This scholarly account of the "continuous and sustained effort" of Quakers in wartime Europe is offered by Hans A Schmitt "in order to discharge an overdue debt of personal gratitude" for help received after his parents removed him from Germany shortly after the Nazis came to power. It documents the efforts of Quakers, mainly from Germany, the Netherlands, England, and the United States, in rescuing victims from the horrors of war and helping them resettle in more peaceful and productive situations. The account is dramatic and exciting, and serves as a reminder to present-day Friends of the power of steadfastly focussing on the inner light. In wartime, this allowed the Quakers to gain the favour of the Nazis, even though the latter "despis[ed] the peace loving as deeply as they did the Jews," because some peace lovers occupied prominent positions and demanded revision of the peace settlement following the first World War, which had been so harsh and so humiliating for the Germans. Schmitt's account also shows how the Quakers were willing to step in to help when nobody else would, ever led by the inner light, working to relieve suffering of any oppressed group, including some Nazi families. His writing style is limpid and elegant, and succeeds admirably in expressing subtleties with a finesse that gets his points across clearly and unambiguously. The scholarship is rigorous, and the work is eminently readable. Friends who could use an infusion of inspiration will find that this book does the job very nicely. --JMT

This is a very detailed scholarly account of Quaker activity in Germany and to a lesser extent Austria, Lithuania, Holland etc., from the end of World War I through the end of World War II with emphasis on the World War II period. Quakers (Friends) in these areas received varying levels of support from British Friends and from American Friends, especially through the auspices of the American Friends Service Committee. Although British and American Friends came to Germany to help with relief efforts in the period prior to World War II, during that war itself German Friends were the only ones there. Initially Friends were given more free reign than other religious groups in relief efforts, possibly because they fed many Germans during the post World War I era who later became Nazis, including some Nazi leaders. I'm not very well versed in German history and found the account at times difficult to follow, especially since some of the same efforts by Friends were described several times in relation to Germany and then to Austria and elsewhere. ( )

Wonderful work on the lives of the pacfistic Quakers under Hilter's regime, highlighting the Quaker Inner Light while their country was at war. ( )