Against the Wind: Eberhard Arnold and the Bruderhof - Plough

Against the Wind
11 Balthasar Hubmaier: 1480?–1528. Hans Denck: 1495–1527. In 1923 Eberhard edited a book by Adolf
Metus Schwindt, published by the Neuwerk Verlag, titled Hans Denck: Ein Vorkämpfer undogmatischen
Christentums [Hans Denck: a champion of undogmatic Christianity].
12 German title: Lebensbeweise lebendiger Gemeinden.
13 In 1929 Eberhard revised the chapters “Die Liebe zu Christus” (“Love to Christ”) and “Die Liebe zu den
Brüdern” (“Love to the Brothers”) (new edition 1934, reprint 1973); cf. chap. 13, On the Trail of the
Past.
14 This section of chap. 5 highlights Eberhard’s preliminary steps toward his book Innenland (published
in English as Inner Land ; Rifton, NY: The Plough Publishing House, 1976), which he would ultimately
rewrite several times over and which would constitute one of the major achievements of his life.
Eberhard took the words “inner land” from a poem by Friedrich Lienhard (1865–1929), first published
in 1912. In translation it reads:
If Germany forgets her mission,
If Germany, after roaming the seas
Is no longer guide of the peoples
To the inner land of the unseen
To God and Spirit –
If Germany neglects her holy mission
And no longer leads the way in zeal for perfection
When she no longer points
Away from hate, which holds the iron world
tense and divided,
No longer points the way toward new love –
Then know: Your happiness and rule are dashed to pieces.
It is very likely that Eberhard only discovered the words for his title during the war. Apart from the
unfortunate first edition (1914), which bore the title Der Krieg: ein Aufruf zur Innerlichkeit [The war: a
call to inwardness] (cf. chap 6, n. 5), all later editions of the book carry the title Innenland. Moreover, the
original series of articles were written completely in the sense expressed in Lienhard’s poem, and therefore
the heading “inner land” seems suitable for this section (though some may regard it as premature).
15 Cf. Eberhard Arnold, Lebensbeweise lebendiger Gemeinden, 57.
ChaptEr Six
1 Eberhard Arnold to Emmy von Hollander, June 20, 1908, BA.
2 On August 18, 1914, the Arnold family was alarmed by news – afterwards proven false – that Italy
had declared war on Austria. Concerned by their proximity to the Italian border, they left Oberbozen
straight away. The journey home was very difficult. The only available passenger train had to stop often
and be rerouted to allow emergency military and hospital trains to go straight through; cf. Emy-Margret
Arnold’s Kindheitserinnerungen [Childhood memories], unpublished manuscript, BA. Italy remained
neutral at first and did not enter the war until May 25, 1915, when it joined the Entente.
3 “We sometimes asked ourselves where our duty lay and whether Eberhard should voluntarily go to the
help of our nation in its need.” Emmy Arnold, Aus unserem Leben bis 1920.
4 German title: Das inwendige Leben.
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