What happened to Jehovah's Witnesses During the Holocaust

[Sequoia]

https://www.jw.org/en/jehovahs-witnesses/faq/jw-holocaust-facts-concentration-camps/

 

On www.jw.org

 

  I didn't know anyone under 18 was executed I knew that there was at least one 17 year old besides the one they mention on jw.org that died but not by execution.  I read about another 17 year old that died that was a Witness on the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's website Willibald Wohlfahrt.

 

https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10006186

 

Edited June 4, 2018 by JW2017

[Brian Warner]

The bible students were not targeted on a basis of ethnicity like the Jews or gypsies were. Rather, it was because of their resolute stance to remain neutral in politics. Something that didnt sit well with the Nazi regime. There were executions of bible students in concentration camps, but also I've heard and read of accounts that bible students were known among Nazi staff and officers for their honesty and non-violence. As such, they were given trusted positions such as cooks, barbers and even shaving gestapo officers with a straight razor.

[Tortuga]

24 minutes ago, Brian Warner said:

 

Welcome to JWT!

 

The 1974 Yearbook has a lot of information about the friends in Germany.

Edited June 6, 2018 by Tortuga

[Guri]

7 hours ago, Tortuga said:

Welcome to JWT!

 

The 1974 Yearbook has a lot of information about the friends in Germany.

Thank you brother, I didn’t know that. I will look at it. 

 

It always encourages me when I read the true stories of our brothers and sister what they faced in Germany. If not Jehovah’s backing, no witness could have survived. 

 

How Jehovah could have felt watching his loyal servants, ordinary men and women kept their integrity for Jehovah! 

 

I feel sometimes very little when I see the big feith of those showed manly spirit and strong faith whilst persecuted by Hitler’s regime. I feel so privileged to bear Jehovah’s holy name. ❤️

Edited June 7, 2018 by Guri
Clarification

[jwhess]

Reading about the faith of our young ones reminded me of an experience of many years ago.  I can't locate the reference (but I think it was in Australia).  A young witness boy (7-8 years old) went to spend some time with his grandmother who was not a witness.  For lunch one day she served 'black-sausages'.  These were not the blood-sausage type but they looked similar.  The young brother said he could not eat them because of the blood.  The grandmother was offended and angry and urged him to eat his lunch.  The boy refused.  The upset grandmother told him that he would eat them if he was starving!  The boy told her, "I wouldn't eat them if heaven fell on me."  I have always remembered the experience.  I think it was reported about 30 or more years ago.

[Raven]

On 6/7/2018 at 8:33 AM, Brian Warner said:

The bible students were not targeted on a basis of ethnicity like the Jews or gypsies were. Rather, it was because of their resolute stance to remain neutral in politics. Something that didnt sit well with the Nazi regime. There were executions of bible students in concentration camps, but also I've heard and read of accounts that bible students were known among Nazi staff and officers for their honesty and non-violence. As such, they were given trusted positions such as cooks, barbers and even shaving gestapo officers with a straight razor.

I appreciate this comment about the victims of the holocaust, however I feel the need mention something about terminology that many are unaware of...Actually the term "Gypsies" is not liked among most people of the Romani nation, and they generally won't identify with it. It is even considered to be a racial slur. At the very least, it represents misinformation, as it suggest that the origins of the Romani are from Egypt, when actually they are originally from the Indus river region (Pakistan and parts of India), but more importantly, the term has come to be associated with negativity and prejudice (Romaphobia/Anti-Romani sentiment), due to how it has been used over time in a largely negative way.

Regarding the holocaust (the Porajmos), you might find it interesting that members of at least three different tribes of the Romani nation were victims, the Roma, Sinti, and Lovari tribes. Unfortunately, even when they remember the Roma tribe, the Sinti and Lovari and usually forgotten (especially the Lovari).

[jwhess]

And not everyone was targeted because of race.  The mentally challenged, homosexuals, political opposers and others were singled out as well.  It was a difficult time to be different. As God's neutral people, we certainly stood out.

 

Attached is a short list.  On a German posters I counted at least 24 categories.

 

Edited June 13, 2018 by jwhess
changed pdf to jpg

[retroHelen]

An island off Britain was invaded and taken over by the Nazis - Jersey. There were Jehovah's Witnesses among the population. The father of our previous Co-ordinator/ Presiding Overseer was only 26 and a new JW.

 

Before our elder went away to serve as a pioneer elder in Hong Kong, a few years ago, he told us his family's story.

 

Under occupation by the Nazis, all families of JWs were assigned a German soldier to guard them and escort them if they left their home. Our elder's father Witnessed to the guard assigned to their family and over time this decent friendly young soldier began to respond. This led to both his father and the guard being arrested. They were both taken to the harbour and put on a ship to be sent to prison in Germany.

 

Our elder told us that he was only 7 years old when he last saw his father being put on that ship hand-cuffed. He, as a litttle boy,  kept going down to the harbour when he saw a ship coming in - just in case they had brought his father back - but he never saw his father again.

 

The Nazis treated his mother badly. She was put to hard labour working in the fields. Jersey has very fertile farmland - even today grows the best Jersey potatoes and tomatoes. She endured this labouring in all kinds of weather and long hours for a couple of years, but the regime was difficult, worshipping openly and in groups was banned and an opportunity arose to escape by boat to UK mainland, so our elder, still a boy, left with his mother and on reaching the mainland,  made their way to Bedford where brothers and sisters took them in and cared for them.

 

Years later he wrote to where he thought his father may have been sent in Germany. He found out that his father was due to be executed by the Germans in the prison, but the prison and much of the city was bombed in raids by the British RAF and his father was killed in one of those bombing raids.

Edited June 25, 2018 by retroHelen

[Qapla]

Thanks for that experience,Helen.

 

Most of us do not readily think of those outside Germany having to deal with the Nazi treatment of JW's.