Читать книгу An Embassy Besieged - Emmy Barth - Страница 16

Honor the Worker!” Adolf Hitler proclaimed on May 1, 1933. For the past fifty years, the Labor Movement had made this day an International Workers’ Day. Now Hitler announced that May Day would be celebrated throughout the coming centuries in Germany in honor of the German worker. In Berlin, thousands of people marched the streets led by brass bands of storm troopers playing patriotic songs. Over a million people gathered under a sea of Nazi flags in the evening to hear Hitler’s voice booming over the radio.

The first of May was also an important day of celebration at the Rhon Bruderhof—a day to rejoice in the end of winter with singing, folk dancing, and often a maypole. The girls wound garlands of flowers for their hair, and little boys tied bunches of flowers to sticks: holding them high they walked around the buildings singing May songs.

The rising tide of nationalism cast an ominous shadow over this year’s festivities, however. The day before, the police had come up to the Rhön Bruderhof to make sure its members would take part in the national festivities. How should they respond without participating in the nationalistic fervor?

The sun rose on a bright spring day. Apple trees were in full blossom, and the meadows were bright with dandelions. After breakfast the community gathered for worship. Eberhard opened the meeting:

We need to meet this morning and remind ourselves of what the way of the church is. We want to let God speak to us in silent worship and to ask him to stand by us in all that confronts us.

After some minutes of silence, he spoke again.

The First of May is kept everywhere as a day celebrating work. We too have every reason to think about it and to remind ourselves of what work means to us. What is the goal that we work for? What distinguishes our work from that done in the business world of capitalism? What is the ultimate meaning of our work? We have always rejected the bloody class struggle; we wage a spiritual fight to win all strata of society for the kingdom of God.

In recent months the previous government was swept away. The red flags we used to see on the First of May have been suppressed, and if you walk through the streets of a town today, you will see the swastika displayed at every house.1

When the meeting closed, the young men and women prepared for their own parade. They had decided to make a maypole as they always did. On it they tied ribbons of black, white, and red, the colors of the German flag. Then they added blue and yellow for Sweden, white and red for Switzerland, and black and gold for Austria. When the delegation arrived from the neighboring village to invite them to join the parade starting at the firehouse, they apologized that they had already scheduled a procession and couldn’t come. The whole community walked across their fields and over the knoll led by Hans and Margrit Meier on their violins, the children with their garlands and flower sticks.2 Edith wrote about it to Hardy:

The First of May was a fine day here, very festive. The maypole and the children with many flowers—like a painting by Richter. Everybody was very happy, and there was a unity that went right down into every smallest detail. We danced all day.3

That evening a few of the brothers went to the neighboring village of Eichenried to listen to Hitler on the radio. Hitler promised that compulsory labor service would reestablish manual labor as honorable work by the end of the year. But his words of honoring the worker were a clever piece of trickery. The next day brownshirts and SS men stormed the trade union offices throughout the country. Union officials were arrested. In Duisburg four were beaten to death.

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After the war, many Germans were shocked at the atrocities that had taken place, of which they had been unaware. Eberhard was under no such illusion. He told the community:

A hundred foreign newspapers have been banned. Max Wolf [a Jewish friend in Schlüchtern] is in protective custody, accused of being connected with communism. Marxist literature along with the classics and romantics will be confiscated. Many people have been put in concentration camps.4

Heiner later said:

When Hitler came into power my father was extremely sad. Once when I was alone with him he told me quite a number of stories that did not appear in the papers. He told me that in the neighboring village of Sterbfritz the Nazis took a Jewish man, stripped him, and beat him, and left him in a ditch. He had to walk home without trousers, to his great humiliation and the joke of the Nazis. Papa told me some of the things that happened in the concentration camps. These things were completely unknown, and I asked him, “Where do you know that?” He said, “It is better you don’t know in case you are once asked.” He had some source where he got information, someone among the Nazis, I think, who was against it.5

National Socialism was attempting a cultural revolution “in which alien cultural influences—notably the Jews but also modernist culture more generally—were eliminated and the German spirit reborn. Germans were not merely to acquiesce in the Third Reich, they had to “support it with all their heart and soul.”6 As part of this revolution, German students organized the burning of “un-German” books on May 10. Huge bonfires were lit in Berlin and thousands of books were thrown into the flames—books by internationally respected authors such as Erich Maria Remarque, Friedrich Wilhelm Förster, Erich Kästner, Thomas Mann, Stefan Zweig, Albert Einstein, Jack London, and Helen Keller.

Annemarie Wächter followed with great interest and concern the developments at her beloved Keilhau. For decades, her family had run the boarding school founded by the renowned educator Friedrich Froebel. Now she learned that the school had been forced to hire a Nazi teacher. Eberhard answered:

Teachers with a socialist view are being discharged everywhere. If my book Innerland, which I hope will be in book stores by October 1, were discovered as being in any way anti-Hitler, our school might also be assigned a National Socialist director, whom we would have to pay. If Hitler continues as he is now, not only the question of labor service but our whole attitude to life will become critical. Let us ask God that we may hold on to freedom of conscience in these times of bondage; that we neither become silent and no longer speak up about our calling, nor become cowardly fugitives who leave the battlefield before their duty is done. Let us ask God that our conscience may be filled with the whole Christ, with the absoluteness of his truth, so that we in no point lag behind what he demands on the way of his discipleship.7

Love Your Enemy

Christians everywhere were clearly struggling to find a response to National Socialism. Leonhard Ragaz, the Swiss Religious Socialist, wrote a column on the world situation in his monthly periodical Neue Wege (New Paths). In recent issues, Germany dominated the scene. He wrote with justified indignation of the lies at the opening of the Reichstag in March, of suppression and mistrust, of the murder of dozens of people, the dismissal of Jewish professors, doctors, and lawyers, of the threat of war, and the fact that the churches were not lifting a finger in protest.8 In the May issue he wrote about the concentration camps where 30,000 to 50,000 socialists, communists, and pacifists were being held.

What is to be done? If anything is to be done, all those who recognize the danger need to stand together in a new, energetic politics of peace, to which Germany too needs to commit itself unconditionally . . . The infamous Four Power Pact* was an attempt, but it has more or less died . . . The danger is great and human help almost hopeless. But God sits on his throne and his path goes through deep waters. That is our only comfort.9

Ragaz’s article was read and discussed at the dinner table one evening at the end of May. Eberhard did not deny Ragaz’s allegations, but he was disappointed that he seemed to have lost sight of the kingdom of God. He explained his difference with Ragaz in a letter to their common friend, the Anabaptist historian in Vienna Robert Friedmann.

You must know that, in many a service of truth, we perceive this Leonhard-John as a significant light kindled in the darkness of the present times.† And yet his work is not a light because it appears to be far too optimistic about the ability of the League of Nations to develop and assume government. Peace and justice of the kingdom of God? In this way? It should now finally be recognized that this evolutionism lies in ruins. It has been shattered by the judgment of God’s anger. It is true that God’s goodness is growing; but at the same time so is the evil of the devil.10

This led to discussions on different forms of government. “One thing that strikes me,” Eberhard said, “is that for the future state Jesus is not proclaimed as president of the republic of God, but as the coming king.”11

But one gets the impression that under the tyrannical despotism of the present government, one can no longer rely on any law. What Hannes says is right: the limits of the law have been overstepped by a monarch—not merely a monarch, but a tyrant, who can do as he wishes without any constitutional restraints.

If we look back to the time when we enjoyed the protection of the government (whereas now we can definitely expect persecution) I believe that in the Social Democrats [the previous government] there was a genuine respect for human rights. In this sense I am convinced that Social Democracy was better, more just, more devoted to freedom than the National Socialist Party. That is absolutely clear. It really is politics of the dirtiest kind that treads the law underfoot, a wickedness that cries to heaven, a revolting, lawless frivolity.

I can well imagine that a Swiss feels very deep pain on having to see and feel this around him. A religious feeling of reverence for life is injured. Consequently it comes to a point where he feels a kind of nostalgia about a democracy such as that in Switzerland. He also feels a certain obligation to protest now in the name of this relatively better thing against something that is much worse. It is good for us to be reminded of this.

However, we must see that even in the cruelest tyrants there is a certain amount of honest idealism. So too, in Hitler and Mussolini there is high idealism, a sacrificing of self so that the different classes can be leveled. Hitler has the idea he can set up a real community. We must realize that this is idealism, devotion to a high goal. But the means are evil, they are means of suppression, enslavement. It seems important to me that after we have recognized very clearly the relative differences between good and bad forms of government, we must also see that the wildest, most tyrannical violence by the state evidences to an intense degree something that is also evident in the best, noblest, most purified form of government: rapacious violence. We must not forget that in the Revelation of Jesus Christ the church that rules by wealth and might is designated as the harlot, and the state as the beast of prey from the abyss. (This includes the best form of government as well as the worst form.) And the connection is Babylon, which must be overthrown on the Last Day when God judges.12

Hannes Boller, a Swiss who had been inspired by Leonhard Ragaz, had trouble understanding what Eberhard said about finding something positive in National Socialism. He and Adolf Braun exchanged some sharp words. That night Hannes asked to be excused from the united prayer until he could honestly agree with everybody. Instead of excluding him, the brotherhood did not pray together.

The next morning, May 28, at 5:00, gunshots shattered the silence. Arno Martin, looked out the window—his baby daughter had woken from the noise. About sixty storm troopers were firing their rifles in the fields next to the community buildings. He called out to them to be quiet, that there were children sleeping. “No one should be sleeping at this time of day!” the storm troopers retorted. Some of them came into the yard and the barn and demanded to be shown the print shop. When they left, they trampled through the hayfield.

In the evening the brotherhood met again. Hannes felt terrible that at such a moment he had hindered the unity of the group. Eberhard encouraged him: “If in a moment you get worked up and cannot pull yourself together, it is right to do what Hannes has done. I do not know how you could have done better. For us it is better to wait for the prayer.”13

Brothers and sisters continued discussing what attitude to take. Georg Barth spoke. “We reject Ragaz’s one-sided view; our goal is a different one. We seek the way of love. We cannot put ourselves above those to whom we wish to speak. We are all children of one Father.”

“There is a key to every human heart, and this key is the key to understanding. Only we have not yet found it,” Eberhard said. Love, not politics, was the Christian response.

We will not join a democratic party. We represent neither the politics of National Socialism and German patriotism, . . . nor those of the League of Nations whose negotiations demonstrate that politics and capitalism rule beneath the veneer of high ideals. Because of that we cannot say that the League of Nations has the same task that has been assigned to us.

The ideals of National Socialism are neither great nor original, but that is no reason for us to look down on them. Everything Hitler says today is familiar to us from its more idealistic form in the youth movement. What I read somewhere is true: there could be no Hitler without the youth movement. He is indebted to it for its wealth of ideas.

What are the National Socialist ideals? A national community of one blood, nation, and race. Within this people’s community there should be no degrading inequalities based on status or class. All social levels are to enjoy equal rights . . . The intellectuals should no longer look down on the uneducated. Employers should not treat their workers as though they were only figures on a balance sheet. The oppressed class, in particular the factory workers, should not feel hatred toward the upper class and call for a class war . . . They call this concept socialism, which is, of course, a misnomer. Under true socialism the oppressed class is given material help; the Nazis do not give that help . . .

Of course, in stark contrast to this lofty idea there are, exactly as with the Marxist communists, horrifying facts, which cry to heaven. That is quite clear to us. We want to be fair, however, and declare that in spite of these facts we do not reject the ideals. We want to appreciate the people holding them and show them that we love them just as much as we loved the petty communists in [our neighboring village]. They are the same people and have the same hearts. We will not let ourselves be deceived by the change in outer forms. They have not turned into another type of people. They are people with the same human feelings as before, they have only delivered themselves up to another leadership. But that is no reason for us to deny them our love or refuse our service . . .

We must be given the attitude not to convert a man until we love him. But you can love a man only when you have understood what is living in him. I do not truly love my fellowman if I have not understood with my whole heart what is holiest and loftiest to him . . .

We have to meet the Nazis and the now oppressed communists with exactly that same attitude. After we have found that inner understanding, we have to represent the politics of the kingdom of Jesus Christ. That is our stand, which contradicts that of Ragaz.

After coming to a heart-to-heart exchange with the Nazis, when we confront them with the policy of the coming kingdom of God, we are going to collide sharply with them . . . The Nazi ideal is fragmentary; and their practice is utterly contrary to the goal of the kingdom of God.

We represent the conquest of the earth for the peace of Jesus Christ . . . We must challenge the Nazis as well as the communists to consider what true community really means and to ask themselves if they should not pursue that goal too. That’s why it is so important that in our daily practical work . . . we truly act as brothers and sisters. Above all, we must demonstrate in our whole life the perfect unanimity of true comradeship and community, so that despite the weaknesses of human inadequacy that are always with us, a little of this unity will shine through. We will not fight for the Third Reich. We shall fight for the final Reich, God’s kingdom, and for nothing else!14

When Eberhard went to call on the district administrator’s office in Fulda to report the ugly early-morning incident, he was startled to find that his good friend Baron von Gagern had been moved to Melsungen near Kassel. There, higher Nazi officials could presumably keep a closer eye on him; he had been replaced as district administrator by Dr. Burkhardt, a former veterinary surgeon and now a fanatical Nazi.

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Norman Körber, a friend from the beginning of Neuwerk, developed a strong admiration for Hitler. In Sannerz he had tutored the older Arnold children. He was one of many who left after a dispute in 1922. However, he remained a friend and always respected Eberhard. He was a lawyer and had taken a position in Kassel as a youth councilor.

On June 8, 1933, Eberhard went to see him. “Believe me, Eberhard,” he exclaimed, “if you would see and hear Hitler you would also be convinced!”15 When Eberhard asked him if he thought compulsory labor service or military service would be introduced, he was reassuring. (The following year labor service was demanded of university students.)

Eberhard also visited von Gagern and several other acquaintances; he heard various points of view. When he came home he told about his trip at the dinner table:

I have a strong, general impression that there are growing misgivings about the present form of government, especially among men who are conscious of their responsibility. Some of them feel that it is impossible for the present state of affairs to be maintained for many years. It seems as though we are heading toward a new collapse of the economy of the civilized world that can hardly be stopped. It is so serious that this scourge of God, which has doubtless come over Germany through God’s world rulership, may soon be dismantled and cast away. One of the leading men told me he felt people would be grateful to the National Socialists for revealing many evils, but that their task would then be fulfilled and they could step down. It amazed me to what extent people opened their hearts about all these things. Even people who were once National Socialists now have misgivings.

The whole thing seems to me like the labor pains of the last days. Whether it is the final end time we do not know. The end times of God move in circles; they return and begin again and again, until finally they break out altogether.

I spoke quite openly. I said that we do not want to hide, but that our intention is to take the offensive in decisive places. Our offensive will consist in an avalanche of petitions that will give us the opportunity to press forward and present the cause entrusted to us with seriousness yet still with love, recognizing their ideals. That is our task. No doubt we are facing difficult times, but I believe we have no reason for fear. We should look forward that it will be possible, and I hope very soon, to witness to God’s innermost heart in front of these people.16

Several visitors were present in the dining room and heard what Eberhard said. Later that night, he worried that he had spoken too freely. The next day the brotherhood met and he apologized. “I should not have spoken as I did in such a large circle, particularly as I implicated several officials. I regret this from my heart. I want to submit to the judgment of the church and take on a discipline of silence for some days.”

His son-in-law Hans Zumpe responded: “I’m sorry that we did not give you an opportunity to speak in a suitable circle after your trip. We were all eager to hear your very important report.” Arno and Georg agreed.

Adolf Braun said, “I thought the bell would ring and the brotherhood be called together as soon as you returned. We are all to blame.”

“How shall I continue?” Eberhard asked. “Should I lay down my service for a time and be silent?”

The members disagreed with this suggestion and expressed support for Eberhard’s continued leadership.

“Good,” he responded. “Then I will not speak about it any more. It is as dangerous as ever to talk freely in Germany. You should not think that anything has changed or that the power of National Socialism is over. What felt different was the mood among the intellectuals, including some very responsible officials.”17

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On June 25, Kurt and Marianne celebrated their wedding. This was an occasion the whole community took part in. The children sang and performed dances and Hans and Margrit Meier played a violin duet. Heiner did a skit by Hans Sachs, and Emy-Margret recited a poem. The bridal couple went to the state registry to make their marriage legal, but Eberhard Arnold would solemnize it.

It is fitting for our couple to go to the registrar’s office and register their marriage; this has to be done. Through this order of the state their marriage is made known to the material world. The real marriage or wedding, however, can be confirmed through the spiritual unity of the church alone. We are in a hard fight against a hostile govern­ment which would like to enslave our souls and spirits with false teachings, a government which again today would like to oppress our hearts and which has nothing in common with the way of Jesus Christ. We stand in the midst of this world as a fighting and persecuted group, persecuted for the sake of the cause of complete community of faith and unity of God’s people. Let us always keep this persecution in mind and never forget that it is hard and heavy, but that it will yet lead to victory and to the final goal of peace. Many diverse and strange teachings are trying to gain ground in so-called Christianity. All these teachings seek coercion and suppression. They do not convey the pure teaching of Jesus Christ and his spirit of unity and justice, “Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings; for it is well that the heart be strengthened by grace” (Heb 13:9).18

* The Four Power Pact between Britain, France, Italy, and Germany was called for by Mussolini on 19 March 1933 to ensure international security.

† Eberhard seems to be referring to Ragaz metaphorically as John the Baptist.