a matter of human personalities, grasped this opportunity to start pioneering, whereas others left embittered.

PERSECUTION INCREASES

In 1931, it was once again the officials in Bavaria who took the lead in the fight against God’s people. By misapplying the emergency ordinance of March 28, 1931, dealing with political disturbances, they suddenly saw an opportunity to ban the Bible Students’ literature. In Munich, on November 14, 1931, our books were confiscated. Four days later the Munich police officials issued a statement, applicable throughout Bavaria, placing a ban on all literature put out by the Bible Students.

Naturally the brothers at once took action to appeal. In February 1932 the government of Upper Bavaria upheld this ban. Immediately this was appealed to the Bavarian Ministry of the Interior, which rejected the appeal on March 12, 1932, as being “without foundation.”

In line with that court decision, Magdeburg’s police president came out in our defense on September 14, 1932, saying: “We hereby verify that the International Bible Students Association is solely involved in Biblical and religious matters. It has not been politically active up until this time. No tendencies have been seen which would indicate enmity against the state.”

But difficulties continued to increase from month to month, even in the other German states. Paul Köcher had come to Simmern with six special pioneers in order to show the shortened Photo-Drama there on two evenings. He was forced to interrupt the showing, however, for when David was shown with his harp and one of his psalms was quoted the entire hall went into a frenzy. It was quickly discovered that almost everyone in attendance belonged to the SA, Hitler’s storm troopers.

Similar experiences were had in the Saar. In December of 1931 an appeal to the government was made to instruct police officials there not to hinder the work. This instruction was issued, but it so enraged the clergy that warnings against the Bible Students were issued weekly from the pulpit. Hostilities were steadily increasing, and by the end of 1932 no fewer than 2,335 court cases were pending. Despite this, 1932 proved to be the best year ever as far as the publication of literature was concerned.

On January 30, 1933, Hitler took over the position of Reich’s chancellor. On February 4 he issued a decree permitting the police to confiscate literature ‘endangering public order and security.’ This decree also restricted freedoms of assembly and press.

REMNANT’S THANKSGIVING TESTIMONY PERIOD

The Memorial fell on April 9 that year and in connection with it the “Remnant’s Thanksgiving Testimony Period” was planned for April 8 to 16. A worldwide witness using the booklet Crisis was to be given.

The brothers in Germany were unable to end this eight-day testimony period in peace, however. The campaign with the Crisis booklet led to a ban in Bavaria on April 13. This was followed by bans in Saxony on April 18, in Thüringen on April 26, and in Baden on May 15. Other German states followed. Brother Franke, pioneering in Mainz at the time, reports that the congregation of over 60 publishers there had 10,000 booklets for distribution. The brothers realized that they must act quickly in order to distribute them. They had organized their time in such a way that 6,000 of the booklets had already been put out within the first three days of the campaign. But on the fourth day a number of brothers were arrested and their homes were searched. The police were able to find only a few copies of the booklet, however, since the brothers had reckoned with this action and had hidden the other 4,000 booklets in a safe place.

All the arrested brothers were released the same day. At once they arranged for a campaign whereby the 4,000 booklets would be distributed among all the brothers in the congregation who could participate. That evening they rode their bicycles to Bad Kreuznach, a city about forty kilometers away, where they distributed the rest of the booklets among the populace, giving some of them away free. The next day brought proof that this action had been correct, for in the meantime the Gestapo had searched the homes of all those persons known to be Bible Students. But all the 10,000 booklets had been put out.

In Magdeburg, government officials had notified the office that the picture on the title page (a warrior holding a sword dripping blood) was unacceptable and demanded that it be removed. Brother Balzereit, who had repeatedly shown his willingness to compromise, gave immediate instructions to remove the colored covers from the booklets.

It was a testimony week filled with suspense. The enemy daily revealed ever more clearly his determination to strike with unrelenting force. So it was just that much more encouraging when the report was compiled and it was found that 24,843 persons had attended the Memorial celebration, to compare with 14,453 the year before. The number of publishers active during the testimony period was likewise a cause for rejoicing: 19,268, in contrast to 12,484 during the Kingdom booklet campaign a year before. During the eight days of the campaign 2,259,983 of the Crisis booklet had been distributed.

THE GESTAPO SEARCH THE BETHEL HOME

The Nazis were hoping to find some kind of material connecting us with Communism when they occupied the Society’s office and factory on April 24. In such a case they could have applied a new law and confiscated the entire property and given it to the state, something that had already been done with the buildings belonging to the Communists. After searching the building the police called up government officials one evening telling them that they had found nothing incriminating. The command was: “You must find something!” But their attempt to do so failed and the property had to be returned to the brothers on April 29. The Brooklyn office had protested the unlawful seizure of the property (owned by an American corporation) through the American government on that same day.

BERLIN CONVENTION ON JUNE 25, 1933

By the summer of 1933 the work of Jehovah’s witnesses had been banned in the majority of German states. The brothers’ homes were being searched regularly and many brothers had been arrested. The flow of spiritual food was partially hampered, although only for a time; still many brothers were asking how long it would be possible to continue the work. In this situation the congregations were invited on very short notice to a convention to be held in Berlin on June 25. Since it was expected that many would be unable to attend because of the various bans, the congregations were encouraged to send at least one or several delegates. But, as it turned out, 7,000 brothers got there. For many of them it took three days, some riding bicycles the entire distance, whereas others went by truck, since the bus companies refused to rent buses to a banned organization.

Brother Rutherford, who, together with Brother Knorr, had come to Germany just a few days before in order to see what could be done to ensure the safety of the Society’s property, had prepared a declaration with Brother Balzereit to be presented to the convention delegates for adoption. It was a protest against the meddling of the Hitler government into the preaching work we were doing. All high government officials, from the Reich’s president on down, were to receive a copy of the declaration, if possible, by registered mail. Several days before the convention started Brother Rutherford returned to America.

Many in attendance were disappointed in the “declaration,” since in many points it failed to be as strong as the brothers had hoped. Brother Mütze from Dresden, who had worked closely with Brother Balzereit up until that time, accused him later of having weakened the original text. It was not the first time that Brother Balzereit had watered down the clear and unmistakable language of the Society’s publications so as to avoid difficulties with governmental agencies.

A large number of brothers refused to adopt it just for this reason. In fact, a former pilgrim brother by the name of Kipper refused to offer it for adoption and another brother substituted. It could not be rightfully said that the declaration was unanimously adopted, even though Brother Balzereit later notified Brother Rutherford that it had been.

The conventioners returned home tired and many were disappointed. They took 2,100,000 copies of the “declaration” home with them, however, and made fast work of distributing them and sending them to numerous persons in positions of responsibility. The copy sent to Hitler was accompanied by a letter that, in part, read:

“The Brooklyn presidency of the Watch Tower Society is and always has been exceedingly friendly to Germany. In 1918 the president of the Society and seven members of the Board of Directors in America were sentenced to 80 years’ imprisonment for the reason that the president refused to let two magazines in America, which he edited, be used in war propaganda against Germany.”

Even though the declaration had been weakened and many of the brothers could not wholeheartedly agree to its adoption, yet the government was enraged and started a wave of persecution against those who had distributed it.

MAGDEBURG OFFICE ONCE AGAIN OCCUPIED

The distribution throughout Germany of the declaration adopted in Berlin just one day after the work had been banned in Prussia was a signal for Hitler’s police to go into action. On June 27 all police officials were ordered to ‘make immediate search of all local groups and business places and to confiscate any material hostile to the state.’ A day later, June 28, the building in Magdeburg was occupied by thirty SA men, who closed down the factory and hoisted the swastika over the building. According to the official decree of the police officials, it was even forbidden to study the Bible and to pray on the Society’s property. On June 29 this action was reported to the entire German nation by radio.

Despite the energetic attempts of Brother Harbeck, the branch overseer in Switzerland, to prevent it, books, Bibles and pictures weighing a total of 65,189 kilograms were taken from the Society’s factory on August 21, 23 and 24, loaded into twenty-five trucks and then publicly burned at the edge of Magdeburg. The printing costs for the material amounted to some 92,719.50 marks. Additionally, there were numerous publications confiscated and then burned or otherwise destroyed in the various congregations, such as, for example, in Cologne, where publications worth at least 30,000 marks were destroyed. The Golden Age in its June 1, 1934, issue reported that the probable total value of property (furniture, literature, etc.) destroyed was between two and three million marks.

The loss would have been even greater had steps not been taken to move most of the literature from Magdeburg, in some cases by ship, and to store it in other appropriate places. In this way it was possible to keep great quantities of literature hidden from the eyes and hands of the secret police for many years. Much of this was made use of in underground preaching activity during the following years.

As a result of the intervention of the American government, the Society’s building in Magdeburg was returned to the Society in October. The release document, dated October 7, 1933, said that ‘the Society’s property was released and returned in its entirety for its free usage, although it was still forbidden to carry on any activity there, to print literature or to hold meetings.’

“FRIENDSHIP WITH THE WORLD”

Christendom’s clergy were not ashamed at openly showing their support of Hitler and his efforts to persecute Jehovah’s witnesses. As reported in the Oschatzer Gemeinnützige, of April 21, 1933, Lutheran minister Otto in a radio address on April 20, in honor of Hitler’s birthday, said:

“The German Lutheran Church of the State of Saxony has consciously come to terms with the new situation and will attempt in closest cooperation with the political leaders of our people once again to make available to the entire nation the strength of the ancient gospel of Jesus Christ. The first results of this cooperation can already be reported in the ban today placed upon the International Association of Earnest Bible Students and its subdivisions in Saxony. Yes, what a turning point through God’s direction. Up until now God has been with us.”

BEGINNING OF UNDERGROUND ACTIVITY

Although in the first year of the Nazis’ coming to power the underground witness activity went practically unorganized and meetings in small groups were not held everywhere, yet the Gestapo found new reasons to arrest the brothers.

Soon after the first brothers had been arrested and their homes searched, those objective in their thinking began to realize that these measures were simply the beginning of a more severe campaign of persecution. They knew that it would be completely senseless to try to settle these questions at the conference table. The only proper course was to fight for the truth.

But a large number hesitated, feeling it best to wait, for Jehovah would surely do something to prevent this persecution of his people. Whereas this group was wasting time in hesitation, and anxiously trying not to make matters worse by any action on their part, the other publishers were determined to continue the work. Courageous brothers soon began holding meetings in small groups in their homes, although they knew that this could lead to arrests and severe persecution.

In some places the brothers began to mimeograph copies of Watchtower articles, a few copies of which were always smuggled in from neighboring countries. Karl Kreis from Chemnitz was one of the first to make arrangements for doing this. After writing the stencils he would take them to Brother Boschan in Schwarzenberg, where they would make mimeographed copies. Among those especially active at the time were Hildegard Hiegel and Ilse Unterdörfer. As soon as the ban was issued they were determined to let nothing prevent them from carrying out their God-given commission. Sister Unterdörfer bought herself a motorcycle and traveled back and forth between Chemnitz and Olbernhau bringing brothers the mimeographed copies of The Watchtower. Those living closer she would visit on her bicycle so as not to attract undue attention.

Brother Johann Kölbl arranged for 500 mimeographed copies of The Watchtower to be made in Munich and these were then distributed among the brothers there as well as in the far-flung territories of the Bavarian Forest.

In Hamburg it was Brother Niedersberg who immediately took the initiative. He had been a pilgrim brother for a number of years before coming down with multiple sclerosis. Despite this hindrance he had done what he could. Now during this time of testing the brothers enjoyed visiting him, for this always resulted in their faith being strengthened. His love for the brothers soon moved him to take steps to ensure their regularly receiving spiritual food again. He began mimeographing The Watchtower in his home. He taught Helmut Brembach to write the stencils and showed him how to operate the mimeograph machine. Then, seeing that the work could be carried on without him, he advised the others that he was planning a trip to visit the congregations on the west coast of Schleswig-Holstein to encourage them and to arrange for getting The Watchtower to them. Once again he carefully discussed with the brothers how the magazines could be sent and worked out a code with them whereby they would know from what he wrote how many copies to send to each congregation.

It was on January 6, 1934, that Brother Niedersberg, despite his poor health, left home. He could walk only with the greatest of effort and with the help of a cane, but he left trusting in Jehovah. After visiting several congregations his first coded messages arrived in Hamburg and the mimeographed copies of The Watchtower began to be sent. He arrived in the vicinity of Meldorf just as a well-known brother in the community died. Since many brothers from neighboring congregations would be present for the funeral, Brother Niedersberg was asked to deliver the funeral discourse. He took advantage of this opportunity to give a forceful talk, his purpose being to strengthen the brothers present, who had been unable to attend any meeting for many months. As was expected, a great many attended and returned to their assigned territories greatly encouraged by what they had heard.

Others were, of course, also in attendance, even officials of the Gestapo. After Brother Niedersberg’s discourse they asked for his name and address, but did not arrest him, evidently not daring to do so because of the occasion. So he was able to continue his trip, which was getting progressively more difficult for him. Upon arriving at Brother Thode’s place in Hennstedt he was suddenly stricken with a severe headache and died shortly thereafter of a stroke. So his last strength had been used in getting things arranged so that the brothers would be provided with upbuilding spiritual food. Two weeks later the Gestapo appeared at his home in Hamburg-Altona to arrest him.

In addition to mimeographed copies of The Watchtower produced in Germany, some were sent to Germany from Switzerland, France, Czechoslovakia, yes, even from Poland, and it appeared in various forms, often in changing sizes. At first many Watchtower articles were sent from Zurich, Switzerland, bearing the title “The Jonadab.” After the Gestapo discovered this method, all post offices in Germany were instructed to confiscate all envelopes bearing this title and to take appropriate action against those to whom the magazines were addressed. In most cases this led to their arrest.

Later the title and also the manner of wrapping The Watchtower were changed with practically every issue. In most cases the title of the Watchtower article was used, this generally appearing only once, such as, for example, “The Three Feasts,” “Obadiah,” “The Fighter,” “The Time,” “Temple Singers,” and so forth. But even some of these copies fell into the Gestapo’s hands, in which case a circular would be sent to every police station in Germany informing them that this particular magazine was banned. But in most cases this information came too late, because another Watchtower article with a completely different makeup and a completely different title had by then already appeared. The Gestapo soon had to admit with bitter anger that Jehovah’s witnesses were one ahead of them on war strategy.

It was similar with The Golden Age. For a time it was not listed among banned magazines. Later, after it had been officially banned, it was sent privately to German brothers, generally from brothers in foreign countries, especially from Switzerland. Those sending the magazines always made sure that the address was written by hand and by a different person each time.

The more unsuccessful the Gestapo were in their attempts to cut off these sources of supply, just that more brutal they became when dealing with the brothers. They generally arrested them after searching their homes, although often without any reason. At police headquarters the brothers were generally cruelly mistreated in an attempt to squeeze some kind of admission of guilt out of them.

“FREE” ELECTIONS

Another weapon used to intimidate the populace, and especially directed against Jehovah’s witnesses to force them to compromise, was the so-called “free” elections. Those who refused to let themselves be forced into voting were denounced as “Jews,” “traitors to the Fatherland” and “scoundrels.”

Max Schubert from Oschatz (Saxony) was called on five times by election workers who wanted to take him to the polls on election day. His wife was visited by women with the same intent. Brother Schubert told his visitors each time, however, that he was one of Jehovah’s witnesses and had voted for Jehovah, which was sufficient and made a further voting for someone else unnecessary.

He had a difficult time of it the next day. He was a ticket agent for the railroad and continually came in contact with people. On that day they made a particular point of greeting him with “Heil Hitler.” He returned the greetings with “Good day” or something similar. He felt that something was “in the air,” however, and he discussed it with his wife at lunch, telling her to be ready for any eventuality. After finishing his service that afternoon he was picked up at around five o’clock by a policeman and taken to the home of the National Socialist Party’s local director. A small wagon drawn by two horses stood before the door. Brother Schubert was forced to stand in the middle with a number of SA men seated around him, each with a burning torch in his hand. At the front stood one with a horn and at the back one with a drum, and they took turns sounding the alarm so that everyone would look out to see the procession. Two SA men on the wagon held a large sign reading: “I am a scoundrel and a traitor to the Fatherland, because I did not vote.” Soon someone behind the procession had formed a group that continually chanted the words on the sign. At the end of the sentence they would ask: “Where does he belong?” whereupon the children in the crowd would call out in unison: “In a concentration camp!” Brother Schubert was driven through the streets of the city of some 15,000 population for two and a half hours. The Luxembourg radio station reported on this the next day.

Some of the brothers were engaged in civil service work. Since they did not give “the German greeting” or participate in elections and political demonstrations, the government had been making plans since the summer of 1934 to pass a law banning the Bible Students nationally so that they could be expelled from civil service work. This required a national law banning their activity, rather than just local state laws. Such a law was passed on April 1, 1935. But some individual offices had already acted on their own authority.

Ludwig Stickel was city accountant in Pforzheim. On March 29, 1934, he received a letter from the mayor, stating: “I am opening criminal proceedings against you with the purpose in mind of dismissing you from your position. You are being charged with refusing to vote in the Reichstag elections on November 12, 1933. . . .” In a long letter Brother Stickel explained his position, but since judgment had in reality already been passed, he was notified that he had been fired on August 20.

Their goal was to rob Jehovah’s witnesses of their means of earning a living​—firing them from their jobs, driving them away from their places of work, closing their places of business and forbidding them to carry out their professions.

Gertrud Franke from Mainz found this out after her husband had been arrested for the fifth time in 1936 and the secret police had assured her that they had no intention of ever releasing him again. After Sister Franke was let free​—she had been held in prison some five months—​she went to the employment office to find a job. She discovered, however, that since she had been in prison no one wanted to hire her. Finally a cement factory was forced to accept her. Two weeks later she had her next surprise when she discovered that without her consent she had been enrolled in the German Labor Front and that the dues had been withheld from her paycheck. Recognizing the political aims of this organization, she immediately went to the office and complained that money had been withheld from her paycheck for an organization that she in no way recognized, and she requested that the matter be taken care of. This resulted in her immediate dismissal. Upon appearing at the employment office again she was told that the employment office would neither find her a job nor would it give her any kind of unemployment assistance. If she refused to join the Labor Front, it was her problem to see how she got by.

YOUTHS FACE TRIALS

In numerous cases the children of Jehovah’s witnesses were robbed of the opportunity of getting an education. Let Helmut Knöller tell his experience in his own words:

“At the very time that Jehovah’s witnesses’ activity in Germany was banned, my parents were baptized in symbol of their dedication to Jehovah! For me the time of decision came when I was thirteen and the ban was announced. In school there were often decisions to make in connection with the flag salute, which I decided in favor of faithfulness and dedication to Jehovah. Under these circumstances, going on to get a higher education was unthinkable and so I began to learn the mercantile trade as an apprentice in Stuttgart; this included attendance twice a week at a commercial school where flag-raising ceremonies were held daily. Since I was taller than any of my classmates, I, of course, attracted undue attention when I refused to salute the flag.

“When the teacher entered the room, the students were required to stand up, greet with the words ‘Heil Hitler’ and raise the right hand. This I did not do. The teacher naturally directed his attention only to me and there were often scenes like: ‘Knöller, come here! Why don’t you greet with “Heil Hitler?”’ ‘It is against my conscience, sir.’ ‘What? You pig! Get away from me​—you stink—​farther away. Shame! A traitor!’ etc. I was then transferred to another class. My father spoke to the principal and received the following characteristic explanation: ‘Can your God, in whom you trust, even give you a piece of bread? Adolf Hitler can, and this he has proved.’ This meant people were to honor him and to greet him with the words ‘Heil Hitler.’”

After he had served his apprenticeship, World War II broke out and Brother Knöller was called up for military service. He reports about this as follows:

“I was drafted for military service on March 17, 1940. For a long time I had reckoned with what would happen. I figured that upon reporting to the induction center but then refusing to take the oath I would be brought before a war court and shot. In fact, I preferred this to being put into a concentration camp! But it did not turn out that way. I was not tried before a military court, but was imprisoned with rations of bread and water. Five days later the Gestapo came and took me along to a hearing that lasted several hours where every sort of threat was made. That night I was returned to the prison. I was so happy; there was no trace of fear anymore, but only of joy and of expectation of what the future held and how Jehovah would once again help me. Three weeks later top Gestapo agents read me an order saying that because of my attitude of enmity to the state and the danger that I might be active for the banned International Bible Students, I must remain in protective custody. That meant ‘concentration camp.’ So it came about just opposite to what I had hoped. Together with other prisoners, I was dumped into the Dachau concentration camp on June 1.”

Brother Knöller became acquainted with life not only in Dachau but also in Sachsenhausen. He was later transferred, together with a number of other prisoners, to the English Channel island of Alderney. A dramatic trip took him to Steyr, Austria, where he and those with him were finally released on May 5, 1945. The turbulence of those years can be seen in the fact that Brother Knöller, who had been the object of so much persecution, had not yet had an opportunity to symbolize his dedication to Jehovah by means of water baptism, although his years of faithfulness under the most difficult of circumstances were proof that he had made such a dedication. In the small group of survivors with whom he returned home there were nine other brothers, all of whom had faithfully endured between four and eight years in concentration camps and who now gratefully took the opportunity in Passau to be baptized.

CHILDREN TORN AWAY FROM THEIR PARENTS

Brother and Sister Strenge experienced just how little chance Jehovah’s witnesses had during those turbulent years of receiving their legal rights. Brother Strenge was arrested and sentenced to three years’ imprisonment, whereupon Sister Strenge, now left alone with her children, was thrown into a situation calling for every bit of strength she could muster. She reports:

“At school my son was to learn a patriotic song and patriotic poem by heart. Being unable to harmonize this with his religious convictions, he refused. His teacher had two young boys lead him like a prisoner to the principal, a certain Mr. Hanneberg, who told him his finger should be beaten until it was so bloody and swollen and black and blue that ‘he could no longer stick it up his [rectum].’ He continued to threaten him and said he would never see his father again. Finally he asked this ten-year-old youngster if he would refuse to do military service. Günter referred to the Bible and said, ‘He who takes up the sword will perish by the sword,’ whereupon the principal instructed Günter’s teacher to ‘punish him as is customary.’ Afterward the principal sent him home, saying that he would instruct the police to pick him up at home five minutes later to put him into a reform house. My son had hardly got home when the police drove up in front of our house in a large car. Several officers stormily demanded entrance, but I refused to open the door. After a while the police withdrew to my neighbor’s, demanding from her incriminating evidence against me. Unable to offer any such incriminating evidence, she was pressured so long until she finally admitted having heard us sing a song and offer prayer each morning. Then the police left.

“The next morning at about 10:30 the police returned. Since I was unwilling to open the door, the Gestapo officials cried: ‘You damned Bible Student! Open up!’ Then they went to a locksmith who lived nearby and had him break in.

“Holding a revolver to my chest, one of the Gestapo agents cried: ‘Give us the children.’ But I held them close and they clung to me in search of protection. Out of fear that they would forcibly separate us, we screamed for help at the top of our lungs.

“The window was open and a large group of persons gathered in front of the house and heard my loud screams of despair: ‘I bore my children under the most severe labor pains and I will never give them to you. You will have to beat me to death first.’ Then overcome by excitement, I fainted. After coming to, I was questioned by the Gestapo for three hours. They tried to get me to incriminate my husband. The questioning was interrupted several times by my fainting spells. Meanwhile, the ever-growing crowd in front of the house increasingly began to indicate by their noise that they were not in agreement with what was going on. Finally the Gestapo withdrew once again, not having accomplished what they had set out to do. Now they went about taking the children away secretly. Apparently in pursuit of this plan I was requested to appear before a special court in Elbing some days later. On the same day my children were to report to the guardian who had been appointed over them. I suspected the worst and visited the guardian with both children the day before. He said my fifteen-year-old daughter was to be put into a work camp and ten-year-old Günter given to a family who would train him along the lines of Nationalist Socialism. In the event of refusal they were both to be placed in a reform school. In my excitement I asked: ‘Tell me, are we already living in Russia, or are we still in Germany?’ whereupon he answered: ‘Mrs. Strenge, I will ignore what you have just said. I too come from a religious family; my father is a minister!’ When I requested that my daughter at least be permitted to accept an apprenticeship somewhere, this attorney retorted: ‘I want no trouble out of you. I would rather deal with twenty other children than with one Bible Student.’

“Saturday arrived, the day I was to go to court in Elbing to defend my faith in Jehovah and his promises. To strengthen myself and so that I could once again pour out my heart, I visited my imprisoned husband before I went. When he was brought in, I collapsed sobbing into his arms. All the grief and all the terrible events of the past few days once again welled up within me: my husband sentenced to three years in prison, the children torn away from me and separated from one another at that. My spirit was broken and I was at the limit of endurance. But like words of angels were the words of my husband, who comforted me by depicting Job’s experiences and his sufferings and yet his unbreakable faithfulness to God, so that even after he had lost everything, he did not accuse God of wrongdoing. He related how he too had been richly blessed by Jehovah after the severe test brought about by the numerous hearings and the trial. This gave me renewed strength. I now went to the hearing with raised head to hear proudly with what zeal my children had borne witness to Jehovah and his Kingdom and to their faith in front of their teachers and other high officials. The ‘German court’ ruled: Not having reared my children in the sense of National Socialism, and because of having sung songs with them in praise of Jehovah, I would have to be sentenced to eight months’ imprisonment.”

OSTRACIZED BY CLASSMATES

Twelve-year-old Brother Willi Seitz from Karlsruhe had a different kind of experience. He himself reports:

“I can hardly describe what I have had to bear up until now. My fellow students at school have beaten me; when we take hikes, I must go alone, if permitted to go along at all, and I may not speak to my school friends, such as I still have. In other words: ‘I am hated and mocked like a mangy dog.’ My only comfort has been that God’s kingdom will soon come. . . .”

On January 22, 1937, Willi was expelled from school “because of refusal to give the German greeting, to sing patriotic songs and to take part in school celebrations.”

CONDEMNED FOR PRAYING AND SINGING

Max Ruef from Pocking also discovered how systematic attempts were made to force Jehovah’s witnesses to break their integrity. His means of livelihood was completely ruined. A mortgage he had taken out for the purpose of making building changes was canceled. He being unable to pay the mortgage back immediately, all his property was put up for auction in May of 1934.

“The persecution did not stop at that,” Brother Ruef relates. “On the contrary, at the instigation of the political leadership I was falsely charged and hauled into court. Since there was nothing they could accuse me of, I was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment by a special court in Munich because of having engaged in the banned praying and singing in my home. I began to serve my sentence on December 31, 1936. My wife, expecting her third child, received, other than rent amounting to 12 Reich marks, no kind of support for herself and the two children aged nine and ten. The time came for her to bear the child. We both petitioned that the serving of my sentence be interrupted for a few weeks so that I could look after certain necessary things. About a week before the child was to be born our petition was denied as being ‘inappropriate.’

“On March 27 I was notified that my wife had died and that I was to be released for three days in order to transact necessary business. I at once went to the clinic where my wife had been brought after bearing the child, although she had died before getting there. The doctor and one of the nurses, who were still unaware of my being one of Jehovah’s witnesses, strongly urged me to ‘file charges against the doctor and the midwife, for your wife was healthy and there was nothing wrong with her,’ but I only answered tiredly: ‘Then I would have a lot to do.’ At home, with the dead child lying in the bedroom, I found the other two children, nine and ten years of age, in a frame of mind one can easily imagine. Should I leave them alone now with no one to look after them, perhaps never to see them again?”

Brother Ruef’s parents-in-law requested that his wife’s body be sent to Pocking, where no one outside of the immediate family was permitted to speak at the graveside. Thus it was that Brother Ruef himself delivered his wife’s funeral discourse, Jehovah giving him the strength to do so.

The thought of now having to leave his two children alone without anyone to look after them was impossible for Brother Ruef to bear. With just a few more hours left of his respite from imprisonment, he took one of the two children to his parents-in-law, although they were not Jehovah’s witnesses, and the other he took to brothers living near the Swiss border. Finally, he made a dramatic escape across the border into Switzerland, where he received asylum with his child.

FIRST PUNISHMENT, THEN “FRIENDLINESS,” TO BREAK INTEGRITY

There were cases where children who were separated from their parents became weak in faith for a time and actually stood in danger of being drawn into the Nazi camp, just as the movement’s leaders figured they would be. Take, for example, Horst Henschel from Meissen, who, in 1943, was baptized at twelve years of age with his father. He writes:

“My childhood was filled with ups and downs. I withdrew from the Hitler Youth​—at least as far as this was possible—​and was happy and strong. When I refused to give the Hitler greeting, which was daily required at school, I would be struck, but I rejoiced to know, strengthened by my parents, that I had remained faithful. But there were times when either because of physical punishment or out of fear of the situation I would say ‘Heil Hitler.’ I remember how I would then go home, my eyes full of tears and how we would pray together to Jehovah and how I would once again take courage to resist the enemy’s attacks the next time. Then the same thing would happen again.

“One day the Gestapo came and searched our house. ‘Are you one of Jehovah’s witnesses?’ one of the broad-shouldered SS men asked my mother. As if it were today, I can see her leaning against the door frame and saying firmly ‘Yes,’ although she knew this meant she would be arrested sooner or later. She was, two weeks later.

“She was busy taking care of my little sister, who would be a year old the following day, when the police came with a warrant for her arrest. . . . Since my father was at home at the time we remained under his jurisdiction. . . . Two weeks later my father was arrested too. I can still see him crouching down in front of the kitchen stove gazing into the fire. Before leaving for school I had hugged him as tightly as I could, but he had not turned around to look at me. I have often thought about the hard fight he had and I am grateful to Jehovah to this day that God provided him with the necessary strength to give me such a good example. I came home and found I was alone. My father had been ordered to do military service and had gone to the town’s draft board to explain his refusal. He was arrested immediately. My grandparents and our other relatives​—all of whom were opposed to Jehovah’s witnesses and some of whom were members of the Nazi party—​had taken steps to gain custody of me and my little one-year-old sister so that we would not be put into a juvenile home or perhaps even into a reform school. A second sister of mine, already twenty-one years old, was arrested just two weeks after my father, and died three weeks later in prison from diphtheria and scarlet fever.

“My little sister and I were now with my grandparents. I remember kneeling down before my little sister’s bed to pray. I was not allowed to read the Bible, but after secretly obtaining one from a neighbor lady, I did.

“My grandfather, not in the truth, once visited my father in prison. He returned home highly indignant and terribly angry. ‘This criminal, this good-for-nothing! How can he desert his own children?’ Chained hand and foot, my father was led before my grandfather, who, together with the others, tried to argue him into taking up military service for the sake of the children. But he continued faithful and firmly turned the suggestion down, whereupon an officer remarked to my grandfather: ‘Even if this man had ten children, he would not act differently.’ Though terrible in my grandfather’s ears, for me it was proof that my father was remaining faithful and that Jehovah was helping him.

“Some time later I received a letter from him. It was his last. Since he did not know where my mother was imprisoned, he wrote it to me. I went up to my attic bedroom and read the first words: ‘Rejoice when you receive this letter, because I have endured. In two hours my sentence will be executed. . . .’ I was sad and I cried, although I did not grasp the depth of the matter then as I do today.

“In the face of all these decisive events I remained relatively strong. Without doubt Jehovah gave me the necessary strength to solve my problems. But Satan has many ways to entice one into his trap and I was soon to experience this. One of my relatives approached my teachers asking them to be patient with me. Suddenly they all became very, very friendly to me. The teachers did not punish me, even when I did not greet with ‘Heil Hitler,’ and my relatives became especially friendly and nice to me. Then it happened.

“On my own initiative I rejoined the Hitler Youth, though no one tried to force me to do so, and though it was only some months before the end of World War II. What Satan had failed to accomplish with severity, he was able to accomplish with flattery and craftiness. Today I can say that severe persecution from without may test our loyalty, but that Satan’s sneaky attacks from other angles are not less dangerous than the brutal attacks. Today I realize what difficult tests of faith my mother had to go through while in prison. I had received my father’s last letter in confirmation of his faithfulness and dedication until death and this strengthened me immensely. She, on the other hand, was sent his clothing and suits, on which bloodstains were still clearly visible, silent witnesses to the harassments of his death. My mother later told me that all these things were very difficult for her to bear, but that her most difficult test during this time were my letters indicating I had stopped serving Jehovah.

“The war quickly ended. My mother came home and helped me return to the way of dedication. She continued to rear me in the love of Jehovah and in dedication to him. Looking back, I see that I had many of the same problems then that many of our young brothers have today. But my mother never stopped fighting to help me stay on the path of dedication. Due to the undeserved kindness of Jehovah I have now had the privilege of being in full-time service for twenty-two years, six years and four months of this time being spent in prison in East Germany, imprisoned even as my parents were.

“I have often asked myself what I did to deserve to have been so richly blessed by Jehovah in the past. Today I believe that the prayers of my father and my mother have been responsible. They could not have given a better example in Christian conduct than they did through their own course of action.”

There are 860 known cases where children were taken from their parents, although the exact number may be quite a bit higher. In view of such inhumanity it is not strange that in the course of time the authorities went so far as to make it impossible to bear children by simply stating that one of the parents had a “hereditary disease.” He could then be sterilized under provisions of the law.

METHODS AT HEARINGS

One of the cruel tactics employed was letting the marriage mate and other family members experience the torments their loved ones had to go through during questioning. Emil Wilde describes the cruelty of this, he being forced to listen from his cell as his wife was being literally tortured to death.

“On September 15, 1937,” he begins, “early in the morning around 5:00 o’clock, two Gestapo officials came and searched our home, after first questioning my children. Afterward my wife and I were taken to police headquarters and immediately locked up in prison cells. Our first hearing took place some ten days later. I was told my wife was also to have her first hearing that same day, and this proved to be the case.

“From noon on, about 1:00 o’clock, I heard a woman’s loud cries. She was being beaten and as the cries continued to get louder and I could hear them more clearly, I recognized them as coming from my wife. I rang the bell and asked why the woman, my wife, was being beaten; I was told that it was not my wife, but another, who deserved the beatings because of misbehavior. Late that afternoon the screaming started again and grew so in intensity that I once again rang to complain about the treatment being meted out to my wife. The Gestapo continued to deny that it was my wife. Around 1:00 o’clock that night I could stand it no longer and rang once again, this time resulting in the police official, whose name I do not know, saying: ‘If you ring just one more time, we will do the same thing to you that we have done to your wife!’ There followed silence throughout the entire prison, for in the meantime they had taken my wife to the nerve clinic. Early on the morning of October 3, the Gestapo head guard, Classin, came to my cell and told me my wife had died in the nerve clinic. I told him right to his face that they were to blame for my wife’s death, and on the day of her funeral I filed murder charges against the Gestapo. This resulted in the Gestapo charging me with libel.

“This meant there was to be a further trial in addition to my first one. When it was held, two sisters arose during the special court hearing and testified: ‘We heard Mrs. Wilde crying, “You devils, you are beating me to death.”’ The judge responded: ‘But they did not see it, they only heard it. I sentence you to one month’s imprisonment.’ Several sisters, who saw my wife after her death, confirmed that she was terribly disfigured with large stripes around her throat and across her face. I was refused permission to attend the funeral.”

In other instances attempts were made to hypnotize the brothers. Some of them were given food that had been drugged, so that for a time they lost control over what they said. In an attempt to force others to confess, their hands and feet were tied behind their backs for the entire night. Since some were unable to hold up under such terrible forms of torture, the Gestapo was able to obtain information about how the work of Jehovah’s witnesses was organized and carried out.

FRIENDLY OFFICERS AND EMPLOYERS

Although officials used the ‘new powerful and loud language,’ which especially characterized all the leaders in the new state, based as it was on the so-called ‘Führer principle,’ yet it was gratifying that here and there some police officials, in their dealings with Jehovah’s witnesses both in and outside of prison, showed they were still capable of having compassion for their fellowman.

Carl Göhring, because of his refusal to give the “German greeting” and to join the Working Front Organization, was fired from his job with the private railway company of the Leuna Works in Merseburg. The employment office refused to find him a job and the welfare office refused to give him any kind of support. But Jehovah, who knows the needs of his people, directed the matter so that Brother Göhring soon found a job with the paper factory in Weissenfels. Its director, a Mr. Kornelius, hired all the brothers in the vicinity who had been fired from their jobs and demanded nothing of them that would have conflicted with their consciences.

As it later developed, there were other employers like this too, although not many. Quite a few brothers were thereby saved from the clutches of the Gestapo.

There were also individual judges who inwardly were not at all in agreement with the violent methods used by the Hitler government. Especially at the beginning, a number of judges presented the brothers with a harmless paper for signing, one that simply stated that they would refrain from engaging in any political activity. Since the brothers could sign this without any reservations, it saved many of them from losing their freedom.

House searches often indicated that not all the officials were as hateful against Jehovah’s witnesses as it may have appeared outwardly. Brother and Sister Poddig experienced this when their home was searched. They had just received mail, including copies of The Watchtower along with other publications, from Sister Poddig’s fleshly sister, who lived in Holland. Before they had a chance to read anything, however, the doorbell suddenly began to ring.

“Quick,” Sister Poddig cried, “put everything in the pantry and close the door.” Since this might have attracted attention, however, she decided at the last minute to leave the door open. In the meantime the Gestapo agent, accompanied by an SA man, had entered the house. “So,” he began, “let’s begin right here.” By this he meant the pantry with its door standing open. Brother Poddig’s little boy suddenly said: “You can look a long time before you’ll find anything in the pantry,” whereupon the agent laughed and replied: “Well, then, let’s go into the other room.” The entire search was unsuccessful. In fact, Brother Poddig and his family got the impression that they​—at least the Gestapo agent—​did not want to find anything. It was apparent that the SA man did not think the search was being carried on thoroughly enough and wanted to continue the search. But the Gestapo agent reprimanded him and forbade him to look farther. Upon leaving he suddenly returned alone and whispered to Sister Poddig: “Mrs. Poddig, listen to what I say. They will take your children away because they are not in the Hitler Youth. Please send your children, even if it is only for appearance’ sake.” “Then both of them left and we were able to read our mail from Holland in peace,” Brother Poddig writes. “We thanked Jehovah for the many new things and for The Watchtower that was once again included.”

OUTWITTED

There are, of course, numerous cases where Gestapo officials were apparently struck with blindness when they conducted their searches and where they were frequently outwitted by the lightning-quick actions of the brothers, clearly indicating Jehovah’s protection and angelic help.

Sister Kornelius from Marktredwitz tells an experience: “One day another policeman appeared to make a search. We had several publications in the house, including several mimeographed Watchtowers. At the moment, I saw no other possibility than to stick them all into an empty coffee pot, which just happened to be standing on the table. After their looking through everything, it was only a matter of time before this hiding place would be found. Just at that moment my fleshly sister unexpectedly dropped into the apartment. Without any preliminaries I said to her, ‘Here, take your coffee along with you.’ She looked a little startled at first, understood what I meant, however, and left at once, taking the coffee pot along. The literature was out of danger and the officials had not noticed that they had been outwitted.”

Amusing is the story that Brother and Sister Kornelius tell about their five-year-old son Siegfried, who at the time had no difficulties with the “German greeting” and similar things because he was not yet of school age. But since his parents were raising him in the truth, he knew that his parents’ literature, which they always hid after reading, was very important and that the Gestapo was not to be allowed to find it. One day when he saw two officials coming through the yard to his parents’ place, he immediately realized they would be looking for hidden literature and at once knew what he should do to prevent them from finding anything. Although not yet of school age, he grabbed his older brother’s schoolbag, emptied everything out and stuffed all the literature into it. He hung the bag on his back and went out onto the street with it. There he waited until the officials left, after making an unsuccessful search. Afterward he returned to the house and rehid the literature where he had found it.

Part 2​—Germany

“SHEEP” ARE FOUND IN PRISON

The brothers contacted persons of all kinds while in prison and naturally, as far as possible, told them about their hope. How great their joy when one of their fellow prisoners accepted the truth! Willi Lehmbecker tells us of such an experience. He was incarcerated with a number of other prisoners in a room where smoking was allowed:

“My bunk was above, but the prisoner who slept below me smoked so much I could scarcely breathe. While all the others were asleep I was able to witness to him from the Bible about God’s purpose for mankind. I found him to be an attentive listener. This young man was active in politics and had been taken into custody for distributing illegal magazines. We promised each other that, once we were free again, if still alive, we would try to visit each other. But it turned out differently. In 1948 I met him again at one of our circuit assemblies. He recognized me at once, greeted me joyfully and then told me his story. After serving his time and being released, he had been drafted into the military and served at the front in Russia. Here he had an opportunity to think over all the things I had told him. . . . Finally he said to me: ‘Today I became your brother.’ Can you imagine how moved I was and how I rejoiced?”

Hermann Schlömer had a similar experience. It was likewise at a circuit assembly where a brother approached him and asked: “Do you recognize me?” Brother Schlömer answered: “Your face is familiar, but I don’t know who you are.” The brother then introduced himself as having been the prison guard in charge of Brother Schlömer in the Frankfurt-Preungesheim prison during his five-year prison term there. Brother Schlömer had told the guard a great many things about the truth. He had also asked him for a Bible, which the prison clergyman had refused to get for him. The prison guard was humane and obtained a Bible for Brother Schlömer. So that he would have something to do in solitary confinement he also brought him the family stockings for mending. Yes, Brother Schlömer really had cause for rejoicing, realizing that in this case Jehovah’s word had fallen on fertile soil.

SPIRITUAL FOOD BECOMES SCARCE

The spiritual menu in Germany continued to shrink. How dangerous it was for individuals, as well as groups, when they lost contact with the organization and no longer had an opportunity to obtain spiritual food, is reported on by Heinrich Vieker:

“When the Nazis seized power, we were between thirty and forty publishers in our congregation. The challenging position taken by this system soon caused many brothers to ‘move over into the shade,’ thus becoming inactive, about half of the publishers no longer making an appearance. This meant we had to be very careful in dealing with those who had drawn away, greeting them when we would meet, but not supplying them with magazines when available. During a discussion, we once discovered that all the brothers, with the exception of about fourteen, had voted in an election held.”

Naturally there was the danger that some brothers would be deprived of spiritual food simply because of some unhappy circumstance causing suspicion that they had drawn away from Jehovah’s organization. This is what happened to Grete Klein and her mother in Stettin. Let us hear from her:

“We met together in small groups in the homes of various brothers. Our congregation overseer gave me The Watchtower so that I could make stencils for it to be mimeographed. But only for a short time, and then this privilege, which I so treasured, was over. The brothers had become frightened and were afraid that they might be discovered after they found out that my father was opposed to the truth. We, my mother and I, did not even get a copy of The Watchtower. In fact, the brothers’ fear went so far that they did not even greet us when meeting us on the streets. Both of us were completely cut off from the organization. In Stettin a congregation of Bible Students ceased to exist because, although still free, we were without leadership and without spiritual food. . . .

“Standing still actually means going backward; this we soon saw from our spiritual attitude. After the war began, I continued to pray for our spiritual brothers in concentration camps; soon, however, I was also praying for my fleshly brothers who were carrying on war with literal weapons in Russia and Greece. At the time it did not even dawn on me that what I was doing was wrong. The thought often came up in my mind as to whether it was at all possible to set up a new order under God’s kingdom.

“Besides me, there were many other young persons in the Stettin congregation who did not know where they stood. Several young men, such as Günter Braun, Kurt and Artur Wiessmann, were in military service fighting with fleshly weapons. Kurt Wiessmann was even killed in action. An important reason for our negative stand was undoubtedly the fact that our leadership in the Stettin congregation had fallen victim to the fear of man. . . .

“On the other hand, these brothers who grew weak during that time are an example of Jehovah’s patience, love and forgiveness, since, as I later found out, some of them sincerely repented of their actions after the work began again and were restored to Jehovah’s favor. Some of them are still in full-time service today, as, for example, the former congregation overseer in Stettin, who due to fear of man broke off all contact with me and my mother and moved with his wife to a place where they were completely unknown. But how I rejoiced when I met them again in Wiesbaden when I began serving at Bethel and have been able to see both of them continue in full-time service up into old age. Because of his course of action some of the brothers suffered a great deal in concentration camps and prisons, and many had a difficult time forgiving him. But Jehovah’s mercy helped them do so and served as a wonderful example for them.”

UNCERTAINTY IN MAGDEBURG AND ELSEWHERE

Going back in the account to 1933 when Hitler became chancellor, we find that Brother Rutherford soon realized that the German government had its eye on our building in Magdeburg and the valuable printing presses there. Strong efforts were made to prove to the responsible officials that the Wachtturm Bibel- und Traktat-Gesellschaft was a subsidiary of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania and that, since the Magdeburg property to a great degree consisted of gifts from America, it was in actuality American property. Under these circumstances Brother Balzereit as a German citizen was only partially effective in fighting for the release of American property. Brother Rutherford, therefore, asked Brother Harbeck, the branch overseer in Switzerland, to step into the controversy, making use of his American citizenship.

Brother Balzereit, who had chosen to move to Czechoslovakia for safety, now felt that his authority was being restricted, and his pride was hurt. Yet he himself showed little desire of wanting to return to Germany and personally direct the negotiations going on for retaining possession of the Society’s property and to support his brothers in their fight for the faith. At the same time, Brother Balzereit and several brothers who had taken his side of the controversy accused Brother Harbeck of being negligent in looking after German interests, while others went so far as to telegraph Brother Rutherford in behalf of Balzereit.

Brother Rutherford answered Balzereit as follows: “Return to Magdeburg and stay there and take charge of matters and do what you can, but notify Brother Harbeck about everything. . . . In fact it should not be necessary for you to ask permission to return to Germany, since, as far as I am concerned, and this you know, you could have stayed there right from the beginning. You tried to lead me to believe, however, that your personal safety was dependent upon your taking refuge outside the country.”

The year 1933 drew to a close without any unity being achieved as regards the holding of regular meetings and the carrying on of the preaching work. Brother Poddig describes the situation: “Two groups developed. The fearful ones maintained that we were disobedient and were endangering both them and Jehovah’s work.” A letter written by Brother Harbeck in August 1933 was given wide distribution among the German brothers and was used by the fearful ones in their discussions as proof of the rightness of their stand. Meanwhile the Society published a Watchtower article entitled “Fear Them Not,” which supported the action of those who, despite increasing persecution and mistreatment, had followed the voice of their conscience and had continued to meet together in small groups and carry on the preaching work underground. It showed them that their action had been in harmony with the divine will.

Negotiations for release of the Magdeburg property had broken down, so that Brother Rutherford wrote to Brother Harbeck on January 5, 1934: “I have little hope that we will get anything at all from the German government. I am of the opinion that this wing of Satan’s organization will continue to oppress our people until the Lord intervenes.”

In the meantime, additional letters from brothers in Germany had reached Brother Rutherford, giving him a more accurate idea of the condition of the work in Germany and also of the spiritual attitude of the brothers. One of these, from Brother Poddig, dealt with the Watchtower article “Fear Them Not.” It explained that some of the brothers were refusing to accept this Watchtower as “food in due season.” Some were even trying to prevent the brothers from carrying on any underground preaching. Brother Rutherford’s answer was passed on to the brothers everywhere. It said, in part: “The article ‘Fear Them Not’ which appeared in the December 1 Watchtower was written especially for the benefit of our brothers in Germany. It is surprising that any of the brothers would oppose those interested in finding opportunities to bear witness to the Lord. . . . The above-mentioned article applies to Germany just as much as it does to any other part of the earth. It especially applies to the remnant wherever the individual members happen to be. . . . This means that neither literature servant, the service director, the harvest work leader nor anyone else has the right to tell you what to do or to refuse to provide you with such literature as is available. Your activity in the service of the Lord is not illegal, for you do it in obedience to the Lord’s command . . .”

PLANS FOR UNITED ACTION MADE AT BASEL

A convention was arranged to be held at the fairgrounds in Basel, Switzerland, from September 7 to 9, 1934. Brother Rutherford hoped to meet a number of brothers from Germany there, to hear from them firsthand about the actual situation in the country. Under most adverse conditions almost a thousand brothers from Germany were able to attend. They later reported how distressed Brother Rutherford was when he personally heard what the brothers had already been forced to suffer.

On the other hand, he was forced to recognize that even the traveling overseers present were not of one mind as regards the preaching work. He spoke to them about steps to be taken in Germany after the convention. Plans for united action were made.

October 7, 1934, will forever remain something special in the memories of all those who had the privilege of participating in the events of that day. On that day Hitler and his government were confronted by the fearless action of Jehovah’s witnesses​—in his eyes a ridiculous minority.

Details were spelled out in a letter from Brother Rutherford, a copy of which was to be taken by special messenger to every congregation in Germany. At the same time these messengers were instructed to make preparations for meetings to be held throughout Germany on this particular day. Brother Rutherford’s letter said, in part:

“Every group of Jehovah’s witnesses in Germany should gather together at a convenient place in the city where they live, on Sunday morning, October 7, 1934, at 9:00 o’clock. This letter should be read to all present. You should join together in prayer to Jehovah asking him through Christ Jesus, our Head and King, for his guidance, protection, deliverance and blessing. Immediately thereafter send a letter to German government officials which text will have been prepared beforehand and will then be available. A few minutes should be spent discussing Matthew 10:16-24, keeping in mind that by doing as this text says, you are ‘standing for your lives.’ (Esther 8:11) The meeting should then be closed and you should go out to your neighbors giving them a witness about Jehovah’s name, about our God and his Kingdom under Christ Jesus.

“Your brothers throughout the world will be thinking of you and will direct a similar prayer to Jehovah at the same time.”

UNITED DECLARATION OF DETERMINATION TO OBEY GOD

The preparations had to be made in complete secrecy, of course. Every brother who had anything to do with them was required to agree not to speak even to his own wife or other family members about what was being planned for October 7. Despite these precautions, a situation arose at the last minute which, had it not been for Jehovah’s powerful and protecting arm, could have had terrible consequences. Concerning what took place in Mainz, Konrad Franke reports:

“I had been arrested early in 1933 for the first time and put in a concentration camp, so after my release I often had to appear before the Gestapo, who accused me each time of being in charge of organizing the work in this city, the continual number of arrests bearing witness to an organized preaching campaign going on. I, therefore, had my mail sent to a cover address, an address which Brother Franz Merck, our regional service director, knew. But for some unexplainable reason he had not delivered Brother Rutherford’s letter containing the necessary instructions to me personally as had been agreed upon in Basel, but sent it to me by mail and this to my normal address and literally ‘at the last minute.’ Happily my attention had already been called to the campaign by Brother Albert Wandres, with whom I worked very closely, and so I was acquainted with all the details set out in the letter. Since the days until October 7 were passing by very quickly and I still had not received this important information from Brother Merck, I went ahead without his help and made arrangements for the meeting to be held at a brother’s house in a suburb of Mainz, to which meeting almost twenty persons were invited.

“Two days before the meeting was to take place an abrupt change had to be made, since the home where we were to have met turned out to be a dangerous place. After all the brothers and sisters had been notified of a new address, it was suddenly discovered that a family in this house had also expressed great enmity and had threatened to have anyone they knew to be one of Jehovah’s witnesses arrested immediately if they at any time in the future should set foot in their house. So the brothers who owned the house, in whose apartment the meeting was to have been held the next morning, asked to have it somewhere else. Therefore, it became necessary on October 6 to visit all the brothers again, notifying them of a third location for the meeting at 9:00 o’clock the next morning. But where? There seemed to be no possibilities left. After prayerful consideration I decided to invite the brothers to my small pioneer apartment, although this was dangerous.

“I returned home tired out on the evening of October 6 and was handed a letter by my wife which had been delivered late in the evening outside of the normal postal delivery times, and this despite the fact that it was just a normal letter rather than special delivery, which would have called for the postal authorities to have delivered it at that time. I opened it and discovered it was Brother Rutherford’s letter. Brother Merck had sent it to me probably because he had no possibility of getting it to me personally in time.

“The manner of delivery was proof to me, however, that the letter had first gone to the Gestapo​—as was true of all my private mail—​and that they had then arranged to deliver it, evidently thinking that I did not yet know anything about the campaign. They figured I would then make the necessary arrangements in harmony with the letter’s contents sometime during the night, so that they could find all of us together and arrest us without any special effort on their part the next morning. In fact, there had been sufficient time to warn officials all over Germany. It would be a simple matter to arrest all of Jehovah’s witnesses gathered together in the various cities the next morning.

“What should I do? My apartment, located in a building also housing a tavern, was anything but safe. All those living in the house, with the exception of the sister who owned the building and whose bedroom adjoined our apartment, were bitterly opposed. On the other hand, there were no other possibilities of where we could meet. Trusting in Jehovah’s help, I decided not to make any more changes nor to excite unduly the brothers and sisters, who, for the most part, lived in divided families and who had not the slightest idea of what the purpose of the meeting was. Inwardly I prepared myself for being arrested again.

“At 7:00 o’clock the morning of October 7, the first brothers had already arrived, arrangements having been made for everyone to come individually over a period of two hours so that it would not be so noticeable. The brothers appeared one by one, all very expectant of what would come, although in harmony with instructions they had not been informed of the real reason for the meeting. But there was no one among them who did not feel that this was to be an extremely meaningful day. Everyone, including the sisters whose husbands in most cases were opposers and most of whom had small children to look after, impressed me as being determined and willing to do anything they were asked to do in the interests of the vindication of Jehovah’s name.

“By ten minutes to 9:00 everyone was gathered in our one-room pioneer apartment. I fully expected to see the Gestapo drive up in a large car at any minute and to arrest us all. I, therefore, felt called upon to explain the situation to the brothers and to give them an opportunity to withdraw from participation in the meeting in case they feared the possible consequences. I told them: ‘The situation is such that we could all be arrested within the next ten minutes. I do not want any of you to be able to accuse me later of having got you into this situation without having informed you of its seriousness. I, therefore, ask you to open your Bibles to Deuteronomy 20.’ I read verse 8:De 20:8 ‘Who is the man that is fearful and fainthearted? Let him go and return to his house, that he may not cause the hearts of his brothers to melt as his own heart.’ After reading this to those present, I said: ‘Anyone who feels that the situation is too dangerous now has the opportunity of withdrawing from participation in the meeting.’

“But not one, not even the sisters with opposing husbands and small children, considered drawing back in fear. What now followed is something one can hardly express in words. During the few minutes remaining until 9:00 o’clock there was a festive silence in the room. It was apparent that all in attendance were entrusting the matter in silent prayer into Jehovah’s protective hand. It was 9:00 o’clock. And while the thought kept wanting to creep into my mind that ‘the Gestapo will pull into the yard at any moment now’ I opened the meeting with prayer. Suddenly we all had the feeling that a strong, protective ring had been placed around us, enclosing not only the endangered brothers in Germany but the brothers throughout the world who, in harmony with instructions, had assembled in many countries at the same hour and who naturally also began their meetings with prayer, all of this for the purpose of protesting to Hitler against the inhuman treatment of their brothers in Germany.

“Afterward I delivered a talk to the brothers repeating the main thoughts of Brother Rutherford’s noteworthy talk in Basel for the encouragement of the German brothers. It presented Biblical proofs that, despite changed conditions, we had not been freed of our responsibility before Jehovah to assemble together regularly to study his Word and to praise him, nor from our obligation to serve as his witnesses and to publicly make known the Kingdom.”

In harmony with the action being taken by Jehovah’s witnesses throughout Germany, everyone in the group enthusiastically agreed that the following letter should be sent to the government on that day by registered mail:

“TO THE OFFICIALS OF THE GOVERNMENT:

“The Word of Jehovah God, as set out in the Holy Bible, is the supreme law, and to us it is our sole guide for the reason that we have devoted ourselves to God and are true and sincere followers of Christ Jesus.

“During the past year, and contrary to God’s law and in violation of our rights, you have forbidden us as Jehovah’s witnesses to meet together to study God’s Word and worship and serve him. In his Word he commands us that we shall not forsake the assembling of ourselves together. (Hebrews 10:25) To us Jehovah commands: ‘Ye are my witnesses that I am God. Go and tell the people my message.’ (Isaiah 43:10, 12; Isaiah 6:9; Matthew 24:14) There is a direct conflict between your law and God’s law, and, following the lead of the faithful apostles, ‘we ought to obey God rather than men,’ and this we will do. (Acts 5:29) Therefore this is to advise you that at any cost we will obey God’s commandments, will meet together for the study of his Word, and will worship and serve him as he has commanded. If your government or officers do violence to us because we are obeying God, then our blood will be upon you and you will answer to Almighty God.

“We have no interest in political affairs, but are wholly devoted to God’s kingdom under Christ his King. We will do no injury or harm to anyone. We would delight to dwell in peace and do good to all men as we have opportunity, but, since your government and its officers continue in your attempt to force us to disobey the highest law of the universe, we are compelled to now give you notice that we will, by his grace, obey Jehovah God and fully trust Him to deliver us from all oppression and oppressors.”

In full support of their German brothers, Jehovah’s witnesses throughout the earth met on October 7 and, after united prayer to Jehovah, sent a cablegram warning the Hitler government:

“Your ill-treatment of Jehovah’s witnesses shocks all good people of earth and dishonors God’s name. Refrain from further persecuting Jehovah’s witnesses; otherwise God will destroy you and your national party.”

Surprisingly, few brothers were arrested that day, although the Gestapo​—if only at the last minute—​had found out what was going to be done. Let us return to Brother Franke’s report:

“Despite the fact that more than an hour had passed since we had closed the meeting with prayer, still no one from the Gestapo had put in his appearance. Now the first ones began to leave again, as before, at intervals. About eight brothers were still there when I left to ride my bicycle to the adjoining city of Wiesbaden to deliver the letter to the postal authorities myself. The letter had been written during the night and left in Wiesbaden, where the brothers were to have mailed it if I, as I fully expected, had been arrested. As I rode through the garden gate, a Gestapo agent rode up on his bicycle but failed to recognize me. The other eight brothers were warned and fled into Sister Darmstadt’s adjoining bedroom, the sister to whom the house belonged. The questions the Gestapo agent directed to my wife as he searched our apartment indicated that the Gestapo knew all about our meeting. Despite this, neither I nor any of the other brothers were arrested that day. It was only several months later when I was rearrested by the Gestapo that they told me they were in possession of Brother Rutherford’s letter.”

While some of the brothers were busy visiting their neighbors right after the meeting and calling their attention to God’s kingdom, there was great consternation in many of the post offices outside Germany. Especially on the European continent, the postal authorities in many places refused to accept the telegram. This was the case in Budapest. Martin Pötzinger attended the meeting there and was asked to take the telegram to the post office. He reports: “The telegram was accepted, but the next day I was notified by the main post office that I should appear personally there. We all thought that the Gestapo would take me into custody, expel me from the country, and thereby put an end to my activity . . . but this did not happen. I was only told that Hungary would not transmit the telegram and I was given my money back.” In Doorn (Holland), where the German Kaiser Wilhelm II lived in exile, the post office at first refused to send the telegram, but later notified Hans Thomas, who had turned it in, that it had been sent and that its arrival in Berlin had been confirmed.

The effect that the letters, and especially the telegrams, had upon Hitler can be seen by a report written by Karl R. Wittig, attested by a notary public in Frankfurt (Main) on November 13, 1947:

“DECLARATION​—On October 7, 1934, having been previously summoned, I visited Dr. Wilhelm Frick, at that time Minister of the Interior of the Reich and Prussia, in his home office of the Reich, located in Berlin, 6 am Köenigsplatz, since I was a plenipotentiary of General Ludendorff. I was to accept communications, contents of which were an attempt to persuade General Ludendorff to discontinuance of his objection to the Nazi regime. During my discussion with Dr. Frick, Hitler suddenly appeared and began taking part in the conversation. When our discussion obligatorily dealt with the action against the International Bible Students Association [Jehovah’s witnesses] in Germany up until now, Dr. Frick showed Hitler a number of telegrams protesting against the Third Reich’s persecution of the Bible Students, saying: ‘If the Bible Students do not immediately get in line we will act against them using the strongest means.’ After which Hitler jumped to his feet and with clenched fists hysterically screamed: ‘This brood will be exterminated in Germany!’ Four years after this discussion I was able, by my own observations, to convince myself, during my seven years in protective custody in the hell of the Nazis’ concentration camps at Sachsenhausen, Flossenbürg and Mauthausen​—I was in prison until released by the Allies—​that Hitler’s outburst of anger was not just an idle threat. No other group of prisoners of the named concentration camps was exposed to the sadism of the SS soldiery in such a fashion as the Bible Students were. It was a sadism marked by an unending chain of physical and mental tortures, the likes of which no language in the world can express.”

After we had sent our letters to Hitler, a wave of arrests took place. Hardest hit was Hamburg where, just a few days after October 7, the Gestapo arrested 142 brothers.

UNDERGROUND WORK ORGANIZED

Having now notified Hitler in our letter of October 7 that, despite his ban, we would continue to obey God’s commands exclusively, we endeavored to organize all the courageous and willing brothers and sisters into small groups under the direction of a mature brother, whose obligation it was wholeheartedly to care for and shepherd the Lord’s sheep.

The country was divided into thirteen regions, and a brother with good shepherding qualities was appointed in each region to serve as regional service director, as he was then called. These had to be brothers who, regardless of the dangers involved, were willing to contact the small groups to provide them with spiritual food, support them in their preaching activity and strengthen them in their faith. Except for just a few, the positions were filled by servants completely unknown to the brothers heretofore. They had proved, however, since Hitler’s coming to power, that they were willing to subjugate their own personal interests to those of the Kingdom.

MIMEOGRAPHING AND DISTRIBUTING “THE WATCHTOWER”

The brothers mimeographed and distributed copies of The Watchtower in many different locations throughout Germany. In Hamburg, for example, Helmut Brembach continued to supply the brothers in Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg with copies that he and his wife made at night. Sister Brembach relates the following experience from the many she and her husband had:

“It was forenoon as the doorbell suddenly rang but much louder than usual. When I opened the door I found three men standing there. I suspected who they were. ‘Gestapo’ one of them said and all three were already inside the apartment. My heart leaped into my throat as I thought of all the things hidden in the house. Trembling inwardly for fear, I prayed to Jehovah.

“From a human standpoint it would have been no problem to find the packed Watchtowers and the entire equipment we used in making them. Since our house was one in which several families lived, including those of two police officers, there was no place to hide anything, especially in view of the fact that the necessary materials​—paper, mimeograph machine, typewriter and ink, as well as packing materials—​were all large. Not knowing how to hide these things from the eyes of those who should not see them​—we needed them every two weeks—​we decided to pack everything into our potato bin, which stood in the middle of the basement and which any of the other occupants of the house could have got into. Each time we had finished making The Watchtower, we carefully put everything back into this bin, covered it with empty sacks and then piled empty tomato boxes on top up to the ceiling, hoping that, if worse came to worse, those trying to find something would either fail to notice it or would be too indifferent and lazy to want to move everything away from atop the potato bin. We trusted in Jehovah; there was nothing else we could do.

“The officer asked me if we had any banned literature in the house. To avoid lying, I said: ‘Please look around for yourself.’ They searched the apartment, opening the cabinet door in such a way that they failed to see the typewriter, which we had forgotten to pack away in the bin and which they would have recognized as being the machine needed for writing The Watchtower, had they discovered it. But Jehovah blinded them. After finding nothing in the apartment, they asked if they could check the basement. I felt now that discovery of all the materials and records was unavoidable. I tried to hide my fear from them although my heart was beating ever louder. To make matters worse, a suitcase filled with mimeographed Watchtowers, which my husband was to take on a trip the next day, stood directly behind the bin. But what happened? The three officers stood in the middle of the room, mind you, right there where the bin stood with the suitcase full of Watchtowers behind it. But none of them seemed to notice it; it was as though they had been struck blind. None of them made any efforts of any kind to look through the bin or even to see what was in the suitcase. Finally one of the officers asked about our attic; there they found several older publications, which seemed to satisfy them, and so they left. But the most important things, thanks to Jehovah’s help and that of his angels, had remained hidden from their eyes.”

Many similar cases could be related showing Jehovah’s guidance in keeping these mimeograph operations intact for long periods of time and thus supplying his people with literature.

ORGANIZED PREACHING WORK

Not everyone associated with us engaged in the preaching activity. To the contrary, in some congregations only half did so. In Dresden, for example, at one time the congregation had reached a peak of some 1,200 publishers, but after the ban this dropped rapidly to 500. Nevertheless, there may have been at least ten thousand throughout Germany who declared themselves willing to preach regardless of the danger involved.

At first most worked just with the Bible, whereas older booklets and books that had been rescued from the claws of the Gestapo were placed when making return visits. Others made up witnessing cards. Still others wrote letters to persons they knew, taking advantage of some special occasion. Door-to-door activity continued, though great dangers were involved. Every time someone opened the door it could be an SA or SS man. After calling at a door, the publishers generally skipped over to another apartment house or, in cases where it was extremely dangerous, even to another street.

For at least two years it was possible almost everywhere in Germany​—in some places even longer—​to preach from house to house. There is no doubt that this was possible only because of Jehovah’s special protection.

The small amounts of literature available for the preaching activity were soon used up. We therefore checked the possibilities of getting literature from foreign countries. Ernst Wiesner from Breslau acquaints us with some interesting details as to how it was done:

“Literature was sent to us from Switzerland by way of Czechoslovakia. It was stored at the border with outsiders and then brought from there over the Riesen Mountains into Germany. The work, which was done by a team of mature, willing brothers, was very dangerous and extremely fatiguing. We crossed the border at midnight. The brothers were well organized and were equipped with large knapsacks. They made the trip twice a week, although they had to be at their jobs every day besides. In winter they used toboggans and skis. They knew every path and byway, had good flashlights, binoculars and hiking shoes. Being cautious was the supreme law. Upon arriving at the German border around midnight and even after crossing it no one dared speak a word for a long time. Two brothers went ahead and, whenever they met anyone, at once signaled with their flashlights. This was a sign for the brothers with their heavy knapsacks following about 100 meters behind to hide in the bushes along the way until the two brothers ahead of them came back and gave a certain password, which was changed from week to week.

“This could happen several times a night. Once the way was clear again, the brothers would proceed to a certain house in a village on the German side where the books were put into small packages that same night or early the next morning, addressed, and then taken by bicycle to the post office in Hirschberg or other nearby towns. Brothers throughout Germany received their literature in this way. . . . This team of brothers, zealous and extraordinarily skillful, was able to bring a large amount of literature into Germany over a period of two years without getting caught, thereby strengthening many throughout the whole country.” Similar arrangements were also used at the French, Saar, Swiss and Dutch borders.

Of interest in this connection is a letter written by a sister: “When you read the Yearbook report from Germany you will ask yourself how it is possible that so much literature could be placed under such conditions. We ask ourselves the same question. If Jehovah were not with us, it would be impossible. Many of the brethren are being watched by the police constantly whenever they leave their homes. . . . But Jehovah is aware of this and, despite it, he permits us to be strengthened over and over again by the bountiful food we are enjoying.”

We had sufficient time to hide the literature in various places before the ban was announced. In order to understand what took place, however, it is important to keep in mind that the brothers had never had any experience in storing literature when under ban. So instead of dividing it among many brothers, the tendency at the beginning was to deposit it in large depots, thinking this to be safer, especially in view of the fact that those in charge felt the ban would be only temporary. Some of the depots had storage space for thirty to fifty tons of literature. As time went on, however, some of the brothers began to worry, wondering what would happen if the enemies should find and confiscate these large depots. For that reason the brothers in charge of the depots began giving the books out for use in the ministry regardless of whether they could be placed on a contribution or not.

Once it became apparent that persecution would continue and that keeping the hiding places was becoming ever more dangerous, the brothers started giving away as many books and booklets as possible. As they shared in field ministry they simply laid them inside the door when no one was watching or shoved them under the doormat, hoping that in some cases they would fall into the hands of sincere persons desirous of the strength and hope they could give.

MEMORIAL

Since we were determined not to neglect meeting together, in harmony with Jehovah’s command, it is obvious that we would be extremely conscientious about celebrating the Memorial. On such days the Gestapo were especially active, having in most cases determined the date of the Memorial either from publications printed outside Germany or from the mimeographed Watchtower, which sometimes fell into their hands. Their anger was particularly concentrated upon the anointed, who were mentioned, not only in connection with the Memorial, but also in connection with special campaigns. They saw in them the “heads” of the organization who would have to be crushed first in order to destroy the organization.

The Memorial on April 17, 1935, was especially exciting. Several weeks before, the Gestapo had already learned the date and had plenty of time to alert all their offices. A secret circular dated April 3, 1935, said:

“A surprise attack launched at this time against the known leaders of the Bible Students would be quite successful. Please report any information regarding success by April 22, 1935.”

But there could be little talk of “information regarding success,” for the majority of officers, like the one in Dortmund, was able to report only that the homes of those believed to be leaders of the Bible Students Association had been placed under surveillance but that in no case were meetings held. As a pacifier they added that “the leading and active members of the Bible Students in this district are already in custody so there is no one left to organize such meetings.”

However, the secret police were mistaken, for shortly after this secret circular was sent out, we received a copy of it from a friend of the truth who had access to such secret information. The regional service directors warned all the servants in plenty of time and gave them proper counsel as to how to avoid detection and yet still obey the instructions of our Lord and Master.

So it was that many met together immediately after 6:00 o’clock, whereas others waited until the Gestapo had come and gone before they left to meet with their brothers in small groups, some celebrating the Memorial in the middle of the night. In any case, the majority of Gestapo departments sent in reports similar to the one sent in from Dortmund.

Willi Kleissle reports that the brothers in Kreuzlingen celebrated the Memorial right at 6:00 o’clock. They had been instructed that before leaving the building they should go into the store located in the same building and which was owned by a brother, where they could buy sugar, coffee or similar items. Then they could leave by the regular store exit. The “cudgel corps,” as Brother Kleissle called them, did show up, but only after the brothers had all gone into the store, so they were unable to prove anything. But the questions asked by the Gestapo as well as various comments made by the police indicated clearly that they had got information through The Watchtower as to the date of the Memorial.

The brothers were always prepared for surprises, however, and this was good. They tried to connect, not only their attendance at the weekly meetings, but, above all, their attendance at the Memorial with some inoffensive everyday activity, and this often saved them from arrest. Franz Kohlhofer from near Bamberg reports:

“On this particular day the spies were especially active in watching the homes of Jehovah’s witnesses in the hope of being able to catch some of them in illegal activity and then to arrest them. . . . We had decided several days before to meet together for the celebration at the home of a brother who raised swine. Everyone was to bring along a basket full of potato peelings and other garbage. This all had to take place in a hurry, because the Gestapo could make an appearance at any moment. Just in case, we also took along our playing cards so that we could deceive the police should they surprise us. And guess what happened! Just as the brother had completed his final prayer there was a knock at the door. But by then the four of us were sitting around the table harmlessly involved in a card game. They could hardly believe their eyes, as we gazed at them quietly and naïvely. Since they had failed to catch us at the right time, they were forced to leave without having accomplished what they had set out to do.”

BAPTISM

Not a few of those who learned the truth during this time were baptized under the most trying circumstances. Soon many of these newly baptized ones were thrown into prison or into concentration camps, and a number of them lost their lives the same as those who had brought them the good news.

Paul Buder had already had his attention called to the “Millions” lecture as far back as 1922, but did not come into close contact with the truth until 1935 when a young girl employed at the same place he was, and of whom he had been warned by the others, gave him the Creation book. “That was May 12, 1935,” he writes in his memoirs, “and it was what I had been looking for. On May 19, 1935, I withdrew membership from the church and told the young girl I would like to become one of Jehovah’s witnesses. How happy she was! She had already been in prison for six weeks accused of being a colporteur. Then I contacted Brother and Sister Woite from the Forst congregation. Despite the fact that I was considered as a spy for the Nazis in that congregation, I went regularly from house to house in all villages with my little Luther Bible. On July 23, 1936, I was baptized in the Neisse River in Forst with Brother and Sister Woite present and also an older brother who delivered the talk.”

Baptisms were often held in small groups in private homes. From time to time they were held out in the open, sometimes with only a few candidates, at other times with more. Heinrich Halstenberg tells us about a baptism in the Weser River.

“In 1941 a number of interested persons expressed their desire to be baptized. When we found that there were a number with the same desire in the neighborhood we began to look for an appropriate location and this we found in Dehme on the Weser River. After everything had been well thought through and carefully planned, the baptism was set for May 8, 1941. The brothers and baptismal candidates were already there early in the morning. To others it looked as though we were a group enjoying a swim. Then so that no one could surprise us some were sent to keep watch and after speaking of the importance of baptism we prayed to Jehovah. Then sixty candidates for baptism were baptized in the river. Others, who were either too old or sickly to take the cold water, were baptized privately in a bathtub, making a total number of eighty-seven baptized that day.”

A MANHUNT GETS UNDER WAY

Albert Wandres had been one of the regional service directors even before October 7, 1934, and his name soon became well known to the Gestapo, especially through the steady stream of court trials in the various cities of the Ruhr where he was working. In answer to the question as to where the defendants had got their literature, the name “Wandres” was often heard. The Gestapo put forth every effort to take him into custody. Cleverly, however, he had asked all the brothers who had pictures of him either to return them or to destroy them. The result was that, although the Gestapo knew his name, they had no idea what he looked like. He did not fall into the hands of his persecutors until after a three-and-a-half-year manhunt. Let us listen as Brother Wandres tells us some of his experiences in his underground activity.

“For a time I met several brothers in Düsseldorf at a brother’s grocery store. We thought that if we entered and departed from the store shortly before closing time it would be least noticed. Once we had been together for about an hour, when the Gestapo suddenly demanded entry. Just in time I fled from the storage room, where we had had our discussion, into the store, which was just a few steps away. Fortunately the lights had already been turned off. A moment later they stormed into the storage room and arrested all the brothers present. They searched the whole room, and found my briefcase full of Watchtowers. Suddenly one of the agents cried out joyfully: ‘This is what we are looking for! Who does the briefcase belong to?’ No one responded. Now he demanded to know where the store owner’s living quarters were. ‘On the third floor,’ was the reply. ‘Out,’ the Gestapo agent shouted, and all the brothers took off up the stairs to the apartment with the Gestapo agents in hot pursuit, hoping to find the one they were looking for in the brother’s apartment.

“I then reentered the storage room cautiously, put on my coat and hat, picked up my briefcase and checked to make sure that no one was on the street outside. Then I hurriedly left. When the gentlemen returned from upstairs they discovered to their chagrin that the bird had flown the coop, and was already on its way to Elberfeld-Barmen.” Brother Wandres adds: “This is all very entertaining and nice to tell, but to go through it yourself is another story.”

“Once,” Brother Wandres continues, “I was taking two heavy suitcases full of Preparation books to Bonn and Kassel. They had been sent across the border near Trier. I arrived in Bonn late in the evening and left the suitcases in a safe place in the congregation servant’s basement. The next morning about 5:30 the doorbell rang. The Gestapo had come once again to search the apartment. Brother Arthur Winkler, at that time congregation servant, knocked on my door and called my attention to the fact that unwanted guests were coming. Since there was no possibility of escaping we decided to take things as they came. When the police entered my room, they asked what I was doing there and I answered briefly that I was taking a tour of the Rhine River and wanted to visit the Bonn Botanical Gardens. They checked my papers carefully and, although a little uncertain, returned them to me then. Brother Winkler had to go with them to police headquarters where one of the agents told his superior​—as Brother Winkler later told me—​‘There was another one there.’ ‘You didn’t bring him along? You were certainly the right ones to send.’ ‘Why?’ one asked. ‘Should we go back and get him?’ ‘Get him? Do you think he’s waiting for you to return?’ Actually the agents had scarcely left the house when I also made my departure with one of the two suitcases (they had not found them), which I took along to Kassel.

“Arriving in Kassel, the congregation servant, Brother Hochgräfe, told me: ‘You can’t stay here. You must leave at once. The Gestapo has been coming to the house every morning for a whole week.’ We agreed that he should walk some 50 meters ahead of me and show me the way to a place where I could leave the literature. We had scarcely gone more than two hundred meters along the beautiful Kastanienallee when Gestapo agents well acquainted with the congregation servant approached us. Since I was following some fifty meters behind, I could see their scornful grin but they did not stop him. A few minutes later the literature by means of which the brothers could be strengthened in their faith had once again been brought into safety.

“Another time I was taking two heavy suitcases with literature at Burgsolms near Wetzlar. It was 11:00 o’clock at night and pitch black. Hardly anyone could have seen me but still I had the strange feeling of being watched. After arriving at my destination, I advised the brothers to hide the suitcases in a safe place. Around 5:30 the next morning the town’s police sergeant came. I was standing in the middle of the room just getting ready to wash when he turned to the sister and said: ‘Yesterday evening a man with two heavy suitcases came here. No doubt you have got literature again. Where do you have it?’ The sister answered: ‘My husband has already gone to work. And I don’t know what happened last evening because I was not at home!’ The sergeant replied: ‘If you do not surrender the suitcases willingly, then we will have to search the house for them. I will get the mayor, for without him I cannot conduct a search. But until I return you are forbidden to leave the house.’ During this whole discussion I had been standing in the middle of the room wondering why the agent had such a glassy look in his eye and why he had not even spoken to me. I could only surmise that it was as though he had been struck blind. After he left to get the mayor, I got ready to leave at once. I went outside and waited behind the house until the mayor and the police sergeant entered the house from the front. At that moment I slipped out the back. Neighbors who happened to see this were evidently happy that I had escaped. I finished dressing in the woods and then ran as fast as I could to the next railroad station and traveled on.”

The other regional service directors had similar experiences.

A TRIAL OF ANOTHER SORT

During the years 1934 to 1936 faithful shepherds were supporting their brothers throughout Germany, encouraging them to share in meeting attendance and, if possible, in all branches of service, despite persecution. Meanwhile a trial was held in Halle on December 17, 1935, against Balzereit, Dollinger and seven others viewed as “prominent” brothers. For at least half of them it was the end of their Christian race.

Many brothers at the numerous trials taking place in Germany at the time openly admitted what they had done in furthering Kingdom interests under trying conditions. In contrast, these men on trial in Halle denied ever having done anything forbidden by the government. Balzereit, when asked by the chairman what he had to say for himself, said that just as soon as the ban had been announced in Bavaria he had issued instructions not to work there, and that the same was true in all the other states. He said that he had never issued instructions encouraging anyone to disregard the ban.

When asked by the chairman about the annual Memorial celebration, Balzereit answered that he too had heard that the brothers were planning on meeting together to celebrate it despite the ban. He had warned them about this, however, since he knew the police were planning special action on that day.

Naturally the defendant’s personal attitude as regards military service came up, even as it did at all the trials held at that time. He declared himself completely satisfied with the Führer’s explanation, namely, that war in itself was a crime, but that every country had the right and duty to protect the lives of its citizens.

Shortly thereafter Brother Rutherford wrote the following letter to the German brothers:

“To Jehovah’s faithful people in Germany:

“In spite of the wicked persecution upon you, and the great opposition put forth by Satan’s agents in that land, it is gratifying to know that the Lord still has a few thousand in that country who have faith in Him and who persist in proclaiming the message of His kingdom. Your faithfulness in standing out against the persecutors and remaining true to the Lord is in striking contrast to the action taken by the one who formerly was the manager for the Society in Germany, and others associated with him. Recently a copy of the testimony taken at the trial of those men at Halle has been furnished to me and I am astounded to find therein not one of those on trial at that time gave a faithful and true testimony to the name of Jehovah. It was especially incumbent upon the former manager Balzereit to hold high the banner of the Lord and declare himself for God and his kingdom amidst all opposition, but not one word was uttered showing his complete reliance upon Jehovah. Time and again I had called his attention to the fact of things that could be done in Germany and he assured me that he was putting forth every effort to encourage the brethren to get on with the testimony. But at the trial he emphatically stated that nothing was done. It is needless for me to here discuss that further. Suffice it to say that the Society will henceforth have nothing to do with him, nor any of those who on that occasion had an opportunity to bear testimony to the name of Jehovah and His kingdom and failed to do so. The Society will put forth no effort looking to release them from prison, even if it had the power to do anything.

“Let now all those who love the Lord turn their faces to Him, Jehovah and His King, and remain true and steadfast on the side of the kingdom, regardless of all opposition that may come to you. . . .”

The matter was handled in the German issue of the July 15, 1936, Watchtower, as a warning to those sincerely desiring to be faithful witnesses for Jehovah under all circumstances.

In contrast to many of the faithful brothers in Germany who had been sentenced to terms of up to five years’ imprisonment, Balzereit was sentenced to two and a half years and Dollinger to two years. After serving his term in prison Balzereit was put in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp, where he was forced to play an extremely inglorious role. He had signed the declaration abdicating association with the brothers and avoided all contact with them. Because of his conduct he was released about a year later, but meanwhile he was forced to put up with many a humiliation, for, basically, the SS hated traitors too. It was the SS themselves who gave him the name “Beelzebub,” and once an SS man required him to stand in front of all his brothers​—there were some 300 in the camp at the time—​and repeat his signed declaration abdicating association with Jehovah’s witnesses, and this he did!

In 1946, by which time Balzereit had become a violent opposer of the truth, he wrote a letter to reparations authorities revealing the hostile attitude that he had even before the trial was held. Thus ended a dark chapter in the history of God’s people in Germany, the first lines of which had already been written in the 1920’s.

THE GESTAPO STRIKE​—AUGUST 28, 1936

Two years of zealous activity had passed, during which time the Gestapo had failed to have any real influence upon the organized underground activity despite their careful shadowing of all known Jehovah’s witnesses. But with time they learned more and more about our activity and were soon well informed of what we were doing. To help fight against us a “special Gestapo Command” was formed, according to a confidential notification to the Prussian Secret State Police dated June 24, 1936.

During the first half of 1936 the Secret State Police compiled a large file containing the addresses of persons who were either suspected of being Jehovah’s witnesses or, at least, of being friendly to them. This file was based to a great degree on the addresses found in the book Daily Heavenly Manna, confiscated during house searches. Special courses were even conducted for the Gestapo agents. They were instructed in conducting the Watchtower study; they had to study carefully the newest Watchtower articles so that they could answer questions as though they were brothers. Finally, they even had to learn to pray. This all for the purpose of, if possible, getting right into the midst of the organization and destroying it from within.

Anton Kötgen from Münster reports that, after delivering literature to a “friendly” lady, he was promptly arrested and put into prison. At the same time, Brother Kötgen goes on to say, “Gestapo agents called on my wife who was outside in the garden. They introduced themselves as brothers, but only for the purpose of finding out the names of other brothers. My wife saw through their scheme, however, and showed them up to be Gestapo agents.” But not in every case were the Gestapo recognized in time.

Meanwhile, Brother Rutherford was planning a trip to Switzerland and wanted, if possible, to speak with brothers from Germany. Arrangements were made for a convention in Lucerne from September 4 to 7, 1936. The central office in Switzerland had suggested that we compile a number of reports from brothers throughout Germany regarding their arrests, their mistreatment by the Gestapo, their being fired from their jobs because of refusing to give “the German greeting,” also reports of cases where brothers had died as the result of mistreatment, and so forth. These reports were to be secretly taken to Switzerland before the convention started so that Brother Rutherford might have opportunity to examine them.

But suddenly, on August 28, 1936, the Gestapo struck a concerted merciless blow, setting into operation a campaign during which Jehovah’s witnesses were hunted down like wild beasts. All available forces were mobilized for action both day and night, but chiefly at night, in an attempt to capture Jehovah’s witnesses. All the information the Gestapo had gathered over the preceding months now proved to be a great help to them. Unsuspecting persons, including some who had never claimed to be Jehovah’s witnesses, were caught up in the web. Such persons naturally were more than willing to tell the Gestapo all they knew about Jehovah’s witnesses so that they might regain their freedom; and even though it often appeared to be very little that they knew to tell, yet these little pieces of information helped to fill out the picture that the Gestapo had until now been able to construct. At later hearings the Gestapo often boasted that such information had helped them to capture thousands of persons, the majority of whom were put into prison and afterward into concentration camps.

When the Gestapo’s campaign was finally running at top speed, a grand offensive succeeded in taking into custody Brother Winkler, who was at that time in charge of the entire work in Germany, and the majority of the regional service directors, whose names and territories had, in most cases, already been known. The Gestapo judged this “campaign” as being of such importance that the entire police net was involved in striking at Jehovah’s witnesses, leaving criminal elements of the underworld unmolested.

The Gestapo’s detailed work over a period of months had led to the discovery that important meetings were being held between Brother Winkler and other responsible servants from all over Germany in the Berlin zoological gardens. This was especially true during the warmer part of the year. These meetings could long be camouflaged by means of Brother Varduhn’s chair-renting agency there. He could inconspicuously tell the brothers arriving where a brother was waiting for them in the zoological gardens and direct them to a safe spot where the discussion could then take place. Whenever danger hovered in the air he would warn them simply by going up to the brothers and collecting payment for the chairs they had “rented.” But this wonderful arrangement was not long to remain a secret. In some way or other the Gestapo had found out the details, and it proved to be a help to them in their cunning plan of attack. Brother Klohe, who himself was involved, tells us what took place during those exciting days in Berlin:

“I was looking forward to the Lucerne convention; I had good chances of being able to attend, since I already had been able to obtain a Swiss visa. But before, I wanted to go to Leipzig to discuss organizational matters with Brother Frost whose territory I was to take over as regional service director, since an opening had come about through Brother Paul Grossmann’s arrest. I was unable to reach Brother Frost, however, and where I had expected to meet him I was met by the Gestapo instead. I was completely numb at first, for just as I was able to start such a gratifying service I was to be torn away from association with my brothers and taken by the Gestapo to Leipzig. [From there he was taken to Berlin.]

“Meanwhile the Gestapo had learned that we had a meeting place in the zoological gardens and they had found out many other things about our organization. This information had been obtained in a number of ways, including blackmail.

“A few days later five officers armed with loaded pistols suddenly appeared, told me to put on my civilian clothes, and led me to the place near the goldfish pond where Brother Varduhn rented his garden chairs. They did not suspect him of being one of Jehovah’s witnesses, however. Now I was to serve as ‘bait’ for my brothers who would eventually show up for the planned meeting about which the Gestapo had now got information.

“I had scarcely sat down where I was told to before I saw our Sister Hildegard Mesch approaching me. She had wondered why I had not come to them, since I had been expected, and she now wanted to see why I had not come. Since my festering shins were very painful due to the blows I had received, the officers did not suspect anything when I suddenly bent over grimacing with pain just at the very moment she was passing by on the other side of the path and attempting at the same time to signal to her with my eyes that the Gestapo were in the zoological gardens. She understood, hesitated for just a second and then returned to Brother Varduhn, whom she informed of this new situation. This meant the greatest of danger for Brother Winkler, who actually did come shortly thereafter and unsuspectingly seated himself on an empty chair. Very shortly Brother Varduhn approached him, asked for payment of the chair rent and at the same time warned him of the Gestapo agents in the zoological gardens. Brother Winkler soon rose, leaving his briefcase behind and escaped​—as it appeared—​through the ring of Gestapo agents. I found out later that late that night he appeared at Brother Kassing’s apartment, where a group of Gestapo agents waiting for him immediately took him into custody.”

Within a few days at least half of the regional service directors in Germany, along with thousands of other brothers and friends, had been arrested. This included Brother Georg Bär, who reports:

“Every evening at about 10:00 o’clock I would hear prisoners being taken from their various cells. Shortly thereafter I would hear them being beaten downstairs in the basement; I heard their cries and their sobs. Every evening when I heard the cell doors being opened I would think, Now it is my turn. But I was not bothered until finally on the fourth or fifth day around 6:00 o’clock when I was called to be questioned. This time it was an SS man who directed me into his room and told me to sit down. Then he said: ‘We know that you could tell us more than you want to.’ He stood up, picked up a pencil that he sharpened on the edge of a wastepaper basket, and continued his little speech: ‘I won’t make it difficult for you; come here.’ He asked me to step to his desk, showed me several typewritten pages and let me read them. It was a list of all the traveling servants in Germany, with my name at the bottom. I read the names of the congregations we had visited, as well as the names of the brothers there. In black and white I read how many pieces of literature, phonographs and records we had ordered. Also contributions and other monies we had turned in were listed. I could hardly believe it. Here our entire underground organization lay in the hands of the Gestapo. Truly I needed a few minutes before I could completely grasp the situation. Where had the Gestapo been able to get ahold of these records? I asked myself. Had my own activity not been accurately listed, I would have doubted the report’s veracity. The Dresden SS-Gestapo man, Bauch, who was conducting the hearing, gave me time to collect my thoughts. I’m afraid I must have had a rather stupid look on my face when I sat back down. He then said, ‘Now, really, there is no reason to remain silent.’

“For months the thought tormented me as to where the Gestapo could have got ahold of our records. Later I found out that all our orders, reports and monies that we had turned in had been carefully kept track of in a file and kept in Berlin. Later this was found and confiscated by the Gestapo.”

BOLD ACTIVITY CONFOUNDS POLICE

The carefully planned convention for Lucerne from September 4 to 7, 1936, suddenly took on a new aspect as a result of the mass arrests that had taken place two weeks before. Perhaps the convention, about which the Gestapo also had information, determined the date for their campaign against us. At least they did everything they could to make it impossible for the German brothers to attend. This can be seen from a confidential circular of the Secret State Police dated August 21, 1936, which says as regards the brothers traveling to the convention: “Such persons are to be prevented from leaving the country. The passport is to be confiscated in such cases.”

Actually, of the more than a thousand persons who had planned on taking the trip, only some three hundred were able to do so. But most of these had to cross the border illegally and many were arrested upon their return.

Brother Rutherford naturally took advantage of the opportunity to speak to the servants from Germany who were present about their problems. He was especially interested in how to care for the brothers spiritually. Heinrich Dwenger was present and reports concerning the further discussion:

“The regional service directors were now called upon to make suggestions. They recommended that Brother Rutherford send me back to Germany. They had asked me to make the suggestion myself, but I had told them that I could not do so since I had been sent to Prague and could not say that I wanted to return to Germany. It would appear as though I were dissatisfied with my assignment. So it was that, for the time being, Brother Frost was appointed to take over the responsibility. Then Brother Rutherford asked: ‘What happens if you are arrested?’ In the case of Brother Frost’s arrest, Brother Dietschi was recommended by the brothers to take over.”

A resolution was adopted and about two to three thousand copies were sent to Hitler and his government offices in Germany. An additional copy was sent to the pope in Rome. Confirmation of delivery to both the Vatican in Rome and to the Reichs Chancellory in Berlin was received by Franz Zürcher from Bern, who, at the direction of the convention, had sent the resolutions on September 9, 1936. The resolution, which was some three and a half typewritten pages long, included the following thoughts:

“We raise strong objections to the cruel treatment of Jehovah’s witnesses by the Roman Catholic Hierarchy and their allies in Germany as well as in all other parts of the world, but we leave the outcome of the matter completely in the hands of the Lord, our God, who according to his Word will recompense in full. . . . We send heartfelt greetings to our persecuted brethren in Germany and ask them to remain courageous and to trust completely in the promises of the Almighty God, Jehovah, and Christ. . . .”

Arrangements were made to distribute the resolution adopted there to a large number of persons in Germany by means of a blitz campaign. Of the 300,000 copies printed in Bern, 200,000 were sent to Prague, from where they were taken across the border near Zittau and other places in the Riesen mountains. The other 100,000 copies were to have been brought into Germany from the Netherlands, but, sad to say, they were confiscated in the Netherlands. So several regional service directors had to make their own for Berlin and northern Germany. The date for distribution was to be December 12, 1936, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.

According to later reports, some 3,450 brothers and sisters took part. Each had twenty or, at the most, forty copies, and the idea was to get rid of them as quickly as possible in the territory one had been assigned. They were simply to be stuck in mailboxes or shoved under the doors.

One copy was left in each house; in large apartment houses, generally not more than three copies. Then those distributing the leaflets would hurry into a neighboring street and do the same there so that the copies would be distributed over as large an area as possible.

The effect on the opposers was devastating! Erich Frost, who was in close contact with the office in Prague during the eight months that he was in charge of the work in Germany, delivered the following report about this campaign during one of his trips to Prague:

“The distribution of the resolution proved to be a tremendous blow to the government and the Gestapo. It was delivered in one sudden burst of activity, on December 12, 1936. Everything was prepared down to the minutest detail, all faithful fellow workers were notified and each one was given his territory and his pack of resolutions twenty-four hours before the work was to begin at 5:00 o’clock p.m. sharp. Within an hour the police and the SA and SS men were racing around patrolling the streets in an attempt to catch some of the courageous distributors. But they caught only a very few, scarcely more than a dozen in the entire country. On the following Tuesday, however, officers appeared at many of the brothers’ homes and accused them point-blank of having participated in the distribution work. Our brothers, of course, knew nothing about it, and very few arrests were made.

“Now, according to the press, there is a feeling not only of horrified anger because of our boldness, but also of increased fear. They are completely amazed that after four years of terror by Hitler’s government it is still possible to carry out such a campaign in such secrecy and on such a wide scale. And, above all, they are afraid of the populace. Many complained to the police, but when the police officers and other uniformed officials went to the homes and asked the inhabitants whether they had received such a leaflet or not, they denied it. This is because, in fact, only two or, at the most, three families in each house received such a resolution. The police did not know that, of course, but assumed that one was left at every door.

“So they feel the populace got our resolution but for certain reasons has refused to admit it under questioning by the police, and this is causing them extreme confusion and fear.”

The Gestapo was sorely disappointed, for they thought they had completely crushed our activity with their extensive campaign of August 28. And now the distribution of our resolution, which they considered to have been even more extensive than it, in reality, was! It was an undeniable fact that the enemy had succeeded in making serious breaches in the ranks of God’s people, but they never succeeded in bringing the work to a complete standstill. The brothers continued to carry out their preaching commission, as can be seen from the regional service directors’ report compiled for Brother Rutherford, covering the period from October 1 to December 1, 1936. The results were as follows: (all figures are approximate) 3,600 workers, 21,521 hours, 300 Bibles, 9,624 books and 19,304 booklets. This compared favorably with the last monthly report before the wave of arrests (May 16 to June 15): 5,930 workers, 38,255 hours, 962 Bibles, 17,260 books and 52,740 booklets.

EXPOSÉ BY AN “OPEN LETTER”

At practically every hearing and trial held after the resolution was distributed on December 12, 1936, mention was made of it. Officials made it even more difficult for many of our brothers because, they claimed, these statements were untrue and we could offer no proofs for our claims. The brothers in charge, therefore, suggested to Brother Rutherford that an “open letter” be distributed in a “blitz campaign” such as had been conducted with the resolution itself. It would present the Gestapo with an answer proving their claims untrue. Brother Rutherford agreed and asked Brother Harbeck in Switzerland to write the “open letter,” since he had access to all the material gathered up until 1936 about the persecution.

The following paragraph quoted therefrom clearly shows the kind of unsparing argumentation the brothers used in answering their enemy publicly:

“Christian patience and shame have held us back long enough from calling the public’s attention, both in Germany and elsewhere, to these outrages. We have in our possession a crushing amount of documentation showing that the above-mentioned cruel mistreatment of Jehovah’s witnesses has taken place. Especially prominent in responsibility for such mistreatment have been a certain Theiss from Dortmund and Tennhoff and Heimann from the Secret Police in Gelsenkirchen and Bochum. They have not shrunk back from mistreating women with horsewhips and rubber clubs. Theiss from Dortmund and a man from the State Police in Hamm are especially noted for their sadistic cruelty in the mistreatment of Christian women. We are in possession of names and details of some eighteen cases where Jehovah’s witnesses have been violently killed. At the beginning of October 1936, for example, one of Jehovah’s witnesses named Peter Heinen, Neuhüller Street, Gelsenkirchen, Westfalen, was beaten to death by officials of the Secret Police in the Gelsenkirchen city hall. This tragic incident was reported to Reich’s Chancellor Adolf Hitler. Copies were also sent to Reich’s Minister Rudolf Hess and the chief of the Secret Police, Himmler.”

After the “open letter” had been finished, the entire text was written on aluminum stencils in Bern and sent to Prague. From time to time Ilse Unterdörfer, who was working closely with Brother Frost in the underground activity, was instructed by him to take reports and to pick up information there. On one of these trips to Prague, Sister Unterdörfer was given the stencils with which the “open letter” was to be printed on a Rotaprint-mimeograph machine that had just been purchased. On March 20, 1937, Sister Unterdörfer arrived in Berlin with her precious package.

“I accepted the package,” Brother Frost reports, “and then passed this ‘dangerous’ material on to another sister who saw to it that it was put in a safe place. That night I and Sister Unterdörfer, who had brought these valuable stencils, were both arrested at the place where we were staying. As hard as it was for us to accept the fact that we had lost our freedom for the remainder of the Nazi dictatorship, it still made us happy to know that we had ensured the safety of the new pamphlet campaign.”

But Brother Frost was mistaken. While being transported to prison he discovered the Rotaprint-mimeograph machine right next to him in the police car. The Gestapo had found it during one of their searches. Besides, the stencils, which could not be used on any other machine, had apparently disappeared and were never found again.

Ida Strauss, to whom Brother Frost had given the stencils and who was well acquainted with the details of the campaign, thought likewise. “I had the aluminum stencils in my bag,” she recalls, “and was taking them to the place where the machine was located. It was late at night and dark; the owner of the house, an interested person, stood on the stairs and called: ‘Go away immediately, get yourself into safety. The Gestapo has confiscated the machine, have arrested the brothers and up until just a little while ago were waiting for you, but then the agents finally gave up.’ What would happen now? During the next few days I discovered that many brothers had been arrested that night and I found no one among the brothers who had any connection with the organization.”

I now began looking for a brother and several sisters fearless enough to dedicate themselves further to the interests of Jehovah’s work. I knew that I was on the Gestapo’s blacklist and that I had to reckon with being arrested at any time. When it did happen I was happy that the interests of the work were in faithful hands.”

As far as the stencils for the “open letter” were concerned, Sister Strauss was also mistaken. The stencils could no longer be used, since the machine had been confiscated and another one was not available.

Now that Brother Frost had been arrested, Heinrich Dietschi took charge of the work, as had been decided upon in Lucerne at the discussion with Brother Rutherford. His first objective was to get out this “open letter.” He, therefore, got in touch with Brother Strohmeyer in Lemgo. Both Brother Strohmeyer and Brother Kluckhuhn had just been released from prison after serving six months for printing the 1936 Yearbook. But Brother Strohmeyer agreed to help out.

The problem was to get stencils from Switzerland again. This time we got cardboard mats, which first of all had to be stereotyped by the brothers so that they could make the plates for the press. Brother Dietschi had obtained the mats from Switzerland after 200,000 copies of the “open letter” had been printed there, but attempts to get them across the border into Germany had failed.

After the matter of printing had been settled, it was decided that the “open letter” was to be distributed in a “blitz campaign” to be held on June 20, 1937. Sister Elfriede Löhr reports: “Brother Dietschi organized the campaign. We were all courageous, everything had been wonderfully arranged and each region had sufficient letters. I picked up a large suitcase of them at the train station for the territory around Breslau and took them to the brothers in Liegnitz. I also had my own, which at the appointed time I distributed like all the other brothers.”

The distribution of the “open letter” must have struck the Gestapo unawares, because they had boasted for months that they had completely destroyed the organization. This only increased their excitement. It was as though someone had suddenly stirred up an anthill. As though in a frenzy with no clear goal before them, they ran around in the greatest of confusion, especially persons like Theiss in Dortmund.

But Theiss’ time of triumph had also reached its end. Since Theiss believed he should show no mercy in his treatment of Jehovah’s witnesses, he called for a search to be made one day of a house owned by a former brother by the name of Wunsch, who, in the meantime, however, had turned away from the truth and was serving as a sergeant major in Hitler’s air force. When Wunsch came home, his wife told him that the house had been searched. He immediately went to Theiss in Dortmund and asked him why he had done this. Startled to see a sergeant major in the air force standing before him, Theiss stammered: “Are you with the Bible Students?” Replied Wunsch: “I heard some of their talks, but I went everywhere I could hear something.” Now Mrs. Theiss interrupted. Excited, Theiss now broke in and said: “If I had only known, I would never have started trying to destroy the Bible Students. It can drive a person crazy. You think you’ve imprisoned one of the beasts and suddenly there are ten others rushing forth. I am sorry that I ever started the whole thing.”

It is not to be supposed that the conscience of this agent of the Devil ever settled down. To the contrary, the book Kreuzzug gegen das Christentum (Crusade Against Christianity) under the subtitle “You have won, Galilean!” concluded by saying:

“We hear that Theiss from Dortmund, who has repeatedly been mentioned, has for some time now been experiencing frightful pangs of conscience because of his criminal acts and that the demons are driving him slowly to insanity. Several months ago he boasted of having ‘broken to pieces’ 150 of Jehovah’s witnesses. He it was who defiantly said: ‘Jehovah, I pronounce upon you everlasting scorn; long live the king of Babylon.’”

Now, however, he has looked these people up, has promised not to torment them anymore and pleads with them to tell him what he must do to escape the threatening punishment and to rid himself of the terrible mental torment he is suffering. He says that he had received the ‘command to mistreat from above’ and he now wants to stop, because new Jehovah’s witnesses keep popping up all the time. Like Judas after he had betrayed the Master to the enemy, Theiss is looking for repentance and cannot find it. Even though few, yet there are cases where Gestapo agents and other party members have been so shaken by the steadfastness of Jehovah’s witnesses that they have seen the error of their ways and have quit their jobs.”

The distribution of the “open letter” caused the Gestapo great anxiety, and right afterward they laid down a dragnet. After only a matter of a few days a clue led them directly to Lemgo and Brothers Strohmeyer and Kluckhuhn who had printed the “open letter.” They were able to prove that they had printed at least 69,000 copies. Both were sentenced to three years’ imprisonment, and after they had served their time the Gestapo took them into protective custody, calling them “incorrigible.”

Since the majority of the regional service directors had been arrested, sisters were called on to fill the breaches and maintain contact between Brother Dietschi and the congregations. One of these was Elfriede Löhr, who tried to get in touch with Brother Dietschi after Brother Frost and Sister Unterdörfer had been arrested. She traveled to Württemberg and, after searching, found Brother Dietschi in Stuttgart. He took her along to acquaint her with the various methods of maintaining contact with the brothers. Extensive preparations were also made for a transportable radio transmitter to be built in the Netherlands and put into operation sometime in the fall of 1937. The Gestapo had already got wind of this and were furious with Brother Dietschi, whose name they knew but who proved to be just as elusive as Brother Wandres.

It must have been about this same time that Sister Dietschi was arrested by the Gestapo and taken to the infamous “Steinwache” in Dortmund. They tried to force her to tell where her husband was hiding, but she refused to talk. She was so badly mistreated that one of her legs was thereafter shorter than the other. Besides that, she had to be completely wrapped in bandages soaked in alcohol for several weeks after her release.

AFTERMATHS OF THE 1937 PARIS CONVENTION

The 1937 convention in Paris, like the one the year before in Lucerne, was to be attended by Brother Rutherford. This time there were only a few brothers who were able to go from Germany. The enemy had created large gaps in the ranks of the brothers. Brother Riffel, one of the few able to attend, later told that in Lörrach and its vicinity alone forty brothers and sisters had been imprisoned, ten of whom had been hanged, gassed or shot, or had starved to death or died due to the results of the concentration camp “medical experiments.”

Another resolution was adopted at Paris, once again setting out our clear and unbreakable position as regards Jehovah and his kingdom under the rulership of Jesus Christ and openly calling attention to the brutal persecution in Germany, warning those responsible of God’s righteous judgment.

During the two-week absence of Germany’s last regional service director, things had been taking place. Sister Löhr, who was generally present at the weekly meetings held by Brother Dietschi with some fifteen brothers and sisters for discussion of service problems, had been arrested. It happened like this:

Since the meetings in most cases began about 9:00 in the morning and often lasted until 5:00 o’clock in the afternoon, the brothers and sisters had asked if they could not eat their noon meal together. Sister Löhr had been invited to do the cooking. For reasons of safety, the brothers changed the meeting place from week to week, thereby making it necessary to transfer from one place to the next the large stew pot used in preparing the meal. Whether the Gestapo found out from recently arrested brothers or in some other way, no one knows, but they did find out where the last meeting before the Paris convention had been held. The Gestapo kept this apartment under observation, and when Sister Löhr came to pick up the stew pot some three or four days before the next meeting was to be held, she was followed by the Gestapo to the new meeting place and promptly arrested. The Gestapo soon realized that they had not only found the new meeting place but also Brother Dietschi’s secret hiding place. After the Paris convention he returned directly to Berlin and, without checking for any possible danger, went to the apartment. Brother Dietschi fell into the trap and was arrested on the spot. Naturally, the meetings with the now even smaller group of traveling servants had to be changed as to time and place.

Brother Dietschi had served untiringly for many years in the underground activity and had not shrunk back in the face of danger. He was sentenced to four years, but, unlike the majority of his brothers, was not put into a concentration camp after he had served his time.

In 1945, when the work began to be reorganized, he was one of the first to begin serving the congregations as a “servant to the brethren.” But, sadly, years later he began developing his own theories and turned away from Jehovah’s organization.

But let us return to 1937. After dangerous gaps in the ranks of our brothers had once again been created, Brother Wandres tried to close these up, at least temporarily, so as to ensure the brothers their spiritual food. After Brother Franke’s arrest he had taken over his territory, but now he felt responsible for the other unoccupied territories as well, so he asked Sister Auguste Schneider from Bad Kreuznach to deliver spiritual food to the brothers in Bad Kreuznach, Mannheim, Kaiserslautern, Ludwigshafen, Baden-Baden and the entire Saar territory. Like all the brothers who had to travel at this extremely difficult time, she was given another name; from now on she was “Paula.”

Brother Wandres, realizing that the enemy had been especially furious in Saxony, asked Hermann Emter from Freiburg to care for this territory. On September 3, both of them traveled to Dresden. Although Brother Wandres had never been there before, the Gestapo were waiting for them. A manhunt that had lasted for three years was over!

Toward the middle of September, in harmony with arrangements made with Brother Wandres, unsuspecting “Paula” was waiting at the railroad station in Bingen with two large suitcases full of literature. Suddenly a gentleman approached her and said: “Good day, Paula! Albert is not coming and you will have to go along with me!” It was useless trying to resist, for the stranger was a Gestapo agent. He added: “You need not wait for Albert; we have already arrested him and have taken all his money. . . . Mr. Wandres said that you would be here with two large suitcases and that you are Paula!” It is a mystery until this day where the Gestapo got this information. But this was a popular method of the Gestapo, that is, claiming that certain brothers had said certain things so as to break down the confidence among the brothers, causing them to withdraw from such “traitors.”

A PLAN OF PERPETUAL DETENTION

With this series of arrests an important era ended for the German brothers. The period of well-organized activity was over. Everything now pointed to the start of a new phase in the fighting. The Gestapo’s goal was now: Each individual courageous enough to hold to Jehovah must be destroyed, thereby destroying the organization.

According to a circular released by the Düsseldorfer Gestapo on May 12, 1937, Bible Students were henceforth to be put into concentration camps even in cases where no judicial warrant for arrest existed but simply on the grounds of suspicion. Similar notices were released throughout Germany. Besides, the Bible Students were to be automatically placed in concentration camps after serving their court-appointed terms of imprisonment. This decision was made more severe and extended in April of 1939. From now on, only those willing to sign a declaration disassociating themselves from Jehovah and his organization were to be freed. Many brothers were not even given an opportunity to decide whether to sign the declaration.

When Heinrich Kaufmann from Essen had served his prison sentence and had put on his civilian clothes he was simply told by a criminal agent that he was being taken into protective custody. First they took him to his home, however, which he had not seen for a year and a half, and asked him: “Do you want to rescind your faith and follow Hitler?” At the same time they showed him his house keys and a package of twenty pounds of foodstuffs, promising him that his wife would also be returned from the Ravensbrück concentration camp. Brother Kaufmann rejected the offer.

At times attempts were made to trick the brothers, as Ernst Wiesner reports. A short time before he was to be released he had a paper placed before him. The statement was so general in nature that, after reading it through carefully, he decided he could sign it. But now came the trick. Brother Wiesner was to put his signature at the bottom of the page, but the bottom half of the page was empty. There was no doubt that the Gestapo would later add other things that Brother Wiesner would not have been able to sign with a good conscience. But he realized at once what they were up to and, before they could stop him, he signed his name directly underneath the typewritten text. The result was that, despite his signature, he was not released, but was informed by the secret police three weeks before his sentence was over that he was at once being transferred to a concentration camp.

THE CONCENTRATION CAMPS​—A YAWNING ABYSS

In the Vierteljahresheft für Zeitgeschichte (History Quarterly) Hans Rothfels writes in his second pamphlet for 1962: “Being put into concentration camps was for the Earnest Bible Students the last and the most difficult phase of their period of suffering under the National Socialists. . . .”

Consoling for the majority was the fact that there were already incarcerated faithful brothers who were hardened by the heat of persecution. Being with them and experiencing their loving care was comforting and quickened the hearts of each new “entry.”

But whenever our brothers’ steadfastness was seen and reported to the government, its only thought was of how it could increase their sufferings. So it was that for a time Jehovah’s witnesses were, as a matter of routine, given twenty-five stripes with a steel whip, besides the many other brutal means of torture, when they arrived at the camps. Their slave labor began at 4:30 in the morning, when the camp bell sounded to wake everyone up. Shortly thereafter a tumult broke forth: making the beds, washing, drinking coffee, taking roll call​—and all of this on the double. No one was allowed to do anything at a normal pace. They marched to roll call, then stepped out to join the various work crews. What now followed was a real drama: carrying gravel, sand, stones, poles, entire sections of barracks, and this all day​—all on the double. The taskmasters, who yelled at the prisoners without letup and forced them to the limits of endurance, were the worst that Hitler could offer.

Remembering that Jesus suffered similar things was comforting and encouraging and gave them strength to persevere under the inhuman treatment.

For the sake of variety, “punishment exercises” were sometimes held for no particular reason. The brothers were often forced to go without food. It could be a real test when, instead of being able to sit down to eat a meal, a tired brother was forced to stand at attention another four or five hours in the courtyard, and this only because one of the brothers had a button missing from his jacket or for some other insignificant infraction of the rules.

Finally they were permitted to go to sleep, if hunger would allow it. But the nights were not always just for sleeping. Often one, or sometimes several, of the infamous “block leaders” would show up in the middle of the night to terrorize the prisoners. These episodes would sometimes be introduced by revolver shots into the air or into the barracks rafters. Then the inmates would be forced to run around the barracks, or, at times, even to climb over them, in their night shirts, this as long as the “block leaders” desired. It is understandable that the older brothers suffered the most under such treatment, and it cost many of them their lives.

In March 1938 an absolute correspondence ban was enforced for Jehovah’s witnesses in concentration camps. This lasted for nine months, during which time the brothers could neither get in touch with their relatives nor vice versa. Even after this ban was rescinded, the limitation that each of Jehovah’s witnesses might write his relatives only five lines a month stayed in effect for between three and a half and four years​—in some camps even longer. The text was prepared and read: “Your letter has been received; thank you very much. I am well, am healthy and hearty. . . .” But there are cases where the death notification arrived before the letter that read: “I am well, am healthy and hearty.” On the empty space on the letter the following text was stamped: “The prisoner remains, as before, a stubborn Bible Student and refuses to reject the Bible Students’ false teachings. For this reason the usual privileges of correspondence have been denied him.”

“FOURSQUARE” MEETS HIS MATCH

Life in a concentration camp was full of its daily anxieties, often caused by the camp commander himself. For a time the commander in Sachsenhausen was a man by the name of Baranowsky, and, because of his husky build, the prisoners soon nicknamed him “Foursquare.”

He generally met each new arrival of prisoners himself and delivered his “welcoming speech” to them. It usually started with the words: ‘I am the camp commander and am called “Foursquare.” Now listen, all of you! You can get anything you want from me​—a shot in the head, a shot in the chest, a shot in the stomach! You can cut your throats if you want to or rip open your arteries! You can run into the electric fence if you’d like. Just remember that my boys are good shots! They will send you right straight to heaven!’ He never missed an opportunity to poke fun at Jehovah or his holy name.

But at the beginning of the ban on Jehovah’s witnesses a young man about twenty-three years old from Dinslaken had learned the truth. His name was August Dickmann. Though he had not yet been baptized, the Gestapo had arrested him and brought him to trial. After serving his sentence he had let the Gestapo pressure him into signing the “declaration,” no doubt in the hope that this would free him from further persecution. Despite this, he was put into Sachsenhausen in October of 1937 immediately after serving his prison term. The brothers there used every opportunity to carry on joyful and encouraging discussions with one another, and now, being among them, he realized that he had compromised with the enemy due to weakness. He repented and asked to have the statement he had signed annulled.

In the meantime his fleshly brother Heinrich had also been delivered into the Sachsenhausen camp. August told him about having signed the statement but that he had, in the meantime, demanded that it be annulled.

The next few weeks passed rapidly. When the second world war broke out in the latter half of 1939, the camp commander, Baranowsky, began to carry out his plans. He saw his opportunity when August Dickmann’s wife sent her husband his military induction slip, which had been sent to their home in Dinslaken. Three days after the war broke out, Dickmann was ordered to the “political department.” Before roll call was taken, Heinrich, whom August had notified of this new development, warned him that now that war had broken out he should be prepared for anything. He should be completely sure of what he wanted to do. August answered: “They can do what they want to with me. I will not sign and will not compromise again.”

The hearing was held that afternoon, but August did not return to the brothers. As it later turned out, he had not only refused to sign the military induction slip but had given a fine witness. He was placed in solitary confinement in the dungeon while the camp commander notified Himmler of the case, asking permission to execute Dickmann publicly in the presence of the brothers and the entire camp. He was convinced that a large number of Jehovah’s witnesses would sign if actually faced with death. The majority until now had refused to do so, but only threats had been made. Himmler answered by return mail that Dickmann was sentenced to death and should be executed. Now the way was open for “Foursquare” to put on his ‘big show.’

It was a Friday. There was an eerie quiet hanging over the entire camp when suddenly a command group came and, in a short time, set up a firing range in the courtyard. This, of course, led to all sorts of rumors. Excitement grew even more intense when orders were given to quit work an hour earlier than usual. Paul Buder still remembers how, when their work crew was marching back, an SS man laughingly told him: “Today is Ascension Day! One of you will be going to heaven today.”

When the crew to which Heinrich Dickmann was assigned entered, the camp elder approached him and asked if he knew what was going on. When he replied he did not, he was told that his brother August was to be shot.

But there was no time for long discussions. Commands were issued for all the prisoners to march onto the field. Jehovah’s witnesses were placed directly in front of where the firing squad would stand. All eyes were fixed on this point. The SS guards marched in; security precautions were four times what they normally were. The cover was withdrawn from the guns and munition was placed in the weapons for immediate use. SS men were perched on the high wall looking forward to what was going to take place​—so many of them that a person felt that the entire group had been commanded to be present for this bloody spectacle. The main gate was constructed of strong round iron bars and the sensation-loving SS men were standing and hanging on it like a bunch of grapes. Some of them had even climbed up on the crossbars so as to be able to see better. Their eyes were full, not only of curiosity, but also of bloodthirstiness. Some of the faces revealed a certain horror, for they all knew what would soon be taking place.

Accompanied by several ranking SS officers, August was led in, his hands tied in front of him. Everyone was impressed by his calmness and composure, like someone who had already won the battle. Approximately six hundred brothers were present, his fleshly brother Heinrich standing only a few meters away.

Suddenly there was a crackling in the loudspeakers as the microphones were turned on. One could hear “Foursquare’s” voice: “Prisoners, listen!” There was immediate silence. There was just the slightly asthmatic breathing of this monster as he continued:

“The prisoner August Dickmann from Dinslaken, born on January 7, 1910, refuses to perform military service, claiming he is a ‘citizen of God’s kingdom.’ He has said: He who sheds human blood will have his blood shed. He has placed himself outside of society and in accordance with instructions from SS leader Himmler he is to be executed.”

While a deathly silence reigned over the entire courtyard, “Foursquare” continued: “I notified Dickmann an hour ago that his miserable life would be blotted out at 6:00 o’clock.”

One of the officials approached and asked if the prisoner should once again be asked if he had changed his mind and was willing to sign the draft papers, whereupon “Foursquare” answered: “It would be useless.” Turning to Dickmann, he commanded: “Turn around, you swine,” and then gave the command to shoot. At that, Dickmann was shot from behind by three SS men. A ranking SS leader later walked over and shot him in the head, sending blood streaming down his cheek. After a lower-ranking SS man had taken off his handcuffs, four brothers were instructed to put him in a black box and to carry him into the ward.

Whereas all the other prisoners were now permitted to break ranks and to go to their barracks, Jehovah’s witnesses had to remain. Now was the time for “Foursquare” to make good his claim. With great emphasis he asked who was now ready to sign the statement​—not only a rejection of one’s faith, but also indicating one’s willingness to become a soldier. No one responded. Then two stepped forward! But not to sign the statement. They asked that the signature that both of them had given approximately a year before be annulled!

This was too much for “Foursquare.” Furious, he left the courtyard. As can be expected, the brothers had a very bad time of it that evening and during the next few days. But they remained steadfast.

Dickmann’s execution was announced several times over the radio during the next few days, apparently in the hope of intimidating other Witnesses still free.

Three days later his brother Heinrich was called to the “political department.” Two high-ranking Gestapo agents had come from Berlin to find out what effect his brother’s execution had had upon him. According to his own report, the following conversation took place:

“‘Did you see how your brother was shot?’ My answer was: ‘I did.’ ‘What did you learn from this?’ ‘I am and I shall remain one of Jehovah’s witnesses.’ ‘Then you will be the next one to be shot.’ I was able to answer several Bible questions, until finally an agent shouted: ‘I don’t want to know what is written, I want to know what you think.’ And while he tried to show me the necessity of defending the fatherland, he kept throwing in sentences like: ‘You will be the next one to be shot . . . the next head to roll . . . the next one to fall.’ Until the other agent said: ‘It is useless. Here, finish up the records.’”

The statement was once again placed before Brother Dickmann for signing. He refused, saying: “If I would recognize the state and government by signing this I would be signifying agreement with my brother’s execution. This I cannot do.” The answer: “Then you can start figuring out how much longer you will be alive.”

But what happened to “Foursquare,” who had mocked and challenged Jehovah as few humans ever had? He was seen in the camp only a few times after that, and then not at all. The prisoners found out, however, that shortly after August Dickmann’s execution, he was struck with a terrible illness. He died five months later without ever having an opportunity of mocking Jehovah or his witnesses again. “I have taken up a fight with Jehovah. We will see who is the stronger, I or Jehovah,” “Foursquare” had said on March 20, 1938, when he placed the brothers in the “isolation crew.” The battle had been decided. “Foursquare” had lost. And whereas our brothers were released from the “isolation crew” a few months later, and, in certain instances, received a certain amount of relief, the rumor continued to circulate throughout the camp that “Foursquare” was seriously ill and that when officers visited him at his sickbed he would whimper: “The Bible Students are praying me to death, because I let their man be shot!” It is also a fact that after he had died, his daughter, when asked the cause of her father’s death, would always answer: “The Bible Students prayed my father to death.”

DACHAU

Brother Friedrich Frey from Röt reports about the treatment meted out in the “isolation group” at Dachau: “One can scarcely describe the hunger, the cold, the torments. An officer kicked me in the stomach with his boots once, bringing on a serious ailment. Another time the bridge of my nose was so deformed by repeated beatings that to this day I have difficulty breathing. Once an SS man caught me eating a couple of dry crumbs of bread during working hours to still my hunger. He kicked me in the stomach with his booth and knocked me to the ground. As further punishment I was hung on a three-meter-high pole with my arms chained behind me. This abnormal position of the body and its weight caused a blockage in the blood circulation and excruciating pain. An SS man grabbed both of my legs and swung them back and forth, crying, ‘Are you still one of Jehovah’s witnesses?’ But I was unable to answer because the sweat of death was already breaking out on my forehead. I have a nervous twitching from this even until this day. I could not help but think of the last few hours that our Lord and Master spent with his hands and feet run through with nails.”

In Dachau, shortly before “Christmas,” a large Christmas tree was put up and decorated with electric candles and other forms of decoration. The camp’s 45,000 prisoners, including over a hundred of Jehovah’s witnesses, hoped that they would be able to enjoy a few days of peace. But what happened? At 8:00 o’clock on Christmas Eve when all prisoners were in their barracks, the camp sirens suddenly began to wail; the prisoners were to march out onto the courtyard as fast as possible. One could hear the SS band playing. In marched five companies of fully equipped SS troops. The camp commander, accompanied by SS officers, delivered a short speech telling the prisoners that they wanted to celebrate Christmas with them this evening in their own particular way. He then pulled a list of names from his briefcase and for almost an hour read the names of prisoners who had been recommended for punishment during the last few weeks. The block was brought out and set up and the first prisoner was strapped down upon it. Afterward two SS men equipped with a steel whip took their places to the right and to the left of the block and began to beat the prisoner while the band played “Silent Night”; all the prisoners were expected to sing along. At the same time the prisoner being given the twenty-five strokes was forced to count these out in a loud voice. Each time a new prisoner was strapped down to the block two new SS men stepped forward to administer the punishment. Truly a worthy way for a “Christian nation” to celebrate Christmas.

In the face of such treatment our brothers needed strong faith, a faith made strong by a careful study of God’s Word. How a failure to study can be dangerous and can leave a person unprepared for such tests, Helmut Knöller experienced. Let him tell his own experience:

“My first days in Dachau were very difficult. At twenty, I was the youngest of the new arrivals. I was assigned to a special crew that had to work even on Sundays. My overseer was especially hard on me. I had to do the most difficult jobs, to which I was not accustomed, on the double. I collapsed repeatedly but was revived each time by being placed in the basement in water up to my hips and then having water poured over my head.

“I was driven to almost complete physical exhaustion. This went on day after day and I was near the point of despair, knowing that it could go on for weeks, yes, even months. . . . But the difficulties became so great that I finally went to the camp leaders and signed the declaration indicating that I no longer had anything to do with the International Bible Students. That I signed this was a direct result of insufficient study on my part at home. My parents had studied too little themselves and we children had received only faulty instruction from them. . . . I had been told that we could go ahead and sign such a declaration, since, first of all, nothing was said about Jehovah’s witnesses in it, but only about the Bible Students, and, secondly, it was not wrong to deceive the enemy if this would result in our being set free so that we might better serve Jehovah outside.” It was only later while in Sachsenhausen that mature brothers helped him to appreciate the meaning of Christian integrity and built up his faith.

MAUTHAUSEN

Even though many persons were gassed or cruelly killed at Dachau, yet Mauthausen was a regular destruction camp. The camp commander, Ziereis, repeatedly said he was only interested in seeing death certificates. In fact, within a period of six years 210,000 men were cremated in the two modern crematories they had there, an average of a hundred a day.

When prisoners were made to work at all, it was generally in the quarry. A steep cliff located there was called the “wall of parachutists” by the inhuman SS. Hundreds of prisoners were shoved over this cliff and then lay motionless below. They were either killed by the fall or drowned in a ditch filled with rainwater. Many despondent prisoners even jumped into the abyss of their own will.

Another attraction was the so-called “stairs of death.” A pile of 186 loose blocks of various height piled on top of one another was called a stairway. After the prisoners had lugged heavy stones on their shoulders up to the top, the SS men enjoyed starting mass slides by kicking them or striking them with the butt end of their rifles, thereby knocking them over backward down the “stairs.” This resulted in many deaths, the number of dead increased by the falling rocks from above. Valentin Steinbach from Frankfurt recalls that groups of 120 men put together in the morning often returned in the evening with only some 20 still alive.

CONCENTRATION CAMPS FOR WOMEN

Concentration camps were set up not only for men but also for women. One of these went into operation as early as 1935 in Moringen near Hannover. When the pressure on Jehovah’s witnesses became more severe in 1937, the camp in Moringen began to be evacuated. In December some 600 prisoners, including a number of sisters, were taken to the Lichtenburg camp. Since efforts to talk our sisters into changing from their steadfast course failed, a “penal crew” was formed. Their overseers gave them very little to eat and constantly tried to find reasons for meting out punishment. The camp commander told them: ‘If you want to stay alive, then come to me and sign.’

One method used in an attempt to get our sisters to break their integrity is reported upon by Ilse Unterdörfer: “One day Sister Elisabeth Lange from Chemnitz was called to the director. She resolutely refused to sign the declaration, whereupon she was taken to a cell located in the basement of this old castle. As anyone acquainted with old castles and their dungeons can imagine, this was extremely trying. The cells were dark holes with a small barred window. The bed was of stone and most of the time a person was forced to lie upon this cold, hard ‘bed’ without even a straw sack. Sister Lange spent half a year in solitary confinement in this hole in the basement. Although she suffered physically, it did not shake her determination to remain faithful.”

Another method that was employed to try to break the steadfastness of our sisters was hard physical labor. For this reason a number of sisters were taken to Ravensbrück. It was on May 15, 1939, that the first group arrived, closely followed by others. The camp soon grew to include 950 women, some 400 of them Jehovah’s witnesses. All of them were called upon to do the most difficult construction and cleaning up work, jobs normally required only of men. The new camp commander, who was especially noted for his brutality, thought he would be able to wear the sisters down by making them perform hard physical labor.

Such treatment naturally resulted in many deaths. Then, too, complete groups were taken to Auschwitz, a camp which, like Mauthausen, was especially equipped for mass destruction. Women who were old, in poor health or did not meet up to the SS men’s standards for women who could produce a “master race” were faced with death. Berta Mauerer tells us what went on there:

“We were forced to stand naked in front of a commission which made its selection. Immediately thereafter, the first group left for Auschwitz. Among them were a number of sisters who had been deceived into thinking that they were being taken to a camp where they would have it easier, although everyone knew that Auschwitz was even more unbearable. Those making up the second group were told the same thing. Among this group were many weak and sickly sisters.” Soon thereafter their relatives were notified of their deaths. In most cases ‘circulatory ailments’ was listed as the cause of death.

Another thing that could have presented a test for the sisters is reported on by Auguste Schneider from Bad Kreuznach:

“One day a prisoner came to me and said: ‘Mrs. Schneider, I am leaving here!’ I asked her where she was going and she answered: ‘There are so many men here that a brothel is being set up for the prisoners. We were asked, and about twenty to thirty women have volunteered. We are being given nice clothes and prettied up!’ I asked her where it was going to be, and she answered, ‘In the men’s camp.’

“One can hardly describe what took place there. But one day an SS leader told me: ‘Mrs. Schneider, you will have heard what is taking place in the men’s camp. I just wanted to let you know that none of Jehovah’s witnesses have taken part!’”

Ravensbrück became widely known as the most notorious of all the concentration camps for women. When the second world war broke out, the number of sisters there had risen to some five hundred.

One day several sisters were suddenly ordered from their cells and put to work shining up the entire building, since Himmler had indicated he would be coming for inspection. But the day passed and he failed to show up. Our sisters had already got ready for bed, that is to say, they had taken off their shoes, which served as pillows, but because of the cold they slept in their clothing. They lay down as close together as possible so as to keep warm. From time to time they would change positions so that everyone would be on the outside once, where it was naturally colder. Suddenly there were loud noises in the corridors and cell doors began to be opened. Our sisters now stood before the man who in Germany decided over life and death. Himmler examined the sisters critically, asked them some questions and was forced to the realization that they were unwilling to make any concessions.

That same evening after Himmler and his attendants had left, a large number of prisoners were called out and other prisoners could hear their screams. Himmler had introduced the “intensified” punishment also for women; they received twenty-five strokes with the steel whip on their naked buttocks.

One sister tells of the courage with which many faced their problems: “In my block there was a Jewish woman who had accepted the truth. One night she too was awakened. I heard her as she got up and I tried to give her a word of comfort. But she said: ‘I know what is awaiting me. But I am happy to have learned of the wonderful hope of the resurrection. I am calmly awaiting death.’ And courageously she walked out.”

DIVISIONS ADD TO THE HARDSHIP

Cut off from the brothers outside, those in the camps felt a great craving for spiritual food. New arrivals were questioned by the brothers to find out what had been published in The Watchtower. Sometimes the information was accurately conveyed, and sometimes it was not. There were also brothers who tried to use the Bible to set the date when they would be delivered, and, although the arguments were weak, some hopefully grasped at these “straws.”

During this time a brother who had an exceptional memory was put in Buchenwald. At first his ability to recall and to share with others the things he had learned was a source of encouragement to the brothers. But in time he became an idol, “the wonder of Buchenwald,” and his statements, even his personal opinion, were viewed as final. From December of 1937 until 1940 he delivered a talk every evening, about a thousand in all, and many of these were taken down in shorthand so that they could be mimeographed. Though there were many older brothers in the camp who were capable of giving discourses, this brother was the only one who did so. Any who were not in full agreement with him were referred to as “enemies of the Kingdom” and “Achan’s family,” to be avoided by the “faithful ones.” Almost four hundred brothers more or less willingly went along with this arrangement.

Those thus labeled “enemies” were also brothers who had been willing to risk their lives to promote Kingdom interests to the best of their abilities. They, too, had been put into the camp because of determination to prove their integrity, even to death. Some of them were not fully applying Bible principles, it is true. Yet when they sought to establish contact with the responsible ones so that they too could benefit from what spiritual food became available in Buchenwald, these viewed it as “beneath their dignity” to discuss matters.

Wilhelm Bathen from Dinslaken, who is still serving Jehovah, relates how he personally was affected: “When I realized that I too had been disfellowshiped I was so spiritually shaken and depressed that I asked myself how such a thing was possible. . . . I often got down on my knees and prayed to Jehovah that he should give me a sign. I asked myself if I were to blame for the situation and whether he too had disfellowshiped me. I had a Bible and I would read in it in the dim light and I found a great deal of comfort in the thought that this was coming upon me as a test, otherwise I already would have been destroyed, for this being cut off from the brothers was a tremendous pain.”

Thus human imperfections and an exaggerated view of one’s own importance, led to divisions among God’s people, resulting in severe tests for some.

OVERREACHED BY CONCERN FOR “SURVIVAL”

Some who were put into the camps, determined not to compromise, later allowed concern for “survival” to eclipse their love for Jehovah and for their brothers. If a person could attain to some responsible position in the camp organization, entrusted with oversight of some sphere of activity, he would no longer have to wear his strength down with hard labor. But this was dangerous. In many cases it required that he work closely with the SS, that he drive the prisoners to work at a faster pace and that he report prisoners​—even his own brothers—​for punishment.

A brother by the name of Martens found himself in such a position while in the Wewelsburg camp. At first he had oversight of 250 Bible Students. He constantly strove to be a very good “camp elder” in the eyes of the SS. In time, many political prisoners and others were added to the camp. Martens did not want to lose his position, so he had to champion the interests of the SS and employ their methods.

Before long he was forbidding the brothers to consider the daily text or to pray together. Soon he was frisking them and beating with a rubber hose those on whom a copy of the daily text was found. One morning, as several brothers were praying together, he jumped into the midst of them and disrupted the session, saying: “Don’t you know the camp rules? Do you think I want trouble just because of you?” Thus much additional suffering was brought on a large number of faithful brothers by a very few who lost sight of their goal.

THE PROBLEM OF HUNGER

After the second world war began available food was sent to the fronts. Meals in the concentration camps consisted mostly of a type of turnip that, generally, was used only for feeding animals. Everything was prepared with such a lack of love that the prisoners were often heard to say that even the swine would have refused to eat the food. But it was not a question of having appetizing food, it was simply a question of survival. Many starved to death. “My greatest test was hunger,” Brother Kurt Hedel writes, and explains by saying: “I am about 6 foot 2 inches tall and normally weigh some 230 pounds. But in the winter of 1939/1940 I weighed only 90 pounds and even less. I was nothing more than skin and bones. Despite my size I was not given more to eat than those smaller than I was. I often dug my fists into my stomach for pain until a mature brother advised me to take my problem to Jehovah in prayer and to ask him to help me endure the pain. I soon realized what a help prayer proves to be in such situations.” Another brother recalls that he often put sand in his mouth to fight the pangs of hunger.

How comforting was the brotherly association in such situations. Yes, it was very touching to see brothers, themselves marked for death, give some of their scant bread rations to those having a harder time of it than they were. Often it was just crumbs that they secretly hid under the pillows of those who for some reason or another had not been given anything to eat and who had been forced to stand out in the courtyard in the fierce cold with hardly anything on. How soothing it was for those the enemy had almost “broken down” to hear from the mouth of a mature brother encouraging words trickling down like oil onto a wound and giving new strength at a time when they felt their situation to be unbearable! And how powerful united prayer proved to be! Frequently, evenings, when the barracks were locked up and everything was quiet in the dormitories, problems were unitedly presented to Jehovah in prayer. They were often matters that had to do with them all, but just as often with problems of individual brothers. Whenever Jehovah​—as he did in so many cases—​immediately brought about a change for the better, this was a cause for a united prayer of thanks on the next day. Up against a situation a person could not have mastered alone, the brothers realized once again that “we are never alone.”

WHAT HAPPENED TO THOSE THAT COMPROMISED

It is interesting that the SS, who often used the dirtiest tricks to try to get someone to sign the declaration, frequently turned against them once they had actually signed and harassed them more afterward than they had before. Karl Kirscht confirms this: “More than anyone else Jehovah’s witnesses were the victims of chicanery in the concentration camps. It was thought that in this way they could be persuaded to sign the declaration. We were repeatedly asked to do so. Some did sign, but, in most cases, they had to wait more than a year before they were released. During this time they were often publicly reviled by the SS as being hypocrites and cowards and were forced to take a so-called ‘honor walk’ around their brothers before being permitted to leave the camp.”

Wilhelm Röger recalls that a brother signed the declaration when his wife and daughter came to visit, but he did not tell the brothers about having done so. “Several weeks later he was informed he should get ready for release. (Such ones generally had to stand at the gate until their names were called.) This brother stood at the gate all day and was still standing there that evening, so he had to return to the brothers in the barracks. After the evening roll call, which was conducted by a much feared captain by the name of Knittler, this brother was sent to get a footstool from the barracks and then forced to stand on it in the courtyard in front of the brothers marching in. Knittler now directed attention to the brother and, giving us all a sharp look, said: ‘Look at your coward; he has signed without telling any of you about it!’ In actuality the SS would have liked for all of us to sign. But the respect which they secretly had for us was gone once someone did.”

Sister Dietrichkeit remembers two sisters who signed the declaration. When they returned they told Sister Dietrichkeit they had signed because they were afraid they were going to starve to death. They did not hide the fact that the SS had asked them: “Now that you have denied your God, Jehovah, what God will you serve?” The two sisters were soon released, but when the Russians invaded the country both were rearrested for some reason or another and taken to prison by the Russians where they actually did starve to death. In another case a sister who signed was raped by the Russians during the last few days of the war and then murdered by them.

A large number of the brothers who signed the declaration were drafted into the military and taken to the front, where most of them lost their lives.

Even though there is proof enough that those brothers who signed thereby placed themselves outside of Jehovah’s protection, it did not hold true in most cases that they were “traitors.” Many had their signature annulled before their release, once understanding, mature brothers had helped them to realize what they had done. Repentantly asking Jehovah to give them another chance to prove their faithfulness, many of these, after the breakdown of Hitler’s regime, spontaneously joined the publishers’ ranks and began working as congregation publishers, in time as pioneers, overseers, even as traveling overseers, promoting in an exemplary way the interests of Jehovah’s kingdom. Many were comforted by the experience of Peter, who had denied his Lord and Master too, but had been taken back into his favor.​—Matt. 26:69-75; John 21:15-19.

TREASON

Whereas some temporarily lost their spiritual balance due to the sly methods used or because of human weaknesses, there were others who turned traitor and caused their brothers much suffering.

Julius Riffel reports that in 1937/1938 “a Brother Hans Müller from Dresden came to the Bern Bethel and tried to get in touch with brothers in Germany, allegedly with the goal in mind of ‘rebuilding the underground organization in Germany after so many brothers had been arrested.’

“I naturally declared my willingness to cooperate, as did several other brothers. Sorry to say, we did not know at the time that this ‘Brother’ Müller was working with the Gestapo in Germany. Unsuspectingly we made plans in Bern and began our work. I was to take over Baden Württemberg. In February 1938 I crossed the border into Germany and tried to reorganize the activity by getting in touch with the brothers who were still free. Two weeks later I was arrested. . . . The Gestapo knew about our activity in all its details and this through this false brother who helped rebuild the underground organization, only to betray it to the Gestapo afterward. This ‘brother’ did the same thing a year later in the Netherlands and also in Czechoslovakia. . . .

“In 1939 I was taken by prison truck to Coblenz, where I was to testify at the trial of three sisters with whom I had worked underground in Stuttgart. There I myself heard a Gestapo agent tell a court official how they knew all the details about our work, things like cover addresses and aliases, as well as the structure of the organization. Once when we were waiting outside in the corridor this same Gestapo agent told me they would not have been able to get behind our activity so easy had it not been for the fact that we had good-for-nothings in our ranks. Sorry to say, I could not deny this. From time to time I was able to warn the brothers from prison about this traitorous ‘brother,’ but Brother Harbeck ignored the warning, simply being unable to believe it. According to my opinion, this Müller was responsible for hundreds of brothers being thrown into prison.”

THE STREAM CONTINUES TO FLOW

Even though the enemy repeatedly opened up new gaps in the ranks of God’s people and decimated the number of those still free, there were always others who recognized the necessity of providing the brothers with spiritual food. This they did despite the danger to their lives. One of the brothers who rebuilt the Watchtower distribution system among the brothers, while Müller continued to do his dirty work in Dresden, was Ludwig Cyranek. He did this until he was arrested and sentenced to two years in prison. Then, just as soon as he had left the prison doors behind him, Brother Cyranek went right back to work.

Many sisters joyfully filled up the places left open by the arrests of the brothers, although they realized that in accordance with the more severe war laws they could lose their lives if they were caught. Among those used to distribute The Watchtower, for example, were Sister Neuffert in Holzgerlingen, Sister Pfisterer in Stuttgart and Sister Franke in Mainz. Brother Cyranek wrote these sisters letters containing harmless information, letters that the sisters ironed so that they could read the secret message he had written underneath in lemon juice, telling them where they should take Watchtowers and how many.

From time to time Brother Cyranek would go to Stuttgart, where Maria Homback worked for him as secretary. He dictated reports to her about the work in Germany, which he would then send to Arthur Winkler in the Netherlands, who looked after Germany and Austria. Sister Hombach wrote these letters in lemon juice, too, so that important information would not fall into unauthorized hands.

That this underground activity functioned for at least a year can be attributed only to Jehovah’s guidance. He often saw to it that his people were led in strange ways, that they might be supplied with spiritual food in due season. Müller soon felt the time opportune to betray this entire organizational ring to the Gestapo. Everyone involved was arrested within several days. At the trial in Dresden, Brother Cyranek was sentenced to death and the others received long prison terms. On July 3, 1941, just a few hours before his execution, he wrote his relatives the following letter:

“My dear brother, sister-in-law, parents, and all other brothers included,

“Fear God and attribute to him the honor! I must write you the painful news that when you receive this letter I no longer will be alive. Please do not be overly sad. Remember that it is a simple matter for Almighty God to raise me from the dead. Yes, he can do all things and if he permits me to drink this bitter cup, then it certainly serves a purpose. Know that it was my attempt to serve him in my weakness and I am completely convinced that he has been with me right up unto the end. I put myself into his keeping. My thoughts during these last few hours are with you, my dears. May your hearts not be dismayed, but, rather, maintain your composure, for it is much better than for you to know that I am suffering in prison, which would have been a continual worry for you. And now, my dear mother and father, may I thank you both for all the good things you have done for me. I can only stammer out a weak thank you. May Jehovah repay you for all you have done. My prayer is that he may protect and bless you, for his blessing alone makes rich. Dear Toni, I can only too well believe that you would have done everything possible to rescue me from the ‘lions’ den,’ but this in vain. I received notification tonight that the petition for clemency has been rejected and that my sentence will be carried out tomorrow morning. I have made no plea of any kind nor asked for mercy at the hands of man. I appreciate your good will, however, to help me and thank you as well as Luise from the bottom of my heart for all the good things that you have given me. Your lines of sympathy did me good. Many greetings to you all and may I send you all a kiss. I especially have a place in my heart for Karl. May God be with you until we meet again. I put my arms around you in departure. [signed] Ludwig Cyranek.”

Julius Engelhardt, who mimeographed Watchtowers with Sister Frey in Bruchsal, had worked closely with Brother Cyranek in the southern part of Germany. It was planned that in case of Brother Cyranek’s arrest he would continue the work. Sorry to say, Müller betrayed him to the Gestapo too, and they soon found his hiding place in his hometown of Karlsruhe. But Brother Engelhardt had always encouraged the sisters by telling them ‘it can’t cost us anything more than just our heads,’ and he was determined to sell his freedom at the highest price possible. Although the Gestapo agent had already taken him into custody, he suddenly broke away and bounded down the stairs, where he disappeared into the crowds on the street faster than the police could stop him. It is interesting what secular historians, in the book Widerstand und Verfolgung in Essen 1933 – 1945 (Opposition and Persecution in Essen 1933 – 1945), say about Brother Engelhardt’s activity, as taken from Gestapo files:

“With the arrest of Cyranek, Noernheim and others, the distribution of illegal publications was by no means stopped, for Engelhardt, who at first had been active in the southwest, had been forced to flee to the Ruhr territory in 1940 when threatened by arrest at his former base in Karlsruhe. After a brief stay in Essen he found an illegal place to live in Oberhausen-Sterkrade where from the beginning of 1941 to April 1943 he produced 27 different issues of the Watchtower in an edition of 240 and later 360 copies. From the Ruhr territory he arranged for bases in Munich, Mannheim, Speyer, Dresden as well as Freiberg in Saxony and served as treasurer for the entire country. . . . On September 18, 1944, high prison sentences were handed down by the superior court in Hamm against members of the Essen group who held meetings and regularly distributed the Watchtower in connection with Engelhardt’s activity. . . . Many were put to death.”

Christine Hetkamp also gives us an encouraging report about Brother Engelhardt’s activity: “My husband, who was baptized, turned into a malicious opposer. . . . I had not missed any of the meetings which had been held alternately at my mother’s home, at mine and at my brother’s. I could have them in my home because my husband left on Mondays and stayed at his sister’s place until Saturday; she lived a short way outside of town. Hers was a rabid Nazi family and he found shelter there, since he could no longer put up with our spirit, which is understandable. So during his absence The Watchtower was printed in our home for almost three years. A brother (Brother Engelhardt) who lived with us for three years first of all wrote the stencils on a typewriter and then used them to make mimeographed copies of The Watchtower. Afterward he would travel with my mother to Berlin, to Mainz, Mannheim, etc., where they would deliver the magazines to trustworthy persons who would then distribute them further. Brother Engelhardt and my mother were in charge of the whole arrangement, whereas I did the cooking and the washing. When my mother was put in prison I took over the job of delivering The Watchtower to Mainz and Mannheim. . . . In April 1943, my mother was arrested the second time, this time forever. Shortly thereafter Brother Engelhardt, who had been in charge for so long and who had directed the underground work, was also arrested.”

Later Sister Hetkamp’s daughter, her brother-in-law, her sister, her sister-in-law and her aunt were arrested. All of them were tried on June 2, 1944. Brother Engelhardt and seven additional defendants, including Sister Hetkamp’s mother, were sentenced to death. They were all beheaded shortly thereafter.

From then on conditions in Germany continued to grow ever more confused. It was no longer possible to determine for sure where Watchtowers were being mimeographed, but they were being produced.

FAITHFUL UNTIL DEATH

The numerous executions that took place during the Third Reich take a special place in the history of persecution. At least 203 brothers and sisters, according to incomplete reports, were either beheaded or shot. This figure does not include those who died from starvation, disease and other brutal mistreatment.

Concerning a brother who was sentenced to death, Brother Bär reports: “All the prisoners and also the prison officials were amazed at him. He was a locksmith and did repair work throughout the entire prison. He went about his daily work without any sign of dejection or sadness; to the contrary, while busy working he sang songs of praise to Jehovah.” One day around noon he was taken from the shop, and put to death that evening.

Brother Bär continues his report, saying: “My wife once saw a sister in prison in Potsdam she did not know. She walked past her in the prison courtyard. When the sister saw my wife she raised both of her handcuffed arms and waved a joyful greeting. Although sentenced to death, there was no look of pain nor of sadness in her glance.” This calmness and peace that were radiated by our brothers and sisters sentenced to death takes on added value when a person remembers what they had to put up with in their cells.

Whereas our brothers and sisters were resolute and resigned, in fact, sometimes even joyful in face of the difficult way they were called on to go, others who were not Witnesses often collapsed or, out of their intense fear of death, would let out loud cries until forcibly restrained.

Jonathan Stark from Ulm, however, did not give way to such fear. True, he was only seventeen years old when he was arrested by the Gestapo, and, without legal formalities, was sent to Sachsenhausen, where he was put in the death barracks. His offense? Refusal to take up premilitary work. Emil Hartmann from Berlin heard that Jonathan was confined to those barracks and, though it could have brought severe punishment on him, Brother Hartmann gained entrance to speak to this young brother and strengthen him. For both of them these brief visits were very encouraging. Jonathan was always very happy. Though himself facing death, he comforted his mother with the wonderful hope of a resurrection. When taken by the camp commander to the place of execution just two weeks after his arrival, Jonathan’s last words were “For Jehovah and for Gideon.” (Gideon was a faithful servant of Jehovah who foreshadowed Jesus Christ.)​—Judg. 7:18.

Elise Harms from Wilhelmshaven remembers that her husband was asked seven times to recant after he was sentenced and, when he refused, she was offered permission to visit him on the condition that she do all in her power to persuade him to change his mind. But this she could not do. When he was beheaded, she was happy that he had remained faithful to Jehovah and that he was no longer under pressure to be unfaithful. In the meantime his father, Martin Harms, had been arrested for the third time and put in Sachsenhausen. Deeply moving is the letter his son wrote him shortly before his execution on November 9, 1940:

“My dear father,

“We still have three weeks until December 3, the day on which we saw one another two years ago for the last time. I can still see your dear smile when you were working in the prison basement and I was out walking in the prison courtyard. In the early morning hours we did not suspect that my dear Lieschen (his wife) and I would be released that afternoon nor that you, my dear father, to our pain, would be taken that same day to Vechta and then later on to Sachsenhausen. Those last moments when we were alone in the visiting room of the prison in Oldenburg are still indelibly impressed upon my memory, how I put my arm around you and promised you that I would take care of mother and you as far as it was in my power to do so. My last words were: ‘Remain faithful, my dear father!’ During the last one and three quarters years (21 months) of ‘slavery in freedom’ I have kept my promise. When I was taken into custody on September 3 I turned the responsibility over to your other children. I have considered you with pride during this time and also with amazement at the way you have been carrying your burden in faithfulness to the Lord. And now I, too, have been given an opportunity to prove my faithfulness to the Lord unto death, yes, in faithfulness not only up unto death, but even into death. My death sentence has already been announced and I am chained both day and night​—the marks (on the paper) are from the handcuffs—​but I still have not conquered to the full. Remaining faithful is not made easy for one of Jehovah’s witnesses. I still have an opportunity to save my earthly life, but only thereby to lose the real life. Yes, one of Jehovah’s witnesses is given an opportunity to break his covenant even when in view of the gallows. Therefore, I am still in the midst of the fight and I still have many victories to win before I can say that ‘I have fought the fine fight, I have observed the faith, there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness with God, the righteous judge, will give me.’ The fight is doubtless difficult, but I am wholeheartedly grateful to the Lord that he not only has given me the necessary strength to stand up until now in the face of death, but has given me a joy I would like to share with all my loved ones.

“My dear father, you are still a prisoner, too, and whether this letter will ever reach you, I do not know. If you should ever go free, however, then remain just as faithful as you are now, for you know that whoever has laid his hand to the plow and looks back is not worthy of the kingdom of God. . . .

“When you, dear father, are at home again, then be sure to take particular care of my dear Lieschen, for it will be particularly difficult for her, knowing that her dear one will not return. I know that you will do this and I thank you ahead of time. My dear father, in spirit I call to you, remain faithful, as I have attempted to remain faithful, and then we will see one another again. I will be thinking of you up until the very last.

“Your son Johannes

“Auf Wiedersehen!”

WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT TO THOSE OUTSIDE

Not only were death candidates encouraged by brothers outside; those outside in freedom were often encouraged even more so by their brothers in prison. Sister Auschner from Kempten confirms this. She received a letter from her twenty-one-year-old son on February 28, 1941, which contained the following brief lines directed to his eighteen-and-a-half-year-old brother: “My dear brother. In my last letter I called your attention to a book and I hope that you have taken to heart what I said, for this can only be of benefit to you.” Two and a half years later Sister Auschner received from this, her youngest son, a farewell letter. He had taken to heart what his older brother had written and had followed him faithfully into death.

The two brothers Ernst and Hans Rehwald from Stuhm, East Prussia, also assisted each other in a similar way. After Ernst was brought before a military court and sentenced to death, he wrote from his death cell a letter to his brother Hans in prison at Stuhm: “Dear Hans, In case the same thing should happen to you, then remember the power of prayer. I know no fear, for the peace of God is within my heart.” A short time later his brother was in the same position and, although he was only nineteen years old at the time, was executed.

A TEST OF LOYALTY FOR MARRIAGE MATES

It was impressive to see how close relatives encouraged their loved ones not to waver in their integrity. Sister Höhne from Frankfurt/​Oder was one who accompanied her husband to the railroad station when he received his induction order, never to see him again. Her last words were: “Be faithful”​—words that Brother Höhne bore in mind up until his death.

In many cases the brothers were newly married and, had their love for Jehovah and for Christ Jesus not been so strong, they would certainly not have been able to bear breaking off the bonds of communication with their loved ones. Two sisters, who have been widows now for more than thirty-two years, look back on those turbulent times grateful for the help Jehovah gave them. Sisters Bühler and Ballreich, from Neulosheim near Speyer, both got married near the beginning of the ban and learned the truth around the same time. In 1940 both husbands got their draft call and, upon refusal to take up military service, were arrested.

Sister Ballreich went to the district draft officials in Mannheim, where she learned that the two brothers had been sent to Wiesbaden to appear before a military court. Sister Ballreich received permission to visit her husband on the condition that she try to persuade him to change his mind. Sister Bühler was given permission to visit her husband on the same condition. Both sisters at once went to Wiesbaden. Sister Bühler reports:

“I can hardly describe how sad the reunion was. He (her husband) asked: ‘Why have you come?’ I answered that I was supposed to try to influence him. But he comforted me, gave me Biblical counsel and told me not to be sad like the rest who have no hope but to place my entire confidence in our great God, Jehovah. . . . A young court clerk, who had accompanied us to the prison, advised us to stay in Wiesbaden until Tuesday, which was the day the case was to be heard. If we were there we would certainly be permitted to attend. So we stayed until Tuesday. We waited outside on the street until our husbands, accompanied by two soldiers with loaded weapons, were led through the street like professional criminals. Truly a spectacle for men and angels. Sister Ballreich and I walked along. We were able to attend the trial. It lasted less than an hour, ending up with two blameless and brave men being sentenced to death. Afterward we could be with them for about two hours in a room on the ground floor. But after we had left the courthouse we walked the streets of Wiesbaden like two lost sheep.”

Shortly thereafter the two young sisters received notification that their husbands had been shot to death on June 25, 1940, with the words on their lips “Jehovah forever!”

PARENTS AND CHILDREN PUT JEHOVAH FIRST

A case that occupied the attention, not only of the courts, district attorneys and defenders, but also of the public, involved two Kusserow brothers from Paderborn. Based on the good instruction in Jehovah’s ways that they had received at home, they were willing to surrender their lives without fear. And their mother used their death as further opportunity to tell others in her community about the resurrection hope. A third brother, Karl, was arrested three months later and taken to a concentration camp; he died four weeks after his release. There were thirteen members of this family; twelve were put into prison, sentenced to a total of sixty-five years of which they served forty-six.

Similar to the Kusserow case, where, not just the parents, but also the children put Kingdom interests ahead of self was the Appel family from Süderbrarup. They owned a small printing establishment there. Let us hear how Sister Appel tells what happened:

“In 1937 when the large wave of arrests was rolling over Germany, my husband and I were taken away from our four children late on the night of October 15. Eight persons (Gestapo and police officers) entered our home and searched the whole house from the basement to the attic. Then they took us along with them. . . . After we were sentenced my husband was taken to Neumünster and I to the women’s prison in Kiel. . . . In 1938 after a series of amnesties we were released. . . . When the second world war broke out, however, we knew what was ahead of us, for my husband was determined to maintain neutrality. We spoke to our children about the whole thing and called their attention to the Biblical pronouncements in regard to persecution.

“As far as possible we arranged to have sufficient clothing on hand for the children so that they would be cared for in this regard. After my husband had told the draft officials his Biblical reasons for being unable to engage in war he got the rest of his personal matters in order. We daily presented all our problems to Jehovah in prayer. On March 9, 1941, at 8:00 in the morning the doorbell rang and two soldiers came to pick up my husband. They waited outside and gave him fifteen minutes to tell us good-bye. Our son Walter had already gone to school. The other three children and Sister Helene Green, who worked in our printery, were asked to come to the apartment at once. My husband’s last request was that we sing the song ‘He that is faithful, he that is loyal, yields not his soul unto fear.’ Although the words stuck in our throats, we sang. After a prayer, the soldiers came in and led my husband away. That was the last time the children ever saw their father. He was taken to Lübeck, where a high official spoke at length with him in a fatherly way, trying to persuade him to put on the uniform. But Jehovah’s unchangeable law was so firmly anchored in my husband’s heart that there was no turning back. . . .

“It was early on the morning of July 1, 1941, that police officials presented me with a letter . . . notifying me that our car was being confiscated as Communist property and that the printing establishment was being closed by the police. Then he handed me another letter that said: ‘You are to bring your children to the city hall on the morning of July 3, 1941. Clothing and shoes are to be brought along.’ This was a hard blow.

“So it was that on the morning of July 3, supervisors from two juvenile homes came to pick up our children. The woman who took charge of my fifteen- and ten-year-old girls, Christa and Waltraud, told me: ‘I have known for several weeks that I was to pick up your children, and I have been unable to sleep at night since, knowing that I am taking children out of a well-organized family. But I must do it.’

“Some of the neighbors did not refrain from showing their dislike of the action being taken, but a warning was soon circulated by the responsible authorities that ‘anyone speaking about the Appel case is committing national sedition!’ Just to make sure, three police officials were sent to oversee the matter of taking away the children. . . . My husband was naturally notified by the officials of the steps that had been taken in regard to the business and the children. They hoped that this would soften him up. He was accused of being dishonest and unscrupulous in having left his family in the lurch. My husband wrote me a very loving letter saying how he had got up very early the next morning, got down on his knees and in prayer committed the care of his family to Jehovah. . . .

“The same day the children were picked up I received notification from the military court in Berlin-Charlottenburg to come there. I was taken before the chief public prosecutor, who asked me to try to influence my husband to put on the uniform. When I told him the Biblical reason for being unable to do this, he shouted full of rage: ‘Then he’ll get his head chopped off!’ Despite this, I asked for permission to speak to my husband. He gave me no answer but pressed a bell that summoned a soldier who took me down one story where several officers greeted me with icy glares and accusations. When I left, one of them followed me, took my hand and said: ‘Mrs. Appel, always stay as steadfast as you are now. You are doing the right thing.’ I was truly surprised. What was important, however, was that I could speak to my husband.

“While I was in Berlin the Nazis had already sold our business. I was forced to sign the bill of sale because​—as I was told—​I would otherwise be put into a concentration camp.

“After I had visited my husband in Berlin several times, he was sentenced to death. The lawyer who ‘defended’ him remarked: ‘Your husband has been given a golden opportunity to get out of this, but he has refused to make use of it.’ To which my husband replied: ‘I have made my decision for Jehovah and his kingdom and that is the end of the matter.’

“On October 11, 1941, my husband was beheaded. In his last letter, which he was permitted to write just a few hours before his execution, he said: ‘When you get this letter, my beloved Maria and my four children, Christa, Walter, Waltraud and Wolfgang, everything will already be over and I will have won the victory through Jesus Christ and my hope is that I have been a conqueror. From my heart I wish you a blessed entry into Jehovah’s kingdom. Remain faithful! Three young brothers, who will be going the same way that I am tomorrow morning, are here beside me. Their eyes are aglow!’

“A short time later I was forced to vacate my home in Süderbrarup. The furniture was stored in five different places. I personally landed penniless at my mother’s.

“My son Walter was taken out of school by the juvenile home and sent to Hamburg where he took up an apprenticeship in printing. In 1944, he was drafted, although he was only seventeen years old. In a most wonderful way he had come into possession of the book The Harp of God before this and had learned a great deal from it during the nights of bombings in Hamburg in his little room in the attic. His desire was to dedicate himself to Jehovah. After many difficulties he was able to go to Malente, at New Year’s time of 1943/1944, where, in a darkened laundry, a brother baptized him secretly. . . .

“He was able to get in touch with me secretly and I waited in the streets of Hamburg several hours until he came, because I was forbidden to see my children under any circumstances.

“For his encouragement I could tell him that I had received a letter from the brothers in Sachsenhausen who had heard of our lot. Brother Ernst Seliger wrote that after the camp had quieted down at night several hundred brothers from various nations would bow their knees to Jehovah and make mention of us in their prayers. Then my son was taken by force to East Prussia to the military group to which he was assigned. In the icy cold they took away his clothes and laid his uniform down in front of him, but he refused to put it on. It was two days before he got something warm to eat. But he remained firm.

“In Hamburg we had bidden each other farewell. He told me he would be going the way of his father. Some seven months later, after his papers had been falsified to make him appear to be older, he actually was beheaded, without ever having had a trial. According to law, he was still underage and under juvenile jurisdiction.

“A Süderbrarup policeman visited me and read me the police report from East Prussia. I myself was given nothing at all. Although I had not really counted on my boy having to go through what his father had, since he was so young and the end of the war was so near, yet despite the great pain I felt, I offered a prayer of thanksgiving to Jehovah. I could now say: ‘Thank you, Jehovah, that he has fallen on the battlefield for you.’

“Then came the upheaval of 1945. Joyfully I welcomed my three remaining children back into my arms. The two youngest ones had been taken out of the juvenile home and had been living with a labor office director for the last three years, where they were to be reared in the sense of National Socialism. I was permitted to visit them only once every fourteen months and to speak to them for several hours, but always with someone else present. Despite this, my two girls were once able to whisper to me that they had a little testament which they kept carefully hidden. When they were alone one of them would listen at the door to make sure no one was coming and the other would read several verses. How happy I was!

“Now in 1945 the faithful brothers began returning from their imprisonment. In Flensburg a ship arrived with many brothers and sisters mainly from the East. At that time a period of intense activity began. There it was that I became acquainted with my present husband, Brother Josef Scharner. He, too, had been robbed of nine years of freedom. Truly, both of us had gone through difficult times and both of us had the same desire to spend our last remaining years in serving Jehovah with all our strength.”

MAKING DISCIPLES EVEN IN A DEATH CELL

That it would be possible to make disciples even in the death cells sounds hard to believe, but Brother Massors reports such an experience in a letter to his wife dated September 3, 1943:

“During 1928/30/32 I pioneered in Prague. Lectures were delivered and the city was covered with literature. At that time I met a political lecturer from the government named Anton Rinker. I talked to him a long time. He accepted a Bible and several books but explained that he had no time to study such things, since he must look after his family and make a living. He said, however, that his relatives were all very religiously inclined, although they did not go to church.

“It must have been in 1940/41 when a new partner was sent into my cell, as was often the case. He was very depressed, but everyone is at first. Only at the time when the cell door flies shut behind him does a person suddenly realize where he is. ‘My name is Anton Rinker and I am from Prague,’ my new cellmate told me. I recognized him at once and said: ‘Anton, yes, Anton, do you not know me?’ ‘Yes, you do look familiar, but . . .’ It took only a little while for him to remember that I had been at his place in 1930/32 and that he had taken a Bible and several books from me at the time. ‘What!’ said Anton, ‘you are here because of your faith? That I cannot understand; none of the ministers do anything like that. What do you believe actually?’ He was to find out.

“‘But why don’t the clergy tell us these things?’ was his question. ‘This is the truth. Now I know why I had to come to this prison. I must say, dear Franz, that before I entered this cell I prayed to God that he might send me to a believing person, otherwise I was thinking of committing suicide. . . .’

“Weeks and months passed. Then Anton told me: ‘Before I leave this world, may God help my wife and my children find the truth, so that I can leave in peace.’ . . . One day he received a letter from his wife in which she wrote:

“‘ . . . How happy we would be if only you could read the Bible and books that you bought from that German man years ago. Everything has turned out just as the books said. This is the truth for which we never had time.’”

[Picture on page 171]

Courtyard at entrance to Mauthausen concentration camp, with group of naked entrants

Part 3​—Germany

SPIRITUAL FOOD IN THE CONCENTRATION CAMPS

During those years when the brothers, especially those in concentration camps, were “isolated” they had very little opportunity to obtain a Bible or other publications. Just that much more effort was put into recalling the contents of important Watchtower articles when they had to stand for hours in the courtyard, or evenings when they had a little quiet in their barracks. Their joy was especially great when it was possible in some way to obtain a Bible.

Jehovah sometimes used interesting ways to get a Bible into the hands of his servants. Franz Birk from Renchen (Black Forest) recalls that one day in Buchenwald he was asked by a worldly prisoner if he would like to have a Bible. He had found one in the paper factory where he worked. Of course Brother Birk accepted the offer thankfully.

Brother Franke also remembers how, in 1943, an aged SS man who had joined this organization only under the pressure of the times went to a number of clergymen on his day off asking for a Bible. All of them said they regretted not having a Bible anymore. It was evening when he finally found a clergyman who told him that he had one small Luther Bible that he had kept for special reasons. He was so happy that an SS man should manifest interest in the Bible, however, that he said the Bible should be his. The next morning this gray-haired SS man gave Brother Franke the Bible, obviously joyful that he could give this gift to a prisoner he was guarding.

With time it became possible to smuggle new Watchtower articles into the concentration camps. In the Birkenfeld concentration camp it was done in this way: Among the prisoners was a brother who, because of his knowledge of architecture, worked with a civilian friendly to Jehovah’s witnesses. Through this friendly man the brother made contact with brothers outside the camp who soon supplied him with the newest Watchtowers.

Our brothers in the Neuengamme camp had similar opportunities. Most of the approximately seventy brothers there were put to work cleaning up after the air raids in Hamburg. There in Hamburg they could obtain Bibles, once finding three in just a matter of minutes. Willi Karger, who experienced this personally, relates: “I would like to tell of additional spiritual food that a sister from Döbeln brought us. May this never be forgotten. Her brother, Hans Jäger, belonged to our work crew in Bergedorf near Hamburg, and was put to work in the Flunz Iron factory. Hard work and strict surveillance were our lot. Brother Jäger, nonetheless, succeeded in smuggling a letter out and notifying his sister where he would be during his noon hour. His sister took a train to Hamburg and ‘felt her way’ carefully out to the place where we were working. She succeeded in placing the requested magazines into our hands, so, despite the SS guards and due to Jehovah’s supervision, the valuable magazines were brought into the camp undetected.”

Everyone schemed up different ways, and with time there were a number of Bibles in the camp. A brother wrote to his wife in Danzig that he would enjoy eating some “Elberfelder gingerbread,” and with the next food package (which the brothers could receive in this camp at that time) he received an Elberfelder Bible carefully baked in gingerbread. Certain ones had contact with prisoners who worked at the crematorium. These related that many books and magazines were burned there, so the brothers made arrangements secretly to receive the Bibles and the magazines, in exchange for some of their food supplies.

In Sachsenhausen some Bibles got into the hands of the brothers while they were still in “isolation.” Strange as it may sound, isolation proved to be a certain protection in this case, since a brother not only was assigned to guard the door leading to the isolation area but also had the key and, therefore, had to lock and unlock the door. There were seven large tables in a room that seated fifty-six brothers. For quite a while a brother would give a fifteen-minute comment covering the text while the other brothers were eating their breakfast. This was rotated then among the tables as well as among the brothers sitting at them. This comment was then the subject of conversation when the brothers were forced to stand for hours in the courtyard.

During the severe 1939/1940 winter the Witnesses petitioned Jehovah in prayer on this matter of literature, and, look, a miracle! Jehovah placed his protecting hand over a brother who was able to smuggle three Watchtowers into “isolation” inside his wooden leg, and this despite careful examination. Even though the brothers had to crawl under their beds and read by the light of a flashlight while others stood guard to the right and the left, it was a proof of Jehovah’s wonderful direction. As a good Shepherd, he does not abandon his people.

In the winter of 1941/1942, when the brothers had been released from “isolation,” seven Watchtowers dealing with Daniel chapters 11 and 12, the first issue discussing Micah, a book entitled “Kreuzzug gegen das Christentum” (Crusade against Christianity) and a Bulletin (now Kingdom Ministry) all arrived at one time. This was truly a gift from heaven for, along with their brothers in other countries, they could now get a clear understanding of the “king of the south” and the “king of the north.”

Thanks to the fact that prisoners not in “isolation” had Sunday afternoons free and that the political block captain went to other barracks to see his friends that afternoon, it was possible for the brothers to conduct a Watchtower study every Sunday for several months. On the average, 220 to 250 brothers shared in this study, while 60 to 70 kept watch all the way up to the camp entrance, and whenever danger arose they would give a certain sign. So it was that they were never surprised by an SS man during their study. The study conducted in 1942 remains unforgettable for those in attendance. The brothers were so impressed by the wonderful explanations concerning the prophecy in Daniel chapters 11 and 12 that, in conclusion, in joyous march tempo, they sang folk songs interspersed with Kingdom songs, thus not giving the guard on duty a few meters away from the barracks on a tower cause for suspicion; rather, he enjoyed the beautiful singing. Just imagine: The voice of 250 men who, although imprisoned, were in reality free, whole-souled in singing songs to Jehovah’s praise. What a setting! Might the angels in heaven have sung along?

EASING OF PRESSURE ON THOSE IN CONCENTRATION CAMPS

Although the blood of faithful witnesses of Jehovah continued to flow at the Nazi executional centers right up until the regime’s complete collapse, yet the weapons of those who had time and again sworn that Jehovah’s witnesses would leave the concentration camps only through the crematorium chimneys began to weaken. There were also the problems that the war presented. So especially from 1942/1943 on, there were periods when Jehovah’s witnesses were left in comparative peace.

The war, which was now a total war, had changed to the point where all available forces were mobilized. For this reason, in 1942 they started including prisoners to the extent possible in projects productive to the economy. In this connection a comment made by SS leader Pohl to his boss, Himmler, concerning the “state of the concentration camps” is interesting:

“The war has brought about a visible change in the structure of the concentration camps and basically changed their function with regard to the use of prisoners.

“The incarceration of prisoners solely because of security, educational or preventative reasons no longer predominates [mass destruction is not even mentioned]. The emphasis has swung to the economic aspect of the matter. The mobilization of all prisoners, in the first place, for war-related jobs (increase of armament production) and, secondly, for peace-related matters becomes more and more the predominating factor.

“The necessary measures being taken result from this realization, requiring a gradual transfer of the concentration camps from their previous one-sided political design to an organization meeting the economic needs.”

This transformation, of course, required that the prisoners be fed better if they were to be used more for work. This brought further relief for the brothers. The officials were also judicious enough, with few exceptions, not to try to place the brothers in armament plants, but to use them in accord with their vocational abilities in the various shops.

In the meantime, Jehovah had done his part, for he can direct the hearts of humans​—even those of his enemies—​like streams of water. A striking example is Himmler. For years he believed that he alone could decide about the lives of Jehovah’s faithful servants, but he suddenly began to change his mind concerning the “Bible Students.” His personal doctor, a Finnish medical man named Kersten, played an important role.

The masseur Kersten began to have a strong influence on Himmler, who was always quite sickly. He heard about Jehovah’s witnesses’ being cruelly persecuted and one day asked Himmler to give him some of the women to work on his estate in Harzwalde, some seventy kilometers north of Berlin. After hesitation Himmler agreed, and later he granted Kersten’s additional request, releasing a sister from a concentration camp so that she could work in Kersten’s second home, in Sweden. It was first from these sisters that Kersten heard the truth about the conditions in the concentration camps and about the indescribable suffering that had been inflicted especially upon Jehovah’s witnesses for years. He was greatly dismayed, knowing that his massages repeatedly restored this fiend to sufficient health to carry on his murderous business. He, therefore, decided to use his influence to ease at least to some extent the suffering of all these prisoners. It can thus be attributed to his influence that tens of thousands of them, especially toward the end of the war, were not exterminated. Especially for Jehovah’s witnesses his influence proved to be very beneficial. This can be seen from a letter that Himmler wrote to his closest associates, the top SS leaders Pohl and Müller. This letter, stamped “Secret,” included the following passages:

“Enclosed is a report about the ten Bible Students that are working on my doctor’s farm. I had an opportunity to study the matter of the Earnest Bible Students from all angles. Mrs. Kersten made a very good suggestion. She said that she had never had such good, willing, faithful and obedient personnel as these ten women. These people do much out of love and kindness. . . . One of the women once received 5.00 RM as a tip from a guest. She accepted the money since she did not want to cast aspersions upon the home, and gave it to Mrs. Kersten, since it was prohibited to have money in the camp. The women voluntarily did any work required of them. Evenings they knitted, Sundays they were kept busy in some other way. During the summer they did not let the opportunity pass to get up two hours earlier and gather baskets full of mushrooms, even though they were required to work ten, eleven and twelve hours a day. These facts complete my picture of the Bible Students. They are incredibly fanatical, willing people, ready to sacrifice. If we could put their fanaticism to work for Germany or instill such fanaticism into our people, then we would be stronger than we are today. Of course, since they reject the war, their teaching is so detrimental that we cannot permit it lest we do Germany the greatest damage. . . .

“Nothing is accomplished by punishing them, since they only talk about it afterward with enthusiasm. . . . Each punishment serves as a merit for the other world. That is why every true Bible Student will let himself be executed without hesitation. . . . Every confinement in the dungeon, every pang of hunger, every period of freezing is a merit, every punishment, every blow is a merit with Jehovah.

“Should problems develop in camp in the future involving the Bible Students, then I prohibit the camp commander from pronouncing any punishment. Such cases should be reported to me with a brief description of the circumstances. From now on I plan on doing the opposite and telling the respective individual: ‘You are forbidden to work. You are to be better fed than the others and you do not have to do anything.’

“For according to the belief of these good-natured lunatics merit ceases then, yes, to the contrary, previous merits will be deducted by Jehovah.

“Now my suggestion is that all of the Bible Students be put in work​—for example, farm work, which has nothing to do with war and all its madness. One can leave them unguarded if properly assigned; they will not run away. They can be given uncontrolled jobs, they will prove to be the best administrators and workers.

“Another use for them as suggested by Mrs. Kersten: We can employ the Bible Students in our ‘Lebensbornheime’ (homes erected to rear children fostered by SS men to produce a master race), not as nurses, but, rather, as cooks, housekeepers, or to do work in the laundry or similar jobs. In cases where we still have men serving as janitors we can use strong women Bible Students. I am convinced that, in most cases, we will have little difficulty with them.

“I am also in agreement with suggestions that Bible Students be assigned to large families. Qualified Bible Students who have the necessary ability should be found and reported to me. I will then personally distribute them among large families. In such households they are not to wear prison garb, however, but civilian clothes and their stay should be arranged in a similar way to the free and interned Bible Students in Harzwalde.

“In all these cases where prisoners are partially free and have been assigned to such work we want to avoid written records or signatures and make such agreements with just a handshake.

“Please send your recommendations for initiating this action and a report on it.”

So it was. Within a short time quite a few sisters were sent to work in SS households, truck gardens, estates and “Lebensbornheime.”

There were other reasons, however, why the SS were willing to take Jehovah’s witnesses into their homes. The SS felt the secret hate that was growing among the populace. They realized they were not just being joked about privately. Many did not even trust their maids anymore and were afraid that they might poison their food or kill them in some other way. With time, top SS officials dared not go to just any barber, for fear he might cut their throats. Max Schröer and Paul Wauer were assigned to shave top SS officials regularly, since they knew that Jehovah’s witnesses would never take revenge and kill their human enemies.

These brothers and sisters working outside the camps were even permitted visits from their relatives or could themselves visit their relatives at home. Some were given several weeks’ vacation for this purpose. This eventually meant that the brothers and sisters obtained more food, which resulted in rapid improvement of their health and reduced the number of deaths due to hunger and mistreatment.

To what extent the attitude in the concentration camps changed to the advantage of Jehovah’s witnesses can be seen by an experience that Reinhold Lühring had. In February 1944, he was suddenly called from his work crew and asked to report to the camp office. This was where so many had been mistreated and attempts had been made to persuade them to renounce their faith in Jehovah. How surprised Brother Lühring was when officers sitting opposite him asked if he would supervise an estate, properly directing the work and the workers. Answering all their questions in the affirmative, he was later taken to Czechoslovakia, together with fifteen other brothers, to take charge of Mrs. Heydrich’s estate.

Another work crew composed of forty-two brothers, all good craftsmen, was taken to Lake Wolfgang in Austria to build a house for a top SS official. Although the work on the mountainside was not easy, the brothers otherwise had it much better. For example, Erich Frost, who belonged to this group, was given permission to have his accordion sent from home. After receiving it he and the other brothers were often permitted to go out onto the lake evenings, where he would play folk songs and concert pieces, which were enjoyed, not only by his brothers, but also by those living along the lake, including the SS, under whose supervision they were working.

It also continued to become easier to supply the brothers in concentration camps with spiritual food. Dr. Kersten played no small part in this, since he often traveled between his home in Sweden and his estate in Harzwalde. He would always let the sisters that Himmler had given him to work at his estate and his home in Sweden pack his suitcases. A silent agreement had been made between them that the sister in Sweden would put a number of Watchtowers in Kersten’s suitcase when she packed it. Upon arriving in Harzwalde he would tell the sister working for him there that she should unpack his suitcase, which he always let her do alone. After the sisters had carefully studied these Watchtowers, they would pass them on to the nearby concentration camp.

Mr. Kersten’s estate in Harzwalde was ideally located, about thirty-five kilometers south of the women’s camp at Ravensbrück and about thirty kilometers north of the men’s camp at Sachsenhausen. Things were constantly being transported from Harzwalde to both camps, so it was not difficult to smuggle spiritual food into the camps to the brothers and sisters.

There was thus an ever-closer contact between the various camps and private homes where our sisters were assigned to work for SS families. Ilse Unterdörfer reports about this interesting time:

“Since we had considerable freedom where we worked, we succeeded in sending letters to our relatives without having them censored. We were also able to correspond with our brothers who were working outside or had trusted positions working for SS men, thereby enjoying more freedom. Yes, we even succeeded in getting in touch with brothers living in freedom and obtained Watchtowers. After many years of living on things previously learned and from new truths brought in by new arrivals it was wonderfully refreshing to be able personally to read The Watchtower again. I was assigned to an SS farm near Ravensbrück under the jurisdiction of SS officer Pohl. As supervisory prisoner I was responsible for our sisters’ work. Some of us even slept there and did not have to go to the camp at all anymore. It was thus possible for me, according to arrangements made in a letter delivered by a sister, to get in touch with Franz Fritsche from Berlin, whom I met one evening in a wooded section of the farm. He always supplied me with a number of Watchtowers. In addition to this we also received spiritual food in another way. Two sisters worked in a factory and they also brought copies of The Watchtower into the camp. In this way Jehovah lovingly cared for us at a time when it was most urgent.”

Jehovah blessed the brothers who had easier access to spiritual food and who endeavored to make it available to others, as can be seen from Frank Birk’s account. He was among those brought to the estate at Harzwalde. They soon heard that other imprisoned brothers, working under the supervision of a soldier, were putting up a building in the forest some ten kilometers away. Since the Harzwalde-estate brothers already enjoyed a measure of freedom, they looked for an opportunity to meet these brothers in the forest.

“One Sunday morning,” Brother Birk reports, “Brother Krämer and I took our bicycles and started out to find our brothers. As we rode into the woods we soon saw a cleared strip where a new building was going up. Seeing a prisoner come across the clearing, we waved at him, and he started toward us through the woods. As soon as we saw the lilac triangle on his clothes we knew that he was a brother. After we told him that we were from the Harzwalde crew he took us into the new building. Since we had new Watchtowers with us, we sat down and started to study. After that we visited our brothers every Sunday. They were under the surveillance of a sergeant major from Freiburg, who was kindly disposed toward the brothers. Shortly before Christmas I asked him: ‘How would it be if you and our brothers would make a visit to the Harzwalde estate during the holidays?’ He thoughtfully replied that he wanted some place to go with his men where they could get their hair cut. When he heard that we had a barber in Harzwalde he immediately agreed. And so early Christmas morning our brothers, accompanied by this officer, came to the farm. Sister Schulze from Berlin, who was working in the kitchen, took especially good care of the officer so that we might be undisturbed in our association with one another. That evening the brothers returned home, filled with joy over the blessed meeting they had had together. Just think, this had taken place in the midst of our enemies!”

In time there were increased possibilities of getting spiritual food in all the concentration camps. Gertrud Ott and eighteen other sisters incarcerated in Auschwitz were sent to work in a hotel where the families of SS men lived. Since other persons also came to eat and drink there, it was not long before sisters who were still free discovered their imprisoned sisters washing windows. “We are sisters, too.” they mumbled in passing, without looking up. Three weeks later they arranged to meet in the toilet. From then on, the sisters from outside regularly came and brought the sisters working in the hotel Watchtowers and other publications, which were then sent on to Ravensbrück.

At the beginning of December 1942 an especially wonderful opportunity came for about forty brothers left in Wewelsburg to care for special work there. Although still treated as inmates, they enjoyed a certain amount of freedom, for there was no longer any electric barbed wire or sentry to keep them within the camp.

Brother Engelhardt was still free at the time and had issued instructions to brothers living nearby to try to find a way of getting Watchtowers into the camp. After overcoming several problems, Sandor Beier from Herford and Martha Tünker from Lemgo investigated the situation by simply taking a walk through the section like a young couple might do. They soon made contact with the brothers and regularly provided them with Watchtowers thereafter. The first time, they met the brothers in a cemetery at a certain grave; the next time, they hid the magazines in a strawstack, or delivered them to the brothers personally at midnight at some predetermined place. A new meeting place was arranged for each delivery. After Brother Engelhardt and the sisters that had produced and distributed the magazines were arrested, the question arose as to how those still in freedom would be supplied with spiritual food.

This time the brothers in Wewelsburg tried to find a solution themselves. They were able to get a typewriter, which one of the brothers used to write up stencils. Another brother constructed a primitive mimeograph machine out of wood. Sisters outside, with whom they still had contact, brought the brothers the necessary supplies for mimeographing. So many copies of The Watchtower were finally being produced here that a large section of northern Germany could be supplied. Elisabeth Ernsting remembers that she always received fifty copies to supply the territory for which she cared. Thus for almost two years, until the collapse of the regime in 1945, it was possible to provide the brothers living in Westfalen and other districts with The Watchtower.

The supply of spiritual food for the brothers and sisters inside concentration camps improved so greatly that by 1942 in Sachsenhausen it could be compared to a small stream. Sentenced to death shortly before the collapse of the Nazi regime but not executed, Brother Fritsche from Berlin was able over a period of one and a half years to provide the brothers, not only with all the new magazines, but also with a number of older issues, as well as all the books and booklets that had been released in the meantime. It was as though the brothers had been led to rich pastures, for every brother had a copy of one of the Society’s publications for study every evening. What a change! But that is not all. The organization operated so well that Brother Fritsche was able to forward letters to the brothers’ relatives, or letters into other camps or to foreign branches. Thus it was possible within one and a half years to smuggle out 150 letters, and nearly as many into the camp. The letters sent out testified to the brothers’ fine spiritual condition. Understandably, many copies of these letters were made. Some were even mimeographed and served as an encouragement to the brothers outside and especially for the relatives of those who were imprisoned.

THEOCRATIC UNITY BOLDLY DECLARED WITHIN THE CAMPS

All went fine for about one and a half years, until the fall of 1943, when Brother Fritsche was arrested. Reports about Sachsenhausen had been found during house searches that directed attention to him. The police found, not only Watchtowers and other publications in his possession, but also some letters from brothers that he was to deliver. The police, discovering that correspondence was being carried on on a nearly international scale, became suspicious of the camp leaders’ ability or willingness to discharge their obligations. Himmler, therefore, ordered an immediate search to be made of all the concentration camps under suspicion.

The campaign began at the end of April. One morning some of the officials of the Secret Police came to Sachsenhausen. The surprise attack upon the brothers had been well planned. Those working inside the camp were called from their places of work and told to stand in the courtyard, where they were questioned about the daily texts and frisked. Some publications were found. This was all accompanied by the usual beatings. But the Gestapo failed to get the brothers to retract, for Jehovah had richly nourished them in the midst of their enemies. They had a clear vision of their commission and did not fear to take their stand unitedly for theocratic rulership.

Ernst Seliger was known to be the connecting link to Brother Fritsche, so he was given special “attention.” He had endeavored to bind, not only the fleshly wounds, but also the spiritual ones, and his humble fatherly manner had greatly contributed to the unity enjoyed in this camp. But he was very much disturbed about the outcome of his first interrogations and prayed to Jehovah that He might turn his “defeat,” as he considered it, into a victory. But this was not to be a test for just one individual. Wilhelm Röger from Hilden describes the situation as follows: “Now it had to be ‘One for all and all for one!’” All the brothers verified Brother Seliger’s statement that he had passed out daily texts for their encouragement. They confirmed the fact that they had read the literature that Brother Seliger had brought into the camp and that they would continue to encourage one another and to speak about their hope in the future.

Four days passed. Sunday morning Brother Seliger appeared before the camp administration so they could take down the protocol. He describes his experiences: “First, I witnessed in three hospital rooms [where he worked as an assistant] . . . Then full of joy I went into the lions’ den. A doctor and a druggist were studying the letters we had illegally sent out of the camp. Two hours of heated debate followed. When the protocol was to be concluded the questioning officer said: ‘Seliger, what are you going to do now? Do you intend to continue writing daily texts and encouraging your brothers? And do you intend to continue preaching the message here in the camp among other prisoners?’ ‘Yes, that is exactly what I am going to do, and not only I, but also all of my brothers!’ . . . At 2:00 o’clock the interrogation was over and the declaration made in the name of all the brothers was presented to them, whereupon they all joyfully went into the preaching work”​—in the camp barracks.

The brothers recalled that it had been nearly ten years since October 7, 1934, when Hitler had been informed in a letter that Jehovah’s witnesses would not cease meeting together and preaching despite threats. Now after almost ten years the Gestapo realized that the fighting spirit of God’s people had still not been broken, regardless of whether inside or outside the concentration camps. The letters testified to this.

The Gestapo now checked the other concentration camps to see if the much proclaimed ‘theocratic unity’ prevailed there too. The next camp was Berlin-Lichterfelde, a branch camp of Sachsenhausen. Brother Paul Grossmann who served as contact man between Sachsenhausen and Lichterfelde later mentioned the investigation:

“On April 26, 1944, the Gestapo struck a new blow. At 10:00 o’clock that morning two Gestapo officers came to Lichterfelde to investigate me thoroughly as contact man between Sachsenhausen and Lichterfelde. They showed me two illegal letters I had written to brothers in Berlin. These letters clearly revealed our methods of operation. [We can see how unwise it is to write letters containing such information, because it is to be expected that sooner or later the officials will find them when making arrests or conducting searches.] The officials were thus informed about all organizational details and additionally that we had regularly received food from our ‘mother.’

“Despite turning everything upside down, all they found was a Watchtower. I had to stand at the gate while the other brothers were brought in from work. They were also searched and made to stand at the gate. This was a real sensation, since a big police raid like this had not been made for a long time. There were many beatings and abusive words during the questioning, and a few Watchtowers and texts were found. An extensive report about experiences in Sachsenhausen, a Bible and other papers were kept out of their hands. The brothers did not conceal the fact that they had been actively working for the interests of the Theocracy and had read The Watchtowers. We had to stand at the gate until 11:00 o’clock that night. In the meantime a police truck had arrived to transfer the twelve ringleaders to Sachsenhausen. This meant they were to be hanged. They had to turn in their spoons and dishes, and so forth. But the transfer did not materialize. Not on the following day either, although death announcements for the relatives had already been written up. There was a surprise on the third day. The twelve brothers were not executed, but were put back to work.”

The brothers in Lichterfelde were then required to sign a declaration stating: “I ------------, one of Jehovah’s witnesses, in the camp since ------------ profess belonging to the ‘theocratic unity’ that exists in the concentration camp Sachsenhausen. I have received daily texts and literature which I have read and passed on.” Everyone was more than happy to sign.

Similar police raids were carried on with the same results in other camps, one being conducted in Ravensbrück on May 4, 1944, because it was evident from the letters that contact was being made between Sachsenhausen and Ravensbrück. Severe measures were taken against the “ringleaders” in this camp. But before long the sisters were put back on their old jobs here, too, after requests had been made by the responsible heads of the departments. This was further proof that the tyrant’s power had by this time been fairly well broken.

Defeats suffered by the German army on the Eastern front in 1944 took so many lives that, not only old men and the Hitler youth were drawn into the war, but even prisoners were given an opportunity to prove themselves on the Eastern front. For this reason committees came to the camps and offered political prisoners the opportunity to join the demoted General Dirlewanger’s division. If they would prove themselves there, then they would be considered free Germans. It was interesting, however, that all the prisoners bearing a lilac triangle were always sent to their barracks before this offer was made to the others. They knew what answer they would receive from Jehovah’s witnesses and had, therefore, ceased asking them.

HURRIED EVACUATION OF THE CAMPS

In 1945, the unceasing rain of bombs from the American and English air forces by day and night and the retreat of the German army, which finally turned into open flight, indicated to everyone that the end of the second world war was near. The SS had quit displaying their lordship. That they were not in an enviable position can be appreciated when one remembers that hundreds of thousands in concentration camps were nervously awaiting liberation. These masses were unpredictable, yes, explosive material, which put many SS men in fear of the prisoners. But Himmler continued to follow his Führer’s commands and sent the following telegram to the commanders of Dachau and Flossenbürg: “Surrendering is out of the question. The camp is to be evacuated immediately. No prisoner is to fall into enemy hands alive. (Signed Heinrich Himmler)” Similar instructions were sent to the other camps.

This was the last devilish plan once again endangering the lives of God’s faithful servants held in the camps. But they were not overly worried. They rested their confidence in Jehovah, regardless of what the immediate outcome might be to them personally.

The SS officers who had the duty of liquidating the prisoners were faced with an unsolvable task. Brother Walter Hamann, who had been assigned to work in the SS canteen, overheard an interesting conversation among SS officers. He relates: “The officers spoke of gassing the prisoners, but the facilities were much too small, neither did they have enough gas. Then I overheard a telephone conversation about an oil shipment for the furnaces; but this could not be delivered. Mention was then made of blowing up the camps and their inmates. Boxes of dynamite had already been placed in the various barracks, especially in the hospital ward. But this plan was abandoned too. Finally, it was decided to evacuate the 30,000 prisoners; they were told that they would be sent to a larger camp​—which did not exist—​but in reality they were intending to provide us with a mass grave in Lübecker Bay. No gas, oil or dynamite would be needed for this.”

In the meantime the speed with which the Allied forces were approaching from east and west was increasing. The SS now began worrying about their own lives and became ever more confused, especially after the government’s decision to liquidate the camps had become known. Faced with insurmountable problems, they simply drove the prisoners out onto the roads and made them march off with very little food supplies. Anyone later following the route of these marches, which were correctly labeled “death marches,” would notice that all were directed to the same destination. Their goal was to get them to Lübecker Bay, or to the open sea in the north, where they could then be put on ships and sunk before the enemy forces arrived.

Soon there was no food left and, at times, not even a drop of water. Nonetheless, the starving prisoners were forced to march all day long for days on end in pouring rain with an average temperature of only 4 degrees Centigrade (40 degrees Fahrenheit). At night they were permitted to lie down in the woods on the rain-soaked ground. Those unable to keep up with the prescribed speed were mercilessly shot in the neck by the SS rear guard. The extent of the loss of life on these marches can be seen from the example of Sachsenhausen. Of 26,000 prisoners still alive at the time of evacuation, 10,700 were left lying along the road from Sachsenhausen to Schwerin, shot to death.

The few brothers left at Mauthausen were also in a dangerous position. Large tunnels had been dug into the mountain in which the feared “V-2” rockets were built. One day one of the tunnels was closed off and mines were placed in it. The plan was to fake an air raid, thereby driving the 18,000 prisoners into the tunnel, which could then be blown up. But the camp administration was taken by surprise by the rapid advance of the Russian tanks, and the SS preferred to leave the prisoners on their own and to try to save their own lives, if possible. But they did not make it very far. Only a few days later the camp commander, who was known for having said: ‘I only want to see death certificates,’ was recognized by prisoners and trampled to death. Political prisoners now sought revenge upon their fellow prisoners who, as camp elders, block elders and foremen, had brought much bloodguilt upon themselves.

The death march of the inmates from Dachau led through forests, and those unable to keep up were shot by the SS. Their goal was the Ötztaler Alps, where all who finally reached their destination were to have been shot anyhow. The brothers kept together and helped one another, thus keeping some from being killed until they reached Bad Tölz, where they were freed. Brother Ropelius remembers that they spent the last night under a blanket of snow in the forest of Waalkirchen. As day dawned the Bavarian State Police came and told them they were free and that the SS had fled. As they continued their journey they found weapons leaning up against the trees but no SS men.

The SS took seriously the government’s orders to liquidate all prisoners. Just a few days before the capitulation, groups were put together in Neuengamme and put aboard a freighter that was to take them out to the ‘Cap Arcona,’ a luxury steamship, which was lying anchored in Neustadter Bay. Some 7,000 prisoners were already on this 200-meter-long ship. The SS planned on sailing the ‘Cap Arcona’ out into the open sea where they could then sink it with the prisoners. But the ship was still flying its flag and was therefore sunk on May 3, 1945, by English fighter planes. The freighter ‘Thielbeck,’ with between 2,000 and 3,000 prisoners on board, also went under. Some 9,000 prisoners went into a wet grave in Neustadter Bay. It is understandable why survivors shudder when recalling this event. To this day twelve to seventeen skeletons of these drowned prisoners are found yearly at the Neustadter beach by bathers and during digging operations.

The same fate had been determined for the prisoners in Sachsenhausen, including 220 brothers. In a murderous march they covered approximately 200 kilometers in two weeks.

The Witnesses had early recognized the danger that was threatening, so they had repaired their shoes and gathered together a few small carts to transport the meager belongings of the weakest ones, whom they then placed on top. Otherwise these brothers, had they had to walk the entire way, would have been among the more than 10,000 dead. But in this way the brothers who were physically not quite as bad off could pull them along. On the way others were put on the carts when their strength gave out. After a few days of rest, when they had regained enough strength, they would take their turn at pulling the carts again. Thus even during this death march they all remained together as a large family, enjoying Jehovah’s protection down to the end.

Then one afternoon when this group of fleeing prisoners was only three days’ journey from Lübeck, the SS ordered everyone to set up camp in a forest near Schwerin. During the trek the brothers had formed small groups and made makeshift tents out of their blankets. The floor they had covered with small branches so as to ward off the coolness of the night. That night while Russian bullets whistled over their heads and the Americans continued to advance, this part of the German front collapsed. It was an indescribable feeling for those present when suddenly in the midst of the night a call rang out, reechoed thousands of times: “WE ARE FREE!” The approximately 2,000 SS men who until then had been in command of the prisoners had secretly doffed their uniforms so as to appear to be civilians, some even putting on prisoner uniforms to conceal their identity. A few hours later some of them were recognized, however, and mercilessly slaughtered.

Should the brothers accept the offer of the American officers who had now reached them, and break camp in the middle of the night? After prayerfully considering the matter, they decided to wait until sunrise. But even then they stayed a few more hours, since a farmer among the refugees had given the brothers two hundred pounds of peas. A wonderful meal was cooked and eaten. Oh, how appreciative the brothers were! For nearly two weeks they had had practically nothing except a little tea, which they gathered along the way and made in the evenings in the woods when water was available.

How thankful they were when they discovered that not one of them was missing! But, as they later realized, they had still another reason to be thankful to Jehovah, for during their march toward the north they had once been detained by the SS in a forest for several days since they were unsure as to just where the front was. These few days were just the amount of time they would have needed to reach Lübeck before the front finally collapsed.

Now they were no longer in any great hurry to continue on. Right there in this forest near Schwerin they began to write up a report of their experiences on a typewriter that soldiers had thrown out of a mobile office. This report included a resolution written up with the indescribable feeling of having been free for several hours, but also with appreciation for Jehovah’s protection during the many years of their stay in the “lions’ den” deeply impressed upon their minds. This is the resolution:

RESOLUTION!

“May 3, 1945

“The resolution of 230 of Jehovah’s witnesses from six nationalities, gathered in a forest near Schwerin in Mecklenburg.

“We witnesses of Jehovah gathered here, send heartfelt greetings to the faithful covenant people of Jehovah and their companions throughout the entire world in the words of Psalm 33:1-4 and Ps 37:9. Let it be known that our great God, whose name is Jehovah, has fulfilled his word to his people, especially in the territory of the King of the North. A long hard period of testing lies behind us and those who have been preserved, snatched as it were from the fiery furnace, do not even have the smell of fire on them. (See Daniel 3:27.) To the contrary, they are full of strength and power from Jehovah and are eagerly awaiting new commands from the King to further Theocratic interests. Our resolve and our willingness to work are expressed in Isaiah 6:8 and Jeremiah 20:11 (Menge translation). Thanks to the Lord’s assistance and his gracious support, the enemy’s designs to cause us to break our integrity have failed, even though he attempted this by employing innumerable violent devilish schemes as well as thousands of inquisitional practices right out of the Middle Ages, both physical and mental, and many flatteries and enticements. All of these varied experiences that would fill many volumes are briefly described in the words of the apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 6:4-10; 2 Corinthians 11:26, 27 and, above all, in Psalm 124 (Elberfelder translation). Satan and his demonized agents have once again been marked as liars. (John 8:44) The great issue has once again been decided in Jehovah’s favor to his honor.​—Job 1:9-11.

“To our and your joy may you know that the Lord, Jehovah, has blessed us with rich spoils, thirty-six men of goodwill, who upon our leaving Sachsenhausen . . . voluntarily declared: ‘We will go with you people, for we have heard that God is with you people.’ Zechariah 8:23 has been fulfilled! Because of our hurried exit, many friends of the Theocracy were unable to join us, but Jehovah will direct matters so that they will soon find their way back to us.

“We, Jehovah’s witnesses, declare anew our complete faith in Jehovah and our complete dedication to his Theocracy.

“We solemnly promise that we have only one desire, namely, in view of our deep appreciation for the endless chain of evidences of his marvelous preservation and his deliverances of us from the thousands of difficulties, conflicts and afflictions during our stay in the lions’ den, that we be permitted to serve Jehovah and his great King, Christ Jesus, with willing and joyful hearts for all eternity. That would be in itself our greatest reward.

“We conclude our resolution with the words of Psalm 48 in the joyful conviction of an early reunion.

“Your fellow servants for Jehovah’s holy name.”

Thus, after first expressing their thankfulness to Jehovah for his undeserved kindness, for his protection and now also for their restored freedom, the brothers broke camp. Although between 900 and 1,000 prisoners had died on that first night of freedom, the brothers reached Schwerin completely unscathed. Since the bridges across the Elbe River had been destroyed, however, they were unable to leave for two to three months. They found accommodations in the stables of an army barracks where they were able to mimeograph Watchtowers and have a Watchtower study every morning to prepare themselves spiritually for the work ahead. At the same time they took up the field ministry again, although circumstances forced them to do so in their prison uniforms. Finally they were able to continue their travels westward, once again to get in touch with relatives and to see what could be done in reorganizing the Kingdom work.

A RECORD OF INTEGRITY

This report has endeavored to reconstruct an important phase in the modern-day history of Jehovah’s people. But only a small portion of the interesting things that brothers and sisters in Germany experienced during the National Socialistic rule of terror could be related. Many, many books would be necessary to report on everything that happened because the Witnesses held fast to true worship and upheld Jehovah’s name. May the individual experiences that have been related speak for the many that would also have been worthy of mention, not that humans, but, rather, Jehovah, should be praised and honored thereby. He it was who took steps at the right time to deliver his people as a group, even though he permitted many of them to lay down their lives for his holy name.

Anyone who spoke with those freed from tyranny in 1945 recalls how often they unitedly praised Jehovah in the words of Psalm 124. They reflected on the wonderful Watchtower articles that had appeared at the outset of the persecution, with which Jehovah had prepared them for that difficult time. Now they understood what Jesus meant when he said they should not fear those who can destroy the body. They knew what it meant to be thrown into a fiery furnace or, like Daniel, into a lions’ den. But they also realized that Jehovah is mightier, making their foreheads harder than those of their enemies. Even outsiders recognize this and it is often emphasized when historians speak of this part of Germany’s history. For example, Michael H. Kater in his Zeitgeschichte (History Quarterly), 1969, pamphlet 2:

“The ‘Third Reich’ knew how to deal with internal resistance only with brutal force and even then was unable to overcome the forces of rebellion among the German people, and was unable to master the problem of the Earnest Bible Students from 1933 to 1945. The witnesses of Jehovah emerged from their period of persecution in 1945 weakened but not broken in spirit.”

Also in a review of the book Kirchenkampf in Deutschland (Fight of the Churches in Germany), by Friedrich Zipfel, we read:

“Hardly an analysis has been made or a book of memoirs written about the concentration camps in which there is not a description of the strong faith, the diligence, helpfulness and the fanatical martyrdom of the Earnest Bible Students. This in contrast to opposition literature in general which was written before the fight Jehovah’s witnesses had before their imprisonment and which mentions them not at all or just in passing. The activity and persecution of the Bible Students is, however, a very strange case. Ninety-seven percent of the members of this small religious group were victims of National Socialistic persecution. One third of them were killed, either by execution, other violent acts, hunger, sickness or slave labor. The severity of this subjection was without precedent and was the result of uncompromising faith which could not be harmonized with National Socialistic ideology.”

How humiliated now was the Führer of the defeated German Reich! Göbbels had said of him on December 31, 1944: “If the world really knew what he would like to tell and give it and how deep his love is for his own people and for all of mankind, then it would immediately leave its false gods and praise him . . . a man whose purpose it has been to deliver his people. . . . Never has a false word or a debased thought passed his lips. He is truth itself.” But this man who sought to be a god committed suicide.

How humiliated too were those who had put their trust in him​—for example, Himmler, who also considered Hitler to be a divinity and who was unscrupulous in carrying out his commands. It was Himmler who had made life for Jehovah’s faithful servants so very difficult for many years. For how much spilled blood must he take the responsibility? In 1937 he braggingly told our sisters in Lichtenburg: “You too will capitulate, we will cut you down to size, we will hold out longer than you!” And how depressed he was after the collapse of the Nazi regime when he was fleeing and met Brother Lübke at Harzwalde and asked him: “Well, Bible Student, what happens now?” Brother Lübke gave him a thorough witness and showed that Jehovah’s witnesses had always reckoned with the collapse of the Nazi regime and with their deliverance. Himmler turned away without a word, and shortly thereafter poisoned himself.

But despite the hard conditions, how those who worshiped Jehovah rejoiced! They had been privileged to prove their integrity to the Sovereign Ruler of the universe. During Hitler’s rule 1,687 of them had lost their jobs, 284 their businesses, 735 their homes and 457 were not allowed to carry on their trade. In 129 cases their property had been confiscated, 826 pensioners had been refused their pensions and 329 others had suffered other personal loss. There were 860 children who had been taken away from their parents. In 30 cases marriages had been dissolved due to pressure by political officials, and in 108 cases divorces had been granted when requested by mates opposed to the truth. A total of 6,019 had been arrested, several two, three or even more times, so that, all together, 8,917 arrests were registered. All together they had been sentenced to serve 13,924 years and two months in prison, two and a quarter times as long as the period since Adam’s creation. A total of 2,000 brothers and sisters had been put into concentration camps, where they had spent 8,078 years and six months, an average of four years. A total of 635 had died in prison, 253 had been sentenced to death and 203 of these had actually been executed. What a record of integrity!

RECONSTRUCTION BEGINS

Immediately after the war, the brothers in the Swiss Bethel were the only ones who had contact with the German brothers. They, having heard of certain undesirable tendencies that existed in many congregations even after the release of the brothers from the camps, sent the following circular to the congregations.

“To all our beloved fellow servants in Germany

Dear Brethren in Christ,

“At last you are free from the Nazi yoke!​—Some of you have suffered for years, either in prison or in concentration camps or by other types of persecution. . . .

“No one, however, who was considered worthy of special suffering for the Lord’s name will become conceited about this and wear a martyr’s halo or exalt himself above others who were not in prison or concentration camps. No one should brag to his fellow humans about his sufferings. Do not forget that many of the brethren who remained at home also had many problems and were under severe pressures. A Christian cannot choose his sufferings. The Lord determines or, rather, permits them.

“For this reason, dear brethren, let us not be unfair and take sides nor let us condemn anyone, who, according to our way of thinking, has compromised or