Need help: JW and Crystal Night 1938

by Atreyu 16 Replies latest social current

  • sf
  • dungbeetle
    dungbeetle

    I found this in the 'proclaimers' book. pg 448:

    <On December 12, 1936, just a few months after the Gestapo had arrested thousands of the Witnesses and other interested persons in a nationwide effort to stop their work, the Witnesses themselves conducted a campaign. With lightning speed they put tens of thousands of copies of a printed resolution in mailboxes and under the doors of people throughout Germany. These protested the cruel treatment being meted out to their Christian brothers and sisters. Within an hour after the distribution began, the police were racing around trying to catch the distributors, but they laid their hands on only about a dozen in the entire country.>

    page 449

    <So, on June 20, 1937, the Witnesses who were still free distributed another message, an open letter that was unsparing in its detail about the persecution, a document that named officials and cited dates and places. Great was the consternation among the Gestapo over this exposure and over the ability of the Witnesses to achieve such a distribution.>

    and this real gem:

    <Finally, in October 1934, congregations of Jehovahs Witnesses throughout Germany sent registered letters to the government stating clearly that they had no political objectives but that they were determined to obey God as ruler.>

    bwahahahahahahahaha now go back and read what Nathan Natas said was REALLY in that letter...<gag> <choke> <puke>

  • dungbeetle
    dungbeetle

    A couple of things I want to make clear here...

    I had this long (for him) conversation with Kent of Watchtower Observer, and I mentioned that I doubt that I would have done any better under those circumstances. Would I have spoken up on behalf of gays, and Jews, and Gypsies? I doubt it; I likely would have convinced myself that it was all temporary and would go away or some such thng. Kent replied that "That's not the point." We decided that by lying and misrepresenting what the JW's really did during those times is an insult to otherwise brave people. In addition, by lying about the Witnesses today, it subjects them to so much more criticism. And Watchtower does all this to save itself. Watchtower/Rutherford betrayed the German Witnesses then and Watchtower betrays them today.

    And another thing; I don't doubt for one moment that JW's helped their neighbors in any number of ways. The literature quoted here is American JW's, this literature represents only a tiny fraction of world-wide JW's and doesn't represent the German JW's AT ALL. During Sept 11, individual JW's did step forth to help some of the terrorist victims, and I don't doubt that they did it in Germany as well. In 'Facing the Lion' the writer documents some of her experiences in helping non-Witnesses in the face of danger (at least I THINK so)...I think it is odd Watchtower doesn't quote REAL examples like that.

    Things that make you go hmmm...

  • TheOldHippie
    TheOldHippie

    If you take a look at the 1938 Watchtowers and Golden Ages (or was it Consolation?), you will find news rports dealing with the Crystal Night and protests against what happened. I don't think Bergman and the various 1934 Yearbook references etc. are relevant to what happened in 1938. The CD-Rom will not cover it, because it covers the 1950-onwards Watchtowers and the 1960-onwards Awakes. If you manage to acquire the original 30s Watchtowers, you will see the articles dealing with this.

  • Atreyu
    Atreyu

    OldHippie,

    I don't have access to older magazines than the '50-ies. Can anyone help with relevant quotes?

    I belive that that the brochure "Facism and Freedom", which contains Rutherfords speech of October 2, 1938, will have at least a few passages condemning the nazi persecution of jews. But this speech was a month before the Crystal Night.

  • dungbeetle
    dungbeetle

    I have the talk "Facism or Freedom" on a cd, but it's 24 megs. I will try and break it down and then upload it, y'all can listen for yourselves.

  • Atreyu
    Atreyu

    dungbeetle,

    Please tell us where we can find it, when it's there.

Share this

Google+
Pinterest
Reddit