Information March

The year 1945 started with vigorous public activity. On January 6, Brother Harteva gave a talk on the theme “Toward the Light” in the Exhibition Hall in Helsinki. Nevertheless, larger premises were needed. And so the Olympic Stadium was rented for the public talk, which was widely advertised not only in the newspapers but also on the streets.

Under Brother Salavaara’s direction, a procession of Witnesses carrying placards was organized that was more than a quarter of a mile long [0.5 km]. Picture this: Through the streets of Helsinki march the Witnesses shouting slogans into hand-held cardboard megaphones, followed by a cavalcade of sound cars announcing the Kingdom message. And first in line is Elis Salminen riding a big brown horse, waving a banner with the words: “Jehovah’s Witnesses.” What a sight! What a witness!

The horse was afraid of the slogan signs and was about to bolt when, as Salminen remembers, “one of the many photographers came and took a picture of me and said: ‘It ought to be an ass. That’s what Jesus rode.’” The procession wended its way along the main thoroughfares of the capital city for a few miles and finally stopped at the railway station, where the Witnesses formed a united front and shouted in unison the invitation to the public talk. Altogether 12,000 arrived at the stadium to listen!

[Picture on page 176]

An information march in Helsinki advertising a public talk, April 1945