This bibliography aims to be reasonably comprehensive for the sake of aiding further research on Eberhard Arnold. Entries are included at the discretion of the editors, and their appearance here does not mean that Plough or the Bruderhof endorses their content. Some entries include content descriptions and details of alternative editions that will display when clicking on them or using your browser's “find” function.
Contents
1. Published Primary Sources
• Literature
Written by Arnold
• Period Literature
○ Book
Reviews
• Memoirs
2. Scholarly Literature
• Books
and Theses
○ In-Depth
○ Brief Discussion and Comments
• Chapters, Articles, and Conference Papers
○ In-Depth
○ Brief Discussion and Comments
• Book Reviews
• Encyclopedia
Articles
3. Journals, Databases, and Resource Collections
4. Forewords, Introductions, and Afterwords
5. Popular-Level Literature and Multimedia
Published Primary Sources
Literature Written by Arnold
The main purpose of this section is to clarify the relationship between published texts and their archival counterparts. Eventually, most of the sources behind the publications listed here will be included in our digital archive of Eberhard Arnold’s talks and writings. For inquiries regarding archival resources not directly associated with Arnold, researchers should contact the Bruderhof Historical Archive (BHA) at contact@bruderhof.com.
Arnold, Eberhard. A Testimony to Church Community: The Life and Writings of Eberhard Arnold. Walden, NY: Plough, 2016. [Free download].
A collection of excerpts from Arnold’s talks and writings on the theme of church community, all of which will be made available eventually in our digital archive. Also includes a short biography by Emmy Arnold, and memories of others who knew him.
Earlier print edition: 2011. Originally an issue of: The Plough: Towards the Coming Order (new series) 1:3 (Autumn 1953). German: Der Pflug: Zeitschrift der Bruderhöfe [The Plough: Magazine of the Bruderhofs] (new series) 1:3 (1953). First book edition published as: Eberhard Arnold: A Testimony of Church-Community from His Life and Writings. Rifton, NY: Plough, 1964. Second edition: 1973, with hyphen omitted from subtitle. [archive.org].
Excerpts from Arnold’s talks and writings on the theme of children and education.Arnold, Eberhard. Children's Education in Community: The Basis of Bruderhof Education. Edited and translated by Winifred Hildel and Miriam Mathis. Walden, NY: Plough, 2017.
Arnold, Eberhard. Else von Hollander: January 1932. Rifton, NY: Plough, 1973.
A collection of material by and for Else von Hollander, a founding member of the community and Emmy Arnold’s sister. She died in 1932. Material by Eberhard Arnold including in the book can be read in our digital archive: “Days Just Before and After the Death of Else von Hollander: January 8, 1932 at 6:30 in the Morning and January 13, 1932” (1–18); “Words by Eberhard Arnold: January 14, 1932” (19–31); “Eberhard Arnold’s Account of Else von Hollander’s Development and Family Background: January 17, 1932” (33–50); “From a Letter to the Hutterians: June 1932” (51–73); “Four Deaths in the Community 1920–1924: Spoken by Eberhard Arnold at the End of 1934” (75–85). Cf. the same entry below under period literature.Arnold, Eberhard. Foundation and Orders of Sannerz and the Rhön Bruderhof. Section I, Introductory History: The Basis for Our Orders, 1920–1929. Rifton, NY: Plough: 1976. [archive.org].
A collection of primary sources illustrating the beliefs and foundations of the Bruderhof, originally written in 1929, in Arnold’s lifetime. A Section II was also printed in English with a slightly different title. It was not distributed: Arnold, Eberhard. Foundation and Orders of the Rhön Bruderhof. Section II, The Orders: Different Circles of Responsibility and the Services, 1929. Ulster Park, NY: Plough, 1991. The original, unpublished German can be read in our digital archive. It contains both of the sections that were printed in English.
Arnold, Eberhard. God and Anti-God. Translated by Bruce Sumner and Kathleen E. Hasenberg. Ashton Keynes, UK: Plough, 1939.
A translation of Arnold's 1925 article, “Gott Mammon” (God Mammon), available to read in our digital archive.
Arnold, Eberhard. God’s Revolution: Justice, Community, and the Coming Kingdom. Walden, NY: Plough, 2021. [Free download].
Excerpts of Arnold’s most uncompromising words relating to discipleship and the kingdom of God.
Originally: God’s Revolution: The Witness of Eberhard Arnold. Edited by the Hutterian Society of Brothers and John Howard Yoder. Ramsey, NJ: Paulist, 1984. [archive.org]. Concurrently published in German as: Die Revolution Gottes: Aus dem Lebenszeugnis der hutterischen Gemeinschaften [The Revolution of God: From the Life Witness of the Hutterite Communities]. Stuttgart: Radius-Verlag, 1984. New German edition: Die Revolution Gottes: Fundamente einer neuen Gesellschaft [The Revolution of God: Foundations for a New Society]. Rifton, NY: Plough, 2012. [Free download].
Eberhard Arnold’s core theological text and life work, completed and published by others in the community in 1936, the year following his death. Eventually, all editions will be made available online. At present, only the untranslated, 1918 edition is in our digital archive. The German National Library has also digitized the 1936 edition (cf. citation below).Arnold, Eberhard. Inner Land: A Guide into the Heart of the Gospel. 5 vols. Walden, New York: Plough, 2019–2021. [Free download].
Arnold, Eberhard. Leben im Licht: Über Gemeinschaft, Gerechtigkeit und Liebe [Life in the Light: On Community, Justice, and Love]. Walden, NY: Plough, 2015. [Free download].
Published in Germany only, Leben im Licht collates a number of Arnold’s talks and writings, with brief introductions to each. The originals can be read in our digital archive: 1. Die Revolution Gottes; 2. Gegen Blut und Gewalt; 3. Fort von Kompromiss und Schatten; 4. Die bessere Gerechtigkeit; 5. Vom Kind und vom kindlichen Geist; 6. Verantwortung, Trieb und Liebe; 7. Warum wir in Gemeinschaft leben; 8. Vom Eigentum zur Gemeinschaft; 9. Gott Mammon und der lebendige Gott; 10. Der Einzelne und die Weltnot; 11. Der Jesus der vier Evangelien.
Arnold, Eberhard. Living Churches: The Essence of Their Life; Love to Christ and Love to the Brothers. Rifton, NY: Plough, 1973.
Volume 2 printed for internal Bruderhof use as: Living Churches: The Essence of Their Life. Volume 2, The Meaning and Power of Prayer Life. Rifton, NY: Plough, 1975. The original can be read in our digital archive. Cf. The Prayer God Answers below, by Arnold and Foster.
Arnold, Eberhard. Love and Marriage in the Spirit. Rifton, NY: Plough, 1965. [archive.org].
Arnold, Eberhard. Salt and Light: Living the Sermon on the Mount. Walden, NY: Plough, 2014. [Free download].
A collection of talks and writings by Eberhard Arnold relating to themes in the Sermon on the Mount, covering the period between 1915 and 1935. The original documentary sources of each chapter are available to read in our digital archive (links provided according to title of each chapter in the fourth edition): 1. Not a New Law; 2. Becoming True Men and Women; 3. Salt and Light; 4. Happiness; 5. The Nature of the New Justice; 6. “But I Say to You…”; 7. Away from Compromise and Shadow; 8. Against Bloodshed and Violence; 9. The Better Righteousness; 10. God or Mammon; 11. The Fight against Mammon; 12. Mammon and the Living God; 13. The Decision; 14. Resistance by Surrender (a compilation of excerpts from Inner Land); 15. The Spirit of Life Overcomes; 16. Present Experience, Future Kingdom; 17. The Joyful News of the Kingdom. Two final chapters, published in the first three editions but omitted from the fourth, also have sources that can be viewed in our digital archive: God and the Future of Men; The Jesus of the Four Gospels.
The ebook cited above is based on the fourth print edition: Walden, NY: Plough, 1998. [archive.org]. First edition: Salt and Light: Talks and Writings on the Sermon on the Mount. Rifton, NY: Plough, 1967. [archive.org]. Second edition: 1977. Third edition: 1986. [archive.org]. The first three editions are the same in content but differ in front matter. The fourth edition provides a more contemporary text and alternative pagination. Printed in German as: Salz und Licht: Über die Bergpredigt. Moers, Germany: Brendow, 1982. [archive.org]. Some excerpts from the 1967 edition are reprinted in: Haas, J. Craig, ed. Readings from Mennonite Writings: New and Old. Intercourse, PA: Good Books, 1992.
Arnold, Eberhard. Sendbrief from the Alm Bruderhof to the Rhön Bruderhof. Rifton, NY: Plough, 1974.
Based on the shorthand transcription of a talk given by Arnold on November 10, 1935, which can be viewed in our digital archive. The published text is supplemented with notes added by the original translation team. See the introduction in all published versions. The notes are also included in the two-part series on our website: part 1 and part 2.Arnold, Eberhard. The Early Anabaptists. Rifton, NY: Plough, 1984. [archive.org].
This book was first published as Die ersten Christen nach dem Tode der Apostel [The First Christians after the Death of the Apostles]. Quellen [Sources]. Volume 1. Sannerz and Leipzig: Eberhard Arnold Verlag, 1926. The version that can be viewed in our digital archive also contains mark-ups by Arnold that were used as the basis for the English translations.Arnold, Eberhard, ed. The Early Christians: In Their Own Words. Walden, NY: Plough, 2015. [Free download].
Arnold, Eberhard. The Hutterian Brothers: Four Centuries of Common Life and Work. Ashton Keynes, UK: Plough, 1940.
A translation of Arnold’s essay series: “Der Einzige und die Weltnot.”Arnold, Eberhard. The Individual and World Need. Walden, NY: Plough, 2016. [Free download].
Arnold, Eberhard. The Peace of God. Ashton Keynes, UK: Plough, 1940.
Arnold, Eberhard. “The Spirit of the Risen Lord.” Mennonite Life 24:3 (July 1969): 142–143. [Free download].
Arnold, Eberhard. Why We Live in Community. Walden, NY: Plough, 2016. [Free download].
The book consists in an English translation of Arnold’s essay of the same name, which can be viewed in our digital archive: first published in 1925, and then again in 1927. The book includes two talks by Thomas Merton.
First edition: Rifton, NY: Plough, 1967–1972 (multiple reprints). Second edition: 1976. Third edition: Farmington, PA: 1995. [archive.org]. Published in German as: Warum wir in Gemeinschaft leben. Rifton, NY: Plough, 1974. Second German edition: 1992.
Arnold, Eberhard and Emmy. Seeking for the Kingdom of God: Origins of the Bruderhof Communities. Edited by Heini and Annemarie Arnold. Rifton, NY: Plough, 1974. [archive.org].
Arnold, Eberhard and Emmy. Love Letters. Rifton, NY: Plough, 2011. [Free download].
Arnold, Eberhard, Emmy Arnold, and Else von Hollander. Poems and Rhymed Prayers. Rifton, NY: Plough, 2011. [Free download].
A collection of Arnold’s poems, with historical notes provided throughout. The original poems and prayers have not yet been uploaded to our digital archive.
The first print version was longer and included poems by Emmy Arnold and Else von Hollander as well: Plough, 2003. [archive.org].Arnold, Eberhard and Richard J. Foster. The Prayer God Answers. Translated by Eileen Robertshaw et al. Walden, NY: Plough, 2016. [Free download].
An essay by Arnold on prayer, followed by a response from Richard Foster. The essay, “Die Übermacht des Gebetslebens” [The Superior Power of Prayer Life] can be viewed in our digital archive. It was first published in 1913 and revised again in 1929.
Concurrently published in a print edition. An earlier printing was made for inhouse Bruderhof use: Living Churches: The Essence of Their Life. Volume 2, The Meaning and Power of Prayer Life. Rifton, NY: Plough, 1975.
A collection of Eberhard Arnold’s texts selected by his grandson, Johann Christoph Arnold, giving a broad picture of Eberhard’s theology and spirituality.Arnold, Johann Christoph, ed. Eberhard Arnold: Writings Selected. Modern Spiritual Masters. Rifton, NY: Plough, 2011.
Hutterian Brethren, ed. Brothers Unite: An Account of the Uniting of Eberhard Arnold and the Rhön Bruderhof with the Hutterian Church; Based on the Diary of His Journey to North America 1930–31 and Letters Written between 1928 and 1935. Rifton, NY: Plough, 1988. [archive.org].
Linse, Ulrich, ed. “Anarcho-religiöse Siedlung: Sannerz” [Anarcho-Religious Settlement: Sannerz]; “Evangelische Siedlung: Habertshof” [Protestant Settlement: Habertshof]. In Zurück, o Mensch, zur Mutter Erde: Landkommunen in Deutschland 1890–1933 [Back, O Man, to Mother Earth: Rural Communes in Germany, 1890–1933]. Edited by idem. 221–40; 241–67. Munich: Deutscher Taschenbuch-Verlag, 1983.
Pfeiffer, Arnold, ed. “Eberhard Arnold und der Weg des Bruderhof-Lebens” [Eberhard Arnold and the Bruderhof Way of Life]. In Religiöse Sozialisten [Religious Socialists]. Edited by Arnold Pfeiffer. 201–76. Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany: Walter, 1976.
Period Literature
Arnold died in November 1935. This section includes literature published during his lifetime and immediately afterward, the latter which includes obituaries and material concering the dissolution of the Rhön Bruderhof in 1937. See also the journals and databases section below.
Althaus, Paul. Religiöser Sozialismus: Grundfragen der christlichen Sozialethik [Religious Socialism: Basic Questions in Christian Social Ethics]. Gütersloh: Bertelsmann, 1921. [archive.org].
Arnold, Eberhard. Else von Hollander: January 1932. Rifton, NY: Plough, 1973.
Bender, Harold S. “The New Hutterite Bruderhof in Germany.” Christian Monitor (Mennonite Publishing House, PA) 1 (1931): 18. [Free download (alternative pagination)].
Blum, Emil. Der Habertshof: Werden und Gestalt einer Heimvolkshochschule [The Habertshof: The Development and Shape of a Heimvolkshochschule]. Kassel, Germany: Neuwerk, 1930.
Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. London, 1933–1935. Edited by Hans Goedeking et al. Translated by Isabel Best and Douglas W. Scott. Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works. Volume 13. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress, 2007.
Contains correspondence between Bruderhof members, including Arnold, concerning the meeting between Arnold’s son Hardy and Dietrich Bonhoeffer. The letters are 92a, 114a, 114b, 115a, 115b, and 121a (pp. 133–34, 158–66, and 174).
The letters were not published in the original German edition: London: 1933–1935. Edited by Hans Goedeking et al. Dietrich Bonhoeffer Werke. Volume 13. Munich: Kaiser, 1994. They were first published in German as: “Bruderhof-Korrespondenz 1934.” In Victoria Barnett et al, ed. Dietrich Bonhoeffer Jahrbuch 2:2005/2006. 75–87. Gütersloh: Gütersloher Verlaghaus, 2005. The BHA holds five of the six original letters. The earliest letter, from Hardy to Bonhoeffer, only has one page and is missing the rest. It is held in the Nachlass Dietrich Bonhoeffer collection in the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin (Berlin State Library).Dugard, Donald R. “A Christian Community To-day.” Reconciliation: Looking Towards a Christian World 12:6 (1934): 160–161.
Foerster, Friedrich Wilhelm. Jugendseele, Jugendbewegung, Jugendziel [Youth Soul, Youth Movement, Youth Goal]. Zurich: Rotapfel, 1923. [archive.org].
Hausrath, August. Jugendbewegung und Schule [The Youth Movement and Its Schools (?)]. Karlsruhe: G. Braunsch, 1923.
Hermann, Rudolf. Die Bergpredigt und die Religiös-Sozialen: Vorträge [The Sermon on the Mount and the Religious Socialists: Lectures]. Leipzig: A. Deichert, 1922.
Hershberger, Guy F. “To Keep Alive Our Scriptural Peace Testimony: A Call to Peace from the Cotswold Bruderhof.” The Youth’s Christian Companion (Scottdale, PA) 19:52 (December 1938): 414-c–414-d.
Horsch, John. “Nonresistance under Difficulty.” Gospel Herald (Scottdale, PA) 28 (October 24, 1935): 650. [archive.org].
Kindt, Werner, ed. Die deutsche Jugendbewegung 1920 bis 1933: Die bündische Zeit [The German Youth Movement 1920 to 1933: The Bündische Period]. Düsseldorf: Diederich, 1974.
Klein, Thomas, ed. Die Lageberichte der Geheimen Staatspolizei über die Provinz Hessen-Nassau, 1933–1936 [The Situation Reports of the Gestapo on the Province of Hesse-Nassau, 1933–1936]. Vol. 1. A und B. Cologne: Böhlau, 1986.
Linse, Ulrich, ed. “Anarcho-religiöse Siedlung: Sannerz” [Anarcho-Religious Settlement: Sannerz]; “Evangelische Siedlung: Habertshof” [Protestant Settlement: Habertshof]. In Zurück, o Mensch, zur Mutter Erde: Landkommunen in Deutschland 1890–1933 [Back, O Man, to Mother Earth: Rural Communes in Germany, 1890–1933]. Edited by idem. 221–40; 241–67. Munich: Deutscher Taschenbuch-Verlag, 1983.
Plough. Letters from Kathleen Hamilton (Now Hasenberg) to Her Mother, 1934–1938. Rifton, NY: Plough, 1992. [Free download].
Ragaz, Christine et al, ed. Leonhard Ragaz in seinen Briefen [Leonhard Ragaz in His Letters]. 3 vols. Zurich: EVZ, 1966; TVZ, 1982–1992.
“Sozialpädagogische Arbeitsgemeinschaft Bruderhof e. V. in Veitsteinbach, Landkreis Fulda” [The Social-Pedagogical Work Community of the Bruderhof Registered Society in Veitsteinbach, Fulda District]. In Die Lageberichte der Geheimen Staatspolizei über die Provinz Hessen-Nassau: 1933–1936 [The Situation Reports of the Gestapo on the Province of Hesse-Nassau: 1933–1936]. 2 vols. Edited by Thomas Klein. 1:89–90. Cologne: Böhlau, 1986.
A brief Gestapo report on the Bruderhof from April 1934. It reads: “There has been a powerful life in the ‘Bruderhof’ in recent months. The community’s own school, which was closed at the time, is now located in Silum in the Principality of Liechtenstein. At the end of March, 7 brothers and sisters emigrated there; on the other hand, a number of new members have moved in, some of them from abroad. In two cases, Swiss nationals were found to be carrying communist literature at customs checks. The residence permits of these foreigners were denied. The ‘Bruderhof’ is under continuous surveillance. Police coercive measures of any kind are not necessary at present.”
In German: “In ‘Bruderhof’ herrscht in den letzten Monaten ein starkes Leben. Der eigene Schulbetrieb der Gemeinde, der s. Zt. geschlossen wurde, befindet sich jetzt in Silum im Fürstentum Liechtenstein. Ende März sind 7 Brüder und Schwestern der Bruderhofgemeinde nach dort ausgewandert, andererseits sind eine Anzahl neuer Mitglieder, z. T. auch aus dem Auslande, zugezogen. In zwei Fällen wurden bei schweizerischen Staatsangehörigen bei der Zollkontrolle kommunistische Schriften angehalten. Die Aufenthaltserlaubnis ist diesen Ausländern versagt worden. Der ‘Bruderhof’ wird fortlaufend überwacht. Polizeiliche Zwangsmaßnahmen irgendwelcher Art sind zur Zeit nicht erforderlich.”
The Bruderhof is also mentioned on p. 367 (n. 23) of the same volume, where Klein summarizes (or quotes?) a report from December 20, 1935, attending to the state of the Bruderhof not long after Arnold’s death. For some other official reports on the Bruderhof under Nazism, see Zehrer, Evangelische Freikirchen, below.
A collection of letters and writings by Annemarie Wächter, who later joined the Bruderhof in the early 1930s. They trace her involvement in the Youth Movement, her friendship with Eberhard Arnold’s daughter, Emi-Margret, and her life in community. Commentary provides historical context throughout.Wächter, Annemarie. Anni: Letters and Writings of Annemarie Wächter. Edited by Marianne Wright. Rifton, NY: Plough, 2011. [Free download].
Zehrer, Karl. Evangelische Freikirchen und das “Dritte Reich” [Protestant Free Churches and the “Third Reich”]. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1986.
Zumpe, Hans, Emmy Arnold, Georg Barth et al. Eberhard Arnold: Sein Leben für die Bruderhöfe; seine Sendung für das kommende Reich Gottes und die Anrichtung völliger Gemeinschaft unter den Menschen [Eberhard Arnold: His Life for the Bruderhofs; His Commission for the Coming Kingdom of God, and the Establishment of Complete Community among Human Beings]. Silum, Liechtenstein: Buchverlag des Almbruderhof, 1936.
Book Reviews
Falter, G. Review of Urchristliches und Antichristliches im Werdegang Friedrich Nietzsches [Early Christian and Anti-Christian Elements in the Career of Friedrich Nietzsche], by Eberhard Arnold. Archiv für systematische Philosophie [Archive for Systematic Philosophy] 17:4 (1911): 496–97. [Google Books].
Freyer-Leipzig, J. Review of Urchristliches und Antichristliches im Werdegang Friedrich Nietzsches [Early Christian and Anti-Christian Elements in the Career of Friedrich Nietzsche], by Eberhard Arnold. Zeitschrift für Religionspsychologie [Journal for the Psychology of Religion] 5:12 (March 1912): 415. [Google Books].
Grützmacher, Richard H. Review of Urchristliches und Antichristliches im Werdegang Friedrich Nietzsches [Early Christian and Anti-Christian Elements in the Career of Friedrich Nietzsche], by Eberhard Arnold. Theologisches Literaturblatt [Theological Literature Journal] 31:18 (1910): 424–25.
Herzog. Review of Der Krieg: Ein Aufruf zur Innerlichkeit [The War: A Call to Inwardness], by Eberhard Arnold. Theologisches Literaturblatt [Theological Literature Journal] 36:18 (1915): 427–28.
Herzog. Review of Die Religiosität der heutigen Jugend [The Religious Nature of Today’s Youth], by Eberhard Arnold. Theologisches Literaturblatt [Theological Literature Journal] 40:21 (1919): 346–47.
Niebergall, Friedrich. Review of Innenland: Ein Wegweiser in die Seele der Bibel [Inner Land: A Guide into the Soul of the Bible], by Eberhard Arnold. Theologische Literaturzeitung [Theological Literature Journal] 44:23 (1919): 279. [Index Theologicus].
Richter, Raoul. Review of Urchristliches und Antichristliches im Werdegang Friedrich Nietzsches [Early Christian and Anti-Christian Elements in the Career of Friedrich Nietzsche], by Eberhard Arnold. Deutsche Literaturzeitung [German Literature Journal] 32:36 (September 1911): 2258–59. [Google Books].
Schuster, Hermann. Review of Die Religiosität der heutigen Jugend [The Religious Nature of Today’s Youth], by Eberhard Arnold. Theologische Literaturzeitung [Theological Literature Journal] 45:25 (1920): 308. [Index Theologicus].
Schwartzkopff, Paul. Review of Urchristliches und Antichristliches im Werdegang Friedrich Nietzsches [Early Christian and Anti-Christian Elements in the Career of Friedrich Nietzsche], by Eberhard Arnold. Theologische Literaturzeitung [Theological Literature Journal] 36:22 (1911): 691–95. [Index Theologicus].
Memoirs
Arnold, E. C. H. (Hardy). “The Fate of a Christian Experiment.” The Spectator (London), June 11, 1937, 11–12.
Arnold, Hardy. “Begegnung mit Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Ein Bericht (1979)” [Meeting with Dietrich Bonhoeffer: A Report (1979)]. In Victoria Barnett et al, ed. Dietrich Bonhoeffer Jahrbuch 2:2005/2006. 105–9. Gütersloh: Gütersloher Verlaghaus, 2005.
Arnold, Emmy. “50 Jahre Bruderhofgemeinschaft Sannerz: Die Anfangsjahre der Bruderhofgemeinschaften in Deutschland” [50 Years of the Bruderhof Community at Sannerz: The Starting Years of the Bruderhof Communities in Germany]. Fuldaer Zeitung, May 1970.
Arnold, Emmy. A Joyful Pilgrimage: My Life in Community. Walden, NY: Plough, 2015. [Free download].
Arnold’s wife, Emmy, recounts her early life the period of the Bruderhof in Germany. The text is based on extensive notes, handwritten in German, some of which go back to the 1930s. Some editorial additions and alterations were made based on later research. The result is one of the most important sources on the life of Eberhard and Emmy Arnold.
Originally: Torches Together: The Beginning and Early Years of the Bruderhof Communities. Rifton, NY: Plough, 1964. [archive.org]. Second edition: 1971. [archive.org]. Third edition: A Joyful Pilgrimage: My Life in Community. Farmington, PA: Plough, 1999. [archive.org]. German edition: Gegen den Strom: Das Werden der Brüderhöfe [Against the Current: The Development of the Bruderhofs]. Moers, Germany: Brendow, 1983. Reprint: 1992. German ebook: Gegen den Strom: Ein Leben in der Herausforderung der Bergpredigt [Against the Current: A Life under the Challenge of the Sermon on the Mount]. Rifton, NY: Plough, 2012. [Free download]. An excerpt from Torches Together appears as: Arnold, Emmy. “The Early Years of the Bruderhof.” In Communes: Creating and Managing the Collective Life. Edited by Rosabeth Moss Kanter. 65–75. New York: Harper and Row, 1973.Arnold, Emmy. “Eberhard Arnold’s Life and Work.” In Eberhard Arnold, A Testimony to Church Community: The Life and Writings of Eberhard Arnold. 1–15. Walden, NY: Plough, 2016. [Free download].
A short biography of Arnold, written by his wife.
Original in: Eberhard Arnold: A Testimony of Church Community from His Life and Writings. 1–28. Rifton, NY: Plough, 1973. [archive.org].
Berber, Friedrich. Zwischen Macht und Gewissen: Lebenserinnerungen [Between Power and Conscience: Memoirs]. Munich: Beck, 1986.
Blum, Emil. Als wäre es gestern gewesen [As Though It Were Yesterday]. Zurich: Flamberg, 1973.
Brandenburg, Hans, ed. Ich hatte Durst nach Gott: Aus dem Leben und Dienen von Christa von Viebahn [I Was Thirsty for God: From the Life and Service of Christa von Viebahn]. Aidlingen: Diakonissenmutterhaus Aidlingen[, 1979?]. [Read third printing online].
Dehn, Günther. Die alte Zeit, die vorigen Jahre: Lebenserinnerungen [The Old Times, the Former Years: Memoirs]. Munich: Kaiser, 1962.
Dehn’s autobiography. A pastor, theologian, and religious socialist, Dehn and Arnold had overlapping interests and operated in similar circles. Arnold appears in the chapters “Bund religiöser Sozialisten” [Association of Religious Socialists] (204–29) and “Neuwerk” (230–46).
Reprint: 1964.
Eggers, Ulrich. Community for Life. Scottdale, PA: Herald, 1998. [archive.org].
Harder, Johannes. Aufbruch ohne Ende: Geschichten meines Lebens [Awakening without End: Stories from My Life]. Edited by Hermann Horn. Wuppertal, Germany: Brockhaus, 1992.
Harder, Johannes. “Eberhard Arnold.” Christ und Sozialist [Christian and Socialist], no. 4 (1975): 15–16.
Hönig, Ludwig and Margrit Hönig, ed. Otto Bruder: Aus seinem Leben und Wirken [Otto Bruder: From His Life and Works]. Stuttgart: Evangelisches Verlagswerk 1975. [archive.org].
Hüssy-Dalgas, Gertrud. “Ein Tag auf dem Bruderhof” [A Day at the Bruderhof]. Bergwinkel-Bote 31 (1980): 114–20.
“In Pursuit of Jesus: An Oral History of the Bruderhof.” Sojourners (May 1984): 16–20.
Kindt, Werner, ed. Die deutsche Jugendbewegung 1920 bis 1933: Die bündische Zeit [The German Youth Movement 1920 to 1933: The Bündische Period]. Düsseldorf: Diederich, 1974.
Körber, Normann. “Kampf um die Schlüchterner Jugend” [The Fight for the Youth of Schlüchtern]. In Hermann Schafft: Ein Lebenswerk [Hermann Schafft: A Life’s Work]. Edited by Werner Kindt. 60–69. Kassel, Germany: Stauda, 1960.
“Letters from Friends.” In Eberhard Arnold. A Testimony to Church Community: The Life and Writings of Eberhard Arnold. 39–53. Walden, NY: Plough, 2016. [Free download].
Brief recollections from people who knew Arnold during his lifetime, collected for the publication of this book.
Earlier print edition: 2011. Originally in: Eberhard Arnold: A Testimony of Church-Community from His Life and Writings. 73–100. Rifton, NY: Plough, 1964. Second edition: 1973, with hyphen omitted from subtitle. [archive.org].Mason, Arnold and Gladys Mason. How We Came to the Bruderhof: And Our Memories of Eberhard Arnold. Rifton, NY: Plough, 1977.
Meier, Hans. “Die Bergpredigt leben: Der herausfordernde Weg der Bruderhöfe” [Living the Sermon on the Mount: The Challenging Way of the Bruderhofs; “Die Bergpredigt leben II: Fortsetzung und Schluß” [Living the Sermon on the Mount II: Continuation and Conclusion]. Swanbergbrief (Communität Casteller Ring), no. 3 (1982): 9–11; no. 4 (1982): 6–8.
Meier, Hans. “Erinnerungen eines Bruderhöfers” [Memories of a Member of the Bruderhof]. Christ und Sozialist [Christian and Socialist], no. 1 (1983): 31–38; no. 2:32–37; 3:24–29; 4:34–40.
Meier, Hans. Hans Meier Tells His Story to a Friend. Ulster Park, NY: Plough, 1988. [Free download (alternative pagination)].
Meier, Hans. Solange das Licht brennt: Lebensbericht eines Mitglieds der neuhutterischen Bruderhof-Gemeinschaft [So Long as the Light Burns: The Story of a Member of the Neo-Hutterite Bruderhof Community]. Norfolk, CT: Hutterian Brethren, Deer Spring; Birnbach, Germany: Bruderhof-Gemeinschaft Michaelshof, 1990.
Meier, Hans. “The Dissolution of the Rhön Bruderhof in Germany.” Mennonite Historical Bulletin 49:7 (1980): 1–6. [archive.org].
Melzer, Friso. “Some Reminisces in Memory of Dr. Eberhard Arnold.” Arunodayam (Christavashram, Kerala, India) 31:1–2 (January–February 1975): 8–9.
Merz, Georg. Wege und Wandlungen: Erinnerungen aus der Zeit von 1892–1922 [Paths and Transformations: Memories from the Period of 1892–1922]. Edited by Johannes Merz. Munich: Kaiser, 1961.
Mow, Merrill. Torches Rekindled: The Bruderhof’s Struggle for Renewal. Ulster Park, NY: Plough, 1989.
Pitter, Přemysl. “Erinnerungen an Eberhard Arnold” [Memories of Eberhard Arnold]. Christ und Sozialist [Christian and Socialist], no. 4 (1975): 16–17.
Ragaz, Leonhard. Mein Weg. 2 vols. Zurich: Diana, 1952.
Rathmann, August. Ein Arbeiterleben: Erinnerungen an Weimar und danach [The Life of a Worker: Memories of Weimar and Afterward]. Wuppertal, Germany: Peter Hammer, 1983.
Schoeps, Hans Joachim. Rückblicke: Die letzten 30 Jahre (1925–1955) und danach [Retrospects: The Last 30 years (1925–1955) and After]. Berlin: Haude und Spener, 1963.
Schoeps met Arnold when he was sixteen and recalls the significant impact that he had on his life. When Arnold spoke about his religion, it was not an abstraction but a reality. See pp. 43–48.
First edition: Die letzten dreißig Jahre: Rückblicke [The Last Thirty Years: Retrospects]. Stuttgart: Klett, 1956.Tripp, Wilhelm. “‘Neuwerk’ – was war und was blieb: Rückblick auf eine Bewegung, die im Bergwinkel ihre Heimat hatte” [Neuwerk – What Was and What Remained: Remembering a Movement That Had Its Home in Bergwinkel]. Kinzigtal Nachrichten, November 5, 1971.
Völger, Hildegard. “Vom Aufbruch des ‘Neuwerk’ 1920” [The Beginning of “Neuwerk” in 1920]. Gemeindebrief der Evangelischen Kirchengemeinde Schlüchtern (June 1970): 1–2.
Wingard, Nils. “Ung svensk ingenjör 1931...” [A Young Swedish Engineer in 1931… (Swedish)]. Nytt Liv (New Life), no. 12 (December 1984): 17.
Scholarly Literature
The sources in the following selection vary in regard to scholarly rigor and intended audience. The line between scholarly and popular-level works is not always clear-cut.
Books and Theses
In-Depth
Barnett, Michael Cole. “The Bruderhof (Society of Brothers) and the Hutterites in Historical Context.” Ph.D. thesis, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, TX, 1995. Digitized with alternative pagination at: [Free download (alternative pagination)].
Emmy Barth Maendel, is a historian, archivist, and current member of the Bruderhof. Her book provides a detailed account of the group’s history under Nazism, often proceeding month by month through the events of the time. Maendel’s intimate familiarity with archival material informs her selection of key primary source documents, and lengthy excerpts are reproduced in the work to allow readers to engage with the texts themselves. A summary of this period in Bruderhof history, based on Maendel’s book, is provided on this website. German translation: Botschaftsbelagerung: Die Geschichte einer christlichen Gemeinschaft im Nationalsozialismus; eine kommentierte Dokumentation. Translated by Jutta Manke. Bad Klosterlausnitz, Germany: Holzlandgemeinschaft, 2018.Barth, Emmy. An Embassy Besieged: The Story of a Christian Community in Nazi Germany. Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2010. [Free download].
Baum, Markus. Against the Wind: Eberhard Arnold and the Bruderhof. Translated by Eileen Robertshaw. Farmington, PA: Plough, 2002. [Free download].
Baum’s monograph constitutes the most detailed biography of Arnold to date, drawing on multiple primary and secondary sources. His work provides a detailed overview of Arnold’s life and though, and is recommended as a starting point for all researchers working on anything related to Arnold. The (much shorter) biography we provide on this site is based on Baum’s work.
Print edition: Farmington, PA: Plough, 1998. [archive.org]. Original German: Stein des Anstosses: Eberhard Arnold 1883–1935 [Stumbling Block]. Moers, Germany: Brendow, 1996. German reprint: Eberhard Arnold: Ein Leben im Geist des Bergpredigt [Eberhard Arnold: A Life in the Spirit of the Sermon on the Mount]. Schwarzenfeld, Germany: Neufeld, 2013.
Previously, the pagination in the electronic edition differed from the print edition. That ebook is no longer available from Plough, but it may still be circulating.
Baumann, Imanuel. Loyalitätsfragen: Glaubensgemeinschaften der täuferischen Tradition in den staatlichen Neugründungsphasen des 20. Jahrhunderts [Questions of Loyalty: Faith Communities in the Anabaptist Tradition during the State Reestablishment Phases of the 20th Century]. Göttingen: V&R Unipress, 2021.
Blum, Emil. Die Neuwerk-Bewegung: 1922–1933 [The Neuwerk Movement: 1922–1933]. Kassel, Germany: Johannes-Stauda, 1973.
Domer, Richard E., Winifred Hildel, and John Hinde. May They All Be One: The Life of Heini Arnold. Farmington, PA: Plough, 1992.
Gbiorczyk, Peter. Propst Wilhelm Wibbeling (1891 bis 1966): Jugendbewegter, reformierter Theologe im “Zeitalter der Extreme” [Provost Wilhelm Wibbeling (1891 to 1966): Theologian of the Youth Movement and Reformed Theology in the “Age of Extremes”]. Aachen, Germany: Shaker, 2016.
Heuzeroth, Günter, ed. . . . viel solches bleibt mir ungetan: Hedwig; Das stürmische Leben einer Westerwälderin Hedwig Schäfer-Eichbauer; Die “Freusburg-Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Lebenserneuerung” 1924 bis 1934 [. . . Many Such Things Remain Undone for Me: Hedwig; The Stormy Life of a Westerwald Woman, Hedwig Schäfer-Eichbauer; The “Freusburg Working Group for Life Renewal” from 1924 to 1934]. Oldenburg: Druck & Verlagscooperative GmbH, 1998.
Kreß, Barbara. “Der Bruderhof in Deutschland: Von 1920 bis 1937.” 1987.
A ~150 pp. research paper on the years of the Bruderhof in Germany. Besides the date, no information is provided on the degree the paper was written for. Kreß draws on a range on published primary sources, as well as items published by Arnold when he was alive, and secondary sources in German. The paper was found in the Archiv der deutschen Jugendbewegung (Archive of the German Youth Movement). A copy is held in the BHA.
Kupisch, Karl. Studenten entdecken die Bibel: Die Geschichte der Deutschen Christlichen Studenten-Vereinigung (DCSV) [Students discover the Bible: The History of the German Christian Student Movement]. Hamburg: Furche, 1964.
Peter Mommsen is a member of the Bruderhof and editor of Plough Quarterly. In this book, he writes about his grandfather, the son of Eberhard Arnold. The material is based on archival documents and conversations with older Bruderhof members. It contains extensive details on Eberhard Arnold not found elsewhere.Mommsen, Peter. Homage to a Broken Man: The Life of J. Heinrich Arnold. Rifton, NY: Plough, 2014. [Free download].
Nauerth, Thomas. Zeugnis, Liebe und Widerstand: Der Rhönbruderhof 1933–1937 [Witness, Love, and Resistance: The Rhön Bruderfhof 1933–1937]. Paderborn, Germany: Schöningh, 2018.
Thomas Nauerth has written widely on the Bruderhof under Nazism. This book constitutes his main study and provides a very detailed account of Bruderhof life during this period, drawing on primary sources from the BHA and archival material from other sites. In addition to historical analysis, Nauerth addresses ethical and theological problems that arise – at least from a Christian perspective. These use of using deception in relationship to Nazi authorities, whether discipleship can only be properly carried out in community, and what it means to love your enemies in a time like this, among other topics.
The book has been translated into English and is currently pending publication.Oved, Yaacov. The Witness of the Brothers: A History of the Bruderhof. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction, 1996. [archive.org].
A history of the Bruderhof from its beginnings to the 1990s, when the book was written. The first three chapters concern the Bruderhof during Arnold’s lifetime. Oved draws on archival material, memoirs, and interviews with Bruderhof members who were alive at the time.
Reprints: 2013; London: Routledge, 2017.
Plessow, Ulrike. “Das Fortleben der hutterischen Utopie im ‘Bruderhof’ der Arnoldleut: Untersucht anhand von historischen und aktuellen Textdokumenten” [The Ongoing Life of Hutterite Utopia in the ‘Bruderhof’ of the Arnoldleut: Examined through Historical and Contemporary Textual Documents]. Master’s thesis, University of Hamburg, 1994.
Pruisken, Andreas. “Spirit versus Structure.” Yale Divinity School, 1984.
Randall, Ian M. A Christian Peace Experiment: The Bruderhof Community in Britain, 1933–1942. Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2018.
Randall, Ian M. “Church Community is a Gift of the Holy Spirit”: The Spirituality of the Bruderhof Community. Oxford, UK: Regent’s Park College, 2014. [Free download].
Schempp, Hermann. Gemeinschaftssiedlungen auf religiöser und weltanschaulicher Grundlage [Communitarian Settlements with Religious and Philosophical Foundations]. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1969.
Selke, Britta. “Eberhard Arnold und seine Bruderhöfe” [Eberhard Arnold and His Bruderhofs]. Dissertation, University of Göttingen, 1986.
Stieglitz, Thomas von. Kirche als Bruderschaft: Das hutterische Kirchenbild bei Eberhard Arnold aus heutiger katholischer Sicht [Church as Brotherhood: The Hutterite View of the Church According to Eberhard Arnold, a Contemporary Catholic Perspective]. Published Ph.D. thesis, Paderborn University, Germany, 1991.
Thomson, Walton. Pioneer in Community: Henri Lasserre’s Contribution to the Fully Cooperative Society. Toronto: Ryerson, 1949. [archive.org].
Tyldesley, Mike. No Heavenly Delusion? A Comparative Study of Three Communal Movements. Liverpool, UK: Liverpool University Press, 2003.
Vollmer, Antje. Die Neuwerkbewegung: Zwischen Jugendbewegung und religiösem Sozialismus [The Neuwerk Movement: Between the Youth Movement and Religious Socialism]. Freiburg, Germany: Herder, 2016.
This book details the history of the Neuwerk movement, which the Arnolds were a part of when they founded the first Bruderhof at Sannerz. This period is addressed on pp. 77–134, centring on life at Sannerz, the publishing house, the international peace movement, the Youth Movement, and the 1922 split at Sannerz.
A lightly annotated, unpublished English translation is held by the BHA. Originally (pagination differs): Die Neuwerkbewegung 1919–1935: Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der Jugendbewegung, des Religiösen Sozialismus und der Arbeiterbildung [The Neuwerk Movement 1919–1935: A Contribution to the History of the Youth Movement, Religious Socialism, and Worker Education]. Published Ph.D. thesis, Free University of Berlin, 1973.
A detailed study of Arnold and the Neuwerk movement, attending to background in romanticism and the Youth Movement, Arnold’s own biography and intellectual development, the establishment of the Neuwerk movement, and the latter’s theological commitments. The final chapter discusses three questions: whether the movement developed a satisfactory understanding of God in light of war and related social changes; whether the movement’s theological framework can break free from its roots in Romanticism; to what extent Arnold and other Neuwerk members not being formally involved in politics represents a theological deficiency.Wehowsky, Stephan. Religiöse Interpretation politischer Erfahrung: Eberhard Arnold und die Neuwerkbewegung als Exponenten des religiösen Sozialismus zur Zeit der Weimarer Republik [Religious Interpretation of Political Experience: Eberhard Arnold and the Neuwerk Movement as Exponents of Religious Socialism in the Weimar Republic Period]. Göttingen, Germany: Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht, 1980. [archive.org].
Wissenbach, Michael. “Der Habertshof: Versuch ‘alternativen Lebens’ in der Weimarer Republik; Voraussetzungen und Probleme seiner Entwicklung” [The Habertshof: An Attempt at ‘Alternative Life’ in the Weimar Republic; Requirements for and Problems of Its Development]. Hausarbeit paper, [Frankfurt?] 1981.
Brief Discussion and Comments
Alt, Franz. Liebe ist möglich: Die Bergpredigt im Atomzeitalter [Love is Possible: The Sermon on the Mount in the Atomic Age]. Munich: Piper, 1985.
“It’s above preserving life. Being conservative means wanting to preserve. But if only conservatives were actually conservative! The conservative Christian pacifist, Eberhard Arnold, also worked together with socialists and communists on his Rhön Bruderhof in the thirties. Characteristic of this friend of the Sermon on the Mount, he changed the last line of the socialist battle song, ‘Holy, the last battle,’ into a Christian pacifist one: ‘Holy, the power of love.’ Christians who know what they want and what they live for do not fear human contact. Being conservative does not mean guarding the ashes but rather the flame” (p. 195). Alt refers to a song in Sonnenlieder (Sun Songs), a book compiled by Emmy Arnold and Trudi Hüssy (née Dalgas), originally for use at Sannerz. The text is yet to be uploaded to our digital archive.
German: “Es geht um die Bewahrung des Lebens. Bewahren wollen heißt konservativ sein. Ach, wären die Konservativen doch konservativ! Der christlich-konservative Pazifist Eberhard Arnold hat in den dreißiger Jahren auf seinem Rhönbruderhof auch mit Sozialisten und Kommunisten zusammengearbeitet. Für diesen Freund der Bergpredigt ist bezeichnend, daß er die letzte Zeile des sozialistischen Kampfliedes ‘Heilig die letzte Schlacht’ in das christlich-pazifistische ‘Heilig der Liebe Macht’ umgewandelt hat. Christen, die wissen, was sie wollen und wofür sie leben, haben keine Berührungsängste. Konservativ sein heißt nicht, die Asche hüten, sondern die Flamme.”Benson, Lewis. Catholic Quakerism: A Vision for All Men. Philadelphia, PA: Books and Publications Committee of the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, 1968.
Brandenburg, Hans-Christian, and Rudolf Daur. Die Brücke zu Köngen: Fünfzig Jahre Bund der Köngener; 1919–1969 [The Bridge to Köngen: Fifty Years of the Köngen Association; 1919–1969]. Stuttgart: Steinkopf, 1969.
Brown, Dale W. Biblical Pacifism: A Peace Church Perspective. Elgin, IL: Brethren Press, 1986. [archive.org].
A seemingly unfinished thought, Brown writes, “The Church of the Brethren is often defined theologically as a synthesis of Anabaptism with the Pietist reformation. Yet, what more beautiful expression of the same can be found in the kingdom theology of Eberhard Arnold, founder of the twentieth century Hutterian Society of Brothers” (p. 1).
There is no mention of Arnold or the Bruderhof elsewhere in the book, nor in the second edition at all (2003).
Conkin, Paul K. Two Paths to Utopia: The Hutterites and the Llano Colony. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 1964.
Cort, John C. Christian Socialism: An Informal History. Second edition. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 2020.
Cort quotes a conversation he had with Hans Meier on Arnold’s response to Barth’s address at the Tambach conference:
“As Eberhard Arnold said to the religious socialists at Tambach in 1919, responding to the discouragements of Barth, ‘Karl Barth is right. Human action goes nowhere. But if God tells us to do something, is that just human action?’” (p. 356).
Eller comments on the significance of Arnold for Christian anarchism: “Barth's relationship to Religious Socialism came to a head when, in 1919, at Tambach, Germany, he addressed a conference of about a hundred religious-socialist leaders from Germany and Switzerland. The formal response to Barth's paper was made by one Eberhard Arnold, who observed that the lecture was ‘a rather complicated kind of machine that runs backwards and forwards and shoots in all directions with no lack of both visible and hidden joints’ (Busch, p. 110). [This quote is from Barth himself and wrongly attributed to Arnold due to a misreading of Busch.]Eller, Vernard. Christian Anarchy: Jesus' Primacy over the Powers. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1987. [Read online (unpaginated)].
French, David and Elena. Working Communally: Patterns and Possibilities. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 1975.
Friedmann, Robert. Die Schriften der huterischen Täufergemeinschaften: Gesamtkatalog ihrer Manusckriptbücher, ihrer Schreiber und ihrer Literatur 1529–1667 [The Writings of the Hutterian Anabaptist Communities: A Complete Catalog of Their Manuscript Books, Their Writers, and Their Literature, 1529-1667]. Vienna: Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1965.
Friedmann, Robert. Mennonite Piety through the Centuries: Its Genius and Its Literature. Scottdale, PA: Mennonite Publishing House, 1949. [archive.org].
Gibbard, Noel. On the Wings of the Dove: The International Effects of the 1904–05 Revival. Bridgend, Wales: Bryntirion, 2002.
Goertz includes a paragraph on the relationship between German Mennonites and the Bruderhof, criticizing the former for their lack of solidarity: “Here the parable of the Good Samaritan was overridden” (Hier wurde das Gleichnis vom Barmherzigen Samariter außer Kraft gesetzt).Goertz, Hans-Jürgen. “Nationale Erhebung und religiöser Niedergang: Mißglückte Aneignung des täuferischen Leitbildes im Dritten Reich” [National Uprising and Religious Downfall: The Failed Adoption of the Anabaptist Model in the Third Reich]. In Umstrittenes Täufertum: 1525–1975; Neue Forschungen [Anabaptism Contested: 1525–1975; New Research]. Edited by Hans-Jürgen Goertz. 259–89. Göttingen, Germany: Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht, 1975. [archive.org].
Haas, Joachim. Abseits der “grossen” Geschichte: Opposition und Widerstand gegen den Nationalsozialismus im Raum Fulda; Versuch einer Spurensicherung [Far from “Great” History: Opposition and Resistance to National Socialism in the Fulda Area; A Forensic Attempt]. Frankfurt: Jugend und Politik, 1989.
Harrison, Wes. Andreas Ehrenpreis and Hutterian Faith and Practice. Kitchener, Ontario: Pandora, 1997.
Heinz-Mohr, Gerd. Christsein in Kommunitäten [Being Christian in Communities]. Stuttgart: Steinkopf, 1968.
Henkys, Jürgen. Bibelarbeit: Der Umgang mit der Heiligen Schrift in den evangelischen Jugendverbänden nach dem Ersten Weltkrieg [Bible Study: The Handling of Holy Scripture in Protestant Youth Associations after the First World War]. Hamburg: Furche, 1966.
Hermand, Jost. Grüne Utopien in Deutschland: Zur Geschichte des ökologischen Bewußtseins [Green Utopias in Germany: The History of Ecological Consciousness]. Frankfurt: Fischer, 1991.
Hostetler, John A. Hutterite Society. Second edition. Baltimore, MD: John Hopkins University Press, 1997. [archive.org].
The history of Arnold, the Bruderhof, and the Hutterites is briefly treated on pp. 279–83 (events during Arnold’s lifetime on pp. 279–80 only).
First edition: 1974. [archive.org].Hostetler, John A., and Gertrude Enders Huntington. The Hutterites in North America. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1967. [archive.org].
The Bruderhof’s connection to the Hutterites is briefly addressed on pp. 107–8. There are some inaccuracies in the account of the 1955 split between the Hutterites and the Bruderhof.
New editions have appeared through 1980, 1996, and 2002.Jud, Ursina. “Liechtenstein und die Flüchtlinge zur Zeit des Nationalsozialismus: Innen- und aussenpolitische Dimensionen der Flüchtlingspolitik eines Kleinstaates” [Liechtenstein and refugees during the National Socialist era: Domestic and foreign policy dimensions of a microstate’s refugee policy]. Doctoral thesis. University of Zurich, 2007. [Free download].
Kieber, Georg. Silum: Für die Alpgenossenschaft Silum zur Einsegnung des St. Wendelin Bildstöckles am 22. September 1991 [Silum: For the Alpgenossenschaft Silum (Silum Alpine Cooperative), on the Occasion of the Blessing of the St. Wendelin Wayside Shrine on September 22, 1991]. Vaduz, Liechtenstein: Alpgenossenschaft Silum, 1991.
Kim, Hyun Jin. “Protestant Communities as Mission Communities: A Systematic and Historical Study.” Ph.D. thesis. North-West University, South Africa, 2011.
Kleinsasser, Ian. Blessings and Burdens: 100 Years of Hutterites in Manitoba. MacGregor, Manitoba: Hutterian Brethren Book Centre, 2019.
Arnold, the Bruderhof, and their connection to the German Youth Movement are very briefly treated on pp. 119–20.Laquer, Walter Z. Young Germany: A History of the German Youth Movement. New York: Basic, 1962. [archive.org (text only)].
Lichdi, Diether Götz. Mennoniten im Dritten Reich: Dokumentation und Deutung [Mennonites in the Third Reich: Documentation and Interpretation]. Weierhof, Germany: Mennonitischer Geschichtsverein, 1977. [archive.org].
Scattered references to the Bruderhof (“Hutterites” or “Society of Brothers”) under Nazism throughout. Lichti’s work focusses on Mennonites, Seventh Day Adventists, and Jehovah’s Witnesses. Minor references to the Bruderhof often serve to contrast with the course taken by German Mennonites under Nazism. See pp. 2, 30 (n. 85), 37, 43, 44, 59 (n. 30), 88, 99 (n. 5), 108 (n. 104), 121, 125–26, 135, 142 (nn. 65–68), 150 (n. 146 – references to Arnold and the Bruderhof in Monatshefte der deutschen Freunde), 232 (n. 221).Lichti, James Irvin. Houses on the Sand? Pacifist Denominations in Nazi Germany. New York: Peter Lang, 2008.
Lichti, James Irvin. “Religious Identity vs. "Aryan" Identity: German Mennonites and Hutterites under the Third Reich.” Master’s thesis, San Francisco State University, 1989.
Linse, Ulrich. Barfüßige Propheten: Erlöser der zwanziger Jahre [Barefoot Prophets: Redeemers of the Twenties]. Berlin: Siedler, 1983.
A chapter on Max Schulze-Sölde includes a quote from the painter and Christian socialist that recalls his Pentecost-like experience at Sannerz in 1921: “But I stood leaning against a tree trunk as if delirious, no longer able to cope with the currents that hurtled through me. And while the others relieved their tensions in song, I stepped into the center of the circle, breathing deeply, and everyone became silent. And the words flamed out of me, and I did not know what I was saying and only felt that it was not I who was speaking” (136, quoting Schulze-Sölde’s autobiography).
German: “Ich aber stand wie im Delirium an einen Stamm gelehnt und konnte die Ströme, die mich durchrasten, nicht mehr bewältigen. Und während die anderen ihre Spannungen im Gesang wieder auflösten, trat ich tiefatmend in die Mitte des Kreises und alle wurden still. Und die Worte flammten aus mir heraus, und ich wußte nicht, was ich sprach und fühlte nur, daß nicht ich es was, der da sprach.”
Lüthi recalls speaking to an unnamed member of the Bruderhof on a number of occasions throughout the Nazi period. He uses the movement’s experience of not relenting despite persecution as example of how Christ answers the prayer, “Lead us not into temptation.” See pp. 59–60.Lüthi, Walter. The Lord’s Prayer: An Exposition. Translated by Kurt Schoenenberger. Richmond, VA: John Knox, 1961.
Mow, Anna B. So Who’s Afraid of Birthdays. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott, 1969.
Oved, Yaacov. Distant Brothers: History of the Relations Between the Bruderhof and the Kibbutz. Translated by Hanna Lash and Yehuda Riemer. Ramat Ef’al, Israel: Yad Tabenkin, 1993. [Free download].
Oved, Yaacov. Two Hundred Years of American Communes. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction, 1988. [archive.org].
Peters, Victor. All Things in Common: The Hutterian Way of Life. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 1965.
Ramsauer, Peter. Zieh aus deines Vaters Hause: Die Lebenswanderung des Pädagogen Johannes Ramsauer im Bannkreis Pestalozzis [Go Out from Your Father's House: The Educator Johannes Ramsauer and His Life’s Journey under the Spell of Pestalozzi]. Oldenburg, Germany: Isensee, 2005.
Rigby, Andrew. Alternative Realities: A Study of Communes and Their Members. London: Routledge, 1974.
Saxby, Trevor J. Pilgrims of a Common Life: Christian Community of Goods through the Centuries. Scottdale, PA: Herald, 1987.
Schmidt, Almut. “Theorie und Praxis der Bruderhofpädogogik: Die Pädagogik einer Lebensgemeinschaft” [The Theory and Practice of Bruderhof Pedagogy: The Pedagogy of a Community]. Master’s thesis, Heidelberg, Pädogogischen Hochschule, 1993. [Free download].
Sutton, Roger P. Communal Utopias and the American Experience: Religious Communities, 1732–2000 (Westport, CT: Praeger, 2003).
Whitworth, John McKelvie. God’s Blueprints: A Sociological Study of Three Utopian Sects. London: Routledge, 1975. [archive.org].
Whitworth’s study provides a (somewhat unsympathetic) exploration of three groups: the Shakers (founded 1747), the Oneida Community, and the Bruderhof. The chapter on the Bruderhof (pp. 167–209) weaves together historical material from Emmy Arnold’s Torches Together (later: A Joyful Pilgrimage), Eberhard Arnold’s texts published in English, and some of the few secondary sources on the Bruderhof available at the time of writing.
Reprint: Abingdon, UK: Routledge, 2019.
Wirth, Günter. Die deutsche evangelische Kirche und die Novemberrevolution: Eine kritische Untersuchung [The German Protestant Church and the November Revolution: A Critical Analysis]. Edited by the Sekretariat des Hauptvorstandes der Christlich-Demokratischen Union Deutschlands. Hefte aus Burgscheidungen 255. Berlin: Union-Verlag, 1988.
Zablocki, Benjamin. The Joyful Community: An Account of the Bruderhof—A Communal Movement Now in Its Third Generation. Baltimore, MD: Penguin, 1971.
This book provides an overview of Bruderhof life from a sociological perspective. The account of the Bruderhof during Arnold’s lifetime (pp. 63–81) is largely based on Emmy Arnold’s Torches Together (later: A Joyful Pilgrimage).
Reprint: Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1980. Cf.: “Christians Because It Works: A Study of Bruderhof Communitarianism.” Ph.D. thesis, John Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 1967.
Zehrer, Karl. Evangelische Freikirchen und das “Dritte Reich” [Protestant Free Churches and the “Third Reich”]. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1986.
Chapters, Articles, and Conference Papers
In-Depth
Adam, Dejan. “‘The Practical, Visible Witness of Discipleship’: The Life and Convictions of Hans Meier (1902–1992).” In Counter-Cultural Communities: Baptistic Life in Twentieth-Century Europe. Edited by Keith G. Jones and Ian M. Randall. 285–342. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2008.
Baur, Ulrike. “Auf, laßt uns Zion bauen: Bruderhöfe in Deutschland 1920–1937” [Arise, Let Us Build Zion: Bruderhofs in Germany, 1920–1937]. Christ und Sozialist [Christian and Socialist], no. 3 (1984): 7–13.
Baur, Ulrike. “Bruderhöfe in Deutschland: Teil II” [Bruderhofs in Germany: Part II]. Christ und Sozialist [Christian and Socialist], no. 1 (1985): 33–36.
Baur, Ulrike and Herbert Sorgius. “Bruderhöfe in Deutschland: Teil III” [Bruderhofs in Germany: Part III]. Christ und Sozialist [Christian and Socialist], no. 3 (1985): 27–29.
Beck, Heribert. “Ünschi Gschicht: Silum; Weiler mit langer und bewegter Geschichte” [Our history: Silum; Hamlet with a long and eventful history]. Dorfspiegel, August [?] 2024, 52–55. [Free download].
Benzer, Steven. “Ontological Obedience: Examining Bonhoeffer’s Hermeneutics of Nonviolence in Light of the Bruderhof Community.” Paper presented to the “Bonhoeffer: Theology and Social Analysis” group, AAR, Atlanta, GA, November 22–25, 2003.
Blum, Emil. “Die Neuwerkbewegung in Deutschland 1920–1933” [The Neuwerk Movement in Germany, 1920–1933]. Reformatio, no. 5 (1970): 339–52.
Button, Scott. “A Life That Answers War: The Story of Conscientious Objection and the Bruderhof.” Plough Quarterly, no. 27 (Spring 2021). [Read online]
Denée, Marguerite. “Les Bruderhöfe de 1920 à 1937: Naissance et exode d’une communauté chrétienne allemande” [The Bruderhofs from 1920 to 1937: The Birth and Exodus of a German Christian Community (French)]. Courrier communautaire international [Community Courier International] 2:2 (February 1967): 3–10.
Durnbaugh, Donald F. “The Suppression of the Rhönbruderhof by National Socialist Authorities on 14 April 1937.” Paper presented at “Remembering for the Future II” conference, Berlin, March 13–17, 1994.
The most detailed treatment of the relationship between Bonhoeffer and Arnold so far, who shared many overlapping theological concerns and indirectly met each other through Arnold’s son Hardy while the latter was studying in England. Ebeling looks at this encounter, the history of the Bruderhof up until this time, and Arnold’s potential influence on Bonhoeffer, especially in regard to Bonhoeffer’s pacifism and interest in living in community.Ebeling, Rainer. “Dietrich Bonhoeffer und Eberhard Arnold” [Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Eberhard Arnold]. In Dietrich Bonhoeffers Ringen um die Kirche: Eine Ekklesiologie im Kontext freikirchlicher Theologie [Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Struggle for the Church: An Ecclesiology in the Context of Free Church Theology]. 278–330. Gießen, Germany: Brunnen, 1996.
Fuchs, Manfred. “Die Bruderhofgemeinde” [The Bruderhof Church Community]. In Probleme des Wirtschaftsstils von Lebensgemeinschaften, erörtert am Beispiel der Wirtschaftsunternehmen der deutschen Jugendbewegung [Problems in the Economic Approaches of Communes, Examined through the Example of the Economic Enterprises of the German Youth Movement]. 27–35. Göttingen: Schwartz, 1957.
Gerlach, Horst. “Zu Hans Meier: ‘Erinnerungen eines Bruderhöfers in CuS 1 bis 4/83’” [Regarding Hans Meier’s “Memories of a Member of the Bruderhof,” in Christ und Sozialist 1 to 4, 1983]. Christ und Sozialist [Christian and Socialist], no. 3 (1984): 14–19.
An appreciation of Arnold in the context of traditional criticisms of Anabaptists and other Schwärmer (“enthusiasts”) held by the established churches in Germany since the Reformation. Gollwitzer recalls his youthful dismissiveness of Arnold in this connection. He provides brief biographical insights and is particularly appreciative of Arnold’s opposition to military power and private property, contrasting this with the support these were given by the established churches in Arnold’s time.Gollwitzer, Helmut. “Einiges zu Eberhard Arnold und den Bruderhöfen” [A Little on Eberhard Arnold and the Bruderhofs]. Neue Wege: Beiträge zu Religion und Sozialismus [New Ways: Contributions to Religion and Socialism] 82:7–8 (1988): 232–37. [Free download].
Hindley, Marjorie. “‘Unerwünscht’: One of the Lesser Known Confrontations with the National Socialist State, 1933–37.” German History 11:2 (1993): 207–221. [Free download (alternative pagination)].
Hovey, Craig. “How Eberhard Arnold Interpreted Nietzsche.” Toronto Journal of Theology 41:1 (2025): 52–65.
Translated from the German: “‘Franziskus in Kniebundhosen’: Der christliche Pazifismus Eberhard Arnolds als Tatzeugnis gemeinsamen Lebens (1883–1935).” In Christlich-theologischer Pazifismus im 20. Jahrhundert [Christian-Theological Pacifism in the 20th Century]. Edited by Marco Hofheinz and Frederike van Oorschot. 69–94. Baden-Baden, Germany: Aschendorff, 2016.Hofheinz, Marco. “‘St. Francis in Knickerbockers’: The Christian Pacifism of Eberhard Arnold as Material Witness to the Common Life.” Translated by Cameron Coombe. Pro Ecclesia 33:1–2 (2025): 158–181.
Hüssy, Getrud [Trudi]. “In Loving Memory of Emmy Arnold: 1884–1980.” Mennonite Historical Bulletin 41:2 (April 1980): 1–3. [archive.org].
Jost, Markus. “Die Liechtensteiner und die Täufer” [The Liechtensteiners and the Anabaptists]. Mennonitica Helvetica 47 (2024): 43–71.
Krauß, Wolfgang. “Dokumentation: ‘Zum Schutze von Volk und Staat’” [Documentation: “For the Protection of the People and the State”]. Junge Gemeinde: Jugendblatt der Mennonitengemeinden [Young Church: Youth Journal of the Mennonite Churches], no. 3 (March 1985): 19–22.
Kühnert, Alfred. “Die Neuwerk-Bewegung: Neues Werk mit Pflug und Gebet” [The Neuwerk Movement: New Work with Plow and Prayer]. In Erlittene Geschichte: Bergwinkel-Studien [History Incurred: Bergwinkel Studies]. 226–36. Schlüchtern: Steinfeld, 1980.
Kupisch, Karl. “Eberhard Arnold: Aus der Personalakte eines Schwärmers” [Eberhard Arnold: From the Personnel Records of an Enthusiast] Die Zeichen der Zeit 19:11 (1965): 421–425.
Lichti, James Irvin. “‘Linking Bread and Sweat’ to ‘Blut und Boden’: The Role of Stewardship Norms in the German Mennonite Response to the Dissolution of the Rhönbruderhof.” Paper presented at the Conrad Grebel College, Waterloo, Ontario, May 1990.
Lichti, James Irvin. “The German Mennonite Response to the Dissolution of the Rhoen-Bruderhof.” Mennonite Life 46:2 (June 1991): 10–17. [Free download].
A critical and detailed discussion of German Mennonite responses to the 1937 dissolution of the Rhön Bruderhof under Nazism. Cf. Nauerth, “Michael Horsch and the Rhön Bruderhof,” below.
Translated into German as: “Die Stellungnahmen deutscher Mennoniten zur Auflösung des Rhönbruderhofes in der Zeit des Nationalsozialismus” [German Mennonite Reactions to the Dissolution of the Rhön Bruderhof in the National Socialist Period]. Mennonitische Geschichtsblätter [Mennonite Historical Journal] 49 (1992): 73–91.Lilie, Frank. “Jesus und niemand anderem als Jesus folgen: Eberhard Arnold (1883–1935)” [Following Jesus and No One but Jesus: Eberhard Arnold (1883–1935)]. Quatember (2000): 223–32 [Read online (unpaginated)]
Meier, Hans. “Das Ende des Bruderhofes (1937)” [The End of the Bruderhof (1937)]. Christ und Sozialist [Christian and Socialist], no. 3 (1985): 29–36.
Nauerth, Thomas. “‘Alles Gute für Hitler’: Der Rhönbruderhof und das Problem der Obrigkeit nach 1933” [“Best Wishes for Hitler”: The Rhön Bruderhof and the Problem of Political Authority after 1933]. Kirchliche Zeitgeschichte 30:1 (2017): 62–74.
Nauerth, Thomas. “Bergpredigt und Widerstand: Die Bruderhofgemeinschaft 1933–1937” [The Sermon on the Mount and Resistance: The Bruderhof Community 1933–1937]. Paper presented at “Bergpredigt leben” [Living the Sermon on the Mount] conference, Fulda, Germany, November 2015. [academia.edu].
Thomas Nauerth has written widely on the Bruderhof under Nazism. This brief but detailed overview of the period attends to the role of the Sermon on the Mount in Bruderhof practice at this time.
YouTube: [YouTube] [Conference blurb].Nauerth, Thomas. “Hutterer und Mennoniten in Europa: Begegnungen und ‘Vergegnungen’ 1933-1937” [Hutterites and Mennonites in Europe: Encounters and ‘Misencounters,’ 1933–1937]. In Mennoniten in der NS-Zeit: Stimmen, Lebenssituationen, Erfahrungen [Mennonites in the Nazi Period: Voices, Living Conditions, Experiences]. Edited by Marion Kobelt-Groch and Astrid von Schlachta. 198–213. Weierhof, Germany: Mennonitischer Geschichtsverein, 2017.
Nauerth explores relationships between the Mennonites and the Bruderhof during the community’s time in Germany.
Published earlier in Mennonitische Geschichtsblätter, no. 73 (2016).
Thomas Nauerth has written widely on the Bruderhof under Nazism. In this article, he attends to the relationship between Mennonite Michael Horsch and the Bruderhof. Initially a “dedicated friend” of the Bruderhof, Horsch later justified the Nazi dissolution of the Rhön Bruderhof on the basis of the community’s alleged agricultural mismanagement and laziness. While the events addressed in this article take place not long after Arnold’s death, the text is nonetheless an important study of Bruderhof life in Germany that speaks to his legacy.Nauerth, Thomas. “Michael Horsch and the Rhön Bruderhof, 1936–1937: From Friend to Hostile Witness to Historical Eyewitness.” Mennonite Quarterly Review 91:2 (2017): 213–46.
Nauerth, Thomas. “Zu Gast im ‘Mittelpunkt Mitteleuropas’: Der Almbruderhof in Liechtenstein 1934–1938” [A Guest in the ‘Center of Central Europe’: The Alm Bruderhof in Liechtenstein, 1934–1938]. Historischer Verein für das Fürstentum Liechtenstein: Jahrbuch 117 (2018): 31–61.
Neima, Anna. “Seeking the Kingdom of God in Rural Germany: Eberhard and Emmy Arnold’s Bruderhof.” In The Utopians: Six Attempts to Build the Perfect Society. 163–99. London: Picador, 2021.
Peter, Erich. “Sparhof wird durch den ‘Bruderhof’ bekannt” [Sparhof Becomes Known for the “Bruderhof”]. In 1050 Jahre Veitsteinbach [1050 Years of Veitsteinbach]. Edited by Gemeinde Kalbach. 53–65. Neuhof, Germany: Günter Vogel, 2003.
Pfeiffer, Arnold. “Gemeinde und Sozialismus bei Eberhard Arnold” [Church Community and Socialism According to Eberhard Arnold]. Christ und Sozialist [Christian and Socialist], no. 4 (1975): 10–15.
Quiring, Horst. “Die deutschen Mennoniten zur Auflösung des Rhön-Bruderhofes 1937: Eine Dokumentation im Spiegel der Korrespondenz” [The German Mennonites on the 1937 Dissolution of the Rhön Bruderhof: A Documentation as Reflected in Correspondence]. Mennonitische Geschichtsblätter [Mennonite Historical Journal] 33 (1981): 23–32.
Randall, Ian M. “The Communion of Saints and an Anabaptist Community: A Study of the Bruderhof.” Theological Reflections: Eastern European Journal of Theology 20:1 (2022): 59–72. [Free download].
Schibilsky, Michael. “Bürgerliche Jugendbewegung: Innovation oder Regression” [Bourgeois Youth Movement: Innovation or Regression]. Recht der Jugend und des Bildungswesens [Law of Youth and Education] 23:1 (1975): 11–21.
Schmidt, Dietmar. “Bruderhof – Wagnis oder Vorbild: Aus dem linken Flügel der Reformation; Ein Versuch, nach der Bergpredigt zu leben” [Bruderhof – Venture or Exemplar: From the Left Wing of the Reformation; An Attempt to Live According to the Sermon on the Mount]. Stimme der Gemeinde [Voice of the Church Community] 11:16 (1959): 485–92.
Tomlin, Sam. “The Salvation Army, Eberhard Arnold and the Bruderhof.” The Journal of Ecclesiastical History 75:3 (2024): 499–521. [Free download].
Tyldesley, Mike. “Gustav Landauer and the Bruderhof Communities.” Communal Societies 16 (1996): 23–41. [Free download].
Tyldesley, Mike. “Martin Buber and the Bruderhof Communities.” Journal of Jewish Studies 45:2 (1994): 258–272.
Wandel, Bryan. “Two Brains: Scientific Balance and Visionary Insight in Friedrich Nietzsche and Eberhard Arnold.” The Heythrop Journal 66:3 (2025): 299–312. [Free download].
Zumpe, Hans. “Die Bruderhof-Gemeinschaft” [The Bruderhof Community]. In Frei für Gott und die Menschen: Evangelische Bruder- und Schwesterschaften der Gegenwart in Selbstdarstellungen [Free for God and People: Protestant Brotherhoods and Sisterhoods of Today in Their Own Words]. Edited by Lydia Präger. 68–89. Stuttgart: Quell-Verlag, 1959.
Brief Discussion and Comments
Altgelt, Erika. “Die Bruderhofbewegung kehrt nach Deutschland zurück” [The Bruderhof Movement Returns to Germany]. Quatember (1956): 35–40. [Read online (unpaginated)].
From p. 73, n. 99: “[Samuel Knappe’s] essay was followed by a piece by Eberhard Arnold that was more theologically discriminating…. Arnold… considered Knappe’s dichotomy – whether war was ‘of God or the devil’ – to be inadequate in substance and referred to sin as the cause of wars on the one hand, and God’s all-encompassing, loving will on the other.” And “Arnold still employs the concept of ‘more just’ with regard to the parties involved in the war.” Balders is discussing EA 15/13.Balders, Günter. “Kurze Geschichte der deutschen Baptisten” [A Short History of the German Baptists]. In Ein Herr, ein Glaube, eine Taufe: 150 Jahre Baptistengemeinden in Deutschland [One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism: 150 Years of Baptist Churches in Germany]. Edited by Günter Balders. 17–167.
Brandenburg, Hans-Christian. “Zur Geschichte des Bundes Köngener” [The History of the Köngen Association]. Jahrbuch des Archivs der Deutschen Jugendbewegung [Yearbook of the Archive of the German Youth Movement] 4 (1972): 122–27. [Read online].
Breit, Rita. “Bewegung im Landesinnern: Das Jahrzehnt der Neuwerksiedlungen in der Vorrhön.” [A Movement in Inland Germany: The Decade of Neuwerk Settlements in the Vorrhön Region]. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, October 24, 1987.
“Die integrale Genossenschaft der Bruderhöfe” [The Integral Cooperative of the Bruderhofs]. Schweiz. Konsum-Verein, no. 48 (1955), supplement (Kleine Schriften 28).
Durnbaugh, Donald. “Relocation of the German Bruderhof to England, South America, and North America.” Communal Societies 11 (1991): 62–77.
“‘Edelkommunisten und Pazifisten’: Im Deutschen Reich ‘unerwünscht’” [‘Idealistic Communists and Pacifists’: ‘Unwanted’ in the German Reich]. Fuldaer Zeitung, October 30, 1984, 13.
Friedmann, Robert. “Fifty Years Society of Brothers (1920-1970): Their Story and Their Books.” Mennonite Life 25:4 (1970): 159-64. [Free download].
Gavron, Daniel. “The Other Kibbutzniks.” The Jerusalem Post Magazine, February 5, 1988, 6. [archive.org (text only)].
Gerlach, Horst. “Hutterer und Bruderhöfer: Wechselbeziehungen zwischen der Pfalz und anderen Gebieten von der Reformation bis zur Gegenwart” [Hutterites and Bruderhofers: Interrelations between the Palatinate and Other Areas, from the Reformation to the Present Day]. In Die Hutterischen Täufer: Geschichtlicher Hintergrund und handwerkliche Leistung [The Hutterian Anabaptists: Historical Background and Artisan Work]. Edited by Bavarian National Museum. 45–53. Weierhof, Germany: Mennonitische Forschungsstelle, 1985.
Giese, Dekan. “Habertshof und Neuwerk auf Schlüchterner Boden” [Habertshof and Neuwerk on Schlüchtern Soil]. Gemeindebrief der Evangelischen Kirchengemeinde Schlüchtern [Church Newsletter of the Schlüchtern Protestant Church Community] (November–January 1981–1982).
Gleysteen, Jan. “A Brotherhood of Typesetters.” Festival Quarterly (Lancaster, PA) 7:1 (February–April 1980): 28.
Gross, Leonard. “Editorial.” Mennonite Historical Bulletin 49:7 (1980): 3. [archive.org].
Hardy, Dennis. “Sacred Places.” In Utopian England: Community Experiments, 1900–1945. 163–202. London: E & FN Spon, 2000. [Free download].
Hindley, Marjorie. “The Bruderhof Communities.” Tishrei (Swansea, Wales) 2:4 (summer 1994): 25–31.
Hinton, Jeanne. “Darvell Bruderhof.” In Communities: The Stories and Spirituality of Twelve European Communities. 45–59. Guildford, Surrey, UK: Eagle, 1993.
Hofheinz, Marco. “‘Selig sind die Friedfertigen’: Die Bergpredigt und der radikale Pazifismus der Täufer und Neutäufer in Geschichte und Gegenwart” [“Blessed are the Peacemakers”: The Sermon on the Mount and the Radical Pacifism of the Anabaptists and Neo-Anabaptists in History and the Present]. Kirchliche Zeitgeschichte 31:1 (2018): 245–71.
Howlett, David J. “The Bruderhof’s ‘System of Objects’: A Case Study in Material Culture and Christian Praxis, 1920–2001.” Communal Societies 26:2 (2006): 19–41.
A study of the Bruderhof’s post-war relationships with Germany and attempts to re-establish there. Some reference to Bruderhof history during Arnold’s time.Jany, Berit. “Coming Home: The Bruderhof Returns to Germany.” Journal of Amish and Plain Anabaptist Studies 1:2 (2013): 31–47. [Free download].
Janzen, Rod. “The Hutterites and the Bruderhof: The Relationship Between an Old Older [sic] Religious Society and a Twentieth-Century Communal Group.” Mennonite Quarterly Review 79:4 (2005): 505–44. [Free download].
Kanter, Rosabeth Moss. “Introduction.” In Communes: Creating and Managing the Collective Life. Edited by Rosabeth Moss Kanter. 15–25. New York: Harper and Row, 1973.
A brief history of the Sparhof, the land which became the Rhön Bruderhof, and of the Bruderhof movement.Kiefer, Willy. “Der Sparhof: Bauernsiedlung und Bruderhof” [The Sparhof: Farm Settlement and Bruderhof]. Rhönwacht: Zeitschrift des Rhönklubs [Rhön Sentry: Magazine of the Rhön Club], no. 1 (January 1995): 18–19.
A short overview of the history of the Sparhof, the land which became the Rhön Bruderhof, from ancient times to the Bruderhof’s expulsion in 1937.Kühnert, Alfred. “Schlupfwinkel und Bruderhof: Der Sparhof erlebte Wilddiebe und eine Glaubensgemeinschaft” [Hideout and Bruderhof: The Sparhof Witnessed Poachers and a Faith Community]. Jahrbuch des Landkreises Fulda [Yearbook of the Fulda District] 6 (1979): 69–72.
Lemhöfer, Lutz. “Eberhard Arnold und die alternativ-christliche Gemeinschaft der Bruderhöfe” [Eberhard Arnold and the Alternative-Christian Community of the Bruderhofs] Zeitschrift für Religions- und Weltanschauungsfragen 66:9 (2003): 341–47. [Free download].
Lichti, James Irvin. “German Mennonites, Economics and the State.” In Anabaptist/Mennonite Faith and Economics. Edited by Calvin Redekop, Victor A. Krahn, and Samuel J. Steiner. 83–110. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1994.
Meier, Hans, Erhard Griese, and Arnold Pfeiffer. “Diskussion über Eberhard Arnold und die Bruderhöfe” [Discussion about Eberhard Arnold and the Bruderhofs]. Christ und Sozialist 13:1 (January 1989): 32–38.
Melancon, Sharon. “Children’s Education at the Bruderhof.” Communities: Journal of Cooperation 76 (May 1990): 23–27.
Moore, Charles E. “Radical, Communal, Bearing Witness: The Church as God’s Mission in Bruderhof Perspective and Practice.” Missio Dei: A Journal of Missional Theology and Praxis 9:2 (2018). [Read online].
Mott, Michael. “Zu spät für den Schutz des ‘Rhönbruderhofs’” [Too Late to Preserve the Rhön Bruderhof]. Fuldaer Zeitung, November 23, 1995, 12.
Written concerning the upcoming demolition of the Kinderhaus at the Rhön Bruderhof, the article provides a history of the site.
Republished with minor changes and quote marks removed from title: “Zu spät für den Schutz des Rhönbruderhofs.” Kinzigtal-Nachrichten, December 6, 1995, 7.
Mow, D. Merrill. “Community Living in Our Time: An Account of the Bruderhof Communities.” Brethren Life and Thought 1:5 (1956): 43–52.
Müller, Eckhard. “Eine Hutterische Bruderhof-Gemeinschaft” [A Hutterian Bruderhof Community]. In Jahrbuch Ökologie 1994 [Ecology Yearbook 1994]. Edited by Günter Altner et al. 297–302. Munich: Beck, 1993.
Nauerth, Thomas. “Das große Erwachen: der erste Weltkrieg als pazifistische Lebenswende” [The Great Awakening: The First World War as a Pacifist Turning Point]. In Frieden im Niemandsland: Die Minderheit der christlichen Botschafter im Ersten Weltkrieg [Peace in No-Man’s-Land: The Minority of Christian Ambassadors in the First World War]. Edited by Peter Bürger. 211–26. Norderstedt, Germany: Books on Demand, 2021.
Randall, Ian M. “An Anabaptist Witness: The Bruderhof Community.” Anabaptism Today 3:1 (2021): 22–35. [Free download].
Provides a brief account of Arnold and Bruderhof history, though the main focus of the article is on the Bruderhof in England, a period not long after Arnold’s death.
Originally published in: Baptistic Theologies 9:2 (2017): 19–36.Randall, Ian. “Catholics, Anabaptists and the Bruderhof: New Spiritual Patterns.” The Way 63:4 (2024): 47–58.
Randall, Ian M. “Radical Reformation, Community, and Post-Christendom.” Post-Christendom Studies 7 (2022–2023): 33–60.
Schmidt, Rainer. “‘Abstecher ins Traumland der Anarchie’: Siedlungsgemeinschaften der deutschen Jugendbewegung” [“Detour into the Dreamland of Anarchy”: Settlement Communities in the German Youth Movement]. In Alles gehört allen: Das Experiment Gütergemeinschaft vom 16. Jahrhundert bis heute [Everything Belongs to Everyone: The Experiment of Community of Goods from the 16th Century to Today]. Edited by Hans-Jürgen Goertz. 188–207. Munich: Beck, 1984.
Spielhagen, Frances R. and Bruce S. Cooper. “Christian Community in Action: Bruderhof Schools.” Journal of Research on Christian Education 16:1 (2007): 65–81.
Spielhagen, Frances R. and Bruce S. Cooper. “Forming Social Capital: The Bruderhof Schools.” The Journal of Education 183:2 (2002): 49–62.
Spielhagen, Frances R., and Bruce S. Cooper. “The Bruderhof Schools: Educating the Whole Child in Community.” Private School Monitor 24:1 (2002): 1–11. [Free download].
Wardle, Francis. “Alternatives… Bruderhof Education: Outdoor School.” Young Children 50:3 (March 1995): 68–73.
Wenger, John C. “Question Box.” Mennonite Historical Bulletin 1:1 (April 1940) [p. 6 (unpaginated)]. [archive.org].
Winn, Christian T. Collins. “Introduction.” In Christoph Friedrich Blumhardt, The Gospel of God’s Reign. xix–xxix. Walden, NY: Plough, 2014.
Wright, Melanie J. “The Nature and Significance of Relations between the Historic Peace Churches and Jews during and after the Shoah.” In Christian-Jewish Relations through the Centuries. Edited by Stanley E. Porter and Brook W. R. Pearson. 400–425. London: Continuum, 2000.
Wünsch, D. Georg. “Die ‘Hutterischen Brüder’: Ein Versuch als Christen christlich zu leben, in alter und neuer Zeit” [The ‘Hutterian Brethren’: An Attempt at Living as Christians in a Christian Way, in Early and More Recent Times]. Christ und Sozialist [Christian and Socialist], nos. 5–7 (1958): 2–8.
Wurm, Shalom. “Bruderhof.” In Das Leben in den historischen Kommunen [Life in Historical Communes]. 305–14. Cologne: Bund-Verlag, 1977.
Yoder, John H. “Discipleship as a Missionary Strategy.” Church Life 8:1 (1955): 26–31. [Free download]
Zumpe, Hans. “Die hutterischen Brüder“ [The Hutterian Brothers]. Zeitschrift für Religions- und Geistesgeschichte [Journal of Religious and Intellectual History] 12:4 (1960): 323–45.
Reviews
Denton, Clifford. Review of fifteen books by Plough Publishing House. Tishrei (Swansea, Wales) 2:4 (summer 1994): 73–76.
Ewald, Günter. Review of Salz und Licht, by Eberhard Arnold. Christ und Sozialist [Christian and Socialist], no. 1 (1983): 38–40.
Häselbarth, J. Review of Salz und Licht, by Eberhard Arnold. Swanbergbrief (Communität Casteller Ring), no. 3 (1982): 7–8.
Lezzi, Eva. Review of Am Anfang war die Liebe, by Eberhard Arnold. Neue Wege 81:11 (1987): 348. [Free download].
Loewen, Esko. “Bruderhof Beginnings.” Review of Torches Together, by Emmy Arnold. Mennonite Life 28:1 (March 1973): 29. [Free download].
Schmidt, Steven G. Review of God’s Revolution, edited by Hutterian Society of Brothers and John Howard Yoder. Mennonite Life 40:1 (March 1985): 31. [Free download].
Studer, Gerald C. Review of Eberhard Arnold: A Testimony of Church-Community from His Life and Writings, by Eberhard Arnold. Mennonite Historical Bulletin 29:1 (January 1968): 6–7. [archive.org].
Studer, Gerald C. Review of Else von Hollander: January 1932, by Eberhard Arnold. Mennonite Historical Bulletin 35:4 (October 1974): 6. [archive.org].
Studer, Gerald C. Review of God’s Revolution: The Witness of Eberhard Arnold, edited by the Hutterian Society of Brothers and John Howard Yoder. Mennonite Historical Bulletin 46:3 (July 1985): 7. [archive.org].
Studer, Gerald C. Review of Salt and Light, by Eberhard Arnold. Mennonite Historical Bulletin 29:2 (April 1968): 7–8. [archive.org].
Studer, Gerald C. Review of The Early Christians, by Eberhard Arnold. Mennonite Historical Bulletin 42:2 (April 1981): 7. [archive.org].
Studer, Gerald C. Review of The Early Christians, by Eberhard Arnold. Mennonite Life 25:4 (October 1970): 191–92. [Free download].
Snyder, Graydon F. Review of The Early Christians, by Eberhard Arnold. Brethren Life and Thought 16:1 (winter 1971): 62–64.
Encyclopedia Articles
Arnold, E. C. H. (Hardy). “Alm Bruderhof (Liechtenstein).” Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. [Read online].
Arnold, E. C. H. (Hardy). “Arnold, Eberhard (1883–1935).” Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. [Read online].
Arnold, E. C. H. (Hardy). “Rhön Bruderhof (Hessen, Germany).” Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. [Read online].
“Arnold, Emmy (von Hollander) 1884–.” In Contemporary Authors: A Bio-Bibliographical Guide to Current Authors and Their Works. Volumes 23–24. Edited by Barbara Harte and Carolyn Riley. 20. Detroit, MI: Gale Research Company, 1970.
Arnold, Heini. “Arnold, Eberhard, 1883–1935.” In The Brethren Encyclopedia. Volume 1. A–J. 56. Edited by Donald Durnbaugh. Philadelphia, PA: Brethren Encyclopedia, 1983. [archive.org].
Arnold, Heini. “Hutterian Society of Brothers.” In The Brethren Encyclopedia. Volume 1. A–J. 639–41. Edited by Donald Durnbaugh. Philadelphia, PA: Brethren Encyclopedia, 1983. [archive.org].
Baum, Markus. “Eberhard Arnold.” In Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon [Biographical-Bibliographical Church Encyclopedia]. Vol. 19. Nordhausen, Germany: Bautz, 2001.
“Der Bruderhof.” Widerstand!? Evangelische Christinnen und Christen im Nationalsozialismus [Resistance!? Protestant Christians under National Socialism]. [Read online].
Dunkel, Daniela. “Arnold, Eberhard.” Religion Past and Present: Encyclopedia of Theology and Religion. Edited by Hans Dieter Betz, Don S. Browning, Bernd Janowski, and Eberhard Jüngel. Vol. 1. A–Bhu. 395. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, 2007.
Hilbe, Herbert. “Almbruderhof.” Last updated 31 December 2011. In Historisches Lexikon des Fürstentums Liechtenstein [Historical Encyclopedia of the Principality of Liechtenstein] (online). [Read online].
Hillerbrand, Hans J. “Arnold, Eberhard (1883–1935).” The Encyclopedia of Protestantism. Edited by Hans J. Hillerbrand. Vol. 1. A–C. 170–71. New York: Routledge, 2004.
Kautz, Heinrich. “Arnold, Eberhard.” In Neue Deutsche Biographie [New German Biography]. Volume 1. Aachen–Behaim. 384–85. Berlin: Duncker und Humblot, 1953. [Read online].
Lichti, James Irvin. “Rhönbruderhof.” Last updated 23 May 2020. Mennonitisches Lexikon (MennLex) [Mennonite Encyclopedia]. [Read online].
Maendel, Emmy. “Bruderhof Communities.” Last updated August 2017. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. [Read online].
Melton, J. Gordon. “Arnold, Eberhard.” In Biographical Dictionary of American Cult and Sect Leaders. 12–14. New York: Garland, 1986. [archive.org].
Pfeiffer, Arnold. “Religiöse Sozialisten” [Religious Socialists]. In Handbuch der deutschen Reformbewegungen 1880–1933 [Handbook of German Reform Movements, 1880–1933]. Edited by Diethart Kerbs and Jürgen Reulecke. 523–36. Wuppertal: Hammer 1998.
Journals, Databases, and Resource Collections
Delpher. [Website].
eLiechtensteinensia. [Website].
Karl Barth-Archiv. [Website].
Mennonite Digitized Periodicals and Archives. [Website].
Monatshefte der deutschen Freunde [German Friends Monthly]. Leipzig; later Berlin.
Neue Wege: Blätter für religiose Arbeit [New Ways: Journal for Religious Work]. Zurich. [Free access].
The Plough: Towards the Coming Order. Ashton Keynes, UK; Bridgnorth, UK.
Forewords, Introductions, and Afterwords
The majority of published primary sources contain forewords and/or introductions relating to Arnold’s life and thought. While most of the following are purely introductory in nature, some of them include insights or details that may be of interest to researchers, especially when written by or in conversation with Bruderhof members.
Arnold, Hardy. “Introduction.” In Eberhard and Emmy Arnold. Seeking for the Kingdom of God: Origins of the Bruderhof Communities. Edited by Heini and Annemarie Arnold. ix–xxi. Rifton, NY: Plough, 1974. [archive.org].
Arnold, Hardy. “Postscript.” In Eberhard and Emmy Arnold. Seeking for the Kingdom of God: Origins of the Bruderhof Communities. Edited by Heini and Annemarie Arnold. 273–84. Rifton, NY: Plough, 1974. [archive.org].
Arnold, Heini. “Introduction.” In Eberhard Arnold, Salt and Light: Talks and Writings on the Sermon on the Mount. xi–xviii. Rifton, NY: Plough, 1986. [archive.org].
Arnold, Johann Christoph. “Introduction.” In Johann Christoph Arnold, ed. Eberhard Arnold: Writings Selected. 7–31. Modern Spiritual Masters. Rifton, NY: Plough, 2011.
Dahlke, H. Otto. “Preface.” In Eberhard Arnold, The Individual and World Need. v–vi. Farmington, PA: Plough, 1992. [archive.org].
Domer, Richard E. “Introduction.” In Eberhard Arnold, Salt and Light: Talks and Writings on the Sermon on the Mount. vii–xix. Rifton, NY: Plough, 1967. [archive.org].
“Einführung.” In Eberhard Arnold. Leben im Licht: Über Gemeinschaft, Gerechtigkeit und Liebe [Life in the Light: On Community, Justice, and Love]. ix–xv. Walden, NY: Plough, 2015. [Free download].
Farina, John. “Preface: Twentieth Century Apocalyptic.” In Eberhard Arnold, War: A Call to the Inner Land. 1–8. Mahwah, NJ: Paulist, 1987. [archive.org].
Gross, Leonard. “Reclaiming the Hutterian Vision.” In Hutterian Brethren, ed. Brothers Unite: An Account of the Uniting of Eberhard Arnold and the Rhön Bruderhof with the Hutterian Church; Based on the Diary of His Journey to North America 1930–31 and Letters Written between 1928 and 1935. xv–xviii. Rifton, NY: Plough, 1988. [archive.org].
Hauerwas, Stanley. “Introduction.” In Eberhard Arnold, God’s Revolution: Justice, Community, and the Coming Kingdom. vii–xiii. Walden, NY: Plough, 2021. [Free download].
Hildel, Winifred and Miriam Mathis. “Foreword.” In Children's Education in Community: The Basis of Bruderhof Education. Edited and translated by Winifred Hildel and Miriam Mathis. ix–xi. Walden, NY: Plough, 2017.
Hirsch, Marie. “Die Bewegung des Neuwerk: Kurzchronik” [The Neuwerk Movement: A Brief History]. In Die deutsche Jugendbewegung 1920 bis 1933: Die bündische Zeit [The German Youth Movement 1920 to 1933: The Bündische Period]. Edited by Werner Kindt. 633–35. Düsseldorf: Diederich, 1974.
Hostetler, John A. “Introduction.” In Hutterian Brethren, ed. Brothers Unite: An Account of the Uniting of Eberhard Arnold and the Rhön Bruderhof with the Hutterian Church; Based on the Diary of His Journey to North America 1930–31 and Letters Written between 1928 and 1935. ix–xiv. Rifton, NY: Plough, 1988. [archive.org].
Hutterian Brethren. “Editors’ Preface.” In Hutterian Brethren, ed. Brothers Unite: An Account of the Uniting of Eberhard Arnold and the Rhön Bruderhof with the Hutterian Church; Based on the Diary of His Journey to North America 1930–31 and Letters Written between 1928 and 1935. vii–viii. Rifton, NY: Plough, 1988. [archive.org].
Linse, Ulrich. Introduction to “Anarcho-religiöse Siedlung: Sannerz” [Anarcho-Religious Settlement: Sannerz]. In Zurück, o Mensch, zur Mutter Erde: Landkommunen in Deutschland 1890–1933 [Back, O Man, to Mother Earth: Rural Communes in Germany, 1890–1933]. Edited by idem. 221–25. Munich: Deutscher Taschenbuch-Verlag, 1983.
Moltmann, Jürgen. “Foreword.” In Eberhard Arnold, Salt and Light: Living the Sermon on the Mount. ix–xii. Walden, NY: Plough, 2014. [Free download].
Moltmann, Jürgen. “Vorwort.” In Eberhard Arnold. Leben im Licht: Über Gemeinschaft, Gerechtigkeit und Liebe [Life in the Light: On Community, Justice, and Love]. vii. Walden, NY: Plough, 2015. [Free download].
Moody, Doug. “Foreword.” In Eberhard Arnold, Inner Land: A Guide into the Heart and Soul of the Bible. ix–xiv. Rifton, NY: Plough, 1976.
Moody, Douglas A. “Preface to the English Edition.” In Eberhard Arnold, ed. The Early Christians: After the Death of the Apostles. ix–xii. Rifton, NY: Plough, 1970. [archive.org].
Pennington, Basil. “Foreword.” In Eberhard Arnold and Thomas Merton, Why We Live in Community. ix–xv. Walden, NY: Plough, 2017. [Free download].
Perkins, Spencer and Chris Rice. “Introduction.” In Eberhard Arnold, The Individual and World Need. vii–xi. Farmington, PA: Plough, 1992. [archive.org].
Pfeiffer, Arnold. “Eberhard Arnold und der Weg des Bruderhof-Lebens” (Einführung) [Eberhard Arnold and the Bruderhof Way of Life (Introduction)]. In Arnold Pfeiffer, ed. Religiöse Sozialisten. 201–12. Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany: Walter, 1976.
Plough. “Background.” In Eberhard and Emmy Arnold, Love Letters. 1–12. Rifton, NY: Plough, 2011. [Free download].
The original letters have not yet been uploaded to our digital archive.
Plough. “Epilogue.” In Eberhard Arnold, The Individual and World Need. 73–75. Walden, NY: Plough, 2016. [Free download].
Plough. “Epilogue.” In Eberhard and Emmy Arnold, Love Letters. 293–301. Rifton, NY: Plough, 2011. [Free download].
Plough. “Introduction.” In Eberhard Arnold, Poems and Rhymed Prayers. 3–4. Rifton, NY: Plough, 2011. [Free download].
Plough. “Introduction.” In Eberhard Arnold, Salt and Light: Living the Sermon on the Mount. xiii–xix. Walden, NY: Plough, 2014. [Free download].
Plough. “Introduction.” In Eberhard Arnold, The Early Anabaptists. Rifton, NY: Plough, 1984. [archive.org].
Adapted from: “Introduction.” In Eberhard Arnold, “On the History of the Baptizer Movement in Reformation Times.” Mennonite Quarterly Review 43:3 (1969): 213–233, at 213–14.
Plough. “Preface.” In Eberhard Arnold, Inner Land: A Guide into the Heart of the Gospel. vii–viii. Farmington, PA: Plough, 1999. [archive.org].
Plough. “Preface.” In Eberhard Arnold, Inner Land: A Guide into the Heart of the Gospel. Volume 1. The Inner Life. xi–xiii. Walden, NY: Plough, 2019. [Free download].
Plough. “Preface.” In Eberhard Arnold, ed. The Early Christians: In Their Own Words. vii–viii. Walden, NY: Plough, 2015. [Free download].
Wiser, Arthur. “Introduction.” In Love and Marriage in the Spirit: Talks and Writings by Eberhard Arnold. ix–xviii. Edited by the Society of Brothers. Rifton, NY: Plough, 1965. [archive.org].
Yoder, John Howard. “Eberhard Arnold and His Times.” In Eberhard Arnold, God’s Revolution: Justice, Community, and the Coming Kingdom. xv–xxxii. Walden, NY: Plough, 2021. [Free download].
Popular-Level Literature and Multimedia
Alton, David. Signs of Contradiction: Twelve Outstanding People Who Changed Our World. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1996. [archive.org (incomplete)].
Baum, Markus. “Eberhard Arnold und die Bergpredigt” [Eberhard Arnold and the Sermon on the Mount]. Respect: Christentum / Kultur / Menschenwürde [Respect: Christianity, Culture, Human Dignity] 2 (spring 2008): 16–22.
Baum, Markus. “Vom Militärkutscher zum Pazifisten: Eberhard Arnold und sein Weg zu Friedfertigkeit und Feindesliebe” [From Supporter of the Military to Pacifist: Eberhard Arnold and His Journey to Peacefulness and Love of Enemies]. Zivil: Zeitschrift für Frieden und Gewaltfreiheit [Civilian: Journal for Peace and Freedom from Violence] 30:3 (summer 2000): 39.
“Die Bruderhöfe” [The Bruderhofs]. Neuwerk-Bote 27 (1958): 70–71.
Dürr, Hans. “Gegen den Strom: Die Gemeinschaft der Bruderhöfe” [Against the Current: The Community of the Bruderhofs]. Pack’s! Das christliche Magazin für Musik, Kunst und Literatur [Grab It! The Christian Magazine for Music, Art, and Literature] 5:13 (June 1985): 4–6.
Ellsberg, Robert. “Eberhard Arnold, Founder of the Bruderhof (1883-1935).” In All Saints: Daily Reflections on Saints, Prophets, and Witnesses for Our Time. 508–510. New York: Crossroad, 1997. [archive.org].
Fishler, Barry. “Commune Living: The Bruderhof.” Mother Earth News, November 1971. [Read online (unpaginated)].
Foster, Richard J. “The Perpetual Flame of Devotion.” In Eberhard Arnold and Richard J. Foster. The Prayer God Answers. Translated by Eileen Robertshaw et al. 43–69. Walden, NY: Plough, 2016. [Free download].
Gleysteen, Jan. Mennonite Tourguide to Western Europe. Scottdale, PA: Herald, 1984. [archive.org].
Jackson, Dave and Neta. Living Together in a World Falling Apart: A Handbook of Christian Community. Second edition. Carol Stream, IL: Creation House, 2009.
A classic in the Christian communitarian movement, the Jacksons provide an annotated bibliography with comments on the value of some of Arnold’s books for community living (pp. 298–300, 304).
First edition: 1974.Larson, Peter. “Inside the Bruderhof.” Prism: America’s Alternative Evangelical Voice 10:6 (November–December 2003): 22–25.
Merton, Thomas. Thomas Merton in Alaska: The Alaskan Conferences, Journals, and Letters. New York: New Directions, 1989.
Moore, Charles E. “‘Our Garden Must Be God’s Garden’: The Bruderhof Sought a Life in Harmony with God and Nature.” Christian History 119 (2016): 34–36. [Free download].
Morse, Flo. “The Society of Brothers: Love and Marriage.” In Yankee Communes: Another American Way. 151–78. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1971.
Nauerth, Thomas. “Eberhard Arnold.” In Themenjahr 2020: Gewagt! Mündig leben [2020 Theme: Daring to Live Maturely]. 58–59. Frankfurt: 500 Jahre Täuferbewegung 2025 e.V., 2020. [Free download].
Offenes Wort: Monatsschrift über christliches Leben in Schule, Familie und Gesellschaft [Open Word: Monthly Bulletin on Christian Life in School, Family, and Society] 19:1 (1990).
Rice, Judith. “Hutterians.” History Today 44:7 (July 1994): 8–10.
Satlow, Bernt. “Zeugnis und Zeichen für die kommende Herrschaft Gottes: Nachträglich zu Eberhard Arnolds 100. Geburtstag” [Witness and Sign for the Coming Reign of God: Belated Wishes for Eberhard Arnold’s 100th Birthday] Standpunkt 11:11 (1983): 291–292.
Siepmann, Heinzfried. “Eberhard Arnold und die christlichen Bruderhöfe” [Eberhard Arnold and the Christian Bruderhofs]. In Brüder und Genossen: Ansätze für einen genossenschaftlichen Gemeindeaufbau [Brothers and Comrades: Approaches to Building the Church Cooperatively]. 264–76 [notes: 291–92]. Cologne: Rheinland, 1987.
Spooner, Jack. “Religious Socialism Works in the Bruderhof.” Religious Socialism: The Journal for People of Faith and Socialism 16:1 (spring 1992): 3–4, 16.
Susman, Margarete. “Eberhard Arnold.” Translated by Kathleen Hasenberg. Bruderhof website. [Free download].
Thompson, Barbara. “The Challenge of Brotherhood.” Christianity Today, March 15, 1985, 22–27.
“Vom Gemeinschaftsleben in einer Lebensgemeinschaft” [Community Life in a Live-In Community]. Offenes Wort: Monatsschrift über christliches Leben in Schule, Familie und Gesellschaft [Open Word: Monthly Bulletin on Christian Life in School, Family, and Society] 15:9 (September 1986): 3–24.
Walters, Kerry, and Robin Jarrell. “Eberhard Arnold.” In Blessed Peacemakers: 365 Extraordinary People Who Changed the World. 207. Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2013.
Zimmerman, Chris. “The Bruderhof: Community in the Spirit of the Sermon on the Mount and of the Radical Reformation.” Talk at Stadthaus Wittenberg, November 3, 2017. [YouTube].