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Keep In Touch Newsletter Volume XXII No 2 September 2010 The KIT Newsletter editorial staff welcomes all suggested contributions for publication in the Newsletter from subscribers and read-
ers, but whether a given submission meets the criteria for publication is at the sole discretion of the editors. While priority will be
given to original contributions by people with past Bruderhof connections, any letters, articles, or reports which the editors deem to be
of historical or personal interest or to offer new perspectives on issues of particular relevance to the ex-Bruderhof Newsletter reader-
ship may be included as well. The editors may suggest to the authors changes to improve their presentation.
Have you made your KIT Newsletter subscription/donation payment this year? Please find details on last page.
Contents
Happy Grandparents – Notes from the Hummer 1
A Small KIT Gathering in Bremen 1
Requiescat in Pace: Albrecht Wiegand, Klaus Meier, 2
John Winter, Irene Hasenberg Maendel, 3
Susanna Kleiner Mathis 3
Monika Trümpi has passed away 3
Remembering my Aunt Monika 4
Hans Zimmermann‟s Childhood Memories of Primavera 6
Primavera Map 7
Confrontation Between The Bruderhof And The German
National-Socialist Government 1933 to 1937 – Part 9 10
Contact Details for the KIT-Volunteers 14
Supplement: KIT Address List September 2010
__________________________________________________
Happy Grandparents –
Notes from the Hummer
Joy MacDonald, September 4th
2010: Christine Mathis tele-
phoned last night with the wonderful news that their eldest
daughter, Giovanna, had just given birth to their first grandchild.
The whole family is
thrilled. Ian and Gi-
ovanna‟s daughter is
called Ehlana Christine
Barnard. She weighed
6lbs. 12oz. Best wishes
from Joy
Linda Jackson, Septem-
ber 6th
2010: Ehlana
Christine Barnard and
Giovanna came home
on Sunday morning, so
Christine took us for a
quick visit, and a wel-
come cuddle. Here is a
picture of the happy
grandparents Christine
and Jörg Mathis with
granddaughter Ehlana. She is absolutely gorgeous, lots of dark
hair, a real cutie.
Nadine Pleil, July 12th 2010: After six years our daughter Else
and husband Rob flew to China on the 9th
of July to pick up their
little adoptive daughter. During these six years of waiting and
not knowing how things would turn out, they had a chid of their
own, Liam August who is now a year old. Their daughter‟s name
is Marlene (with the German pronunciation) Leigh, and her Chi-
nese name Zu Zu. She will be called Zu Zu while she is little.
She is eighteen months old. We welcome our fifteenth grand-
child into the rather large Pleil/Trautwein Family and are all very
happy.
Nadine sent this picture of Zu Zu and Liam August Trautwein
A Small KIT Gathering in Bremen By Erdmuthe Arnold
For many years Irene Pfeiffer-Fischer was on the lookout for her
classmate Amanda Stängl. At last she succeeded in finding her
by writing to Amanda‟s sister, Letitia. Irene invited Amanda and
her husband George to Bremen, and sure enough they were keen
to accept the invitation even from far away Texas. Irene and her
husband Horst invited other old friends and the Friedemann clan
for a weekend at the beginning of August 2010 who all knew
Amanda from old times in Ibaté. I was invited too, and travelled
together with Amanda and George Gurganus via train from the
Frankfurt International Airport up to Bremen. Our hosts had re-
novated a big meeting room in their house, with an extra en-
trance, kitchen and annexed toilet. So on our arrival we were in-
vited into that part of the house, now called “Casa Primavera”.
Front, from left: Horst and Irene Pfeiffer, Amanda Gurganus; be-
hind: Hartmut Klüver, Stephan Friedemann, Hedwig Herrmann
and Jean Roering.
Keep In Touch Newsletter 2 Vol. XXII No 2 September 2010
We had a wonderful time together, often sitting in the garden for
our meals, singing many songs, telling each other about past and
present times, looking at photos and films, going on walks, and
visiting Worpswede
Marili Mathäus Friedemann, who could not come herself, had
a special gift for us all. She wrote down a song in which she
mentioned us all. It was sung to the tune “Ein Mann, der sich Co-
lumbus nannt”. Whoever can read and wants to sing it must turn
the song around in circles. We had a good laugh doing so.
The only one who couldn‟t make it was Maris Vigar. She sent
Irene a letter telling her that she wanted to stay with her very ill
brother Nick, who had to undergo an urgent surgery. We all sent
both of them our special greetings, wishing a good recovery.
Amanda and George sitting and leaning on the sculpture “Bremer
Stadtmusikanten”. (Fotos: Gurganus)
Amanda and George Gurganus stayed with Irene and Horst for
some days more and visited the center of Bremen. One of their
sightseeing trips was to the “Bremer Stadtmusikanten” – a tale of
old times, which we grew up with in Primavera, and which was
represented in a sculpture.
It was very nice to meet and get to know you two. Let‟s keep
in touch.
Requiescat in Peace
Albrecht Wiegand passed away
KIT. Only one week after turning sixty-eight on June, 5th
, Al-
brecht Wiegand died, June 11th
, 2010. He had been severely ill
for a long time and was finally taken to the hospital after suffer-
ing an esophageal rupture. There he caught a bad infection from
which he couldn‟t recover.
As a kid Albrecht suffered a bad accident in Primavera, fall-
ing from a tree. He was found unconscious, and, as it turned out,
was no longer able to attend school, so he usually worked with
grownups in different work departments, such as the garden.
After his family moved to the Sinntal Bruderhof in 1959, Al-
brecht went to England to escape German military service. There
he worked on farms for little money. At one point his mother
Albrecht boating down the Tapiracuay River
Waltraut wrote to a friend that he felt homesick and rejected. So
he was happy to have contact with his elder, adopted brother
William Phew, and also with the German orphan boys, and most
probably also with the three Holz brothers. He appreciated it to
be invited into the Lord family for Christmas – together with
William.
Albrecht returned to Germany in about 1969 and got married
in 1972. He lived with his wife Regina in Braunsbach, and later
on in Kocherstetten, where the couple moved into their own
house. Both homes weren‟t far from his parents, Gerhard and
Waltraut in Braunsbach-Tierberg. Albrecht was a hard worker
and earned good money in a factory. Later on he was divorced
from Regina. He was the father of two girls: Christina and Jenny.
Albrecht is the third child to pass away of the late Wiegands,
Gerhard and Waltraut, nee von Dezengel (both of whom joined
the Rhönbruderhof). On August 29th
, 1972 his younger brother
Johannes had a fatal accident with his motorbike at the age of on-
ly 22 years. This was a tremendously hard blow to his parents
and the family. About three years ago, in 2007 Karin Mühl (born
1947) was found dead in her apartment. After her marriage was
divorced, she had lived alone. She left behind two boys.
Klaus Meier died at Darvell
KIT: In January, 2010 Klaus Meier died at the age of seventy-
seven at Darvell Bruderhof, after another massive stroke. He had
been very ill for some time before. He married Irene Frouke
Helwig Fros many years ago in El Arado, and fathered about
nine children. Klaus was born March 29th
1932 in Switzerland.
He was a baby when his parents Hans and Margrit Meier joined
the Rhönbruderhof in 1933. Klaus belonged to the circle of the
Keep In Touch Newsletter 3 Vol. XXII No 2 September 2010
leaders on the Bruderhof. Together with Irene he had visited sev-
eral Ex-Bruderhofers in the past few years.
Irene Maendel passed away in Danthonia
KIT: During a longer stay on the Danthonia Bruderhof in Aus-
tralia Irene Hasenberg Maendel suffered a stroke from which she
died on March 8th
2010, at the age of seventy. Her husband Jake
Maendel and one of their ten children, Chris were with her.
Irene was the oldest child of the late Kathleen and Erich Ha-
senberg, born on the 11th
of January, 1940 on the Cotswold Bru-
derhof. Four more children followed, who all were born in Pri-
mavera: Maureen Herschberger (now the only one living on the
Bruderhof), Edith Assel, Jean Roering, Bernd Hasenberg and
Brenda Reber. Tragically both Edith (in 1996) and Brenda (in
2003) died untimely of cancer.
John Winter passed away at Beechgrove
KIT: John Winter died on March 9th,
2010 on the Beechgrove
Bruderhof in England at the age of eighty-nine. Many of the
Primavera Sabras will remember him fondly. For many years the
Winter family with five children lived in Ibaté. About seven
years earlier his wife Anni Margaretta Catton, known as Nancy,
also passed away.
Christel Klüver died at New Medow Run
KIT: At the beginning of July, 2010 Christel Klüver passed
away at the New Medow Run Community. Christel was born on
the 9th
of October, 1935 on the Rhönbruderhof to Wilhelm and
Charlotte Klüver, and she was the only one of the family who
stayed on the Bruderhof.
Her sisters and brothers living away from the community,
Thomas, Konrad, Renatus, Reinhild, Hartmuth and Karola, were
Interested?: The BRUDERHOF ESCAPE BOOKS written by
Elisabeth Bohlken-Zumpe, Miriam Arnold Holmes, Belinda
Manley, and Nadine Moonje Pleil are available. Please contact: Margot Purcell, 2095 South Emmas Lane, La Porte, IN 46350
USA, tel: +1 219 324 8068, email: purcellmb@comcast.net
informed in a brief letter. In it, Donald Alexander wrote that
Christel passed away peacefully after laboring for more than
twenty years with multiple sclerosis. Christel loved working with
children.
Susanna Mathis Kleiner passed away
Miriam Holmes to the Hummer, September 13th
2010: Heidi
called to let me know that her sister Susanna Mathis Kleiner died
last Saturday (September 11th
). She had suffered from cancer of
the spine for the past years and lived a lot longer than the doctors
predicted. Heidi visited her and her husband Peter two months
ago at the Catskill Bruderhof. She experienced her sister as frail
but very cheerful and loving.
Sanna was born on the Rhönbruderhof on October 21st 1932
as oldest child to Fritz and Martha (Sekunda) Kleiner. She and
Peter celebrated their 50th
wedding anniversary in November
2009. They have ten children. One of them died as an infant.
We remember Sanna as an energetic, enthusiastic hard work-
ing woman. She had artistic talents and was an absolute wonder
when it came to the practical day to day skills so useful on the
Bruderhof.
All but two of her children remain on the Bruderhof. Daugh-
ter Leah is with the Hutterites, and son Nathan lives in Califor-
nia. I am sure Peti would appreciate a note from those who re-
member Sanna. He will miss her terribly.
Monika Trümpi has passed away
By Erdmuthe Arnold
Aunt Monika Elisa-
beth Trümpi died very
suddenly on the 23rd
of
April at Northern Dut-
chess Hospital in Rhi-
nebeck, New York at
the age of ninety-two.
She had a stroke four
days earlier. I talked to
Uncle Balz a few days
later and he said, “We
– her family – were re-
lieved that she is freed
from all suffering.”
Balz said this with
Monika Trümpi 1999
(private photo)
great sorrow. He felt bad that he did not stay in the hospital the
last night of Monika‟s life – as he had the three nights before.
Balz great wish was that his wife would die in his arms. The doc-
tor had told Balz that Monika suffered a severe stroke and that
she would die within a few days. Balz wanted to take her back
home and tried to prepare everything the same evening. Then –
during that night – the call came from the hospital. Two daugh-
ters quickly drove there, but they arrived after their mother‟s
death.
The morning of the 19th
of April Monika had been sitting in
the kitchen unable to move, she could not speak. It was clear to
Balz that she had suffered a stroke. With one of his daughters he
called to get her into hospital. She got a private room and good
care. As Monika‟s tongue was paralyzed she could not speak,
and she couldn‟t swallow properly. But she could hear what was
going on. When her son Ebo played the violin for her at her bed-
side she seemed to relax. But the next day her situation got
worse. It was not possible to clear the respiration tract; treatment
was a torture and fruitless.
With her, the last child of Eberhard and Emmy Arnold has
passed away. Monika and Balz were married a lifetime - 72
years! For nearly fifty years they lived in Hide Park, New York –
where they moved soon after they left the Bruderhof as a family
in the summer of 1961. So really, Monika and her husband Balz,
now ninety-five years of age, are longtime residents of Hyde
Park. Their obituary in the local paper reads:
“Mrs. Trumpi was trained in Switzerland as pediatric nurse
and worked as a private duty nurse for various local families be-
cause she loved working with children. She also tutored students
in the German language. She loved riding her bicycle around
Hyde Park until she obtained her driver‟s license. Her biggest
thrill was visiting her family and friends. She attended the
Friends Meeting House in Poughkeepsie.
Keep In Touch Newsletter 4 Vol. XXII No 2 September 2010
December 1987 Monika and Balz celebrated their golden wedding –
that’s how many KIT people will remember . (private photo)
“Born in Berlin, Germany on February 20th
, 1918, she was the
daughter of the late Eberhard and Emmy Arnold.
“On December 31st, 1937 in England she married Balthasar
Trumpi who survives at home in Hyde Park.
“In addition to her husband, she is survived by eight children:
Anna Monika Pieper and her husband, Robb, Eberhard Trumpi
of Red Hook, Gabriele Davenport, Emmy Dall Vechia and her
husband, John, of Rhinebeck, Joanna Blair and her husband,
Dewey, of Hopewell Junction, Monica Scofield and her husband,
Jeff, of Cary, N.C., Balthazar Trumpi of Mill Valley, California,
and Margrit Bunk and her husband, Pete, of Hyde Park. She
adored her thirteen surviving grandchildren and her fifteen great
grandchildren, with the 16th
expected in September.
“She was predeceased by two infant daughters, Elisabeth and
Maria, a grandson, Lucian Trumpi, a sister, Emmi Ma Zumpe,
and three brothers, Hardy, Hans-Hermann, and Heini Arnold.”
The burial on April 26th
and funeral services were private.
Mostly family members came together to bid her farewell. Balz
had asked a friend, a catholic priest, to speak, and he did so well,
describing the life of Monika.
The following Prayer of St. Francis Assisi meant very much to
Aunt Monika:
Lord make me an instrument of Thy peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon. Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope. Where there is darkness, light. Where there is sadness, joy.
Oh Divine Master; grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love; for it is in giving that we receive, and it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
I am very glad that I ignored the demand of the Bruderhof, to
have no contact with Aunt Monika and Uncle Balz. The few
times I could I visited them in Hyde Park. From the start there
was mutual understanding and a family bond. This meant a lot to
me, and the closeness prevails. I also learned from several Ex-
Bruderhofers, for instance Nadine and August Pleil, Margot Pur-
cell, her siblings and cousins, how important the contact became
to them after once getting in contact again during the KIT gather-
ing in 1991. On their way to the KIT gatherings in later years
they all would pass by in Hyde Park and found there an open
home. They enjoyed singing songs together – Balz accompany-
ing them on the piano.
Remembering my Aunt Monika
By Elisabeth Bohlken-Zumpe
It saddened me to hear about Aunt Monika's death. She was the
last of Eberhard and Emmy Arnold‟s children to pass away.
I loved her as well as Uncle Balz dearly. At many times in
my life they became very important to me. Monika was ninety-
two years old. She had a good long life together with Balz, their
children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren at Horseshoe
Drive in Hyde Park. I will remember her as a loving and listen-
ing aunty, whenever I had difficulties. When our daughter Hanna
was sick with cancer and died after three years of fighting, Balz
and Monika were there on the phone and by letter to support us.
Balz and Monika met each other for the first time in August
1934 – as he told me in a conversation a few weeks ago: The
young Swiss schoolteacher Balthasar Trümpi visited the
Almbruderhof, taking the bus to Triesenberg. From there he
walked up the mountain with the violin under his arm. As he ap-
proached the upper tunnel he saw a beautiful girl and thought:
“That is what my bride should look like one day.”
Balz was impressed by the Bruderhof, situated in such a
beautiful spot of the Alps. He got to know the different young
people of the community and had especially good and warm dis-
cussions with Fritz Kleiner and decided to join.
Exactly one year later he walked from the Rhönbruderhof to
the district town Veitsteinbach together with Hans Zumpe, to ask
for a permit to live in Germany, and this was stamped into his
passport. At that time he was twenty one years old. He joined the
community and got to know everyone there, mostly young, ac-
tive people like himself, and especially Monika, then seventeen
years old. Although young, her father seemed to agree that they
should get to know each other.
The same year both experienced together with the Rhönbru-
derhof community the death of Monika‟s father Eberhard Arnold
on November 22nd
, 1935. This was a great shock to the family, as
well as for all members. Eberhard‟s sons Hardy, Heini and Hans-
Hermann were studying in Zürich, Switzerland. My Grandfather
made my father Hans Zumpe promise to forbid his sons to re-
enter Germany if anything should happen to him. He was well
Monika Arnold with
her niece Burgel
Zumpe 1937 on the
Almbruderhof
aware that he was a
target for the Nazis.
He had preached
openly against Na-
tional Socialism and
written numerous ar-
ticles, letters and
even books about the
Nazi threat. The risk
that his sons would
be arrested by the
Nazis and put in
concentration camps
as “communists”
was great. Therefore
Keep In Touch Newsletter 5 Vol. XXII No 2 September 2010
Hardy, Heini and Hans-Herman were unable to see their father
one more time, before he died.
No one knew what the future would bring for the little com-
munity. When our Grandfather's coffin was brought to the
Rhönbruderhof from Darmstadt, Monika was very upset; she was
only seventeen years old and had always been a “special trea-
sure” to her father. She was weeping with her hand on the coffin;
Balz put his hand on hers quietly, and never let go again for the
following seventy-four years. They married in England 1937 on
the Cotswold Bruderhof.
Balz (Balthasar) was a young teacher from Switzerland and
not a full member yet, but he had experienced the little commu-
nity for some time and knew Eberhard Arnold well. He was will-
ing to join this poverty stricken place to try and find answers to
life for mankind, especially during war threatening times in Eu-
rope.
Monika was the sunshine of the Arnold family, seven years
younger than my mother Emmi-Margaret. She was a tomboy
who played with her three big brothers. She was always ready to
join in any fun with them, and maybe also a little mischief. No
tree was too high for her to climb and there was no window on
the place she had not climbed in and out of. – This I heard years
later, when my husband Hans and I spent our honeymoon in the
Rhön, 1963. The farmers knew a lot about the Bruderhof and the
Arnold family! I was amazed at their stories.
I remember Monika and Balz from a very early age: Fields
full of flowers, sunshine, cowbells ringing and a beautiful, young
Aunty, who would take me for walks, in the Alps of Liechtens-
tein. I well remember when in England at the end of 1938 my
mother expected Kilian and the educational leadership at the
Cotswold Bruderhof thought it was better for me to go to the
Oaksey Bruderhof with Balz and Monika.
The older Zumpe children Bette, Ben and Heidi 1937 in Liechten-
stein (two photo submitted by Elisabeth Bohlken)
Most probably I was too lively for my mother who was already
sick, without us knowing. I loved my Aunt and Uncle but missed
my family. They had a small bedroom, and my bed was placed at
the foot of their bed. Balz taught the big boys during the day, like
Roland, Walla, Schorsch, Costantin and many more of my heroes
of that time. I could hear them next door and cried my eyes out,
feeling so lonesome and forlorn. One night I got out of bed to go
to the toilet right next to the bedroom. I was unable to reach the
cord to flush the toilet and climbed on the seat to reach it – it
flushed, I lost my balance and fell into the toilet pot, with cold
water flushing over my feet. I screamed – Balz came running,
held me in his arms, found a dry nighty and warmed my feet. I
loved him for that.
1941 in Paraguay, we had no school during our first month in
Primavera. We children roamed around, watching the brothers
build houses, working hard in the heat of the tropical sun. Some-
times there was a kind of “Hort”, and we sang together or played
games. Once all the groups from England had arrived in Prima-
vera, little straw thatched cabins without walls were built in the
wild forest, later known as “Schulwald” (school wood). Each ca-
bin had a primitive school board and simple benches. There was
a cabin for every class. Balz was organizing everything and
taught in every class. He was the head-master – there was no
doubt about that. Apart from that he was our “own” teacher – for
all the six and seven year olds. We had run pretty wild, due to all
the different experiences and circumstances we had to digest and
understand. Balz was a wonderful teacher. I still remember vi-
vidly the poems and songs he taught us then. At that time Moni-
ka and Balz had two children, Annemone and Eberhard. Then
they had a little baby, Maria; she died soon after her birth in
1942. Oma or Moni took me to see little Maria – I remember a
little black haired baby, with tiny little hands. It was such a tra-
gedy, so sad and all the schoolchildren had a quiet day, drawing
pictures for Balz and Monika.
The child that followed was Elisabeth, a lovely, bouncing ba-
by girl, born on the 1st of April 1943. I was sure they called her
Elisabeth after me and was very proud of that. Nine months later
Elisabeth caught a tropical disease and she was brought to the
hospital in Loma Hoby. I remember Monika with the little one in
her arms – she was beautiful, fair curls, but dusty from travelling
on the sandy road through the forest. She had high fever and
pneumonia. I remember waiting for the wagon to arrive in Loma;
somehow we knew, and waited to see the cloud of dust, as the
wagon came out of the woods. This was on September 8th
, 1943.
Monika was very upset, trying to keep the dust out of the little
baby‟s face with her Kopftuch. That same day Elisabeth died and
we went to sing for her at the hospital. I could not believe she
was dead; as I was breathing in and out, I thought her little body
was breathing. We children were terribly upset to see her dead,
as well as her grieving parents. This is one of the days and expe-
riences I will never, ever forget.
Balz went to England with my father and the Johnson family
late in 1947 to raise money for Primavera and to see if there was
some way to take sixty German war-orphans back to Primavera
to give them a new home. The tragic news of Fritz Kleiner‟s
death on December 3rd
, 1947 reached Balz, Hans, Guy and Elea-
nor as they were boarding the ship bound for Europe. Fritz died
due to an accident in the workshop. Balz told me later this was a
terrible blow for all of them. They met to pray and encourage
each other, asking for strength and guidance for the days and
weeks to come, as well as for the families in Primavera.
My Father returned to Primavera late in 1948 with Stanley
Fletcher, but Balz was asked to stay in Wheathill, to help the
community heal after a time of crisis. It was hard for Aunt Mo-
nika, who missed him even longer. She often visited my mother
in Loma Hoby - they laughed and cried together. I also remem-
ber her excitement when she was allowed to go to Asunción to
meet Balz on his return! In 1951 my father was back in Whea-
thill, and my Mother had to have an operation. Balz came to
Asunción to support me. He was absolutely lovely. The way he
talked to me made me feel so grown up and accepted. He wrote a
daily report about my Mother for my Dad in England.
In1953 our family, together with Neckie Böhning left Prima-
vera and moved to Wheathill. As it is with Bruderhof family con-
tacts, we kind of lost each other, but we were always in contact.
My mother loved her younger sister and they wrote long letters
to each other about their children and community ups and downs.
I left Europe for Woodcrest in 1960 with Uncle Heini. I
thought Woodcrest was lovely, a beautiful place with joyful
members. I wanted to feel at home there. But in 1961 I was sent
away to New York City. For the next month I worked really hard
Keep In Touch Newsletter 6 Vol. XXII No 2 September 2010
to get the nurse license for the State of New York. For this I had
to pass all kinds of exams and also take a course in psychiatry. I
had two choices: go to the very big Pilgrim State Hospital, or to
Hudson River State Hospital. I chose the last. One day, feeling
lonesome I searched the telephone directory for the name Trümpi
– a very unusual name in the States. I found it quickly and tele-
phoned Balz. He said that he would come to visit me first. We
went for a drive and he told me about their situation. He asked
me not to speak about the Bruderhof in their house, as my cou-
sins and Monika really wanted to build up a new life without all
the hurt and baggage of the past years. He also alerted me to the
fact that it would be difficult for me to return to the Bruderhof if
I had to confess having had contact with the “outcasts”. After
that I visited often, since the hospital was not far from the
Trümpi home.
Christmas 1962 I travelled to Germany to search for my fa-
ther as well as my brother Kilian. Kilian and I then went to Hol-
land, to see Hans Bohlken, whom I only knew from a visit to the
Sinntal Bruderhof. Somehow a spark was still there. I had not
seen him for four years, and needed to see and talk to him again.
We got engaged New Year‟s night. I had to go back to the States
and phoned Balz to ask if he could pick me up at the New York
airport. Balz and Monika both met me there and took me to their
home where I stayed for a few days. For the next several months
I saw them every week; they were loving and lovely. At the end
of May, 1963 I left for Holland again to get married, but we re-
mained in contact throughout the years.
In 1985 Balz and Monika came to Oosterwolde to be with us
for ten days. I freed myself from family duties for a week to take
Aunt and Uncle to our island house at Ameland. We talked and
talked; it was so good. Monika still believed in her father‟s
dream of unity in community, whereas Balz was very clear about
the “Heini-ism” which he wanted to have nothing to do with an-
ymore. But even though hard, they could laugh about it and it
was easy to see the glow of love that would stay with them for
the rest of their life together.
In 1991 I came over to the States for the KIT Conference
with my youngest daughter Hanna, and we stayed at their home.
This was the last time we saw each other, but stayed in contact
by telephone as well as by mail.
In Aunt Monika we lose a wonderful person, who looked for
ways and means to give love to everyone coming into her life.
She always reminded me of my own mother, whom I saw so lit-
tle since leaving the Bruderhof. I treasure our times together.
Childhood Memories of Primavera in Paraguay By Hans Zimmermann – Part 1
I am often asked to write down some of my childhood memories
from our years living in Paraguay; even my mother passed on
this request from the Bruderhof in 1989. They were looking for
more stories of the time in Primavera, including names of people
we lived with and who had a major influence on our lives. I nev-
er complied with that request as I did not trust the Bruderhof to
publish or print my story verbatim.
I have to admit that my memories have become rather clouded
and only with the help of the many different stories about that
period published in KIT am I able to reconstruct that time of my
life to some extent. The early memories of childhood can be de-
ceiving, as everything in the eyes of a small kid seems immense
and endless.
DESCRIPTION OF PRIMAVERA
Primavera was a wonderful and exciting place, seemingly un-
touched by civilization. The first village was started 1941: Isla
Margarita was situated on a large, mostly grass covered plateau,
spotted with a few small wooded islands, the southern part being
the large Orange Wood, which was really a subtropical jungle.
At one end grew many sweet orange trees. Isla Margarita was
surrounded by the low laying campos (grass plains). To the east
and northeast it opened up for miles into the Campo Riveroscué
and Campo Dolores which extended all the way to the village of
Vaca Hú, where on the horizon one could see the hills of San Es-
tanislao (Santaní). To the north and west rose the jungle of
Monte Riveroscué, separated from the village by just a thin strip
of low campo through which ran the public road, El Camino
Real, which was the main connection between Santani and Puer-
to Rosario on the Paraguay River. From our village one could
call over to the woods, and the echo would clearly come back.
This shows how close the forests were. Our favorite call was,
“Was essen die Studenten?” And the echo would reply “Enten!”
To the west and southwest, separating Isla Margarita from the
second village Loma Hoby, was the jungle Monte Riveroscué
stretching all the way to the River Tapiracuay – forming the
southern boundary of our Primavera property, well protected by
an impenetrable swamp, crawling with Yacares (Alligators),
Carpinchos (Capibaras) Curiyus (large constrictor water snakes)
and myriads of ticks. The swamp extended along our southeas-
tern boundary to the jungle of Monte Jaime, separated from
Monte Riveroscué by the Campo Invernada and Carabi-ý.
Monte Jaime was the most remote and almost inaccessible
wilderness in Primavera and had a somewhat mystical aura about
it. During wet periods it was only accessible from the eastern end
across from the Monte Isla Guazú (large Island) which formed
the border on the east side of Primavera. During my last two
years in Primavera, Monte Jaime became my favorite place to
escape when I wanted to be alone. My excuse was, I needed to
train my horses, mostly my favorite horse Mercedes. (See my
memories about Mercedes in the KIT Newsletter, April 1998,
and July 1998.)
I still vividly remember all these jungles as they stood un-
touched, prior to our efforts to clear them for agriculture and our
increasing need for the only source of fuel, fire wood.
Loma Hoby was started in 1942 as a small village on a most-
ly wooded hill, surrounded by Campo Bolsa to the northwest,
Campo Loma to the west, and to the south, Campo Guaná, one of
our better grass plains, which ended in the swamp of the River
Tapiracuay. Loma Hoby was also the location where the pre-
vious owner, Rutenberg had his residence, or what is commonly
called in Paraguay his Estancia or ranch house. This building had
a nice wide verandah around it, a well-house in front, a long ar-
bor with grape vines growing over it, and fruit and banana trees
nearby. This building later became the dining room and meeting
place for the village which eventually was built around it, with
the hospital becoming the focal point. Cattle raising and horse
breeding was also centered in Loma Hoby for most of our time in
Primavera – until this village and everything west down to the
swamps of Guaná was sold to our Mennonite neighbors middle
of 1960. At that time the cattle breeding and ranching was moved
to Ibaté.
The third village, Ibaté was just a small grassy island (potre-
ro) in the midst of the jungle south-west of Isla Margarita: to the
west the Monte Riveroscué, to the east and south Monte Abebo.
One main feature I still remember was the large number of
leaf cutting ants nests which thrived on the high dry ground,
Explanation of the map of Primavera, the location of the Bruderhof communi-
ties in Paraguay between 1941 and 1961. Map (1:25.000) and legend courtesy of
Roger Allain (first published in the KIT Newsletter, July 1990). [Foto: Erdmuthe Arnold]
Location: 24°35' South, 56°42' West; 120 km (72 miles) south of the Tropic of Capricorn. In Paraguay, 120 kilometers northwest of the capital Asunción; 50 ki-
lometers east of the Paraguay River and the river port Puerto Rosario.
Area: 7,820 hectares (approximately 20,000 acres or 30 sq. miles). Maximum distance from North to South: 12 km; East to West: 10 km.
Soil and Topography: altitude: 100m (350') above sea level. Land forms: Cam-po (camps): low-lying, flat, dark clay soil covered with grass, and used for cattle
grazing. – Monte (woods): plateaus about 60 to 100 feet higher, with red, sandy, very fertile soil, naturally covered by tropical rain forests, used for lumbering and
growing crops by the slash-and-burn method of rozados. – Islas: smaller, wooded
islands dispersed in the camp. – Potreros: smaller camps dispersed in the monte. – Estero: marshland, in the south, along the Tapiracuay River.
Place Names: The oldest features have Indian-Guaraní names (like Mbocayatý =
palm tree grove); newer features have Spanish names (like Bolsa = bag), or a
combination of Spanish and Guaraní (like Loma Hoby = bluish-green hill; Monte
Riveroscué = forest that once belonged to the Riveros). The newest features had German or English names introduced by the Bruderhof (like Orange Wood).
Ownership: Until 1941, Primavera belonged to a German called Rutenberg whose house and ranch were in Loma Hoby and who lived from lumbering, cat-
tle-raising and the exploitation of native labor. From 1941 to 1961 the Bruderhof
was owner, first officially registered as Sociedad Fraternal Hutteriana, and later as Sociedad de Hermanos. The population was about 300 in 1941 and 700 in
1960 (including the Bruderhof House in Asunción).
The property was sold out by the rump brotherhood to the neighboring Menno-nite Colony of Friesland in 1961.
Survey and Mapping: The estate was surveyed and mapped by Adolf Braun in 1941 and '42.
The Höfe (communal villages) were: Isla Margarita, founded in March, 1941 and abandoned in January, 1962; Loma Hoby, founded in January 1942, and aban-
doned in September (?) 1960; Ibaté, founded in 1946, and abandoned in 1961.
Borders to the North: Mbocayatý, Amambay, Carolina; East: Laguna Hú, Estan-cia San Vicente Destefano; West: village Rio Rhugua, Mennonite Colony Fries-
land, and the property of Major Sanches; South: Tapiracuay River and Marshland
(Estero), and Estancia Sapena Pastor.
Keep In Touch Newsletter 8 Vol. XXII No 2 September 2010
surrounded by the lush forests from which they harvested the
leaves for their sub-terrainean fungus gardens. It always seemed
such a desolate place to pass through on the way to the river Ta-
piracuay. I still remember seeing the skeleton of a large snake
hanging across the branches of some bushes, apparently having
been picked clean by ants.
Ibaté was started in 1946 with the idea of housing German
war orphans. However, the German government would not per-
mit them to leave Germany, but suggested that we give many of
the Displaced Persons (commonly referred to as DPs) a chance
for a new life in Paraguay. Most of the DPs came from Eastern
Europe: Russia, Estonia, Lithuania or Poland. When they arrived
in 1949, they were divided up between the three villages or Höfe
as we called them. Within a year or two, nearly all the DPs had
left our community. They had fled communism and socialism,
and our community life must have reminded them of something
they had just escaped.
ABUNDANT AND REWARDING NATURE
The proximity to nature, exposure to the weather, the animals,
birds, reptiles and insects is still very much alive in me.
Our family first lived in Isla Margarita. Among my earliest
recollections are lying on a hard bed in one of the quickly con-
structed buildings with as of yet no walls which we called Halle.
“Our” Halle was closest to the main dining room. It was turning
dusk and we were being put to bed. From my bed I had an open
view across the fields and gardens toward the Orange Wood. The
jungle appeared as a dark silhouette. In the sky above, huge cu-
mulus clouds reflected the fading daylight, and out of the clouds
came bright flashes of fire. I was all excited and called my moth-
er to ask what this was. She told me, “Isn‟t that beautiful, that is
Wetterleuchten [sheet lightening].” She said it in a very calm and
assuring way. The lightning was too far away so one could not
hear any thunder. I thought it fascinating and watched it with
amazement until I fell asleep.
With no walls to keep noise out, the sounds of the jungle at
night and its closeness were among my first impressions. The
howler monkey (Caraya) would howl mostly in the early even-
ing, supposedly an indicator of coming rain or changing weather.
The big purple-brown wood hen, Mocoi Cocové could be heard
calling from all parts of the jungle in the late afternoon and early
evening – an eerie sound. The smaller wood hen could be heard
late in the evening, calling out from the high grass and bushes.
At night several types of owls could be heard, from the small
ones to the big ones. The big owl, Yacurutú made a sound simi-
lar to the sound of the large barn owl we have in the Catskills
Mountains of New York. We also called them cat owls: Stories
had it they came to hunt for our domestic cats. The nightjar
(whippoorwill) could be heard mostly on moonlit nights; they
never seemed to shut up, however it was a nice call to listen to.
But of all the night birds, the Urutaú was the most distinctive,
with its sorrowful call which would start on a high note and des-
cend in four steps, something like: nua-ing-wing-wae. During the
day this bird would sit on the end of a dead branch. With its
brown-gray color it appeared just part of the tree, difficult to
detect.
I loved the sounds of the different types of crickets, also the
sight of the fireflies lighting up the fields by the thousands in the
evening. In midsummer the large cicadas would end the day with
their evening concert. Just before sun down one could hear them
from all the surrounding woods starting with their siren like
whistle which would reach a crescendo, ending in a loud blast –
like the sound of a steam engine. This would go on until it be-
came fully dark. On occasion, before day break, one could hear
the Chiricoé, which lived on the ground, always on the edge of
the jungle. The cry of the Chiricoé was a sure indicator of com-
ing rain. In later years one hardly ever heard that bird because
the close lying woods had been cut down. After any heavy rain
or during the wet season the frogs and toads would start their
evening concert, which would go on most of the night. There
were at least four different types of large frogs making their dis-
tinctive mating calls, which varied in volume and quantity, and
many smaller species joined the chorus. Once in a while during
the early years in Isla Margarita one could hear the drumming of
the butcherbird on warm summer nights. I cannot recall hearing
it again during the last few years while in Primavera.
FAINT MEMORIES OF THE FIRST YEARS
My earliest memories are a blur. I remember constant activity,
men fussing around new buildings and trips to the saw mill and
carpentry shop where dad worked. I vaguely remember the pits
where logs were cut into planks by hand; the noises of the big
sawmill and the smell of the sawdust, which was quite strong.
The different tropical woods had very strong smells – Lapacho,
Paraguayan Cedar, Peterevy, Ivirapytá and Curupa-ý, to name a
few. The pile of sawdust grew to what we kids called a moun-
tain. We would often dig holes into the pile, cover ourselves up
to our necks and enjoy a natural sauna as the temperature was
close to 100 degrees Fahrenheit in the moist sawdust. Dug in
thus, we would look up into the sky on a cool evening – watch-
ing the first stars appear; it was a great place to play.
We kids were frequently sick, we had a measles epidemic,
chicken pox, eye infections, and our feet infested with the very
itchy Ceboí worm. The nurses would pour iodine over the in-
fested area which was quite painful. We were attacked by sand
flees, and very painful screw worms. They infested even more
dogs, cats and cattle. The only animals free of screw worms were
the horses. During the first years many children died from dis-
ease and poor nutrition. As young children we learned that sick-
ness and death was part of life. In the community‟s prayers and
songs we asked for protection from all evils, spiritual and physi-
cal.
My parents were Kurt and Marianne (Annemarie) Zimmer-
mann, I had three older sisters: Renate, Mathilde and Emmy. Af-
ter me followed Kurt and David, and later on three more girls
and two boys: Annemarie, Krista, Angelika, Eckehart, and after a
few years interval, Johann. The first four kids were born in Ger-
many, Liechtenstein, and England. Kurt was the first to be born
in Paraguay, as were the rest.
My parents loved to sing, especially my mother who had a
good musical education and played all kinds of instruments: vi-
olin, recorder, piano, and organ. Dad loved to sing, although he
had a terrible time keeping tune. He made up for his lack of mus-
ical talent with enthusiasm. There was always some kind of mu-
sic in the house; if it was not violin or recorder then it was sing-
ing. We started the day with a morning song, at noon or Vesper
time with a song about nature or a hiking song, in the evening, a
song of praise, and all the German lullabies – as there was al-
ways a baby or kid who had to be lulled to sleep. The number of
German lullabies and evening songs is endless, and my mother
was a walking encyclopedia when it came to songs. Many of the
songs were centuries old. We kids could not help but learn and
love them. Many years later I had to teach my youngest brother
some of the melodies when he had his first child. He, being the
last, never got to learn many of the German songs. I personally
loved to sing, but was less successful with musical instruments.
KINDERGARTEN AND PRE-SCHOOL
In Kindergarten I start to remember people by name, and events
within a specific time frame. My fellows were: Timothy John-
son, Michael Cain, Paul Gerhard Kaiser, Bernhard Dyroff, Lien-
hard Gneiting, Miriam Arnold, Rosemarie Arnold, Irene Hasen-
Keep In Touch Newsletter 9 Vol. XXII No 2 September 2010
berg, Jane Hazelton, Hannabeth Meier, Ursula Sumner, Klara
Arnold, Margareth Friedemann, and Elisabeth Sorgius. I went
through our nine years of school with most of these same child-
ren, so we got to know each other quite well and also the fami-
lies, all except for Timothy Johnson, my closest friend, whose
family first moved to Loma Hoby, then Ibaté, and later went
back to England.
Our teachers in the Isla Margarita Kindergarten were Gretel
Gneiting and Winifred Dyroff, and occasionally others. I still
remember sitting at a long wooden table under a big constrictor
tree (Guapoí, belonging to the fig family). That is where we got
our first lessons in writing and drawing and also the first stories
read and told us. We got to know all sorts of children stories and
fairy tales. My attention was divided between the stories and
watching other things: various types of parrots were feeding up
in the Guapoí tree, or a long green tree snake that had taken up
residence in the hollow of the tree the Guapoí had suffocated; it
had been his host in which he had originally started as a small
seedling in a knothole.
The Kindergarten and Pre-school were situated between the
kitchen and the school wood. They had their own patch of woods
which had a variety of trees, each bearing fruit or seed at differ-
ent times of the year, attracting all kinds of birds and small ani-
mals. One tree I liked in particular was a large Ivahaý. In spring
it would have beautiful white fluffy blossoms with the most dis-
tinctive sweet aroma which could be noticed from quite a dis-
tance. The flowers would later turn into gnarled odd shaped fruit,
yellow when ripe, with a sour-sweet flavor, however most would
be spoiled before we could get them because they‟d be stung by
bees and wasps just before turning ripe.
In the first years there were only two Kindergarten buildings.
The old make-shift shed, covered with corrugated iron sheets
was hot in summer and cold in winter. During the heavy down-
pours of rain it was very noisy. During siesta we had to sleep on
a “Pritsche”, a low wooden bed, hard and uncomfortable. I
dreaded siesta and had a hard time going to sleep. It was either
hot or cold, depending on the time of the year; in addition the
Chopís (black birds) would congregate in the trees, together with
the Lorritos (small green and yellow parrots) and sing and chatter
for hours. Small house lizards would climb up and down the
walls chasing flies. Occasionally one of the big black, yellow-
white Iguanas would make its appearance. We kids called them
“Land-Krokodile”, and we were scared of them. The second
building was better, built with bricks and close to the laundry,
overlooking Campo Riveroscué and the Bee Wood. In this build-
ing the smallest kids were kept.
SCHOOL WAS SOMETHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO
Our Pre-school group was eagerly awaiting the move up into the
first grade and the big School Wood. At that time there were two
long brick school buildings, each with four classrooms. The
buildings were parallel to each other and about one hundred me-
ters apart. Right in between, in the middle of an open space, was
a palm tree (Mbocayá), with the long sharp thorns on its trunk
and fronds. Here the weaverbirds would build their nests every
year; two, three or four long hanging baskets on each of the
twelve to fifteen fronds. These birds were extremely noisy and a
major distraction during school hours. There was another smaller
building amongst the trees, with only two rooms, which we
called the English hut. This was the first schoolhouse. Later Eric
Phillips, our gym- and science-teacher, built a work shop which
was extended every year with the help of the school kids. During
this process he taught us how to use tools to build a house and
doors, windows, shelves, et cetera.
Later on another building was constructed on the east end of the
School Wood, next to the old horse and ox stable. Led by the
three kings, (Fritz Kleiner always played the Moor) we all would
go in a long procession at Christmas time from the dining room,
along the vegetable gardens, in between the Kindergarten and the
School Wood to the stables, which overlooked Campo Riveros-
cué and Campo Dolores. With live oxen, horses, donkeys and
sheep, the nativity scene always made a great impression on us
kids. It all seemed so real: the open campo down below where
one could hear the cattle lowing, the smell of horse and cow ma-
nure, the dark sky with myriad of stars and no electric light pol-
lution, seemed to set us back to the time of Jesus birth. I always
imagined the shepherds coming up from the open fields below to
see the miracle of Jesus' birth.
At Easter time the community would gather at the same spot
waiting for the sunrise with the still dark Campo Dolores below,
a few cork trees and Mbocayá palms offset against the first light
of dawn and the Chopí bird in the palm trees announcing the
coming day (the way the robins do here in the USA). The morn-
ing mist was still hanging over the damp campo as dawn broke
slowly, but then quickly turning light. The sun still below the ho-
rizon would turn the cirrus clouds into a bright red, then chang-
ing to a pink yellow and finally the sun literally popped over the
horizon and it was day.
The School Wood was a great place for us kids. It covered
about five to six acres, one third of which was cleared from the
dense underbrush, the rest was still untouched and a perfect mi-
crocosm of Paraguayan jungle vegetation. Here one could find
many different species of deciduous trees, palms, bamboo and
shrubs. We did not have to go far to learn firsthand about nature.
Many of the trees bore edible fruits. We loved to eat Araticú
(wild Chirimoya). There were two kinds very similar, except that
one had rather brittle branches (as Heiner Kleiner found out
when one of the branches broke: he fell and incurred a severe
head injury). There was a wild mulberry tree (Tatayivá); the fruit
was about the size of a fig, slightly yellow when ripe with a tart
sweet taste. The Guajavý Hú had a small black fruit with a pit
like an olive; it was sweet, pungent and sticky. There were also
wild cherry trees, but the birds always got to them first. The Ingá
tree had a long fruit like a bean pod. The seed inside was covered
with a white fleshy skin, which was delicious to eat, a favored
food for birds, monkeys and also us kids. The Ingá tree was
mostly found along rivers and in swamps. It lined both shores of
the Tapiracuay River. (In the picture of the river house on page
104 of Belinda Manley‟s book, “Through Streets Broad and Nar-
row,” the tree overhanging the river is an Ingá tree.) Another
common tree was the Aguaí which had a tasty sweet yellow fruit.
There were also a variety of bushes with berries, some edible,
others poisonous.
In Primavera we had two types of palm trees: The Pindó had
no thorns and grew mostly in the woods, preferably in low lying
areas with more moisture. Pindó had a fruit similar in shape to a
date which grew in bunches. We loved to chew them; so did the
parrots. We used to climb up the smooth, slippery trunk to pick
the fruit. The other palm was the already mentioned Mbocayá,
with thorns. Its round fruit was nearly the size of a golf ball and
grew in big bunches. The green shell was hard and thin; the ker-
nel inside was covered with a fleshy pulp (similar to a mango).
The cows loved them; they would chew them until they were
nicely polished. We would look for the little piles of polished
kernels on the campo, take them home and crack them open with
a hammer. We kids would also chew them when they fell from
the tree, but they were rather smelly, and in school the teachers
did not want us to come in to the classroom chewing smelly palm
kernels.
Keep In Touch Newsletter 10 Vol. XXII No 2 September 2010
REMEMBERING OUR TEACHERS
Our teacher in first grade was Roger Allain. Initially I thought
I‟d never learn how to read, but with his help it turned out that
reading was not all that difficult, and school with him was fun. In
second grade we had Hans-Hermann Arnold; he taught us basic
math. To me he came across as a disciplinarian, devoid of any
humor, but then, at the time he was also the principal, so all the
problems were his to solve: not always an easy task. I believe we
began to learn English right from the beginning, and had either
Edith Barron or Edna Jory as our teachers. English was not my
favorite subject, as I had trouble with the “th” (and still have),
but they did manage to make it interesting, reading stories, poe-
try and teaching us English songs. Eric Philips was our gym
teacher and I could not think of any one making it more fun and
interesting. He taught us soccer, rounders, long jump, high jump,
relay racing, table tennis, the high bars, and parallel bars, swim-
ming and basic calisthenics. It is because of him that I was able
to discipline myself to continue exercises, to run, swim and to
stay physically fit up to this date. Eric has been a real role model
for me; he did everything with great enthusiasm and had bound-
less energy. He lived together with other single men in a nice
house behind the school wood, which we called the Jugendher-
berge (youth hostel). Later the school soccer field and other ath-
letic facilities were located on the field behind the school wood.
In the third and fourth grade we had Wolfgang Loewenthal as
our main teacher. He taught us German grammar, many songs,
some of which he wrote himself about Primavera and Para-
This must be Hans Zimmermann’s class with Hans-Hermann Ar-
nold as teacher. The picture was published in a Bruderhof brochure
about the early years in Paraguay.
guayan nature. He would read to us about Germanic mythology
and the German Heldensagen (sagas), like the Nibelungen story
and others. He also gave us our first geography lessons, starting
with our own property Primavera. I loved drawing maps, and the
map of Primavera is impregnated in my mind with each forest,
campo, wood island, watering hole, spring and river. – I could
not wait to be old enough and go exploring.
The school days had a long pause of about forty five minutes
during which we were served a snack – called second breakfast.
During that pause we engaged in sports, such as soccer, rounders
or Völkerball. Another favorite game was Ketten fangen, where
all ages could participate and all children were included. When
we had more time we played Robbers and Princesses. This game
required that two teams were formed equal numbers of girls and
boys. Each team then chose a chief and built its den – both were
about hundred meters apart and consisted of just a drawn circle
on the ground. The object was for the robbers to raid the other
camp and steal the women. The kids in Germany had played this
game on the Rhönbruderhof. Wolfgang once told us a story
about how they played this game. His team selected Joseph
Stängl as their chief. Heini Arnold, then a lanky tall fellow ob-
jected, saying, “How can you chose this short little fellow as our
chief, he is nothing more than an abgebrochener Riese” – mean-
ing a truncated giant. Well, you have to know Joseph; he was
short and stocky, but built like a bull. He stepped up to Heini and
said, “Let me show you what a truncated giant can do,” and with
that punched Heini in the stomach, sending him flying onto his
rear end. I loved having Wolfgang as our teacher, and was rather
unhappy when he was moved to do other tasks and perform other
functions.
Other teachers were Franzi Whitty, who taught history and
German grammar. She was such a nice person, we liked her a lot.
However, we also made fun of her because she had difficulty
pronouncing the German “kn” sound like in Knie (knee), so we
would sing a little ditty for her, “Knusper, knusper knäuschen,
wer knuspert an meinem Häuschen, der Knabe, der Knabe der
kneift sich ins knochige Knie.” Marei Braun was our history
teacher, I loved history, and she took us from the earliest civili-
zations in Mesopotamia, to the Egyptians, Greeks and Roman
empires. This was fascinating stuff for me; I always wanted to
be able and ride like Alexander the Great. Fritz Pfeiffer was our
math and physics teacher: a real disciplinarian, with an intimidat-
ing voice, but he was able to make the subjects interesting, so
school was something to look forward to, however the final ex-
ams (“Prüfungen”) always remained scary.
To be continued
The Confrontation Between The Bruderhof And The German
National-Socialist Government 1933 to 1937 – Part 9
By Hans Zumpe
ANOTHER SIDE OF GERMANY
Arnold Mason and I then went to the Agricultural Minister and
other authorities in Berlin. From what we gleaned, it appeared
we would be left in peace for a few more months. Apparently
nothing would happen regarding the Bruderhof until the Reichs
Resettlement Corporation [Reichsumsiedlungsgesellschaft] gave
the word.
This trip to Berlin was interesting. We found out a few things
from other people who, like ourselves, would not bow to the Na-
tional Socialist forces. Here are a few examples: In Lübeck nine
priests of the “Confessional Church” [Bekenntnisfront or Beken-
nende Kirche] had been dismissed at once. Then, when a Nation-
al Socialist priest entered the pulpit, the whole congregation
stood up and walked out in protest. In Berlin, the Gestapo took
Pastor Kuebler from the pulpit on the 1st of December. – In
Dresden a visiting missionary announced that “the whole country
shouts Heil, but it does not mean a true Hail for Christ!” That
meeting was banned. – In Offenbach/Main a secret Social Dem-
ocrat Party group was dissolved and thirty men sent to the con-
centration camps. – The Evangelical Jew, Pastor Frank in Ham-
burg stated that for reasons of conscience he would not stop his
conversion work with Jews. – The Evangelist Heitmüller in
Hamburg continued to speak “amongst friends” in favour of ge-
nuine Evangelism because the Gestapo had banned him from
Keep In Touch Newsletter 11 Vol. XXII No 2 September 2010
NOTES BY THE EDITOR: Hans Zumpe presented a con-
densed version of this report during meetings in Primavera on
26th
and 28th
July 1945 for the 25th
anniversary of the Bruderhof.
While quotes from Eberhard Arnold and newspaper clippings
etc. are reproduced verbatim, the Hans Zumpe report has been
edited using modern terminology, but eliminating none of the
content. More about the history of this account and its translation
into English can be found in the “ Introduction to Hans Zumpe‟s
Report from 1945” in the Keep In Touch Newsletter No 3 Dec.
2007, page 8, which also contains the first part of this report.
Comments in angled brackets [ ] are explanations by the edi-
tors.
SA: Nazi Sturmabteilung/Braunhemden
SS: Nazi Schutz-Staffel/Schwarzhemden
speaking in public. – The American Quaker, Dr. Martin was
much in demand in the Quakers' Berlin headquarters. We had
long discussions with him and he told us that many young people
asked him for advice on how to deal with the question of military
service. He was only able to give them the imprecise answer that
each must act according to his conscience.
In a Berlin suburb by the river Havel, dissatisfied intellec-
tuals found another centre in the house of Dr. Günther Loewen-
feld (brother-in-law of Oskar Beyer). Here we had open discus-
sions about the true conditions in Germany. At times between
thirty and fifty people were said to have met. Paul Tillich [Pro-
fessor of Theology, who emigrated to America] was a frequent
welcome visitor.
This was the other Germany. Admittedly there was no estab-
lished movement, but there were many worried and dissatisfied
people, several of whom risked their lives. We ourselves who
were lead out of Germany in such a wonderful way do not want
to forget them.
THE FATE OF THE RHÖNBRUDERHOF UNCERTAIN
At the turn of the year 1936/1937, on all three of our places, we
considered how and to what extent we could retain the Rhönbru-
derhof. On the one hand we thought we should hold on to it as a
strong witness of community life in Germany. On the other hand
the restrictions were getting more and more threatening, and an
organised winding down seemed the best option. We reminded
ourselves that we could only leave the Rhönbruderhof for rea-
sons of our faith. Towards the end of January 1936 [should be
1937], we would surely face the final shut down of our commu-
nity.
A letter which we had been expecting arrived from Berlin in
the middle of December. The head of the Reichs Land Acquisi-
tion Office in Berlin W.9, wrote to us on the 15th
of December
1936. The letter with the file number: Tgb. Nr. Ld. 2828/36,
Voe/Wa was signed by a deputy ministry official. It said:
”I intend to form an opinion as to whether your Bruderhof
businesses can be commandeered according to the Law of Land
Acquisition For Military Purposes, of March 29th
, 1935. The plan
is to create a future military training ground for the local farmers
Tgb. Nr. Ld. 2828/36, Voe/Wa. The necessary survey will be
carried out by the Reichs Resettlement Corporation, Berlin W.9,
Saarlandstr. 128, under my direction. The said corporation will
contact you to arrange the inspection of your businesses. I ask
you to permit the inspection in accordance with the above law.”
The inspection by the Reichs Resettlement Corporation was
to take place at the beginning of the new year. In feverish haste
we attempted to make preparations. We reconnected with a
Mennonite named Michel Horsch, brother of John Horsch in
Scottdale, Pennsylvania, who was to play an unhappy role in the
course of our history. He came to help us on the instructions of
his brother in North America. We were eager to accept this offer,
especially for the Rhönbruderhof. We realized it was getting se-
rious, and that the government was pursuing a plan to sell our
property and organize an auction of our assets. We learnt this
from a letter which Prince von Schönburg auf Schloss Walden-
burg wrote on the 23rd
of January 1937. He wrote to Emmy Ar-
nold on black bordered paper:
“Dear Mrs. Arnold. A while ago I received an inquiry from a
government department in Hessen from which I concluded that
the Bruderhof is to be auctioned off under a compulsory pur-
chase order. I would be very grateful if you could let me know
briefly what your current plans are and what led up to this? From
the booklet issued after your husband‟s death, it appeared that
the economic situation of the Bruderhof was fairly healthy, so I
was very much surprised to hear about this. With most sincere
greetings I am your humble servant, Fürst Schönburg.”
The inspection of the Bruderhof by a Dr. Goering took place
on the 15th
of March. He was a true professional, well able to
evaluate our agricultural work. We had produced extensive do-
cumentation in preparation for selling the Bruderhof to the
Reichs Resettlement Corporation advantageously. We had pre-
pared ourselves in every possible way for this eventuality. The
last of the archives, as well as the large library had already been
sent to England. However, even on the viewing date the sale
seemed doubtful: Dr. Deffner phoned us from the Reichs Reset-
tlement Corporation to tell us that the Bruderhof would not be
taken over by the Reichs Land Acquisition Office for the time
being and that an inspection of our businesses would not neces-
sarily be required.
A few days later, on the 19th
of March, the Kreissparkasse
[bank] in Fulda foreclosed on a mortgage of 3500 Reichsmarks.
There was no justification for this. We had a current account
with them. Even more surprising was what happened with the fo-
reclosure on the house mortgage. According to the law, a forec-
losure could only be effected if interest had not been paid, or if
there was evidence that the building was not being used accord-
ing to the submitted plans of use. The interest had been paid, but
they maintained that the plans of use did not coincide with actual
use because four rooms had been designated as kitchens, but
were not being used as such. That was because we had a com-
munal kitchen for the whole community. The authorities were
aware of this when they gave us the mortgage in 1928, and it had
never been challenged before. Although we installed kitchens in
these four rooms after the first complaint, the foreclosure still
remained in force. They also wanted an additional back payment
of seven per cent interest for the full duration of the mortgage:
from 1928 to1937! On top of the basic figure of 15,000 Reichs-
marks we were now supposed to pay an additional sum of 9450
Reichsmarks.
A trip to Kassel did not help. A chat with the deputy Gover-
nor Flach was extremely disappointing. He acted as though he
knew nothing about it, even though I had just been referred to
him. When I visited Dr. Goering in Berlin, on the 25th
of March,
to find out if the Reichs Resettlement Corporation was going to
buy the Bruderhof, I could not get anything out of him either; in
fact he seemed rather cool. We concluded that the situation had
changed, and we might not be able to sell the property at all.
Something else would probably happen to lead to the termination
of our work in Germany. So we drew up several plans for the
termination of our work. We addressed a memorandum to the
District Councilor, but did not submit it.. We wanted to wait and
see what would happen next. There is a copy in our archives, but
I cannot access it at the moment.
Keep In Touch Newsletter 12 Vol. XXII No 2 September 2010
TWO HUTTERITES EXPERIENCE THE LAST DAYS AT
THE RHÖN
On the 4th
of April we gathered for the Lord‟s Supper at the
Rhönbruderhof. It is unforgettable for me, because afterwards we
stayed together for a long time and sang many songs. Suddenly
Trautel [Dreher nee Fischli] shouted out spontaneously: “Now
they can come!” And they did come, ten days later on the 14th
of
April 1937!
By then the two Hutterian Brothers from North America and
Canada, David Hofer and Michael Waldner, had come to the
Rhönbruderhof. They had arrived in England on the 9th
of Febru-
ary 1937 and had stayed on the Cotswold Bruderhof until Easter,
where they held a baptism and the Lord‟s Supper. They then tra-
velled to the Rhönbruderhof and experienced the difficult final
days with us. David Hofer describes the dissolution so vividly,
and we have his printed report, so I don‟t need to go into details.
But let me quote from another report about the last day of the
dissolution:
“On Wednesday the 14th
April, at eleven o‟clock in the morn-
ing, the Bruderhof was occupied by forty officials from the Se-
cret Police in Kassel, the District Administration in Fulda and the
local Fulda Constabulary. The leading official declared the Bru-
derhof community dissolved, and the management relieved of all
responsibility. Our request for the reason for this was answered
by the explanation that our community is „no longer welcome‟ in
Germany. The official of the Secret Police stated that all Bruder-
hof members must leave the premises in the next few hours. An
official from the District Administration confiscated all passports
after it was suggested to him that some of the men must be due
for compulsory military service. Meanwhile an armed policeman
invited the men eligible for conscription to attend muster on the
8th
of May. This was followed by a thorough examination of all
personal details. At the same time a house search took place in
which many items were seized or simply confiscated. Not only
correspondence and photographs were taken, but also barometers
and other items. We were given the opportunity to make a few
requests. Each person could take a few mementoes, but only a
small bundle of essential clothing and crockery.
“Rhönbruderhof residents were advised to return to their
place of origin. Work had to stop, and it was announced that on
the following day a commando labour force would take over the
Rhönbruderhof. We were told this was a preliminary measure,
and we would be told more next day.
“This house search brought with it a lot of unpleasantness.
Things that were holy to Rhönbruderhof members were mocked
and ridiculed! At least the foreigners were treated kindly, but a
German was threatened with the concentration camp if he did not
disclose what we were supposed to have buried. In the Bruderhof
burial ground several holes were dug, because they believed that
something was buried there, which was not the case. An armed
policeman set up his headquarters on the Bruderhof. Anyone
leaving the hof temporarily had to book in and out with him!”
EXTRACTS FROM OUR SUBSEQUENT APPEAL TO
THE GESTAPO
Here are some quotes from our written complaint which we sent
from England to the Gestapo in Berlin:
“The dissolution of the society and the confiscation of the socie-
ty‟s assets were carried out according to officials on the grounds
of paragraphs 1 and 4 of the Decree for the Protection of Nation
and State in Repelling the Subversive Communist Forces, issued
on February 28th
, 1933. It was only later that an additional charge
was added, accusing us of deception and false accounting by
overestimating our assets for the purpose of gaining a higher cre-
dit rating. The dissolution order of the 9th
of April, 1937 was not
handed over in writing to the Board Members of the Neuwerk-
Bruderhof e.V. – despite several requests. The first written refer-
ence to the dissolution decree was made in the court order of the
[Hessen-Nassau] Supreme Court in Kassel. The departure of the
members with their children was ordered with immediate effect.
The German nationals were to return to their place of origin, and
the foreigners were to be taken to their countries nearest consu-
late in Frankfurt for them to deal with. The three Board Members
present were arrested. There was no opportunity for lodging an
on-the-spot-complaint against the enforced measures. In refer-
ence to this, a very strange remark was made by Commissar Kos-
lowski, namely that it was actually possible to raise an objection
with the Secret Police in Berlin, but that it would be a waste of
time.“
ALL EXCEPT FOUR MEMBERS WERE ABLE TO
LEAVE GERMANY
To our great delight, all our remaining members at the Rhönbru-
derhof were actually able to leave Germany together during the
next few days – at our expense. All except the three who had
been arrested, Hans Meier, Hannes [Boller] and Karl [Keiderl-
ing], as well as Hella [Römer], who was kept back to work with
an official to get the business accounts in order. Initially thirty-
two went to Holland and eleven to the Almbruderhof. Arno and
Ruth [Martin], who were just on a visit to the Rhön from the
Almbruderhof, had returned [to Liechtenstein] on the 15th
of
April, to tell us about what was happening. Thereupon Adolf
[Braun] took a flight to Holland to prepare for the reception of
the group. I followed a little later by train. Some time earlier we
had already made plans for such an eventuality. During the
World Congress in 1936, we had taken note of the suitability of
the Mennonite‟s conference center as temporary accommodation
for our community. This many people could not really travel to
England all at once, because the Home Office still required a fi-
nancial guarantee for each foreign member.
Our brothers and sisters arrived at Bilthoven on the 17th
of
April. They were a shabby looking group, each with only a
meager bundle of possessions. But they were all happy and
thankful to have escaped from Germany with a clear conscience.
In Holland they were warmly welcomed by the Mennonites;
more about that later. The smaller group, who had gone to the
Almbruderhof, had also made it safely across the Swiss border.
AUTHORITIES IN GERMANY WANTED TO INSTIGATE
PROCEEDINGS FOR FRAUD
Now our focus returned to those who had remained in Germany.
From Holland, we asked our attorney in Hanau, Dr. Eisenberg to
represent us in winding up the affairs of the Rhönbruderhof. At
the same time we asked Adolf‟s brother, Dr. Werner Braun for
help. He had been auditing our accounts for years. Both agreed
by telegram to help in so far as this was possible. We had found
out that the German authorities wanted to cover up their actions
by taking out legal proceedings for fraud against the Board
Members who had been arrested. However, there were copies of
all documents pertaining to the assets and debts of the Rhönbru-
derhof at the Bruderhofs in both England and Liechtenstein. So –
if legal action were to be taken – we would be able to provide
our representatives with a lot of evidence.
Dr. Eisenberg had already written to us on the 26th
of April:
“In the interim, I have been in contact with the District Court in
Fulda by phone and have established that a judicial warrant for
the arrests had been turned down. We are therefore dealing with
preventative detention here, which I am now attempting to have
revoked!”
But on that same day the judicial warrant authorizing the ar-
rest arrived. The preventative detention was converted to pretrial
detention by order of the criminal division of the District Court
Keep In Touch Newsletter 13 Vol. XXII No 2 September 2010
in Hanau am Main. Our brothers were now put under constant
pressure in an attempt to ensure that the foreign Bruderhofs
would pay the current account debts of the dissolved Rhönbru-
derhof. We flatly refused. After the measures taken by the au-
thorities, we could not see that this had anything to do with us
anymore.
Dr. Eisenberg wrote on the 8th
of May: “Regarding your
friends, I can tell you that I visited them on the 8th
of May 1937.
They are in the best of health and are in full agreement with your
suggestions.
“I can also tell you that there has been a misunderstanding.
When questioned, your friends did not in any way promise pay-
ment of outstanding commitments by the foreign Bruderhofs.
They merely said that they would support the suggestion that
there should be some payment from abroad. They are also aware
that they have allowed themselves to be somewhat intimidated,
but the standpoint you suggest is absolutely right. I will now
lodge an appeal against their arrest and attempt to have your
friends released on legal grounds. Should this not be possible, I
think it might be necessary to arrange a meeting in Holland to
discuss a compromise, for instance that maybe some money
should be transferred to Germany.
“I take it for granted that you know that I have a full grasp of
the situation. I am well aware what the actual legal position is.
But in certain circumstances it may be better to deal with facts
rather than refer rigidly to the legalities. …
“Furthermore, I have had a brief telephone conversation with
Mr. Hohmann, who is dealing with the matter at the District
Administration in Fulda, in order to get the affair into proper
channels. I have discussed everything in detail with your friends.
In particular I have made them aware of the content of your let-
ter. I have also impressed upon them that they must not lose cou-
rage, as it should all be sorted out soon. First thing Monday
morning I will have a look at the court records, as far as I have
access to them, and will then come back to the matter in hand.”
ATTORNEY LODGED APPEAL AGAINST THE
WARRANT OF ARREST The grounds for the arrest was alleged fraud. Our attorney
lodged an appeal against this with the [Hessen-Nassau] Supreme
Court in Kassel. The following is from his submission of the 10th
of May 1937:
“There is no adequate reason for suspicion that a crime has
been committed … There can be no talk of fraud or attempted
fraud. Right to the end, the Rhönbruderhof was supported very
extensively by their friends, the Bruderhofs abroad. All suppliers
were fully aware of the fact that the Rhönbruderhof‟s economic
situation was restricted, especially since any chance of running a
school was prevented by order of the authorities several years
ago, and then the selling of books [on a peddler‟s license] was
also prohibited in Germany. This sale mainly covered literature
about the early Christians. The total sales from the Eberhard Ar-
nold Verlag, which belonged to the Rhönbruderhof, were ob-
viously greatly reduced, resulting in dependence on sales from
book shops alone.
“The members of the Rhönbruderhof were however able to
rely on the continued support from the foreign Bruderhofs. In the
year 1936 alone, with the approval of the foreign exchange offic-
es, a sum of over 10,000 Reichsmarks was imported. ...
“The accused pastor Hans Boller, who like the graduate engi-
neer Hans Meier is a Swiss national, provided the Bruderhof all
in all with a fortune of about 90,000 Reichsmarks. The money
was principally used for conversions and new buildings. This in
itself demonstrates that here we are dealing with idealists, who
would never think of harming others. Suppliers were never given
misleading information about the economic situation. Because of
the prevailing circumstances, the Rhönbruderhof was no longer
able to pursue its work, to represent the ideals of a Brotherhood
publicly. So the possibility of liquidating the Rhönbruderhof had
already been considered. This appeared more likely after the
sudden foreclosure of the mortgages with the District of Fulda.
The reason given was that the loan they were granted about nine
years ago had not been used in its entirety according to the legal
requirements. The District Administration in Fulda has known
for years how the money had been used, because the building
had been passed by the buildings inspectorate. If this foreclosure
had not been acted on, then the foreclosure of the mortgage with
the Kreissparkasse would surely not have occurred at about the
same time. The foreclosure itself was not a serious threat, as ac-
cording to the Enforcement Protection Laws an execution was
not possible. Following the seizure of the assets of the Rhönbru-
derhof, and the subsequent dissolution, it is understandable that
the foreign Bruderhofs do not feel inclined to transfer any more
money. If the correct procedures were followed, all commitments
could have been paid off in full. A valuation from a purely agri-
cultural perspective gives an incomplete picture because the
Rhönbruderhof is not primarily an agricultural business, but a
community of a special kind, whose involvement in agriculture is
secondary
“…No one would be willing to come forward and speak
against these two accused individuals to testify that they had
acted fraudulently in any way by ordering goods purely for per-
sonal or mutual profit.
“Mr. Hans Meier took great care in what he authorized, al-
ways keeping within the limits of his responsibility. In the year
1936, there was also the foreclosure notice on the Wehner mort-
gage for the sum of about 8000 Reichsmarks. It was possible to
repay this sum almost entirely, bar a small residue. If in the af-
termath of the dissolution of the Bruderhof and the enforced de-
parture of its members abroad, there has been a depreciation of
the assets, Hans Meier is not responsible for this.
“In order to discharge the debts, the commissioner in charge
has the whole inventory at his disposal, which according to the
available records is more than enough, to pay off any commit-
ments due on the account by public sale of assets. It was well
known in the neighbourhood of the Rhönbruderhof that its mem-
bers lived in personal poverty according to the ideals of the early
Christians. The community life was still in the stage of develop-
ment. Like any development, such a project takes time, maybe
five to ten years. In the middle of this development, the
Rhönbruderhof was hit by various restrictions imposed by the
authorities. After a while the members realized that their work
was not welcome in this area. The Board Members of the Bru-
derhof believed they would have the opportunity for a normal
winding down of the businesses, because at that time, the author-
ities had stated there was no charge pending against the Bruder-
hof. Just on the 12th
of April the Board Members of the Bruder-
hof had had a discussion with the District Councilor in Fulda, in
which they quite freely expressed their willingness to relinquish
the property. Prior to that the Reichs Resettlement Corporation
had already selected the property and been for a viewing – with
the intent to purchase. Previous usage had been taken into ac-
count when offering a price. Only two days before the sudden
compulsory dissolution of the Neuwerk-Bruderhof e.V. and the
confiscation of all assets did the Board Members find out by
chance that the corporation‟s purchase would not go through.
Now that the accused have been deprived of any possibility of
free negotiation, the route to a normal liquidation has been fun-
damentally changed. In summing up, it has to be said that there
can be no justification for the accusation of fraud.”
Keep In Touch Newsletter 14 Vol. XXII No 2 September 2010
We had hoped that the Swiss Embassy would take an interest,
but were not told anything except for an answer from our attor-
ney Dr. Eisenberg to our request. We received a copy. Dr. Eisen-
berg wrote on the 10th
of May (amongst other things):
“The Swiss nationals pastor Hans Boller and graduate engi-
neer Hans Meier are not currently under preventive detention,
but under pretrial detention in the District Court Jail in Fulda. I
have lodged an appeal against the warrant of arrest, which was
only issued during the complaints proceedings.
“Pastor Max [Hans] Boller has, according to him, given
money to the value of about 90,000 Reichsmarks to the
Rhönbruderhof. This can be verified from the accounts. Substan-
tial conversions were carried out with his money. The benefits of
these conversions, which would have served him for life, have
been lost through the confiscation and dissolution of the Bruder-
hof.
“If it is your intention to take any further action, I ask you
respectfully to keep me informed.” To be continued
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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