ABSTRACT
On July 5, 1874, the Harmonia, sailing from Hamburg, arrived at New York carrying immigrants from eastern and central Europe. Among them was a group of 300 sectarians who called themselves the Hutteran Brothers. The Hutterites emerged as a movement early in the sixteenth century, during the Reformation. According to the Hutterites' chronicle they decided to share their property, to identify with the Christian apostolic way of life and thus strengthen their community in exile. After Hutter's death the leadership of the sect was transferred to a Vorsteher who had the highest spiritual status. The Hutterite chronicles speak of a "golden period' during 1565–1592, when the Hutterites in Europe prospered. The Hutterite talent for survival has puzzled many social researchers who, ever since the 1950s, have invaded the colonies to gather material for various disciplines such as the social sciences, anthropology, and psychology.
