Pacifists in Chains tells the story of four Hutterite men—Joseph Hofer, David Hofer, Michael Hofer, and Jacob Wipf—imprisoned during World War I for their refusal to comply with U.S. military draft laws. As heirs to the vision of sixteenth-century Anabaptism, these four men embraced a literal interpretation of Christ's admonition to “turn the other cheek.” During the Great War, that conviction led them to refuse conscription and resulted in their imprisonment, first at Alcatraz (then a military prison) and later at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas. In both prisons, they experienced severe mistreatment, deprivation, and torture at the hands of military officials. As a result, the two youngest men died and were buried as martyrs by their community.

Drawing on archival sources as well as interviews with the objectors’ descendants, Duane C. S. Stoltzfus weaves the story of these four conscientious objectors into the larger narrative tapestry of religious dissent during the Great War. A professor of communication at Goshen College, Stoltzfus writes as a journalist rather than an academic historian; he is more interested in telling a compelling story and in raising probing questions than in contributing to a specific historiography. Even so, he situates the Hutterites’ story in rich context. Individual chapters describe the Army draft and buildup; the political developments and growing nationalism that shaped the government's harsh response to objectors; the anti-German jingoism that pervaded the national consciousness and contributed to the Hutterites’ mistreatment; and the unlikely alliances that formed (such as the one between these sectarian pacifists and American Civil Liberties Union) as church leaders sought to liberate their imprisoned members. Stories of other conscientious objectors jailed during the war—including Mennonites, Quakers, mainline Protestants, Jews, and others—add depth to Stoltzfus’ central focus. By way of conclusion, he shows how military service regulations evolved after World War I, citing the government support of the church-run Civilian Public Service program during World War II as evidence that the U.S. had learned from its mistreatment of its citizens during the previous global conflict. And as a backdrop to his narrative, Stoltzfus provides an accessible introduction to Hutterite history, religion, and culture, though some readers may sense the author's own Anabaptist religious commitments shaping his approach to the subject.

Ultimately, the author draws both a moral and political conclusion: that during World War I the exigencies of mobilization undermined the ideals of a democratic nation. He writes, “The war overwhelmed constitutional guarantees of freedom to practice religion and to safeguard citizens from torture and cruel punishment” (219). Likewise, Stoltzfus draws parallels between military mistreatment of pacifists during World War I and twenty-first century instances of government-sanctioned torture of military prisoners, as at Abu Ghraib and elsewhere. “The memories of brutalities committed in military prisons during [World War I],” Stoltzfus concludes, “add an authoritative historical footnote to the [contemporary] case against torture: it erodes a nation's moral center just as surely as it dehumanizes the victims and in the end fails to achieve its stated goals” (xii). He might also have drawn parallels between the popular violence against German-Americans in 1917–1918 and post-9/11 violence directed at Muslim-Americans. At a time of bombings, burnings, and other violent acts against Muslims, the memory of German-speaking Americans dedicated to their religious identity in a purportedly pluralist democracy remains highly relevant.

Pacifists in Chains presents a story that needs to be told. Unfortunately, Stoltzfus's decision to publish with a university press, rather than a trade publisher, probably limits the story's accessibility to the audience that most needs it. Nevertheless, for academics, the book will be most useful in undergraduate courses on American religious history, World War I, and dissent in America, among others.