Against the Wind: Eberhard Arnold and the Bruderhof - Plough

Against the Windthe combative socialist song “Brothers, strive for the sun, for freedom” 31 is happilybound together between “Come, thou bright and morning star” and “Work, forthe night is coming.”The book sold extremely well in spite of, or perhaps because of, its uniqueselection and presentation of songs. Its effect cannot be overestimated. Even CarlFranklin Arnold expressed appreciation to his son:I am very happy that this beautiful, pleasing volume has made its appearance in theworld. Thank you for this valuable present; the binding, the paper, the type, the waythe music is engraved, and the illustrations are all a delight. The wealth of meaningbehind the symbols brings the character and aims of the Sannerz household to the 125eye of the beholder…I must admit, however, that much in the book is alien to meand will always remain alien. I respect your tendency to all-embracing love – only itshould not be an offense to others. 32This letter shows that Eberhard’s father had come to peace about his son’s wayof life, even though he still could not reconcile himself to “pacifism, communism,empathy with the Jewish people, rejection of the church, compulsory abstinence,”and even though Carl Franklin still prayed every evening for the salvation of hisunbaptized grandchildren’s souls. In the academic field he had long recognizedhis son as his equal. Since Eberhard’s days at the Furche Publishing House theyhad kept up a regular exchange of bibliographic information, books, articles, andreviews.rEgrowthEberhard continued to present lectures that were held in high regard. His venuesincluded Frankfurt, Hannover, Leipzig, Stuttgart, and Nordhausen in the HarzMountains. In Nordhausen an active group of young Baptists had gathered arounda married couple named Adolf and Martha Braun. They were part of a wideryouth movement among the Baptists which had taken the name “Weggenossen”(literally, “companions along the way”). Adolf Braun, born in 1893, was a surveyorby profession and ran a small farm. As a soldier during World War I, he had readEberhard’s War: A Call to Inwardness. He was a friend of Heinrich Euler, a Baptistpastor and an original member of the “Early Church” movement. 33 Since Januaryof 1923 Adolf Braun had been in correspondence with Eberhard and had visitedSannerz a number of times, both by himself and with other young Weggenossenmembers. In January and March of 1924 he had asked Eberhard to speak in