Jehovah's Witnesses Endurance of Persecution in Nazi Germany

In modern day, Jehovah's Witnesses freely carry out their religious activities and preaching campaigns throughout much of Russia and the former Soviet Union. But it was not always so. For much of the 20th century, the Nazi regime under the direction of Adolph Hitler, as well as the mighty Soviet government, both were resolute in their determination to stamp out Jehovah's Witnesses as an organization.

Why were the Witnesses targeted in this way? How have the Witnesses not only endured, but prospered in communist lands where freedom of religion has been a historically fractious and unmanageable liberty?

As a worldwide religious organization, Jehovah's Witnesses are well-known for their firm adherence to God's Word, the Bible. This often calls for courage, as Witnesses at times must take a stand against God-dishonoring practices or matters of state that may be in disharmony with the dictates of their bible trained conscience.

In these matters, Witnesses follow the precedent set by Peter and the other first century Apostles of Christ, who, when ordered by the Sanhedrin court to cease the spreading of "The Way" about Jerusalem and nearby lands, boldly stated, "We must obey God as ruler rather than men." (Acts 5:29)

However, the Witnesses are also well respected and recognized for their reverence and esteem for law, order and governmental authority. They have never been a seedbed of insurrection, and never will be. One won't find Witnesses of Jehovah partaking in political rallies, picketing governmental offices, staging public protests or in any way participating in any type or anarchist or radical anti-religious or governmental movements.

The courageous Christian stand of Jehovah's Witnesses in Germany and other lands dominated by Adolf Hitler is a matter of record, and serves as a reminder that no man or organization can immobilize the doing of God's will. History recognizes that only a few groups pluckily stood up and spoke out against the Nazi terror. Among them were Jehovah's Witnesses, a tiny island of resistance amidst the sea of a horrific regime.

The Witnesses have been active in Germany for more than 100 years. By the end of 1932, there were about 25,000 Witnesses worshiping Jehovah God and distributing Bible literature throughout Germany. Despite these early freedoms, Jehovah's Witnesses were often frequently targeted by defamation campaigns, launched primarily by religious opponents. Undaunted, the Witnesses continued in the Bible's directive, as given by Christ, to preach the good news about the Kingdom of God to all peoples. (Matthew 28:19,20)

On January 30, 1933, Adolf Hitler was appointed as Germany's new chancellor. In the beginning, the government under Hitler concealed its violent and extremist nature. Hence, the Witnesses, along with millions of other Germans, viewed the National Socialist Party as a legitimate ruling authority of the time and were hopeful that the government would realize that the Witnesses were a peaceable, law-abiding Christian group that posed no subversive threat to the State.

However, it quickly became apparent that Jehovah's Witnesses were to be among the first targets of brutal Nazi suppression. The Witnesses were falsely branded as accomplices in an alleged Bolshevik-Jewish conspiracy, and were uneasily seen as a potential international source of revolution against the Communist Party.

On the German home front, they notably opposed the rampant racism that rued the day, refused to deify Hitler by giving the Heil salute, and followed the Bible's counsel to be "no part of the world" by declining to sign any party card that identified them as a member of the National Socialist Party. (John 15:19) Furthermore, under no circumstances would they participate in the war.

To this day, no legitimate Witness of Jehovah will EVER take up arms against their fellow man. They thus show they are living up to what Jesus said would be an identifying mark of true Christians. "By this, all will know that you are my disciples," Jesus said, "if you have love among yourselves." (John 13:34,35)

As a result, the Witnesses endured threats, interrogations, house searches, beatings and other harassment by the police and Hitler's Sturmabteilung, or military storm troopers. On April 24, 1933, officials seized and shut down the Watch Tower office in Magdeburg, Germany. After a thorough search yielded no incriminating evidence, and under pressure from the U.S. State Department, the police returned the property. By May 1933 however, the Witnesses were banned in several German states.

Meanwhile, Hitler portrayed himself as a champion of Christianity. Of course, while Hitler was making public appearances in the Roman Catholic Churches, he was surreptitiously carrying on atrocities against Jews, Jehovah's Witnesses and others.

Concerned over the rising tensions in Germany, Joseph F. Rutherford, then president of the Watch Tower Society, organized a campaign to inform Chancellor Hitler and his ruling party, as well as the public, that Jehovah's Witnesses posed no threat to the German people and the State. A convention was organized at Wilmersdorfer Tennishallen in Berlin, where 7,000 Witness delegates bravely met, unknowingly under ban, and adopted a public resolution entitled "Declaration of Facts." In part it read:

"We are wrongfully charged before the ruling powers of this government...We do respectfully ask the rulers of the nation and the people to give a fair and impartial consideration to the statement of facts here made... We have no fight with any persons or religious teachers, but we must call attention to the fact that it is generally those who claim to represent God and Christ Jesus who are in fact our persecutors and who misrepresent us before the governments."

Despite the Witnesses' best efforts to demonstrate their peaceful and neutral positions, they endured great suffering in concentration camps located throughout the territories under totalitarian dictatorship. According to historians, some 10,000 Witnesses were imprisoned, hundreds of whom died via execution, starvation or torture. But their sprit could not be broken. Very few, if any, signed away their faith in order to alleviate their suffering. They would not compromise, despite inhumane treatment. They would not stop their zealous preaching, despite efforts to relocate them into remote isolation. For decades, the Witnesses endured such persecution. Death over disobedience was their mantra. The "Purple Triangle" that was stitched onto their prison jumpsuits identified them as who they were, and has become known as a symbol of courage and faith.

On three nights in early April 1951, thousands of Jehovah's Witnesses from Ukraine, Moldavia and the Baltic lands, men, women and children alike, were loaded into boxcars and exiled to Siberia. The result? Because the Witnesses could not be silenced, the Truth was spread out to lands that had previously been closed. As the overcrowded rail cars passed one another, the Witnesses could even be heard singing Kingdom songs that are still used today in their worship. One such song was even written during this trying period in their history. Their bodies may have been wasting away, but their character and zeal remained strong. A tribute to the True God Jehovah.

During 1933, the very year that a concordat between the Vatican and Nazi Germany was signed, Hitler launched his campaign to annihilate Jehovah's Witnesses in Germany. Since that time, Hitler and his party are long gone. But Jehovah's Witnesses are ever growing, both in Russia and in close to 300 other lands worldwide. They have followed the command to "obey God as ruler rather than men," and Jehovah has blessed them in their efforts.

Jehovah's Witnesses have experienced first hand what Christ prepared his disciples for. "If they have persecuted me, they will persecute you also." (John 15:20) The triumph of Jehovah's Witnesses over persecution in Russia is an achievement of God's spirit, a demonstration of the power for good resulting from the faith that God's holy spirit produces in humble Christians. (Galatians 5:22, 23) In today's violent world, that is a lesson that we all should take to heart.