However, the brothers were determined to move ahead with the work, and they made good use of a printing press they received from Australia. (Acts 4:20) Describing one of their strategies, Jean Deschamp related: “Whenever we printed a new booklet or magazine, we had to submit a copy to the authorities for approval. We printed and distributed the publication early in the week. Then, at the end of the week, we took a copy to the attorney general’s office. When the publication was rejected, we shook our heads sadly and then hurried back to the printery to print the next publication.”

Printing Under Pressure

When World War II engulfed Europe, literature shipments from the Netherlands to Indonesia dried up. However, the brothers had seen trouble coming and prudently arranged for a commercial company to print the magazines in Jakarta. The first issue of Consolation (now Awake!) in Indonesian appeared in January 1939, and The Watchtower in Indonesian was released soon afterward. The brothers then bought a small press and began printing the magazines themselves. In 1940, they received a larger flatbed press from Australia with which they printed booklets and magazines in Indonesian and in Dutch, covering the expenses out of their own pockets.

Finally, on July 28, 1941, the authorities banned all of the Watch Tower Society’s publications. Jean Deschamp recalled: “I was typing in the office one morning when the doors flung open and in marched three policemen and a senior Dutch official in full regalia​—medals, white gloves, dress sword, and plumed hat. We were not surprised. Three days earlier we had received inside information that our publications would soon be banned. The pompous official read a lengthy proclamation and then demanded to be taken to the printery to seal our press. But my husband told him that he was too late. The press had been sold the day before!”