Herald Record Ruth Baer Lambach Name Withheld The Great Bruderhof Newsgroup Fight - Netly News Melchior Fros Melchior Fros - 'Das Klo' Sam Arnold to J. Christoph Arnold Elizabeth Bohlken-Zumpe Andy Harries Norah Allain Sam Arnold book review A Child Shall Lead Them KIT: Hans-Jorg Meier is seriously ill in Paraguay. He has had surgery twice for cancer of the intestines and there is some thought being given to follow-up chemotherapy. "Hans-Jurg and I grew up together," Bette Bohlken-Zumpe reports. "He's a terribly honest and loyal person. Maybe some KITfolk who know him will want to send him a card." Hans-Jorg & Lucrezia Meier / Caixa Postal 503 Foz do Iguazu PR / 85851-000 BRAZIL Tel: 595 644 20560 Bette herself returned to hospital with severe headaches. She was put on morphine while the doctors studied her situation. An MRI scan showed that her last Prednisone treatment had stressed some brain cells injured by M.S., which caused her very serious pain. She is now home and off morphine, and hopefully will improve. Annelise Trumpi had serious surgery (see the letter from her brother Renatus below) but tests show that the tumor was not malignant, thank goodness! click here to return to Table of Contents Renatus Kluver, 9/17/97: Hi to all who may receive this e-mail. We had quite a scare three weeks ago when my sister Anneliese Kluver Trumpi was diagnosed as having cancer of the ovaries. She got a second opinion and this surgeon thought that it might not be cancer. She has had a hysterectomy plus the removal of the spleen and appendix. The surgeon said that it was 'a major, major' operation. Two weeks later we have the good news that it was not a cancerous growth and Annelise is again at home and making a good recovery. She is a teacher, but has been put 'on hold' for the next six months and will not be allowed to work during this time. I personally think that this is a blessing in disguise, since she now has to take a 'forced' rest, which, in my opinion is what she needs, since she is a work-aholic. I myself have been teaching for the last twenty-three years and after a hip replacement have decided to take early retirement and am now, since the first of September, a pensioner and free, within
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financial constraints imposed on me by my pension, to travel and do what I decide whenever I am so inclined. Take care, all of you. Greetings, click here to return to Table of Contents Erna & Werner Friedemann, 7/7/97: To all our dear friends and readers of the KITletter! Werner and I would like to thank each and every one of you, dear friends, for all your letters, greetings, phone calls and beautiful cards that we received for our diamond wedding anniversary. We were and still are very moved by all your love! Your card, Nadine and August, together with Juanita, was the first one to arrive. Thank you so much for all your loving thoughts! Then came the loving card of Monika and Balz, together with a long letter and phone call on the 21st of June, our wedding day! We are both so very grateful for our years together. All the good times as well as the difficult times have strengthened our bond so that we could experience our 60th wedding anniversary as a true gift from God. We feel so rich to have so many dear friends. Dear Margot and Cyril, your greeting was especially moving and we hope that you, Margot, will have recovered completely from your serious pneumonia! Your greeting makes us think of all the love that you, dear Cyril, gave to us as well as the whole Community throughout our years in Primavera. We remember well how you came on horseback through the thunderstorm at night when Werner was so sick! You also helped me and our children lovingly throughout our years in Paraguay. It is difficult to put into words what this meant to us in those times! Thank you, Johannes (John) and Ruthie for your loving thoughts! You, dear Migg, special thanks also. It was a wonderful experience to meet you at the station in Bremen -- after all these years -- when you came to the KIT Conference in Worpswede last year. It was so good to have you as a guest in our house and remember all the good times we shared together in the past. To receive your loving greeting, dear Helen and Stan Vowles, after now some 37 years, moved us deeply. Your card is lovely and reminds us of the song we used to sing, "Einen Golden Wanderstab, Ich in Meinen Hnden han..." Renatus, thank you for your phone call and we do hope that you have recovered completely by now from your serious operation! Thank you, to every single one, who thought of us on this day! Hans and Bette, it was a special joy to have you with us for the celebration! It mean a lot to us that you came after your serious illness, Bette! Your dear father married us so many years ago and we have always felt a special bond with your parents. Yes, we had a wonderful day! Ingmar and his wife Margret made the long trip from Goteburg in Sweden, and also Markus Fischer came with his wife! We were especially thankful to have all our dear children with us for this day, as well as our grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, as well as many friends from our last years of life here in Bremen. All in all, we were 70 people that gathered in our church for this special reception. It was a day that filled us with thankfulness and great joy.
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Greetings to all you dear, old friends, who shared so much sorrow and joy with us! We think of you and treasure the bond that united us in the past. With much love and warm greetings, click here to return to Table of Contents Renatus Kluver, 9/1/97: Dear Ramon, the attached might interest you. I have tried to communicate directly with the SoB, but they blocked me electronically and sent the message back, no doubt after having read it. I have sent another one to pthomson@ bruderhof.com and am interested what the reaction might be this time. I am looking forward to the next issue of KIT and what further developments there are regarding the latest outrage by that self-appointed bunch of prophets. All the best and good cheer and wishes to you and your family. Muchos saludos, Subject: Seventy Times Seven Dear Christoph: I have just accessed your advertisement of the book you seem to have written about forgiveness. I am impressed with the accolades you receive for what you have put down on paper. My father, Willi Kluver, always told us 'paper is patient'. What he was saying was, that paper cannot activate that which is written on it, but that the reader and the author must put into practice what they read and have written, if it is to be of lasting value. I will put this challenge to you: Forgive those who you feel have wronged you and lift the ban imposed on the members of the Society of Brothers, which forbids them to have contact with relatives who are not members in your organisation. I, as a practising Christian, find it hard to understand what is being done to the people which should be closest to you. Please find a forgiving heart, so that I can, again, have a meaningful relationship with my sister Christel and others in your commune. I look forward to receiving a reply from you, since fellow believers should be able to work out differences of opinion via our mediator Jesus Christ himself. If we truly believe in his power, then nothing will keep us apart in finding understanding and reconciliation. Christian love and forgiveness. Your brother in Christ, KIT: On a recount, the amount of damages that the Bruderhof and Christian Domer are requesting from Ramon and the Peregrine Foundation total approximately $15.5 million and not $20 million as previously quoted. click here to return to Table of Contents Bruderhof Suit Targets Newsletter by Paul Brooks, Staff Writer The Times Herald-Record, Kingston, NY, 9/10/97: KINGSTON - The Bruderhof community has filed a $15.5 million lawsuit its leaders say is aimed at stopping harassment. The defendants say the suit tries to stifle and
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intimidate critics of the religious group. The lawsuit is about "efforts to discredit us and paint us a cult," said Christian Domer, a leader of the religious community which has several hundred members in each of its Rifton and Pleasant View communities in Esopus. The lawsuit was filed in July in Manhattan Supreme Court and was recently transferred to federal court. It is against Ramon Sender and the Peregrine Foundation in San Francisco. Sender, a former Bruderhof member whose [ex-]wife still lives in the Rifton Bruderhof community, publishes a newsletter for former Bruderhof community members and others. The lawsuit also targets Julius Rubin, a sociology professor in Connecticut who has written a book about the Bruderhof, and Blair Purcell. Both men are connected with the newsletter. It charges them with a pattern of harassment through false statements, saying among other things that the Bruderhof failed to report sexual abuse of children. "They allege we are out to destroy the Bruderhof, which is untrue," Ramon Sender said yesterday from his home in San Francisco. "They are trying to shut us down," he said, adding the Bruderhof may be taking a page from the Church of Scientology, a religious group that has been very vigorous in attacking critics. "I think they are very threatened by us. They really don't like to be criticized." The Bruderhof filed a separate lawsuit for infringement of copyright in Albany Federal Court in April. That case against Sender and the Peregrine Foundation has yet to be decided, Sender said. Sender said he publishes the newsletter as a form of support for former members of the Bruderhof, many of whom say they are kept away from family members still in the community. Rubin said his publisher has gotten two calls in the past month. Both calls were from someone who said he was with the Bruderhof and pointed to the defamation suit. "My belief is the Bruderhof would be very pleased if my book is not published because my editor got cold feet." Rubin said the Bruderhof has pushed its way to the front of national issues -- such as the death penalty -- and raised money and sought to affect public opinion. That makes the Bruderhof subject to criticism like any one else in such a forum. He said defense lawyers have asked that the lawsuit be dismissed. Ramon Sender said he will not stop. "Of course not. We are helping too many people," he said. And he hopes for a happy ending. "I am a diehard optimist. I want to see the Bruderhof become their own best dream and live up to all of those fine words in their books. Who knows, maybe the kids are doing it for them, and dragging everyone else along with them. It could happen."
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click here to return to Table of Contents Extortion Charge Sticks: Ex-Bruderhof Resident Convicted by John Milgrim, Staff Writer, The Times Herald-Record, Kingston, NY, September 11, 1997: KINGSTON - A former Bruderhof resident was convicted yesterday of trying to extort $15,000 from the Christian communities, but he was found not guilty of trying to extort $3.5 million or threatening bodily harm. Dan Lamont, visiting Ulster County Court judge, found no proof that David Maendel threatened violence during the extortion and even though Maendel was on tape asking for $3.5 million, he accepted payment of only $15,000. What the judge found was Maendel's attempts to sell the Bruderhof the rights to an alleged book he was working on about the community was, indeed a crime. He was on tape several times asking Bruderhof leader Christian Domer for $3.5 million to quash the book. He said he spent more than 35 years gathering information on the Bruderhof and already had one offer of $1.5 million. He ended up taking $15,000 from an undercover State Police investigator as down payment in the deal. Yesterday Maendel, through his lawyer, would not confirm the existence of any book deal or writings with details allegedly damaging to the Bruderhof. Maendel, 50, was convicted of attempted third-degree larceny, a felony, and attempted fourth-degree grand larceny, a misdemeanor. The judge also ordered him to stay away from Bruderhof communities and members. He faces a maximum 1-1/2 to 4 years in prison. Maendel throughout alleged he was ready to print details of child abuse at the Rifton Woodcrest Bruderhof community. He said he kept details of how the community was more of a cult than the open Christian it purports itself as. "I'm very satisfied with the verdict of the court," said defense lawyer Thomas Petro, explaining he expected some sort of conviction from the beginning and being not guilty of the most serious charges was vindication enough. Still, "We feel the actions of the Bruderhof are such they needed to be brought to public light," Petro added. "I think it was a pretty clear case. As Christians, this was really a situation of us turning to the law in a situation we had no control over and felt really threatened physically," said Christian Domer, president of the Bruderhof's multi-million companies. "It's not that it makes us happy to see somebody in this type of predicament. We don't rejoice that he's been convicted. We just hope he will leave our group alone and it will also send a message to others." Domer said it was because of Maendel's extortion plan they installed a new high-tech security and surveillance system at the Bruderhof. Maendel admitted on tape to an
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incident two decades ago when he scoped a rifle on a Bruderhof member from a distance away but never pulled the trigger. "I was just concerned about our safety, especially for our children," said Joe Keiderling, Bruderhof spokesman and corporate vice president. "We certainly felt that threat and that's why I felt concerned." Both Domer and Keiderling testified at trial. Maendel remains free on $50,000 bail. Sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 7. The Bruderhof has recently been the subject of many allegations such as the ones Maendel tried bringing out. A group of former Bruderhof residents has launched a campaign against the sect with communities in Rifton, Ulster Park and elsewhere. Ramon notes: According to Dave Maendel, he was physically beaten as a child in Woodcrest, isolated in darkened rooms, and thrown out at the age of 14 to work for a local farmer. It seems to me to be yet another case of Bruderhof cluelessness when it comes to reaching out, first to a needy child and now to a needy adult -- in a loving and understanding way. In my opinion, their guilt makes them defensive and paranoid. They panic and lash out -- in this case by setting Dave up on an extortion charge. He already served 3 months in jail before the trial, so maybe he'll get lucky. The judge, everyone agreed, was very fair-minded. Letters to petition the court for leniency may be mailed to his attorney, Thomas Petro esq. 71 Maiden Lane Kingston, NY 12401. click here to return to Table of Contents Wayne Chesley, (from newsgroup alt.support. bruderhof) 9/13/97: Blair Purcell wrote: "Quotation from an Anabaptist Christian: "'I think it was a pretty clear case. As Christians, this was really a situation of us turning to the law in a situation we had no control over and felt really threatened physically,' said Christian Domer, president of the Bruderhof's multi-million companies. 'It's not that it makes us happy to see somebody in this type of predicament. We don't rejoice that he's been convicted. We just hope he will leave our group alone and it will also send a message to others.' "The message is clear, Mr Domer. Have you forgiven him yet?" WC: Let's not let our rhetoric run away with us. The Bruderhof, and Christian Domer in particular, have shown that they have removed themselves quite some distance from their claim to be Anabaptist Christians. They are hypocrites of the worst sort when, rather than making peace with someone, they bring the law against them. That is fundamentally opposite from what an Anabaptist Christian would do, because it is fundamentally opposite of what the New Testament has ever taught.
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We do not hear of the Amish bringing lawsuits or their making deals with the police to entrap and arrested someone they feel threatened by. Nor do we hear of such a thing among the conservative Mennonites nor the Brethren. These Anabaptist Christians do not get so involved in the world's courts and ways of protecting themselves and punishing their enemies. When it suits the Bruderhof's purposes they will call themselves "Anabaptist." It sounds good in the newspaper reports to be compared to the Amish, but they do not want to bear the burden of loving their enemies or obediently trusting God for their protection. I wonder if any Bruderhofers (not just Joe Keiderling and Christian Domer) read this group. I'm sure access to the Internet is extremely controlled now -- it is too great a conduit of truth into the Bruderhof communities. If there are any Bruderhofers (Rick B. do you remember Christ's words? Carole V. do you remember what Christ really calls you to?) then I beg you to have courage and stand up against the wickedness that has infected the Bruderhof. If you stand united with this Godlessness, you too will be held accountable for it. If there are Bruderhofers reading this then, please, do something for Dave Maendel. Speak up, write letters to the judge (the way you write on the behalf of Mumia) asking for leniency. He is no threat to your children, God will protect you if you will let Him. Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. click here to return to Table of Contents Blair Purcell, 9/22/97: Excerpts from a letter appearing in the on-line edition of The Times Herald-Record, 9/12/97, Orange County Publications. My responses are inserted as appropriate: Reuben Zimmerman writes: "Your article (by John Milgrim) [see above] was not as objective as it might have been... This man is dangerous, psychotic, and needs to be locked away. Why else do you think the State Police are involved?" BP: Because the Bruderhof called them in, contrary to their own (claimed) Anabaptist tradition as Hutterites. Any problem the Bruderhof had with Dave Maendel might well have been peacefully resolved by allowing him to visit his family living within the security-gated fences of the Bruderhof. Resolution might also have been achieved through conversations with former Bruderhof members and their families who had suggested serious mediation of differences during the very time period when Mr Maendel was apparently carrying out the independent actions of which he was convicted. RZ: "Why else did their undercover investigators end up arresting him (not Bruderhof members)?"
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BP: It is interesting to note that Mr. Zimmerman shared his characterization and diagnosis of Dave Maendel with the readers (of The Times Herald-Record) in his capacity as a member of the Board of Trustees of Kingston (NY) Hospital. Presumably his experience as a Physician's Assistant came into play as well. What he fails to mention is that he is also rather closely connected with the Bruderhof itself, both as a member and as a son-in-law of the Elder of the Bruderhof Community at Woodcrest. Now, there is certainly nothing wrong with either of those latter associations, but failure to mention them in the context of the letter, in my opinion, renders his comments self-serving and somewhat misleading. RZ: "Its 450-year history..." BP: Bruderhof history goes back, at the earliest, to a period immediately following the first world war. It has no 450-year history, which it appears to be attempting to expropriate from the traditional Hutterite Church. At the same time, however, the Bruderhof seems content to leave the Anabaptist article of faith about not going to law (to resolve differences) right back in the western colonies. To claim a faith and then to pick and choose which 'tenents' [sic] of that faith one will follow seems to indicate an unusually high level of hypocrisy -- in my opinion. In fact, within recent years, the Hutterite Church has expelled the Bruderhof and asked them to stop using the term "Hutterite" in its corporate name. Hence the (fairly) recent change to the name now used: "The Bruderhof Communities." RZ: "...which includes surviving the persecution of the Catholic church in the 1500's and that of the Nazis in the 1930's, would suggest that it is no "cult". Your readers -and the Bruderhof -- deserve better coverage." BP: Better coverage is coming if the lawsuit described below comes to trial. RZ: "Sincerely, "Reuben Zimmerman Kingston Hospital Board of Trustees" BP: There seems little doubt of Mr. Maendel's guilt as established by the court in his recent trial for extortion in Ulster County. He received a fair trial and no former member of the Bruderhof with whom I am acquainted condones what he did -- either before or after the fact. I was called as a defense witness in his trial to help establish the truthfulness of certain testimony by one of the complainants. As I understand it, the witness in question told the court that he did not know me when, in fact, I am a defendant in a $15,000,000 lawsuit filed by him against me (and two others) for slander and defamation. It is interesting to note that Zimmerman insists that Maendel deserves to be "locked away" while the Bruderhof simultaneously campaigns so vigorously for the release of
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a convicted killer in the neighboring state of Pennsylvania. As to the characterization of Maendel as "psychotic" and "dangerous", it seems to me that Zimmerman is speaking beyond his professional qualifications. To do so on behalf of the Board of Trustees may prove to be a substantial embarrassment to Kingston Hospital as well as himself. click here to return to Table of Contents Wayne Chesley, (from newsgroup alt.support. bruderhof) 9/9/97: J.I. Packer of Regent College, Vancouver, writes in a review of the Bruderhof's new book Seventy Times Seven: "Readiness to forgive, as Jesus insists in the Prayer he taught his disciples, is the acid test of our moral and spiritual stature, and indeed of whether we are real Christians or not. As personal experience constantly shows, nothing withers the soul more radically than an unforgiving spirit, the poisonous product of pain and pride, that craves revenge under the name of justice. From both these standpoints, forgiveness is as important, searching, and demanding a theme as any Christian can ever write about." WC: Dave Maendel is presently on trial for having allegedly attempted extortion against the Bruderhof. The Bruderhof brought charges against him, how many times did they forgive Dave? Everett L. Worthington of Virginia Commonwealth Univ. wrote of the book: "In moving and thought-provoking stories, Arnold demonstrates a central truth of Christianity: that evil can be overcome by good... This is not a theology text. It is life." WC: If Everett Worthington spoke those words in the [Bruderhof brotherhood] meeting in which the telephone harassment campaign (against the "Children of the Bruderhof") was discussed he would have been expelled! Andrew Fergusson, MB MRCGP, General Secretary of the Christian Medical Fellowship UK wrote: "As a doctor, I have seen many cases of human tragedy. Sometimes the inability to forgive complicates the tragedy; sometimes it causes the tragedy. Firmly convinced that the failure to forgive is a significant cause of disease and dysfunction, I commend this book for the healing of souls and bodies." WC: The Bruderhof sued a group of it's own children and ex-members for "copyright infringement" when they formed the organization "Children of the Bruderhof". Many of those people are unable to even visit or speak to their family members in the Bruderhof communities simply because they associate with each other or subscribe to a newsletter for ex-members. The Bruderhof, by their hard-heartedness, perpetuates this tragedy. How forgiving are the Bruderhofers toward their own children when they have strayed from the Bruderhof's way?
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To silence criticism of the Bruderhof communities and to "protect" their business interests the Bruderhof has sued Ramon Sender, Blair Purcell and Julius Rubin. Did The Bruderhof overcome "evil" (that is criticism of the Bruderhof) with the good? How many times did the Bruderhof forgive these men? Myron Augsburger, author, InterChurch Inc. Harrisonburg, VA, wrote of Seventy Times Seven: "Biblical, relevant, and psychologically insightful. A remarkable book on the freedom and healing that comes from forgiveness." WC: The Bruderhof last spring refused to have the Mennonite Conciliation Service mediate between themselves and those whom they consider its enemies. Shortly after refusing this they sued Ramon Sender. And recently they sued Ramon, Blair Purcell and Julius Rubin for about $15,000,000. Given an opportunity for forgiveness and reconciliation the Bruderhof instead chose devastating litigation. Dave Maendel is facing prison because of the Bruderhof's lack of forgiveness. Rather than turn the other cheek they entrapped Dave and sent him to jail, now they have brought him to trial and they are testifying against him. Seventy times seven? No, not once! click here to return to Table of Contents Blair Purcell, 9/12/97: With fear of being assaulted with another lawsuit, I drove to Kingston, NY to testify on Dave's behalf. They will not silence me. Well, I just got back after 14 hours of driving out of the last 29. Dave Maendel's attorney called and asked me to testify to certain facts about which (as I understood it) Christian Domer lied on the stand during Dave's trial. So, I rented a car and left yesterday Tuesday at five P.M. Arrived at (name deleted) at midnight -- we sat and talked until 1:30 A.M. or thereabouts. (Name deleted) and I were up at 5:30 Wednesday and went into town for breakfast at the (deleted) Cafe. Great buckwheat cakes! (deleted) gave me a Kingston map (and $40 - I had come away with $9 and change from Washington area) and sent me on to confer with Tom Petro in his offices at 8 A.M. Dave M. was there and we talked for an hour. Petro called the court and asked for me to be subpoenaed so that I would have some immunity from being served with another lawsuit. The court granted his request and I was required to appear by 10 A.M. So, off we went! Mike B. was there as well as Eunice Wiegert (who had visited Dave in jail) and a friend of hers. Dave Johnson from the Bruderhof was there and three others. Maybe Mike can tell me again who they were -- my mind is tired right now. None of the Bruderhofers knew who I was until Petro called me (by name) as a witness. With that, two of the Bruders got up and left the room -- presumably checking in with Woodcrest. After some give and take between the judge, the
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prosecution and the defense, I was sworn in. Margot and I had almost decided I would not go to this thing until Petro called and indicated that Christian (as I understand it), on the stand and under affirmation, stated that he did not remember being parked outside my house (as I understood what Petro told me). That convinced me -- if Christian could get away with those lies, he would obviously have had the opportunity and the proven inclination to lie about Dave. And Dave surely deserved the best shot he could get. I had to go. With me, I took Christian's letter of apology for being outside our house, the three page "hate" letter set to Ramon, Julius and me, and a copy of the $15,000,000 lawsuit -- each of which proved that he did, indeed, know me and that he had apologized (in writing) for doing that which he claimed he had not done. It was apparent he had no clue (while testifying) that I would be there as a direct result of what he lied about! It almost appears he is controlled by a compulsion to lie. Nothing about why Christian was outside our house came out, nor the contents of the lawsuit. Presentation of this evidence was introduced by Petro solely to establish that Domer had lied on the stand. My cross examination by the prosecutor went well for Dave. He actually asked me if anything else had occurred around the time Domer and Keiderling made their visit. Since he asked, I could answer that, yes, my office had been broken into three days later! He asked if there was ever anyone who had written anything in KIT that was favorable to the Bruderhof and I said, "of course". That surprised him and he asked who. I said many people. He asked me to be more specific and I responded that my wife had! It was the closest we came to a confrontation. After my testimony I had an opportunity to introduce myself to Dave Johnson which took him a bit by surprise. I indicated I wanted him to understand that if Dave Maendel had done that which he was charged with, there was no way that I or anyone I knew among former Bruderhofers would condone those actions. He nodded in understanding and I pushed it a bit further by saying that I would appreciate it if he would take that message back with him and share it. He assured me he would, and that he appreciated my remarks to that effect (of not condoning Dave's actions). That's about it. Mike B. and I had lunch together and came back for a bit more testimony and we walked back to Petro's office so I could get the rental car and get on the road around 3 P.M. Home at 10 P.M. No one followed me. Dave called Margot while I was on the road to tell her that he had been convicted on two of three counts (found innocent on the most serious charge). He is content with the outcome and will be sentenced in November. He could get time, suspended sentence, probation, almost any combination and faces the possibility, I think, of up to four years. My inclination is to believe the judge will be fairly lenient -- at least I hope so.
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Also, the local papers up there have been furnished material by the Bruderhof concerning a federal investigation of child abuse among the Hutterite colonies in the Dakotas. The story should make the papers tomorrow. I'm not sure if it will be national news. I believe this is the investigation as instigated by the Bruderhof, and which began with Christian's letter about which Ramon is being sued for copyright infringement. More later. Seventy times seven, click here to return to Table of Contents Mike Leblanc, 9/13/97 "The message is clear, Mr Domer. Have you forgiven him yet?" The message is clear... the Bruderhof[TM], as a good Christian organization, will do the exact opposite of the Biblical stricture, not only take one's coat, but his cloak, underwear, house, etc... under the Law... which is Human... secular, not of the Upper World... showing themselves (in my opinion) to be closer to the Anti-Christ and the spirit of Evil and Mammon daily. What ever happened to turning the other cheek? And praying for those that persecute you (not suing, taking to court, coercing, entrapping, and any other alleged or real activity the Bruderhof[TM] is guilty of)? My only prayer is that God will have mercy on their souls when they have to answer for their actions at His feet. I eagerly await the news of a considered and energetic counter-offensive to the lastest (alleged) Bruderhof[TM] insanity. P.S. The day Christian Domer feels threatened physically by Dave is the day I win the NJ lottery... and I don't even play. click here to return to Table of Contents The Norfolk Register-Citizen, 6/14/97 "Oklahoma Bombing Touches Bruderhof" by Mark Einhorn NORFOLK - Like day-care directors worldwide, Melva Nokes ordered some of her toys and equipment from The Deer Spring Bruderhof. The Christian community makes and sells handmade toy chests, tricycles, sandbox tables and other children's products... Melva Nokes, the Bruderhof's customer, ran the day care center destroyed by Timothy McVeigh's politics of hate... Nokes was the only surviving staff member, saved by a short trip to the bank. During the last year, the Bruderhof has donated thousands of dollars worth of equipment trying to help replace what McVeigh's bomb tore apart in seconds... But as the cry for revenge, punishment and closure rang throughout the nation, the Bruderhof found they could not join in. The man who filled bodies with glass and steel couldn't
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be killed, they said, not after so many others had died. To them McVeigh was worse than a monster. He was human, and however unappealing, a product of our own hate. Members of the Bruderhof are among those against McVeigh, but working to protect his life. It is more than McVeigh they want to save, members said, it is the country's sense of community which is at stake. "This is a much bigger question than McVeigh," said Paul Pappas, a member of the community. "If we are going to foster hate and revenge, we are doing a disservice to our society... "McVeigh is on the fringe. He's an oddball. But we produced him," Pappas said. "We have to see past the revenge into a larger context. We have to base our decisions on more than what we feel personally, emotionally... "We don't want to become callous," Pappas said. "We don't want to grow numb." Pappas said he understands why victims want to see McVeigh die, and said if it was his family he would probably feel the same. But he also said the country as a whole must look at McVeigh through less emotional eyes. "We need to figure out how we can help these people to be healed," he said. "We would like to make people think, because we are not taking care of the cause of the problems." click here to return to Table of Contents The Times Herald Record, Friday 9/12/97 (Middletown/Kingston/Newburgh/New Paltz, NY) "Hutterites Investigated Sect Calls Accusations By Bruderhof Political" by John Milgrim RIFTON - Children were sexually molested and physically abused by their elders in the South Dakota and Canadian Hutterite Christian communities, leaders of the Bruderhof in Ulster County said. Bruderhof leaders reported "endemic" cases of sexual and physical abuses to Canadian and South Dakota investigators. The abuse has gone on since the Bruderhof formally cut ties with several Hutterite communities two years ago, Bruderhof leaders said. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police have launched a formal criminal investigation. "Until such time as charges have been laid, we don't go public other than to confirm the investigation is ongoing," said Eric Davidson, a corporal with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police serious crimes unit in Winnipeg. "We're not finished with our investigation."
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Davidson one of two investigators assigned to the case, would say only that he is investigating several Hutterite colonies in Manitoba Province and understands similar allegations were made of communities in South Dakota. A police investigation there could not be confirmed yesterday. The accusations may simply be the underpinnings of a political and religious power grab by the smaller and newer Bruderhof communities, said Jeff Sveen, a lawyer representing several Hutterite communities in South Dakota. For years, Bruderhof members have tried formalizing ties with Hutterites and until two years ago used "Hutterian Brethren" in their formal name. When there was discourse between the groups, many Hutterites defected to the Bruderhof communities. Sveen said the Bruderhof, with its multi-million-dollar corporations, private jet and political agendas, has long tried luring Hutterites to join. Since the Bruderhof made contact with the Hutterites in the 1930s, most Hutterites wanted nothing to do with them, Sveen said. The Hutterites formed in the early 16th Century in northeastern Europe and the Bruderhof sect formed in 1920. Hutterites and the Bruderhof live in Christian communal settings where none of the members have individual wealth. There are more than 35,000 Hutterites in hundreds of colonies, and 2,800 Bruderhof in eight communities, including ones in Rifton, Ulster Park and Hunter. Joseph Keiderling said the Bruderhof, which has headquarters in Rifton, severed all ties with Hutterites in 1994. Keiderling, a Bruderhof spokesman and corporate vicepresident, said Bruderhofs were concerned about the Hutterites tolerance of promiscuous sex, specifically minors having sex and the possibility of criminal sex between adults and children. Also he raised issue with the Hutterites' tolerance of premarital sex and other violations of what the Bruderhof believes to be the teachings of Jesus. Later that year, the Hutterites asked the Bruderhof to stop using the name Hutterite and Hutterian and by then, "We were more than happy to shed the name," Keiderling said. Davidson said the allegations under investigation date from recent days to 30 years ago and are spread among Hutterite colonies. Christian Domer, Bruderhof corporate president, said he expected the Hutterites would say the allegations were simply part of a series of systematic defamation of Hutterites by the Bruderhof. "We're talking about criminal acts," said Domer. "The allegations we've heard cover quite a significant time span and give the impression of being endemic. It's not isolated incidents, and I would say it's reached endemic proportions." He said he believes the alleged abuses were known about in the Hutterites colonies, but were purposely hushed. The investigation began with information from some of the 145 Hutterites who defected to Bruderhof communities in Ulster County and elsewhere, Domer said in a letter sent to Hutterites in January. The letter called for a
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meeting between Hutterite and Bruderhof leaders to discuss "A number of very important and sensitive issues regarding the way of life and activities of the Hutterites in Canada and the U.S. "I feel we can no longer allow this situation to go unresolved," the letter continued. Davidson said his investigation began in March and has not been made public. "I was aware of many situations among the ethnic Hutterites. We have done our duty and turned to the authorities," said Domer. "It's a very difficult thing to talk about and discuss openly. We've tried to be very sensitive to them, to not make it a public thing." Domer initially referred specific questions to Bruderhof lawyer Gene Massamillo. Keiderling referred questions to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. "I'm not sure of the numbers involved and I'm not sure of the dates involved," Massamillo said. Davidson and his partner spent four days in Ulster County in June interviewing former Hutterites about the allegations. He would not comment on these interviews. "Where there is abuse going on, where there is a crime going on, we have to go to the authorities. We felt there was enough that there was children at risk. It was for the sake of those children," said Keiderling. "We have addressed it very specifically with the people responsible." Not true, said Sveen and Michael Waldner, recipient of Domer's January letter and leader of a Hutterite colony in Mitchell, S.D. "The only thing I know is they came up with allegations and they were asked who and where," Waldner said. "They never told us any facts." Premarital sex is not tolerated among Hutterites, nor are sexual relations between adults and children. "No way, that's a no no. No way accepted," Waldner said. "If anything would come up, it would be taken case of immediately." As far as corporal punishment, sometimes it is acceptable. "but no hard spanking, none at all," Waldner said. His self-sufficient colony of 135 survives on farming, raising poultry and manufacturing geo-thermal generators. Sveen said he met with Domer, Bruderhof leader Christoph Arnold and Keiderling shortly after the letter was sent. "They did come out and make these absurd statements and allegations," Sveen said, praising Domer's public relations tactics. "He just read us some allegations and wouldn't give specifics. How do you expect us to do anything (without specifics)? When they didn't come forward with anything, we kind of said this is a bunch of crap, which it is." Even though the South Dakota governor dined with Sveen at a Hutterite community Wednesday night to discuss hog raising in the state, the Hutterites shy from political agendas, Sveen said. They don't associate nearly as much as the Bruderhof with those
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outside the communities. Bruderhof members and children recently traveled to Cuba on a "friendship" mission and Arnold met with Cuban President Fidel Castro. The Bruderhof recently staged public hearings against the death penalty and vigorously support Pennsylvania death row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal. Among the Bruderhof businesses are a factory making children's furniture and equipment for the disabled, and a luxury jet charter business used by such celebrities as Mel Gibson and Cher. As for the Hutterites, "They don't fly jets, they don't do anything like that. They're farmers," Sveen said. 'The Bruderhof made an active attempt to lure Hutterites away. "We think they are very hypocritical," he said. "They would try any devious means they could to cause problems because that's how they are. We really want nothing to do with them." click here to return to Table of Contents The Times Herald Record, 9/12/97 "Cult Parallel Drawn Sociologist Notes Early Warning Signs" by Paul Brooks KINGSTON - The Bruderhof is showing more and more the signs of becoming an unstable religious cult, a Rutgers sociology professor who has written a book on the group said yesterday. "I have studied Jonestown and Waco and the Solar Temple. In no way am I saying the Bruderhof is like these groups. But it alarms me when I see the Bruderhof exhibiting some of the things that would be early warning signs in Jonestown and Waco and other places," Zablocki said. Christian Domer of the Bruderhof said Zablocki doesn't understand the community. "He sees us as a sociologist who studies communal groups and others where there have been tragedies. He doesn't see some of the very basic crucial elements that make the Bruderhof what it is," Domer said. Such wildly divergent views are typical of the Bruderhof and its critics. The debate has spread from the pages of a newsletter among ex-members of the religious community to the Internet and most recently into court. On Wednesday, a man who spent part of his childhood living with the Bruderhof was convicted of trying to extort $15,000 to drop plans for an expose-style book. And the Bruderhof filed a $15.5 million lawsuit in July against Ramon Sender, a former member whose [ex-]wife still lives in its Rifton community, and others. Sender edits the newsletter, a cathartic outlet for some Keep In Touch members and informal
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message board for others. The lawsuit and another like it are a symptom of the Bruderhof teetering on the brink, Zablocki said. "One of the textbook symptoms of a group becoming a cult and kind of spinning out of control is the manufacturing of external enemies. When you start taking small enemies and turning them into major manifestations of Armageddon, that is the kind of way Jonestown and Waco went. It is the early steps of a totally violent confrontation," Zablocki said. "The Bruderhof may never become like that, but they ... have enough in common with these groups in the early stages to make it very worrisome to me. That is exactly what I have told them and they dismiss me contemptuously." The Bruderhof took the lawsuits only as a last resort, Domer said. The critics have accused the Bruderhof of failing to report sexual abuse of children and tried to influence officials in Bruderhof areas against them, Domer and another spokesman said. "There is no good reason for them to harangue and harass and slander us," Domer said. That can be tolerated only for so long, according to Joe Keiderling, another spokesman for the Bruderhof. "When they start interfering with our normal activities in a way that hinders what we are doing, that takes it to a different level," Keiderling said. Zablocki wrote a study of the Bruderhof titled The Joyful Community in 1971 when he was a graduate student at Johns Hopkins University. It was reissued in 1980 with a new forword. He has been at Rutgers, where he is a full professor, for 20 years. "The Bruderhof is very angry with me and thinks I am out to destroy it. That is the furthest thing from my mind. More religious experiments like this are needed, not less," Zablocki said. Domer said the criticism is aimed at the heart of the Bruderhof. "The fact that you attack some of the fundamental underpinnings of what it takes a group like this to stay together and ultimately, you are chipping away at the dam." click here to return to Table of Contents The Times Herald Record, 9/12/97, [Excerpts] "Complex Issues Define Outwardly Simple Lives" by Richard D'Errico, RIFTON - ... After the David Maendel extortion incident in January 1996, the Bruderhof installed two surveillance cameras at the entrance. Maendel, a former Bruderhof resident, tried to sell the Bruderhof the rights to a book he was supposedly
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working on about the community. Maendel was found guilty this week of trying to extort money from the community. The cameras allow security to see who is coming onto the Bruderhof grounds during the night, said member Joe Keiderling. The Bruderhof has had a difficult history since its founding by Eberhard Arnold in Germany in 1920. Nazi Gestapo closed the community in 1937 and members fled to England with help from some Mennonites in Holland. When the Germans began bombing England heavily in 1940, neighborhood tensions rose against this Christian sect with German roots. Many thought they were spies, shining lights in the night sky to give German bombers a target. The British government gave the Bruderhof a choice: have the German members detained or leave as a group. They decided to leave for Paraguay and then came to the U.S. in 1954, where they settled first in Rifton. But life isn't as simple at the Bruderhof as it might appear. Dick Domer, who joined in 1954, says the group lives by the biblical admonition to be "as wise as serpents and as gentle as doves." The Bruderhof has smart businessmen and is media savvy. It has its own Web page (www.bruderhof.org). Leaders use cell phones and beepers when away from the community. The group runs multi-million dollar businesses such as Community Playthings, which makes internationally sold wooden toys, and Rifton Equipment, which makes equipment for people with disabilities. Combined, the companies had $20 million in sales last year. The group also charters a jet for stars such as David Letterman and Mel Gibson. The Bruderhof has received criticism for what some perceive as contradictions. The young members of the Bruderhof are forbidden to see X-rated movies, yet Sharon Stone, who has been in sexually explicit movies, charters the group's jet. Domer has the answer. "We were only giving her a ride. We're not responsible for her morals," he said. "She behaved herself on our plane. People are people." The Bruderhof is known for its local and international causes. The group once lobbied to stop a gay nightclub from opening and members have vocally opposed abortion. Most recently, the Bruderhof received national attention when several of its children marched miles against the death penalty in Pennsylvania. That march occurred just weeks after Bruderhof children broke the United States embargo against Cuba this spring when it took a bus filled with supplies across the U.S.-Canadian border. From there, the children and some adults traveled to Cuba with the supplies. Despite leading simple lives, Bruderhof members have met their share of famous people. Arnold met Mother Teresa in Washington last year. Bruderhof members have crossed paths with Bianca Jagger, controversial Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan and death row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal whose book Death Blossoms was published by the Bruderhof.
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"People criticize us for getting involved," Domer said. "They put us in a box. People are always putting us in a box. We should be like the monks are, we should be like the Amish. We shouldn't get involved in social issues. "But that is what the Bruderhof is about. These issues lead us into controversy," Domer said. Keiderling added: "We're a community committed to life." click here to return to Table of Contents Ruth Baer Lambach, July 4th weekend, 1997: 'Celebrating Our Anabaptist Heritage' A total of 158 people from as far away as British Columbia and northern Alberta (close to the Yukon) met at the Baer family farm near Lake Park, Minnesota, for this reunion. In preparation for this reunion I photocopied dozens of Anabaptist hymns and made a hundred copies of this booklet. Included in this set of hymns were Hutterite songs such as Gott ist die Liebe and Spar deinie Busse nicht, and Bruderhof songs such as "I have been through the world beholding, how wide and fair it lay. Yet all my longing draws me, far far from the world away." Another favorite Bruderhof song I included was "In Christ there is no East or West, in Him no South or North. But one great fellowship of love throughout the whole wide world." Even the chorus of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony found its way into this collection. We created a maypole with fourteen ropes on which all the members of the clan hung like apples. There were 460 names on this maypole. Some of us were married several times, and all the ex's, the stepchildren, the adopted children made it onto the maypole as well. One woman arrived with her man of several years. She was irritated at not finding his name there. She told me that in Canada, after you live together for a year, you are considered married. Her man's name got hung along with his two children. Each string with names was attached to the ceiling and the floor. There were various shades of green and red with balls in descending sizes, green for male and red for female. Each person's name was written on both side of the ball, which hung from a color-coded string. It was instantly visible how and where you fit into the family tree. The children ran around under it, roller-bladed through it and looked for their names. Discussion about misspellings and other details took place in, around and under this maypole. A plastic bucket lid with fourteen holes to attach the white nylon ropes was screwed to the ceiling. If you looked straight up, the names of our grandparents or great-grandparents Ephraim and Lavina were boldly visible. Around this maypole 158 people sat and stood for an hour. It was like a Bruderhof household meeting, and I was the Servant of the Word. I loved it! People laughed, cried, clapped, interjected and performed their pieces and songs. My family has come to expect this kind of a program and pretty much go along with whatever we create. They help create it. Because of the songs, I figured that our Anabaptist heritage was as
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good a theme as any and looked for a story that would reinforce the theme. I found the story in The New York Times, June 28, 1997, entitled "Cambodia Aesop tells a fable of forgiveness. It is a tale about forgiveness, compassion and the power of the individual voice. The Anabaptists suffered because of their decision to have a personal relationship with God rather than go through the corrupt church hierarchy. They did not fight fire with fire, but instead chose to be pacifists, literally turning the other cheek. Mennonites have been permitted into war-ravaged countries such as Cambodia because of their consistent history of pacifism. The older I become, the more I honor this heritage of passive resistance to ugliness, the evil and corruption of the world. It is not a total separation from the world but a much more difficult stance - "To be in the world but not of the world." The Amish, the Bruderhof and the Hutterites choose to separate themselves from the world and to make visible barriers with language and clothing. The Mennonites subject themselves to the world and, through their belief system, systematically refrain from being engulfed by the world. This position honors the central importance of the individual conscience. It gives space for individual integrity and power to the individual in growing and developing a character that resists the corrupting influence of many things in the world. The story: Kassie Neou, an educated Cambodian, owes his life to Aesop and his fables. Having memorized the fables, he was able to tell the stories to the teenage Khmer Rouge prison guards. Even as he sat in chains in the prison, he was able to counter hatred, interrogation and torture by entertaining the young boys with stories. One day he had been roped together with a number of other prisoners to be taken out and shot when he heard a thirteen-year-old teenager cry out, "We need that man!" Neou was taken out of the line-up and another prisoner was put in his place and taken out and shot. Neou's life was saved. Later he found himself in a Thai refugee camp as a supervisor. One day, one of the former Khmer Rouge guards came in with a dying baby and a sick wife. Neou now had his chance for revenge. He had memorized the faces of his torturers, and this guard stood pale and shaking in front of him. His life was now in Neou's hands. Neou, instead of taking revenge for what he had suffered, took the man to get medical help and even gave him cash to buy cigarettes. All of his former thought about anger and seeking revenge suddenly flowed out of him with this act. The guard, with tears in his eyes, thanked Neou. From my knowledge of Anabaptist history, this is how a Christian behaves. How can the Bruderhof, or those Hutterites who resort to the law to seek justice, reconcile their behavior and still call themselves Christians? I think it is impossible. Christians do not resolve their problems with lawsuits. Having introduced the Anabaptist theme with this story, I then presented copies of Aesop's Fables as prizes to the oldest family member, the youngest, the one who came from the farthest distance, etc. A total of a dozen copies of the Fables were handed out. Statistics: 82 members of the Allan Baer family were present; 51 of the Moses Baer, 13 from the Sylvester Baer, 5 from Martin and 2 from Mervin. I went around the
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strings and read a couple of sentences my mother had written about each of the original Baers. Those families who were present stood up and sang a song. I was moved by the four-part harmony sung by the four Moses Baer daughters. The Allan Baer contingent belted out "Amazing Grace," and the Hutterite contingent sang "Gott ist die Liebe." Dan Baer, the only one from his family, got up with his new wife from China and told us the story of how he met and married her. She gave us the same story in Chinese. The program lasted one hour, and everyone was acknowledged with word and song. For an hour we experienced community in Amos Baer's new 12-car garage. Next came the games, which lasted all afternoon. When we did the final rope pull, we divided the people by placing all those over thirty on one side and under thirty on the other. We thought, 'Surely our weight would out-pull the young ones.' It did not, and we crumbled to the floor. The games were followed by yet another meal and a huge bonfire. The meals were delicious, nutritious and plentiful. Our parents had trained us well. They were not stingy with food. The next morning we all gathered at yet another home and had breakfast, and then walked to the cemetery out in the woods where we held a service in song around the graves of our parents, Allan and Edna Baer. This session was closed with a choral repetition of the 23rd Psalm and the Lord's Prayer. Our parents lie close to the water on a narrow peninsula behind the chicken barns in the woods. It was curious to note that most of the people at this reunion had some connection with community. Before my parents ever joined the Hutterites, we lived in community in rural southern Ontario with two of the families whose descendants were present at this reunion. It appears that once you have the experience of community in your blood, it is difficult to get rid it. Sister-in-laws and brother-in-laws, with no experience of community must, whether they like it or not, get used to hosting 158 people for a meal. A total of five brothers, their wives and families, hosted all of us with food and lodging for the three-day weekend. The gathering was multi-ethnic, multi-racial and interdenominational. Among us are Catholics, Atheists, Buddhists, Unitarians, Lutherans, Independent Christians, Conservative Mennonites, Charismatic Christians, Unity and Undeclared. Ethnically and racially there are Mexicans, Native Americans (First Nation as they are known in Canada) East Indians, two Chinese, Africans (Tanzanians) and of course Norwegians, Swedes, Germans and Americans. Education levels span the entire spectrum of artists, intellectuals, farmer, lawyers, teachers, no doctors, truck drivers and religious seekers. For one weekend in July, the Ephraim Baer Family Reunion met and celebrated our heritage and our complex pluralism in the present world with fireworks, a baseball game, song, story, games, competitions and visits. There are people with little in common and there are people who whom one shares a lot. There are rich and not-sorich, as well as Republicans and Democrats, in this motley bunch. Paul and Selma Maendel from Forest River Colony were the only practicing communitarians. Our parents, Allan and Edna Baer, who ventured into many communities in their search for real community, would have been pleased and proud with the way in which we celebrated this reunion. It was a celebration of community, an acknowledgment of
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unity and diversity. This is my idea of community -- short and sweet and 'to be continued.' If you try to grab onto it and make it happen every day in every way, it is as impossible to achieve as maintaining a heightened sense of being in love. As the ancient Persian prophet Kahlil Gibran stated, "Let there be spaces in your togetherness." At the end I was asked what we should do with the large family tree maypole, which had taken many hours to create and erect. I looked at it dangling after it had been untaped from the floor. Should we keep it, store it, update it and then use it again for another time? On second thought, I remembered the Tibetan monks who came to Chicago and over a period of four month meticulously created an intricate and colorful sand mandala. They worked at it every day for six hours, an enormously tedious, labor-intensive and complex work of art. But within an hour, it was ceremoniously swept up and poured into jars and then dumped into Lake Michigan. Out went the maypole! click here to return to Table of Contents Name Withheld, 9/9/97: Dear Ramon, I was looking at KIT and it makes me sick how the Bruderhof, under the leadership of Christoph, treats you and some of my family members. I feel the reason you are being focused on is twofold: you have a case against them with the death of your daughter and birth of grandchildren which you were not notified of, and you edit the KIT publication. I tried to write to Christoph, saying that he is responsible for wrong leadership and will ultimately have to answer for that. He never replied. I believe he is sick, and so are the other leaders. I agree that child abuse is swept under the carpet in the Commune. Most of us, maybe all, were abused as children and I am sure it continues to go on. All cults are sick and [the members] basically bored and misinformed, so they take their frustrations out on the children and young people -- or on some who have left the cult and know what is going on. I prefer not to have my name in KIT, but if this ever goes to court, I will gladly testify to child abuse, etc. for you and ex-communitarians, those of us who left the "cult" and cannot visit parents or siblings. The last time I visited I was asked what the cult could do to make things right. I told them that they needed to admit their faults and apologize to all who were hurt or abused. My relatives were very upset when I mentioned some of the stuff I went through. They don't want to face it. They will never admit that they have any problems. The cult is perfect. They even talk to the pope and write a book on marriage -- Christoph and his wife. Joke! They have no idea what real marriage is all about. In the cult, it's a license to have sex and lots of children. Men relieve their drive; women don't matter. Take care, click here to return to Table of Contents
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Netly News [Today's News] An Online Time/Warner Magazine, 7/7/97 "The Great Bruderhof Newsgroup Fight" by Chris Stamper Usenet's latest holy war began quietly enough last month, when Bill Peters fired off a message creating the alt.support.bruderhof newsgroup. His plan: to provide a place to discuss the Bruderhof, an obscure 77-year-old Christian sect that believes in communal property and crusades against "materialistic ways." Peters, whose wife left the "brothers" in the late 1960s, says the newsgroup is for those "who have been separated or otherwise traumatized by their association with the Bruderhof." But the only people traumatized were the Bruderhof themselves -- at least according to their lawyers. On June 16, the sect's attorneys dashed off a stiff letter to Peters charging that alt.support. bruderhof infringed upon the group's trademark. They demanded he rename the newsgroup by June 27 or "further steps will be taken in this matter." Unfortunately for the Bruderhofen, they're asking for the near-impossible. Multinational corporations and governments alike have learned -- to their dismay -that once information is on-line, it's virtually uncensorable. Usenet newsgroups, in particular, have a habit of lingering even when they're not wanted. "It's an exercise in futility," said Peters, a disabled veteran recovering from a bone marrow transplant. "I think they know that by now. So are they going to try to collect damages from me or what?" As news of the threat to alt.fan.bruderhof spread through the Net, veterans of battles with the Church of Scientology took notice. After all, here was a new -- and troubling -- legal tactic. Even the Scientologists didn't succeed in advancing a trademark violation argument when trying to rub out alt.religion.scientology. Scientology critic Frank Copeland sees parallels. Copeland decided to take the newsgroup fight out of U.S. jurisdiction by sending booster messages (to keep the group from ever being shut down) from his home in Australia. "I doubt they could sue over this in Australia," Copeland said. "It's certainly not a trademark here. And newsgroup names hardly constitute a weakening of a trademark, else IBM, Microsoft and Intel would have tried to remove their newsgroups by now." Peters, the newsgroup's founder, said that the Bruderhof discourages contact between ex-members and their loved ones inside the community, thus splitting up families. So he wanted to use Usenet to help heal the fissures. "The Bruderhof need to talk to their families one way or another," he said. "They need to get together with them and discuss things. This is my line in the sand. I'll do it again if that's what it takes. You can't say you stand for family values when so many of your own are broken up." Peters said he got the idea for the newsgroup after debating the writings of Bruderhof founder Eberhard Arnold on alt.religion.christian.anabaptist.brethren. Arnold founded the Bruderhof in Germany, styling it after Anabaptist groups such as the Hutterites.
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From the beginning, he stressed strict moral codes and communal living. When Hitler seized power, the Bruderhof fled first to Paraguay, then to the United States. Today they estimate 2,600 people live in Bruderhof communities in upstate New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and England. The families survive by publishing religious books and selling day care and disability equipment. (They also lobby against the death penalty; one member offered his own life in exchange for that of Mumia Abu-Jamal.) Julius Rubin, a sociologist at St. Joseph College in West Hartford, Conn., who is writing a book on the Bruderhof, said the Bruderhofen are sincere, just extremely thinskinned. Which means they see external criticisms as a threat. He says the heart of the dispute is a family feud between the Bruderhof and The Peregrine Foundation, a network of former Bruderhof, that has raged since the late 1980s. Peregrine runs the Keep In Touch Network, or KIT, a group of about a thousand ex-members. The Bruderhof also is suing the Peregrine Foundation for copyright infringement. "They want to use legal remedies to stop criticism," Rubin said. "They don't want to see any critical statements made by anyone." The Bruderhof deny that they're trying to prevent contact between members and exmembers. They also contend they aren't trying to shut up their critics and are merely trying to defend their intellectual property. "I think the newsgroup should continue," said Christian Domer, director of corporate affairs of the Bruderhof. "We're just trying to protect our name. They have the right to get on the Net and chat all they want. We would never interfere with that. We have no beef that people want to talk about the Bruderhof. We may not like it, but we have no legal right to interfere." Domer said that the group is still reviewing their legal options. He pointed out that another group of dissidents called the Children of the Bruderhof (which was loosely connected with KIT) had settled with them in a similar dispute over the use of the Bword. They tried to start a 1-800 hotline for ex-members to call for support. When the sect found out, they called in the lawyers. Rubin said that the group doesn't see itself as eager to punish its critics. Instead, it views people like Peters as tormentors. "The Bruderhof honestly believe that these ex-members are possessed of a 'KIT spirit.' It's demonic to them. They see the members of KIT as their sworn enemies. They believe they are being hounded and persecuted. I believe they honestly feel they are deeply threatened. "The Bruderhof, on the other hand, say their critics are overstating the case. "They're definitely overreacting," said Bruderhof leader Joe Keiterling. "People discuss the Bruderhof all the time. More power to them." click here to return to Table of Contents Melchior Fros, 9/13/97: A fair question to ask is why many of us who left retain such an interest in the Bruderhof. Why have we not gone our ways and our people in peace? Why are we so determined to address perceived wrong-doing? I will speak for myself. Like many KIT readers, I am truly thankful for having been nurtured and
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raised to grade- school level, in a communal, Christian setting. The love that surrounded me in those years had a profound effect on me, and still does. There came a time when I had to make a decision to remain or to leave. I chose to leave, in part because I could not find the spiritual nurture that a fledgling Christian faith requires. There had been no attempt at closure for past wounds and past failings on my and the brotherhood's part. I carefully examined the vows to be taken and concluded that I could not commit myself to them. Indeed, I was struck by the many tragedies of "broken commitments" that had played themselves out during the tumultuous 60s and early 70s. I am sure that my total loss of hearing played into the formula as well. Unable to fully participate in "the life", I found solace in hard, hard work, a free spirit, and plenty of basketball. Earlier, in college, I had experienced an unmistakable call of God. This is what had led me back to "my people" after graduation. In years to come, I would receive further evidence of this call to "follow Me". Despite human weakness and failing, I have made an effort to remain true to that call. In short, I count myself among those who seek to follow and obey Christ. In spite of the past, I have made it known to brothers and sisters at home that I love them dearly, and I have definitely felt their love in return. My wife, children and I have made frequent trips home to visit all, to be a part of their life, and to be with family. Until recently, we have always been warmly received. We have taken time off from our busy schedule to come down and help in the building up of the Hof. We have even, on occasion, been invited to Gemeindestunde. I recall with gladness the song that the whole Shalom group at Deer Spring sang and signed for my benefit. It was an overwhelming gesture! I fought back tears. These were the "good times" we experienced and supported. Now, however, we are experiencing "hard times", and I have a distinct feeling that we are not as welcome. It is my conviction that as Christ-followers we must support and learn from each other in good and in hard times. Sometimes this "support" will have to take the form of respectful criticism and questioning, as it is now doing by many. The simple, plaintive words of Barnabas Johnson ring in my ears: "we are family"! We can not be cut off from our heritage. Even as many of us live our Christian convictions elsewhere, we remain loyal to family in good times as in bad. "WE ARE FAMILY!" click here to return to Table of Contents Melchior Fros, 9/14/97: "Das Klo (The Outhouse... from a child's perspective)" Reader be forewarned: If you have Victorian sensibilities, please skip this vignette and move on to something more "wholesome". However, if.the Paraguayan Jungle girl/boy still stirs in you, then read on... It was one of those hot, humid days in Loma, long, long ago. Die Wache (the watch)
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had bedded us down for our mid-day siesta. I stole a glance at Samuel and made a funny face. SPLAT! -- Die Wache's big spoon tapped my wrist, a warning to go to sleep. She watched me closely while eating her luscious banana. "I want that banana", I thought to myself..."how can she be so inconsiderate and eat it all by herself?" I fiddled about. Presently, I asked her, "Darf ich zum Klo gehen?" (may I go to the outhouse?). "Gross oder Klein?" she inquired. "Gross", I muttered, knowing that "Klein" was not sufficient reason to get my request granted. "Ja," she whispered, and off I trotted, knowing I had gained the freedom I wanted. I headed in the general direction of the outhouse. The haunting cry of Das Waldhuhn (woodland hen) sent a shiver down my spine. Overhead some lorritos squabbled. Two lizards eyed each other in deathly silence across a log, while red "Raupen" (caterpillars) of the kind that could cause a severe skin reaction crawled about on the ground. Ahead of me loomed the "Klo." Why, I wondered, was there always a moon or a star cut into the top of the door? Was it not airy enough already? Was that supposed to allow Die Wache to keep an eye on us kids? Who knows. I sat down. Next to me lay the familiar pile of newspaper, cut into usable size. And then it occurred to me: why not take the opportunity to rid myself of my hated Klepper (wooden shoes) and my torturous Unterhoeschen, those rotten underpants that hugged my waist with a rubber band and chafed at my legs. And so I proceeded to discard the items one by one down the hole. With great satisfaction I returned to my cot. "Das war able lang," (that took a long time) Die Wache intoned. "Ja,.... ich musste," I said sheepishly. Years later, we flew to Bulstrode, England, with a large group of Bruderhofers. I vividly recall that when we ascended into the air, there was much laughter as the jet hit the first pocket of turbulence. The laughter was noticeably more subdued the next time around. Soon thereafter, folks were grabbing "brown bags", if you know what I mean. Poor Haensel! He looked as pale and ragged as a dishrag! I was more fortunate. I did not have to use my 'bag" until we landed on the African Horn. I was still clutching it as I descended the flight steps, having forgotten the plane had a KLO of its own! Sheepishly, I hid the bag beneath the steps. Later, after a meal of half-cooked eggs served on bread, we boarded again, and with some satisfaction I contemplated the next jet's landing on my "brown bag". Ah, well...... I vividly recall the lovely round, "We Greet You Home From Your Long Journeying," that welcomed us to our new community. In due time, I felt a need to "go". "Wo ist das Klo?", I asked. I was led to a tiny room, with a white, porcelain something standing in one corner, and another something hanging on the wall. A metal pipe connected the two somethings. A funny-looking handle on a chain hung from the upper something.
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On the wall, a roll of thin, measly paper was held in place by two porcelain arms. "Where was the newspaper?" I wondered. " Even a big banana leaf would do better service than the thin tissue." When I was done, I wondered what to do next. I pulled the handle on the chain and waited. The water began to pour into the bowl, higher... higher.... higher... "Meine Guete!" I muttered. "It's going to overflow!".....and then, to my relief, the water began to swirl in circles and slowly disappeared down the "hole". My first encounter with the "Loo" had been frightening and interesting! click here to return to Table of Contents Sam Arnold, 7/14: I wrote the following letter in July to Christoph Arnold just before the threats were made against the alt.support.bruderhof newsgroup: Dear Christoph, I and many others are becoming increasingly dismayed at developments coming from the Bruderhof against former members and children of the Bruderhof, as well as the hostile mood towards your former mother church, the Hutterites. The lawsuit against Ramon and Peregrine, and the threatened lawsuit against the Hutterites are both amazing and puzzling. First, why can you not work toward a mediated settlement such as was offered through the Mennonite Conciliation Services? We are all humans who have weaknesses, but I believe that we still can be drawn into an agreement by a third neutral party. Surely, MCS could negotiate a better settlement for all concerned than a legal verdict will, and without the public hoopla. The vast majority of people who need KIT as a support group do not want to go the litigation route that you apparently have chosen. Going to court will only make things worse for everybody. The only ones who win in court are the lawyers; even the winners lose! Secondly, I do not believe that Anabaptist tenets permit legal action, much less, the suing of former members. I am 100 percent sure that my father and our grandfather would never do what you have begun, and I doubt that your father would have approved either. Your action begs the question, are you still Anabaptists? If not, what are the Bruderhof's new beliefs? Does the Bruderhof still exist in the traditional sense? Does the Brotherhood know that they are plaintiffs in a lawsuit? I'll bet that the Brotherhood have been kept in the dark, or been given only limited information about many of the actions that have been taken on their behalf against KIT and others on the "outside" by Christian, Joe and yourself. I can appreciate your frustration with losing control of departed Bruderhof people through the formation of KIT. But I can assure you that KIT or another similar organization would have happened anyway; it was just a matter of time. KIT is legitimate, and was needed by many who could not continue living on the Bruderhof, or off the Bruderhof in solitude. It is time that you came to the understanding that you
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cannot control the lives of people living off the community, or that you would even want to. We are all human beings, and we all have needs, including love and contact with our immediate families and friends who are still living on the Bruderhof. Maybe you feel that you must now isolate and protect your community members again from the outside world, or from outsiders who are related to insiders, or from people who know too much about the Bruderhof. This brings into question the strength and foundation of your church. Can it no longer withstand the innocent contact from family members on the outside, even if they do read KIT? Can the Bruderhof not withstand scrutiny and criticism from outside? This makes me wonder how you will fare in court, and how the publicity surrounding this case will affect all of you. You can count on a spirited defense from us. You and I are first cousins, Christoph. We have a powerful common ancestry in our grandparents, Eberhard and Emmy. While I chose a different way of life than what they committed themselves to, so are you by going down the path of litigation. My decision to go in a different direction may have disappointed my parents, but has really hurt no one. Your choices, on the other hand, have a dramatic, and sometimes devastating affect on many people's lives both on and off the Bruderhof, because of your responsibility as leader. The main reasons why I chose not to live the Bruderhof life is that I saw no evidence then, or now, that man has to live a life where the choices are either black or white, true or false, right or wrong, good or bad. Nor do I believe that people need to be led by other fallible humans, or that the Bruderhof or anyone else has a patent on the right way to live. I do my best to live my life ethically and honestly, and in service to others, as well as to myself. I never intentionally try to hurt another human or other life forms. I practice tolerance and love and understanding. When I make a mistake I learn from it, and try not to repeat it. My own family is uppermost in my life. Together with Karen we have worked diligently to raise two children who are healthy and inwardly balanced. I believe we have succeeded in doing so. I do hope that you will give my words some thought, and that you will answer this letter in the same spirit of hope as it was written. I can assure you that the people who are KIT do not wish to destroy the Bruderhof. No good can come of that! But we insist that you do have responsibilities outside the Bruderhof, to maintain meaningful and necessary family contact for those who want it, and to help those who need help from you. This is your responsibility as a Christian and as the leader of a wealthy Christian sect to its departed followers. By working together we can accomplish far more, and build bridges instead of barriers. By going to court you will only be creating new, and more debilitating hardships and hostilities between our two groups, while solving nothing. I trust that is not what you want. I believe that the Mennonite Conciliation Services are still the best option open to us! Why not give these wellintentioned people a try before calling out the hungry lawyers? I am looking forward to your reply, Sincerely,
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[Note: Joe Keiderling responded to the above letter.] click here to return to Table of Contents Bette Bohlken-Zumpe, 8/27/97: We were glad to hear that you had such a good meeting at Friendly Crossways. What the Bruderhof is doing to all of us and especially to you, dear Ramon, Blair and Julius, is sad! We are so glad that you have good attorneys to help you, and all of us, and I do hope this matter will clear up many things that now stand between us and the Bruderhof. All of us who were raised at the Bruderhof were taught certain values and codes of love, trust and honesty which the Bruderhof seems to have lost. I often wonder how this could have happened. The only answer I can come up with is that the leaders of the Bruderhof have so changed the historical truth of the Bruderhof movement that they must believe that the are right. This bending of the truth started in the 1960s when a totally different view was taken of Heini's sickness in the 1940s and the crisis in 1944. Brothers and sisters were excluded and sent away for having taken part in something they did not even know about or understand. This was the struggle for the power of leadership which Heini wanted alone. Now, 37 years later, a whole generation has grown up who just do not know the real truth. They believe that the years in Paraguay were the dark years. I tend to look at them as the years of light when love still ruled amongst brothers and sisters, which we children felt and were part of. The poverty and sickness united us. Now the wealth and riches of the Bruderhof have blinded their hearts and minds, and they do things that we would not have dreamed of: 1. Demonizing a whole group of ex-Bruderhofians. 2. Lawsuits against former brothers. 3. Division between parents and children. 4. Telling lies and untruths about their own children to justify their actions. 5. Singing and marching against the death penalty while actually trying to murder our free minds. 6. Pronouncing KIT as the devil who wants to destroy their way of love and meanwhile never seeing that the love is no longer amongst them. The light is extinguished and gone. What keeps them together is fear. Where there is fear, there can never be faith! Let us be happy that we have found each other and that we are able to support each other, even though we live totally different lives on different continents. We were raised the same way and have a deep understanding for each other's need. Let us support Ramon, Blair and Julius, and let us Keep in Touch! With love, 8/28/97 Dear Hummerfriends: I had a phone call from Sam Arnold this morning, and that felt good! I sent you, Ramon, two faxes since we are back from Ameland and do hope you are okay and everyone is feeling better for having had a chance to chat, discuss, sing, dance or cry at the KIT conference. I wish I could have come, but the
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doctors told Hans to be careful with me as the viral meningitis would take at least six months to subside, and they actually forbade me to leave the country. We are having very hot summer weather, between 30 and 34 degrees. This is too hot for Holland, but the sea at Ameland beach is lovely and we went swimming twice daily. As you know, we had a lot of visitors at our Ameland beach house. Stephan and Karola Friedemann brought Jean Roering and her husband to us, and Hans took them home again two weeks later. We had a wonderful time. Jean is very positive and lives every day to the full. Her husband Erich, who was a sports teacher as well as History and Geography, had a stroke four years ago with left side paralysis and many complications. He was in a wheelchair until the beginning of this year, but through new physiotherapy and medication has gotten much better and now walks slowly on his own. Hans took him on a tandem to see the Ameland sights and they had much fun. Actually he became happier each day and started telling jokes, and enjoyed Jean's and my singing a lot. It was so hot that we sat outside until 11 P.M. and watched the moon and stars come out, and saw many satallites shoot across the sky. My brother Kilian also came with his wife Lorna. They enjoy cycling and swimming and walking until the late hours. Then my daughter Hanna also came to join us as well as Brenda (Hasenberg) who brought us up to date on the KIT conference. She had lovely photos for us to see, so we also felt a little part of the experience in the States. We were shocked and disgusted with the new lawsuit for Ramon, Blair and Julius!! Please know that we are right behind you and hope with you that the lawyers will find a way to settle this ugly matter. It is so hard to understand how these people, whom Hans has called 'religious Mafia' for years, can have changed their views and beliefs so much! Even when I was in Woodcrest in 1985 with my son Jurgen there was an announcement that car drivers should be very careful on the frozen highways so as not to cause an accident "because as you know, we do not want to be involved in a lawsuit!" That was our stand for years! How can they turn around 180 degrees and do just that -- start lawsuits against innocent people? Anyhow, we are with you all the way! 9/19/97: The KITletter was good again, and I want to thank the editors for managing to bring out this new September edition when so much is happening with the nasty lawsuit in mind. It is a good example of how to persevere in trouble! Thank you! Special thanks to Judy Tsukroff for sharing the last sickness and death of our friend and brother Arny with all of us. I found it very moving to read your letter. I remember Judy and Arny well, when they first came to Wheathill in I think 1954 and had their first baby Faith. I have many happy memories of that time! Their trouble -- the reason they were sent away was no other than that they came to Wheathill, 'the Hans Zumpe regime,' instead of Woodcrest where Heini reigned in full power. I know this sounds hard, but it is the truth! All the Americans that joined in Wheathill were not in "the true, loving Woodcrest spirit" and therefore had to be excluded to find the true spirit and then rejoin -- hopefully! I was in the Heini Arnold family when Arny and Judy were discussed, and it was said
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that they should first find the true spirit of love that ruled in Woodcrest before they could be admitted from Primavera to live "amongst us." I remember questioning this because I was close to both when they decided to join, but I was told that anyone who joined and was baptized while Wheathill was not led by the Holy Spirit and would not be fit to meet the Lord in Paradise. Therefore they would have the chance here on earth to find the true love! Difficult to argue with something you do not understand and, in any case, it was my turn to be excluded next! For Judy and Arny I feel that even if it was hard and difficult, they finally united as a family, and the way Arny was looked after at home with so much loving care from the whole family is something all of us would wish would happen for us when our time comes. Thank you, Judy, for being your brave self and for sharing with us all the heartbreak and also all the joy you had together. I think it was a blessing that you had a chance to find your feet and your true devotion to each other outside the Bruderhof. On another note, our son Hayo has passed with his dissertation on the Bruderhof's Fourth Generation, which turned the Bruderhof towards complete totalitarianism. I have only now seen all the many letters so many of you wrote to him to help him with his work,. Although I know that Hay has thanked you a few months ago, I do want to thank you too, as his mother and friend of yours. I will write personal letter to as many as I can soon, as around Christmas time I always send out cards anyhow! Thank you for your input and personal opinion about a difficult time in all our lives: the Bruderhof! Also, as mentioned earlier, Hans-Jorg Meier is very ill with cancer. He has had two serious operations and will return home to Lucrezia soon. Would people who know him please send him a note? We grew up together in Primavera and later he was in Wheathill for some three years before returning to Primavera. He is a good friend and a fighter for the truth, which often brought him into a lot of trouble. Ingmar is in close contact with both of them. Also Stephan and Carol will leave for Paraguay the beginning of October and will give us a full report then. Much love to each and every one, click here to return to Table of Contents Andy Harries, 8/4/97: We can all read a lot in KIT, different things, different opinions, etc. That is what keeps it alive. The opposite is true on the Bruderhof. There freedom is restricted and even throttled. They do not allow free speech nor free thought. Freedom is stifled. Life is mundane, regulated, controlled, from early morning till late at night. Even at night, if you have "sinful" dreams or fantasies of any kind, they must be punished. One of the most sinful thoughts would be of an erotic nature, such as looking at a girl's legs and thinking they look nice! That would be treated as sinful and must be punished. So there we find happiness by believing and living what we are told and how we told to do it. This gives us a certain happiness and satisfaction, but somehow it is a hollow satisfaction. It has no real foundation. The foundation it is built on is also hollow and is rotten at the core. That is partly why a lot of us who grew up there had deep feelings of insecurity, lack of self-belief, of self-
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worth, and a low self-image. That is why many of us who grew up on the Bruderhof felt worthless, insecure and often suicidal. When we were then expelled from the Bruderhof and dumped in this unknown world, is it any wonder that we found it very difficult to cope? Most of us were completely abandoned by the Bruderhof, which was after all our family. We had to cope not only with the very difficult task of surviving in this strange and hostile environment, but at the same time with the inner feelings of insecurity, self-doubt and low self-belief. We had to find a way of heal the damage done to us, on our own. Usually when we first have these feelings, we eventually find a way of sorting them out. If we have been badly hurt, it is often too painful to want to do anything. We deny there is any problem with our past, to others and to ourselves as well. I was out about 20 years before I really started working on my problems. Ramon Sender or one of the other KIT staff people, commented that less people are writing letters. Why are there fewer letters? There are many reasons. Some of us have gotten everything out of our system, or at least for the time being. Some have not yet started, don't feel free enough yet, or are afraid of the consequences or of criticism, etc. Many are afraid of reprisals from the Bruderhof. There often are threats, which often are carried out, that they will be cut off from contact with family or friends or relatives on the Bruderhof. Because of these threats, many people have practically no contact with other ex-members outside. Because of this, they do not have a clue what is really happening there now, how they are treating people outside and inside, or what has gone on in the past. The one thing the Bruderhof leadership is very good at is manipulating and controlling people. They are still trying to control people outside the Community, and often very successfully. For example, they tell people outside that if you have no contact with others we do not approve of, e.g. no contact with KIT people, then we will be nice to you and allow visits. This means of course that these people will not hear any other points of view but only what the Bruderhof people tell them. So they will also not know the true situation. That is why none of us really knew what was happening at the time of the great crises, or any crises, or when we were sent away, which was of course also a crisis. The Bruderhof leaders use all of these methods plus many more to keep people in the dark about what is really going on. In this way they control the people there and are of course also trying to use similar methods to control people outside, the same methods that are used by dictators and authoritarian governments. Censorship and control of information gives the leaders a lot of power. That is why the Bruderhof is so fearful of KIT, etc., because KIT people who know what is really going on can tell the truth and expose them for what they are. KIT is the No. 1 enemy. Why? Because ex-members are the only ones who can possibly know what is really happening there. It does not matter what they tell people or what they print in glossy books or magazines. What matters is what life is really like there. If you want to know what life is like in another country or on the Moon, you go to someone who has been or lived there.
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It was an interesting experience for me when our family visited Wheathill many years after the farm had been sold. I had been there for a short visit the year before. I just happened to meet the new owner, Mr. Boswell, who had bought the farm from us. I asked him if our family could camp in Bromdon Rough next summer. He was very friendly and said yes, of course, we could camp wherever we wanted as long as we let Jack Brazier know. Jack Brazier was one of two brothers who lived outside about one mile away. They were employed to come in every day to work as engineers and do general maintenance. They actually were more than just employees; they had quite a lot of responsibilities, especially for machinery such as the two large generators that we had for many years to supply all our electricity before we were joined to the main lines. Jack and Alf Brazier often would also join us for 'second breakfast,' as we called the snack time in the morning. They must have had many thoughts about our strange way of life. Next summer when we arrived we went to see Jack first. He lived in the West Wing and was responsible for the caravan park on the Plateau. Jack also was very friendly and chatted about old times. He asked me about the Bruderhof people, why we had just given up and all of us just left. Well, I just could not answer that; I could not give a reason. It seemed so senseless to other people, and so it was. It made me think, why had we given up? Why had we allowed everything to be destroyed? The people at Wheathill had spent twenty years building up the three farms that made up the Wheathill Bruderhof from a run-down mess into the most efficient farm in the neighborhood. All the building work, the fencing, the hedging, planting trees, rearing and breeding animals, digging our own swimming pool, etc. etc. We camped in the end of a field just outside Bromdon Rough and had a really good time. We went on a few interesting walks up Titterstone and some of the places I knew so well from my childhood there. The KIT newsletter is changing somewhat. I don't know really whether it's for the better of for worse, but in the end it depends on all of us and on what we contribute. If we don't contribute our thoughts, then no one will know them. I am not one of those who believe it would be helpful or constructive to try and force the Bruderhof to meet for a discussion. It is obvious that they do not want to. It is also obvious why. There would be accusations flying back and forth. KIT people or others would be making accusations. Bruderhof representatives would reject these and threw others back of their own. If both sides want to come together and come to some kind of agreement, it could work. But let's be honest: that really is not realistic. There have been hundreds of letters and complaints in KIT and written privately. Have any of these criticisms be accepted? No really, so why should it be any different facing each other? It is bound to be acrimonious and confrontational. KIT says to keep in touch, not to fight the Bruderhof. It's a bit like saying, "You can take a horse to water but you can't make it drink." The same principle applies. You cannot force people to change their minds. If both parties were to come together to really listen and try to understand others' point of view, then it could be productive. Otherwise I cannot see that it could.
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There is now more and more correspondence from the Internet. I do not know much about it as I am not involved with it, and a lot of it is gobbledygook to me, but I suppose it fills up the pages. In the July KIT a couple of people have asked to be told more about the Bruderhof and what it is all about. I won't try to answer that question here, but leave that to others. How can one really explain something like that? If anybody wants to understand the Bruderhof more, come and stay with our family one day. Then you will learn a little. Stay one week and you will learn more, one month and you will know more. If you stay with us for one year, you will know a lot more, but you still will not know everything. If you join the Bruderhof you can be there for years before you really understand what it's about, and then it's too late because you have been sucked in. Quiet a few ex-members have written books about their life experiences after growing up three. Some books also have been written by Community leaders. Note the word "Leaders," or actually "the Leader" or head man. Obviously "nobody" is "capable" of writing about their way of life, certainly not the ordinary "common" folk. How could they possibly understand anything about their own chosen way of life?! If you want to increase your intelligence, then leave the Bruderhof and become a free person. Then make friends with others, including people involved with KIT. Then you can think and write what you want and allow your intelligence and personality to develop! I feel, as do some others, that KIT is changing rather from its original purpose. As the name implies, KIT is for Keep In Touch and that is what most of us got involved for. It has done and is still doing a great job, making it possible for many survivors of the Bruderhof system to meet and get to know other similar people, to share with people who understand us, and by sharing with each other, we receive and vie a lot of help. I have had a tremendous amount of help through meeting people, talking and listening to other people's stories, both through the KIT newsletter and also by meeting at conferences or just short get-togethers. Lately it seems to be going more into a confrontational situation. It is getting more into challenging and attacking the Bruderhof, trying to bring them down or forcing them to change. I personally do not think that this will work. In fact, I believe it has the opposite effect, that the more they feel that they are being attacked, the more they will put their defenses up and become more isolated. This also can give the leadership more power, because the ordinary people, who of course do not know what is really going on, will unite behind their leaders and stand by them and commit themselves more strongly to their defense. I might have repeated myself sometimes or gotten in the same subject more than once in this letter, but I have just put things down as they came to my mind. Greetings, click here to return to Table of Contents Norah Allain, (6/26/95 cont.):Now I'm buried in a book by a certain scholar, Secharia Silchin, called The Twelfth Planet. Fascinating! The book was published in 1976 and says on the flap that he was born in Russia, lived many years in Palestine, studied in London and then became a consultant for NASA.
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While I was ill, I read a book from Dourado, my doctor friend, who got it sent from the U.S. But he himself doesn't know much English and has sort of permanently lent it to me. Then he tried to find time to come and see me and learn a bit more English. It's by an American doctor, Andrew Weil, titled Spontaneous Healing, and is extremely interesting. I even wanted to tell Bette that he talks about all sorts of alternative ways to deal with illness and mentions also some very useful plant remedies used by ancient Chinese doctors that are still used today. One of them is a plant called ginko that has a stimulating effect on the circulation and can help M.S. sufferers, amongst others. I got Paulo onto it, who has buzzing and increasing deafness in one ear. It takes some time to have an effect., however, so we shall see. But he is trying it and has also gotten the book. My son Ebo read a bit and was so impressed that he also is getting the book and even had the idea of translating it into Portuguese. Likewise Isabel says she is getting herself a copy. This doctor, by the way, has written a number of other books and is definitely going in the direction of believing that the mind is the decisive factor that activates the body's natural power to heal itself. However, as Seth says, illness or even deformity may be chosen by individuals in their lives for a specific purpose in order to develop some special gift or quality. Of course, consciously they will probably not realize this. Here I'm reminded of the fact that my daughter Clara must be doing herself in with the effort to finish translating a book by the famous Stephen Hawking. It had to be ready by the end of the month, and she tried to get help from Betty who is also a good translator, but the man who gave her the work noticed a difference in style between chapters and wouldn't have it. That's the trouble with trying to live from translation -- you are always under pressure. She moved a few months ago from Sao Paulo to Curitiba (circa 600 km south of me) having received permission from the newspaper to work for them from there. Her life there is much less stressful, but it still does not resolve all her problems. She misses me and other brothers an sisters too, but at least has her brother Chris and his splendid wife and children. My son Jean-Pierre (Penang, Malaysia) has recently become director of a local branch of Compania Aerea Argentina in Thailand, and spends about a week a month there with a small apartment in Bangkok. The motive was chiefly so that they would have a footing in Thailand if the Malaysian government, which never gives them official permission to stay, shoves them out. J-P writes that he is becoming a Buddhist, so evidently they feel very much at home in that part of the world. Isabel is going to visit them in July. Much Love, click here to return to Table of Contents A Child Shall Lead Them - Thoughts on Children and Education by Johann Christoph Arnold Plough Publishing House; Pub date: October, 1996; Endorsements: Jonathan Kozol, Fr. Richard John Niehaus, Mumia Abu-Jamal, Paul Brand, MD. Book Review and Opinion
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by Samuel Arnold In order to review this book I feel it must first be established what the intended purpose for writing this book is, and who the target group is. As well, I must give my reasons for reviewing this book and adding my opinions. I was sent an unsolicited and uncorrected proof of A Child Shall Lead Them by Joe Keiderling in response to a letter that I had written to my cousin Johann Christoph Arnold, the Elder of the Bruderhof, in which I asked him questions concerning the Bruderhof's responsibilities to leavers of the Bruderhof, especially teenagers who are not yet ready or equipped to support themselves. Most of the questions in my letter were not answered, but Joe suggested that some of my questions might be addressed by reading this book. They were not, and my reaction was one of frustration with the leaders of the Bruderhof, who consider themselves to be so far above us all that they do not see the need to even answer my questions thoroughly, but who yet 'wash their hands' of their responsibility as parents and caregivers of their own wayward dependents. I feel certain that if I had abandoned or done to my children what the Bruderhof has done to some of their own, I would have been forced by the law to meet my obligations as a parent. Since almost a year had passed and no further progress had been made in my quest, I felt that I might take a second, more objective look at the book. I decided that a review of the book was in order to determine if a) the Bruderhof actually practices what is espoused in the book, and b) what the underlying motives for publishing the book appear to be. My initial reaction while reading A Child Shall Lead Them was that this was another Bruderhof recruitment book, but I also noted that the paternalistic advice given by the author simply is not practical for the average reader to digest, and is therefore aimed at a very small group of parents who might possibly be considering a communal lifestyle for themselves. In the last chapter, The Need For Community, Arnold advises that the solutions for parents are to be found in a communal setting by saying that, "It takes a whole village to raise a child," and also by suggesting that everyone should be singing from the same song sheet, "In the long run a child will experience confusion unless he or she finds synchronous notes elsewhere in the community". However, it also became clear that while recruitment is important to Arnold, preaching to his own congregation is even more so. In telling strangers about the wonders of his communal life for children growing up, Arnold is also warning his own followers about the fate that will befall them should they leave the community. Bruderhof members generally do not read books that have not been sanctioned by their leaders, but they are expected to read all of the Bruderhof's own publications. Naturally, everything that they need to know is provided by their own controlled media, so I surmise that this book has now been added to all the family book shelves on the Bruderhof. Seen as a guide for parenting on the Bruderhof, this book is useful, for it underscores
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many of the traditional values and practices of Bruderhof life, and Arnold touches on just about every subject that the Bruderhof child and his parents might encounter, from teaching respect, spoiling the child and discipline, to religious education, character building, physical work, sports, the arts, and the role of the parents and grandparents. Arnold lays down some careful rules which may have been vague or ignored in the past, particularly guidelines concerning discipline. On page 54 he says, "With regard to corporal punishment, let me make it clear that as far as I am concerned, beating a child is nothing less than physical abuse." He goes on to say, "without warmth and kindness, without respect, and without an appeal to the heart of a child - sooner or later any form of discipline will lead to rebellion." Maybe this was one of the answers that I was hoping to find, but it comes too late for the victims that did not receive this new and gentle approach to discipline, some of whom had to flee their home in desperation and were then abandoned and written off by the Bruderhof and their parents. Arnold offers no solutions or help to the victims of abuse. Instead, he expects an offending child to see what he or she did wrong, and to apologize for their misdeed. Arnold appears to be more tolerant of sexual curiosity in children than was the case when I grew up. Our generation of youngsters was punished severely for such infractions as undressing in front of our friends, especially the opposite sex. He, on the other hand, urges parents "to answer your child's questions openly and without embarrassment, though without giving him more information than he asked for." He adds, " Do your utmost to ensure that your children will be better equipped than you were to understand and handle their sexuality. When a child reaches puberty, it is time to explain sexual intercourse and its role as a means for a husband and wife to express their love to each other and bring new life into the world. Each couple will find their way to talk about this". I do not recall such a talk from my parents. Arnold goes on in a somewhat chiding tone, "We must teach our children that sexual activity fulfills its divine purpose only in the context of a loving marriage, and we must approach sex itself in a way that connects the physical act to its spiritual significance, and the life of the body to the life of the soul." This is well said, but then he goes on to blame the root cause of what he calls the sexual revolution to be "our society's almost complete abandonment of the biblical understanding of human sexuality. Instead of being guided by a sense of reverence for the mystery of men and women as beings created in the image of God, public and private attitudes towards sex are driven by the view that sex is mere animal appetite to be gratified by whatever means necessary." This statement shows his disrespect for people outside the Bruderhof, and stereotypes society as living in sexual sin. In his approach to teaching science, Arnold tries in vain to avoid the pitfalls of defending the literal interpretation of the Bible. He even allows the explanations that science has to offer. But he quickly fails when he returns to fundamentalist positions, contending that humans "exist on a higher plane. A human being possesses a
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conscience that inherently knows right from wrong; he has a heart able to feel love and compassion, and a mind able to acquire and develop abstract knowledge. Because of this he is also responsible for his thoughts and actions and must humbly answer to God for every choice that he makes." I would argue that man is not on a higher plane considering the barbaric atrocities performed by man against his own, as well as other life forms, with little regard for life, let alone higher standards. In fact, I feel it is exactly the kind of attitude that Arnold holds that is responsible for the poor shape of God's planet. None of the other species have come anywhere close to the amount of damage and carnage that man has inflicted on planet Earth. Arnold appears to accept that science relies on facts, while Genesis relies on belief, but he insists that belief in Genesis must win out. He says, "At the root, the controversy lies in the eternal conflict between God and human pride." What he appears to be saying is that the Genesis of the Bible should be accepted as unassailable truth, while the findings of science, which succeeds only on substantiated proof, to be no more than "human pride," and therefore is unworthy or inferior. In the chapter entitled "Fatherhood", Arnold makes another sweeping condemnation, this time of today's fathers, saying, "Never before in our history have so many men abandoned the children that they fathered," making it sound as if the numbers have reached the levels of a catastrophe. While this certainly is a serious problem that still needs to be addressed by society, Arnold also goes on to criticize the "outside" father for being absent as a parent as well. He admits that his own father was absent for three years when he was young, which must have been during the time that Heini was ill and also in exclusion, and even admits that his father's absence "had certain negative effects on my early childhood". I think it is more than a coincidence that my father, Hans-Hermann, was also absent for almost three years when I was only three years old. Both my parents were sent to the United States on a mission to start a new Bruderhof there. My parent's long absence had a profound effect on me and my older siblings, and altered our family's chemistry forever. I have never been able to forgive my parents for this abandonment, and strongly disagree with the Bruderhof tenet that the oath to the church supersedes the oath to the spouse and family. Until the Bruderhof alters its position on this, I feel that they are not in a position to preach to anyone about fatherhood. And I find it odd that Arnold does not feel similarly, given his own experience. I might also add that I do not feel that my parents played a greater role in my life while on the Bruderhof than many parents do off the hof. Bruderhof children have more contact with other caregivers, such as in the baby house, toddler and school teachers, than they do with their own parents and siblings. The time that I saw my parents the most, and got to know them the best was during the time that our family was sent away from the Bruderhof. As for my own family, even though I have had to spend many evenings conducting rehearsals as was required of my job as a music teacher, and which curtailed the available time to be with my children, I am sure that I have spent far more quality time with my children than my father spent with me! And I am certain that other people who left the Bruderhof have had similar experiences.
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Using the rather primitive existence of the early Primavera days as a model, Arnold targets modern American society for the excesses of materialism. He begins this chapter by saying, "For food we often had to satisfy ourselves with the bare minimum: cornmeal mush with molasses for breakfast, for lunch, and again for dinner. Bread with lard and sprinkled with salt was a rare treat". Arnold goes on to say that his was still a happy childhood, "simply because my parents loved us children, and our happiness depended on that - not toys, treats or money." He criticizes today's parents for "allowing their work to drive them, even at the expense of their children... they do so in the hopes of providing a secure financial future for their children, and themselves". And he goes much further, "We cannot deny that, as a whole, our society is driven not by love but by the spirit of materialism, which the Bible calls Mammon. Mammon is more than money - it is greed, selfishness, and personal ambition; violence, hatred and ruthless competition. And it is diametrically opposed to the spirit of childlikeness and of God. In fact, Jesus warns that if we truly love one, we will despise the other: we cannot serve both." And here Arnold has created for himself quite a problem: under his rule the Bruderhof has amassed considerable wealth, estimated to be in the millions. While the members of the Bruderhof still live simply and modestly, with few of the "materialistic" trappings of modern day society, they certainly have come a long way since they were living in thatched-roof houses and ate cornmeal mush with molasses three times a day. Their income now easily exceeds their needs, and yet they very much appear to still be expanding their business ventures to increase their profits. According to an article on the Bruderhof in the Wall Street Journal on July 5, 1997, the Bruderhof's enterprises exceeded $20 million in 1995, and they made a profit of about $9 million. Living costs for the less than 3,000 members was $7 million, leaving them with a profit of $2 million. And what do they do with the profits? For one, the Bruderhof bought an 11passenger Gulfstream jet from the Kmart Corporation, and went into the private charter business of carting the rich and famous, as well as the Bruderhof elite, in luxury around the world. For another, they are suing former members in an attempt to financially destroy them for pointing out the faults of the Bruderhof's leaders, thereby breaking one of the main tenets of the Anabaptist faith. Has not the Bruderhof given in to Mammon through the acquisition of wealth and profit, and by incorporating its own name? (Bruderhof[TM]) At what point will Arnold say that the Bruderhof has reached the limits of wealth allowed by Jesus, or has he already revised his philosophy to include great wealth when done in a communal setting? While it is quite acceptable for the Bruderhof to enter into the competitive manufacturing market for their own survival, Arnold is walking on thin ice when he is so openly critical in his definition of materialism in others, while doing it himself, and then ignores the fact that the country's economy depends on commerce for its survival. What can be considered to be more materialistic that a Gulfstream jet? While Arnold talks about being "childlike" and "driven by love", his real love appears to be doing business and chasing Mammon. In the chapter on the media, Arnold makes a strong pitch for the removal of television and other media from the home, warning against the addiction and the acceptance of
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whatever television offers up to children. He says, "Children accept what they hear, and become what they are exposed to." Generally I feel this is true, but not all children react in the same way to what they watch on television, and the statistics are not yet in as to the effect that television has had on crime. Nor do we know if today's young people are less productive, less sensitive, or less successful than the youth were before television arrived. I would agree that television wastes much time, and keeps children from doing more creative and constructive things, that it desensitizes children (and also adults), and that it performs mind control. But there are also good programs for children to watch, including educational and nature programs. Society has been slow to see the need to control this medium, but I do hope that effective controls on television programming are not far off, and that the programming will become more positive and less violent. Arnold did not write about the news media, which he likes to court to gain free publicity about the Bruderhof as well as some of his pet projects. He has learned that children can easily be exploited for this purpose, while gaining more media interest as well. This spring he took eleven 7th and 8th graders to Cuba, in bold contravention of U.S. laws, to protest the Helms-Burton Treaty by taking humanitarian aid that they had made and raised to the island themselves. Arnold made the most of the free publicity by cosying up to Castro and presenting him with his latest book on Forgiveness. Then again in August the Bruderhof children and youth from various hofs were said to have organized a 30 mile march near Pittsburgh to again protest capital punishment. Arnold says that the children instigated these media projects themselves, but we all know that without the blessing and full support of the leadership they wouldn't even get started. I expect to see more instances where the Bruderhof children will be seen to be creating publicity for the Bruderhof. Breakdown of the family: it is a popular topic for many fundamentalists such as Arnold to lament the decline of society, as they see it. They thrive on condemning high divorce rates, child abuse, fatherlessness, homosexuality, parental neglect, and many other of society's ills on the lack of fundamental religious beliefs. They see nothing but doom and darkness for everyone but the people that follow them. Naturally all of these things do concern modern society, but they are the by-product of continuous, relentless, and frightfully rapid change. Change has been constant throughout history, but it has accelerated dramatically over the past two centuries, so that each new generation has been frowned upon as declining in moral fibre by the preceding generation. Advances in technology are often the cause of such changes. Not so long ago the radio was condemned as a tool of the devil, but you no longer hear that said about the radio. Now television is the devil's tool. However, Arnold appears to see nothing wrong with using this medium when it serves his own needs. Instead of looking at today's world and seeing only gloom and doom, it would be far better to look more optimistically for solutions to the problems that change has brought. It has been said that within every problem lies the seed of opportunity. All solutions are preceded by problems, and that is how we learn and progress. I believe that we need to work for the propagation and the protection of all life forms. Man is slowly coming to realize that he may not be the protagonist of life on earth, or
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anywhere else in the universe for that matter, but is an integral part in the chain of life. The opposition to such a view comes from fundamentalists like Arnold, who believe that the world is heading straight for disaster, and that only the believers of their specific and narrow doctrines are the ones who are in the right. Concerning the breakdown of the family Arnold says, "What we need is a spiritual revolution. Perhaps one small way is to begin is to listen to the voices of those around us whose lives have been torn by violence and pain, and to let their wounds touch us; to seek those around us who suffer its effects, and to reach out to them - not in pity, but in love." I would agree with him, but I must hasten to add that the love that is needed is of a genuine kind, and not the harsh Bruderhof love that I and many others are familiar with. I would take his words to encompass the much larger picture as well: I believe that what is needed today is a spiritual revolution that enables us to look at life and the future with optimism and care, that helps us celebrate the beauty and the bounty that our living and vibrant world offers, that teaches us to understand life's intelligence, that helps us to see life in perpetuity, if only for a moment in the starry night sky, that encourages us to see hope for the future and future generations of children, and that invites us to look at life just like a curious and awed young child. Arnold tries to bring credibility to his book by including 66 quotes from other publications. However, they do little to improve the author's simplistic view of child rearing, nor do they make up for his shortfall of qualifications to write a book on this topic. And I find it curious that Arnold, who is editor-in-chief of Plough Publishing House, does not give any credit or even thanks to his assistants, who must have done most of the work on this book. He couldn't have done it on his own! click here to return to Table of Contents Books/Articles Currently Available: Cast Out In The World by Miriam Arnold Holmes -- PUBLISHED this July! Through Streets Broad and Narrow by Belinda Manley Torches Extinguished by Bette Bohlken-Zumpe Free from Bondage by Nadine Moonje Pleil The Joyful Community, by Benjamin Zablocki Each $17 postpaid U.S./Canada, $20 Overseas KIT Annuals: 1989-1990 @ $17 $20 Overseas 1992 1993 1994 1995 each $25 / $30 All in larger type, spiral-bound with index "Expelled Members Speak Out" by J. A. Hostetler $1/$2 "Open Letter To The Hutterian Church," by Samuel Kleinsasser, with added articles, 120 pages $5 / $8 "Our Broken Relationship With The Society of Brothers," by S. Kleinsasser, 16 pps $1/$3 "My Years In Woodcrest 1988-1990," by John Stewart (reprinted from KIT April 1995) $3/$5 Click here for hard copy ordering information.
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click here to return to Table of Contents Click here to return to The KIT Newsletters Page.
27/10/2007

KIT October 1997, Vol IX #10 New 10-5-97

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KIT October 1997, Vol IX #10 New 10-5-97

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former Bruderhof members/residents KIT Newsletter October 1997 Volume IX #10

former Bruderhof members/residents KIT Newsletter October 1997 Volume IX #10

former Bruderhof members/residents KIT Newsletter October 1997 Volume IX #10

former Bruderhof members/residents KIT Newsletter October 1997 Volume IX #10

former Bruderhof members/residents KIT Newsletter October 1997 Volume IX #10

former Bruderhof members/residents KIT Newsletter October 1997 Volume IX #10

former Bruderhof members/residents KIT Newsletter October 1997 Volume IX #10

former Bruderhof members/residents KIT Newsletter October 1997 Volume IX #10

former Bruderhof members/residents KIT Newsletter October 1997 Volume IX #10

former Bruderhof members/residents KIT Newsletter October 1997 Volume IX #10

former Bruderhof members/residents KIT Newsletter October 1997 Volume IX #10

former Bruderhof members/residents KIT Newsletter October 1997 Volume IX #10

former Bruderhof members/residents KIT Newsletter October 1997 Volume IX #10

former Bruderhof members/residents KIT Newsletter October 1997 Volume IX #10

former Bruderhof members/residents KIT Newsletter October 1997 Volume IX #10

former Bruderhof members/residents KIT Newsletter October 1997 Volume IX #10

former Bruderhof members/residents KIT Newsletter October 1997 Volume IX #10

former Bruderhof members/residents KIT Newsletter October 1997 Volume IX #10

former Bruderhof members/residents KIT Newsletter October 1997 Volume IX #10

former Bruderhof members/residents KIT Newsletter October 1997 Volume IX #10

former Bruderhof members/residents KIT Newsletter October 1997 Volume IX #10

former Bruderhof members/residents KIT Newsletter October 1997 Volume IX #10

former Bruderhof members/residents KIT Newsletter October 1997 Volume IX #10

former Bruderhof members/residents KIT Newsletter October 1997 Volume IX #10

former Bruderhof members/residents KIT Newsletter October 1997 Volume IX #10

former Bruderhof members/residents KIT Newsletter October 1997 Volume IX #10

former Bruderhof members/residents KIT Newsletter October 1997 Volume IX #10

former Bruderhof members/residents KIT Newsletter October 1997 Volume IX #10

former Bruderhof members/residents KIT Newsletter October 1997 Volume IX #10

former Bruderhof members/residents KIT Newsletter October 1997 Volume IX #10

former Bruderhof members/residents KIT Newsletter October 1997 Volume IX #10

former Bruderhof members/residents KIT Newsletter October 1997 Volume IX #10

former Bruderhof members/residents KIT Newsletter October 1997 Volume IX #10

former Bruderhof members/residents KIT Newsletter October 1997 Volume IX #10

former Bruderhof members/residents KIT Newsletter October 1997 Volume IX #10

former Bruderhof members/residents KIT Newsletter October 1997 Volume IX #10

former Bruderhof members/residents KIT Newsletter October 1997 Volume IX #10

former Bruderhof members/residents KIT Newsletter October 1997 Volume IX #10

former Bruderhof members/residents KIT Newsletter October 1997 Volume IX #10

former Bruderhof members/residents KIT Newsletter October 1997 Volume IX #10

former Bruderhof members/residents KIT Newsletter October 1997 Volume IX #10

former Bruderhof members/residents KIT Newsletter October 1997 Volume IX #10

former Bruderhof members/residents KIT Newsletter October 1997 Volume IX #10

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