The Dilemmas of a Reconciler

Richard K. Ullmann (1904-1963) was born in Frankfurt on Main and took his degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Frankfort University. From 1927 to 1930 he was a lecturer at the Sun Yat Sen University of Canton, and from 1934 to 1937 he had a German language school in Serres, Greece. After some time in Buchenwald Concentration Camp he reached England as a refugee from Nazi oppression shortly before the outbreak of the war. From that date till his death he worked in adult education and in various Quaker activities, for many years serving as an Associate Lecturer at Woodbrooke. Brought up as a Lutheran, he joined the Society of Friends in 1946.

He was a vice-president, and member of the working commission of the Christian Peace Conference which was convened for the first time in Prague, in the summer of 1958, on the initiative of a group of Eastern European churchmen and theologians. Dedicated to furthering relationships of Christians in East and West Europe, this group has proved increasingly successful in overcoming the cold war spirit which divides the church today far more deeply than do denominational differences. The Prague movement reached a peak in 1961, in the first all-Christian peace assembly, with a participation of nearly seven hundred Christians from all over the world. The Dilemmas of a Reconciler reflects the author’s experience with this organization.