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International Holocaust Day: A justice to victims, says Jehovah’s Witnesses

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JOSEPH OKWUOFU, Ibadan.

As the United Nations commemorates the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Jehovah’s Witnesses across the globe have described the remembrance of the persecution and execution of members and others by Nazi regime as justice for families of victims of the Holocaust.

They said that the commemorations of the Holocaust  has brought  justice to thousands of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Nazi-occupied Europe.

It would be recalled that thousands of Jehovah’s Witnesses were executed or languished in Nazi concentration camps alongside millions of Jews and other victim groups.

In a statement issued by the Contact Person of Jehovah’s Witnesses , Olusegun Eroyemi , a detailed account of why the Nazis regime targeted a small Christian group and how their experiences align with the UN’s 2022 Remembrance Day theme, “Memory, Dignity, and Justice” , was clearly illustrated .

Every year, the United Nations through one of its arms, UNESCO designated 27 January to mark the anniversary of the liberation of the concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1945.

The date was designated as the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust by the United Nations General Assembly in 2005.

According to the statement , Jehovah’s Witnesses have educational resources that raise awareness of this critical time in history, its impact on human rights, as well as first-person accounts that demonstrate faith, dignity, and resilience in the face of inhumane treatment from the Nazi regime.

Responding to why did the Nazis hated a Christian group, the Jehovah’s Witnesses in the statement said ” The Nazi regime branded Jehovah’s Witnesses “enemies of the State,” according to historian Christine King, because of “their very public refusal to accept even the smallest elements of [Nazism], which didn’t fit their faith and their beliefs.”

For example, based on their understanding of Christ’s teachings, Jehovah’s Witnesses took a politically neutral stance and refused to give the “Heil Hitler” salute, take part in racist and violent acts, or join the German army.

Also noteworthy, “in their literature they publicly identified the evils of the regime, including what was happening to the Jews,” says King.

Consequently, the Witnesses were among the first sent to concentration camps and were assigned a unique uniform symbol, the purple triangle. Unlike other victim groups, however, the Witnesses were presented with a choice that could have saved them from Nazi terror.

Also, on why were the Witnesses given a choice, the statement stated that the regime considered breaking the Witnesses’ religious convictions a greater victory than killing them or placing them in camps.

“Thus, the Nazis offered the Witnesses the opportunity to avoid execution and be released from the camp if they signed an Erklärung (issued beginning in 1938) pledging to renounce his or her faith, report other Witnesses to the police, fully submit to the Nazi government, and defend the “Fatherland” with weapon in hand.

“Prison and camp officials often used torture and privation to try to induce Witnesses to sign.

The overwhelming majority did not waiver in their convictions.

“According to historian Detlef Garbe, “extremely low numbers” of Witnesses recanted their faith.” Thus, Garbe adds, “the declared intention of the NS [Nazi] rulers was to completely eliminate the Bible Students from German history.”

“This year’s theme guiding the international Holocaust remembrance and education is “Memory, Dignity, and Justice.” The U.N. explains: “The writing of history and the act of remembering brings dignity and justice to those whom the perpetrators of the Holocaust intended to obliterate.”

The witnesses aligned with the United Nations in the choice of this year’s remembrance theme : Memory, Dignity ,and Justice , and gave a clear analysis of why the theme is well fitting.

” Memory—Jehovah’s Witnesses during the Holocaust

Of about 35,000 Witnesses in Nazi-occupied Europe, more than one-third suffered direct persecution

About 4,200 sent to Nazi concentration camps

Some 1,600 killed, 548 by execution (e.g., firing squad or beheading), including at least 39 minors

Hundreds of children were abducted from Witness families and taken to Nazi homes or reformatories.

“Although Nazi terror targeted millions for reasons of biology, nationality, or political ideology, Jehovah’s Witnesses, also then known as Bible Students, were “the only group in the Third Reich to be persecuted on the basis of their religious beliefs alone,” notes Professor Robert Gerwarth.

“Holocaust museums and memorials around the world display artifacts and plaques commemorating the persecution of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

” Remembering the Witnesses’ experiences is important because they are still being systematically attacked—imprisoned, beaten, and tortured—for peacefully practicing their faith in some countries, Russia being the foremost persecutor.

“Dignity: Geneviève de Gaulle, a niece of General Charles de Gaulle and member of the French Resistance, got to know female Witness prisoners while in Ravensbrück concentration camp.

“She relates: “What I admired a lot in them was that they could have left at any time just by signing a renunciation of their faith. . . . Ultimately, these women, who appeared to be so weak and worn out, were stronger than the SS, who had power and all the means at their disposal. They had their strength, and it was their willpower that no one could beat.”

“Such humble, faithful believers proved to be victors, not merely victims. The Witness community outlasted the Holocaust and continues to thrive decades after the Nazi regime crumbled.

“Rudolf Hoess, SS Commandant of Auschwitz, wrote in his autobiography about the execution of certain ones of Jehovah’s Witnesses for refusal to violate their Christian neutrality.

He said: “Thus do I imagine that the first Christian martyrs must have appeared as they waited in the circus for the wild beasts to tear them in pieces. Their faces completely transformed, their eyes raised to heaven, and their hands clasped and lifted in prayer, they went to their death. All who saw them die were deeply moved, and even the execution squad itself was affected.”

“The failure of Nazi coercion in the case of Jehovah’s Witnesses contrasts with widespread societal conformity to Nazi aims before and during the Holocaust.

“The nonviolent resistance of ordinary people to racism, extreme nationalism, and violence merits thoughtful reflection on this International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

“Justice: Commemorations bring justice to Jehovah’s Witnesses in Nazi-occupied Europe:

Germany: Commemoration of Brandenberg liberation

Italy: Plaque unveiling at the Civic Museum of the Risiera di San Sabba.

Hungary: Plaque unveiling at the Holocaust Memorial Center in Budapest

Poland: Commemoration of Auschwitz liberation

Anniversary of Auschwitz-Birkenau liberation | January 27

“The anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau coincides with IHRD on January 27.

According to the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum website: “Aside from brief mentions, the literature on the history of Auschwitz Concentration Camp does not take account of the Jehovah’s Witnesses (referred to in the camp records as Bible [Students]) who were imprisoned because of their religious convictions. These prisoners deserve closer attention because of the way they managed to hold on to their moral principles under camp conditions.”

“Jehovah’s Witnesses among first prisoners in Auschwitz, according to museum records, “as early as the first months when the camp was in operation”.

“At least 387 Jehovah’s Witnesses sent to Auschwitz during its five years of operation.

“At least 152 (close to 40% of the Witnesses) died in the camp

Profile: Andrzej Szalbot (prisoner # 108703) was arrested and taken to the Cieszyn Gestapo office for refusing to join the German army in 1943. He was promised immediate freedom if he signed a document renouncing membership in the organization and declaring its teachings erroneous.

“Andrzej refused to sign. He was tortured and repeatedly beaten. Andrzej relates: “I lost consciousness a few times. I was not able to walk out of there on my own.”

After six weeks of interrogation, at the age of 19, Andrzej was sent to Auschwitz.

“Profile: Cienciała family. In 1943, the Gestapo arrested Helena Cienciała and sent her to Auschwitz (prisoner # 45856). Two months later her father, Paweł, arrived in Auschwitz, and in two more months, so did her mother Ewa (who died in the camp). The whole family was arrested simply because they were Jehovah’s Witnesses.

“Non-Witness camp survivor, Anna Pawełczyńska: In her book Values and Violence in Auschwitz, she states:

“This group of prisoners was a solid ideological force and they won their battle against Nazism. The German group of this sect had been a tiny island of unflagging resistance existing in the bosom of a terrorized nation, and in that same undismayed spirit they functioned in the camp at Auschwitz. They managed to win the respect of their fellow-prisoners . . . of prisoner-functionaries, and even of the SS officers. Everyone knew that no ‘Bibelforscher’ [Jehovah’s Witness] would perform a command contrary to his religious belief.”

“Non-Witness camp survivor, Tibor Wohl: In his book Arbeit macht tot—Eine Jugend in Auschwitz, he relates a conversation he overheard in the camp between fellow prisoners, one being an Austrian who claimed to be a “nonbeliever” but was impressed by the Witnesses.

“They do not go to war,” said the Austrian to his companion. “They would rather be killed than kill anyone else. In my view that is the way true Christians should behave. I must tell you about a very pleasant episode I had with them. We were together with both Jews and Bible Students in one block in the camp of Stutthof. In those days the Bible Students had to do hard labor, outdoors in the bitter cold. We could not understand how they survived. They said Jehovah gave them strength. They needed their bread desperately, since they were famished. But what did they do? They collected all the bread they had, took half of it and gave the other half to their brothers, their spiritual brothers, who came in ravenous from other camps. And they welcomed them and kissed them. Before they ate, they prayed, and afterward their faces beamed with happiness. They said that nobody was hungry anymore. So, you see, then I thought to myself, ‘These are true Christians.’ That was how I always imagined they should be. How nice it would have been to give starving comrades such a welcome here in Auschwitz!”, it stated.

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