Would Zinaida Portnova Have Made a Good XJW Activist?

by Sea Breeze 8 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

  • Sea Breeze
    Sea Breeze

    Meet 17 year old Zinaida Portnova:

    Zinaida Portnova

    She killed over a hundred Nazis in a food poisoning incident.

    From Wikipedia:

    In 1943, Portnova became employed as a kitchen aide in Obol. In August, she poisoned the food meant for the Nazi garrison stationed there. Immediately falling suspect, she said she was innocent and ate some of the food in front of the Nazis to prove it was not poisoned; after she did not fall ill immediately, they released her. Portnova became sick afterwards, vomiting heavily but eventually recovering from the poison after drinking much whey.

    After she did not return to work, the Germans realized she had been the culprit and started searching for her. To avoid the Germans, she became a scout of the partisan unit named after Kliment Voroshilov.[2] In a letter sent to her parents back in besieged Leningrad that month, she wrote that she is "in a partisan detachment. Together with you, we beat the Nazi occupiers".[Note 1][1] In October 1943, Portnova joined the VLKSM.[2]

    In December 1943 or January 1944, Portnova was sent back to Obol to infiltrate the garrison, discover the reason for the recent Young Avengers failures,[1] then locate and contact the remaining members. She was quickly captured. Reports of her escape vary. One is that, during Gestapo interrogation in the village of Goriany, she took the investigator's pistol off the table, then shot and killed him. When two German soldiers entered after hearing the gunshots, she shot them as well. She then attempted to escape the compound and ran into the woods, where she was caught near the banks of a river.[3]

    Another version is that the Gestapo interrogator, in a fit of rage, threw his pistol to the table after threatening to shoot her. Taking the pistol, Portnova shot him. Escaping through the door, she shot a guard in the corridor, then another in the courtyard. After the pistol misfired when Portnova attempted to shoot a guard blocking her access to the street, she was captured.[1]

    After being recaptured, Portnova was tortured, possibly for information.[1] She was later driven into the forest and executed[3] or killed during torture on 15 January 1944.[1]

  • TTWSYF
    TTWSYF

    A very brave girl!

  • Sea Breeze
    Sea Breeze

    Indeed she was. They probably wouldn't want her working in food service at WT head quarters.

  • NotFormer
    NotFormer

    "They probably wouldn't want her working in food service at WT head quarters."

    That's probably why the Bethel brothers always ate the same meals as each other. I wonder if that ever came up as a discussion amongst leadership during the Rutherford era?

  • Sea Breeze
    Sea Breeze

    I'm curious as to what people think: If the GB members all fell victum to a horrible food poisoning incident, do you think the organization could survive as is, or would it take the occasion to change some of the harsher policies ??

  • NotFormer
    NotFormer

    I doubt that there would be a mass extinction event for the GB. They would exercise basic precautions to prevent such thing, like eating separately, travelling on different planes etc. Their meetings are probably on zoom, rather than in person. In their position, a healthy level of paranoia is probably wise.

    Edited: I know I cancelled out my first post in this thread, but there can be different approaches to the same problem. Making sure that everyone eats the same food may prevent one of them from poisoning the food supply. Eating separately ensures that at least some will survive an attempt.

  • TonusOH
    TonusOH

    I wonder what kind of management structure they have under the GB. If the GB got wiped out, are there instructions on how to rebuild it? Is there a heirarchy where someone would be recognized as an interim leader, able to make decisions? Or would it be in the hands of the corporation and the corporate officers?

  • Biahi
    Biahi

    Sea Breeze, maybe our friend, Tony Morris, would come back to take the reins! No more beards or slacks! Never speak to DFd…

  • NotFormer
    NotFormer

    Biahi, that's a hilarious scenario! 😸 The plane carrying all the GB goes down and Tony steps up to the plate!

Share this

Google+
Pinterest
Reddit