Emil Bock

Who was Emil Bock?

Emil Bock was a German anthroposophist, author, theologian and one of the founders of The Christian Community.

In 1914 he began a study of languages at the University of Bonn. However, the same year he enlisted as a volunteer in the First World War and was sent to the front in Flanders, where he was wounded. In 1916, he met for the first time the theologian Friedrich Rittelmeyer, and from 1918 he studied Protestant theology in Berlin, and graduated in 1921. The same year was one of the founders of the Christian Community in Switzerland. Bock soon became the leader of the seminar of the Christian Community, and after the death of Friedrich Rittelmeyer, he became the leader of the community in 1938.

In 1941, the Nazi regime banned the Christian Community due to its alleged "Jewish" and "Masonic" influence, and Bock was sent to the concentration camp Welzheim the same year. He was released from the concentration camp in 1942, however, but was under surveillance for the rest of the war. After the war, Bock was instrumental in the rebuilding of the community.