A Christian Peace Experiment

“The Bruderhof was a community of Christians who tried to live a simple life dedicated to the ideal of peace. Their visionary German founder Eberhard Arnold had started the movement in the wake of the disasters that enveloped Germany after the First World War. . . Ian Randall has written a full, evocative, and appealing account of a group who in troubled times ‘wanted to follow Jesus and do his will.’”


—David Bebbington, Professor of History, University of Stirling, Scotland





“This detailed narrative fills a longstanding gap in Bruderhof historiography—the story of the Cotswold Bruderhof in England, particularly during the formative years as it took shape between the Nazi confiscation of the Rhoen community in 1937 and the Bruderhof’s transition to Paraguay in 1940 . . . As images of refugees, racial violence, and warfare once again dominate the news media, the Cotswold story is powerful and timely testimony to an alternative vision for humanity.”


—John D. Roth, Professor of History, Goshen College





“This absorbing book is an important contribution to the history of the Anabaptist movement. Based on thorough research and drawing on a wide variety of sources, it charts the early years of the Bruderhof in Germany and England during a turbulent period of their history and explores the remarkable commitment of the founders and community members to peace witness, shared lifestyle, and mission. Through this sympathetic historical study, Ian Randall highlights issues which remain relevant today.”


—Linda Wilson, Research Fellow, Bristol Baptist College





“Christians from many traditions have been learning from the Anabaptists in recent years. The Bruderhof communities embody a distinctive and enduring witness to principles and practices inspired by the Anabaptist vision. Ian Randall’s detailed study tells the story of the Bruderhof in a crucial early phase of their life in England, inviting us to learn from their faithfulness in the midst of struggles.”


—Stuart Murray Williams, Anabaptist Network, Chair, Mennonite Trust, United Kingdom


 





“In A Christian Peace Experiment, Ian Randall offers a scholarly and approachable case study of the Bruderhof, a significant Christian movement, at an important stage in its development and growth when it moved from Germany to England and later to the Americas. Randall offers a fascinating and well-documented account of a pacifist Christian community with a German foundation in England at the start of World War II . . . Randall provides a valuable resource for both scholars interested in Christian social movements and for those of us who are asking ourselves what it means to be a Christian in the world today.”


—Kevin Ahern, Assistant Professor, Director of Peace Studies, Manhattan College





“I’ve long been an admirer of the Bruderhof community and its vibrant commitment to peacemaking, and Ian Randall’s book about the community’s British history only increases that esteem. A Christian Peace Experiment brims with insights into the historical realities faced by peacemakers in a time of war.”


—Colman McCarthy, Director, Center for Teaching Peace, Washington, D.C.