• Estonia
    2011 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses

    • DARK CLOUDS ON THE HORIZON

      The mid-1930’s were turbulent times. Because of the pressure from Nazi Germany and the Catholic Church, the booklet Righteous Ruler was confiscated in January 1935.

      In the same year, the Minister of the Interior closed down the Watch Tower Society in Estonia, confiscated the literature, and placed a lien on its property. Although much literature was already hidden, some 76,000 pieces were confiscated. This setback did not stop the work, though. Much to the brothers’ surprise and joy, the contents of two confiscated brochures were published in two leading newspapers that had a combined circulation of 100,000. Despite the loss of literature, Jehovah’s name received more publicity than it would have if the brothers had distributed the brochures.

      In the meantime, the preaching work continued, and office activities were resumed. Quite a number of books continued to be confiscated in the following years. Hellin Aaltonen was working in the branch when one of the raids took place.

      “Three young policemen came primarily to confiscate the booklet Millions Now Living Will Never Die!” recalls Sister Aaltonen, “but we had none. They pulled all the books off the shelves and threw them in a heap on the floor. Brother Baxter couldn’t do a single thing, as they were watching him very closely. But I started tidying up after the police and discreetly went to Brother Baxter’s desk to check if there were any papers there that the policemen should not see. I noticed a letter with all the publishers’ names and their addresses. I dropped it into a bin in the corner. When the police started to load the books into boxes, the officer in charge arrogantly grabbed a box and jerked it away so violently that he broke his own arm! The police hastily left to take him to the hospital, allowing us time to sort through the boxes before they returned.”

      “The policemen returned,” continues Brother Baxter, “and while the removal was going on, I caught sight of one of them putting a copy of the Deliverance book in the large pocket of his overcoat. I have often wondered how many more books were taken and read by those men.”