The Bruderhof (/ˈbruːdərˌhɔːf/; German for 'place of brothers') is a communal Anabaptist Christian movement that was founded in Germany in 1920 by Eberhard Arnold.

The Bruderhof practises believer's baptism, non-violence and peacemaking, common ownership, the proclamation of the gospel, and lifelong faithfulness in marriage.

[10]: 136 The Bruderhof was founded in Germany in 1920 by Eberhard Arnold, a philosophy student and intellectual inspired by the German Youth Movement and his wife Emmy, née von Hollander.

While there, Arnold discovered that the Hutterites (an Anabaptist movement he had studied with great interest) were still in existence in North America.

With the rise of Adolf Hitler and Nazism, the Rhön community moved its draft-age men and children to Liechtenstein around 1934 because of their conscientious refusal to serve in the armed forces and to accept Nazi teachings.

Continuing pressure from the Nazi government caused others to move to England and found the Cotswold Bruderhof in 1936.

[12] On 14 April 1937 secret police surrounded the Rhön Bruderhof, confiscated the property, and gave the remaining community members forty-eight hours to flee the country.

[13] Originally intended to be a mission post, it provided sanctuary when they were forced to escape Nazi Germany.

However, even before the outbreak of World War II in 1939, the presence of the community's German members and its pacifist stance attracted deep suspicion locally, resulting in economic boycotts against the farm.

In 1941, the Bruderhof emigrated from England to Paraguay — at the time the only country that would accept a pacifist community of mixed nationalities.

[17] Starting in the hostile Chaco region, the Bruderhof then relocated to eastern Paraguay where three settlements were founded on a large tract of land called Primavera.

Eventually the church leadership, headed by the founder's son-in-law Hans Zumpe, banished the dissidents from the Bruderhof.

Their stories formed the basis for the 2000 book written by Julius Rubin, The Other Side of Joy: Religious Melancholy among the Bruderhof.

[6] In 1971, the Bruderhof purchased a property in Robertsbridge, East Sussex, United Kingdom called Darvell.

The Bruderhof opened a community in Elsmore, a village in the northeast of the Australian state of New South Wales, in 1999.

[32] Every member of the organization must take a vow that he or she is willing "to put yourself completely at the disposal of the church community to the end of your life – all your faculties, the entire strength of your body and soul, and all your property, both that which you now possess and that which you may later inherit or earn.

[36] The Bruderhof also participated in Humanum, a conference held in the Vatican from 17 to 19 November 2014 and attended by Pope Francis, to discuss the complementarity of man and woman.

[38] Most communities have a nursery, kindergarten, school, communal kitchen, laundry, various workshops, and offices.

[24] Community Playthings designs and manufactures quality wooden classroom and play environments and toys for schools and daycare centers.

[58] Bruderhof members serve on school boards, volunteer at soup kitchens, prisons and hospitals, and work with local social service agencies such as the police to provide food and shelter for those in need of help.

They are active supporters of various international aid organizations, such as Oxfam, Save the Children, Tearfund, and World Vision.

Operating under the name "Breaking the Cycle", speakers with forgiveness stories speak to children at school assemblies.

[63] The Bruderhof community has at various times campaigned on social issues, such as the death penalty and the Iraq War.

They were involved in the campaign in opposition to the death sentence for the activist Mumia Abu-Jamal, who was convicted in 1982 of murdering a Philadelphia police officer.

[64] The Bruderhof rarely appear in the mainstream media, but sometimes allow photographers or journalists to observe their life.

[7][69] In March 2020, the BBC's Inside Out South East published a series of allegations from former members of the community that variously described attempted exorcism of a woman with mental health problems, public punishment of teenagers who had relationships and hostile attitudes to those who left the community.

[70] The Bruderhof issued a statement saying the testimony of former members in this story presented a "misleading account" of the community.

After the split among the Schmiedeleut in 1992, the more traditional group also withdrew, while the more progressive branch (led by Jacob Kleinsasser) kept the bond until 1995.

[73] In 1990 two of the three branches of the traditional Hutterites withdrew over concerns in regard to education, worship services and relations with outsiders, such as political activism.