Friedrich Siegfried Heinrich Ludwig von Gerdtell (4 February 1872 in Braunschweig – 1954) was a German theologian associated with the Disciples of Christ movement.
Ludwig von Gerdtell was born into an aristocratic Prussian family, his father and grandfather were officers in the Potsdam Guards Regiment.
Between 1905 and 1928 he published six titles in the series Brennende Fragen der Weltanschauung für denkende moderne Menschen (Burning questions for modern-minded people) dealing in a critical manner with dogmas and interpretations.
He decided that the church needed reform on the basis of the New Testament and was initially close to the Baptists but broke with them and SCM in the summer of 1909.
Only because of the courageous intervention of municipal policeman Max Dittrich was it possible for Gerdtell to escape during the night to avoid arrest and the following day.