“A Beam of Light in a Dark Age”

By Awake! correspondent in Germany

THIS is how one historian described the history of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the Nazi era. The occasion was the world premiere of the documentary video Jehovah’s Witnesses Stand Firm Against Nazi Assault, held at the Ravensbrück Memorial, in Germany. This video relates a moving account of courage and faith as told by 24 survivors of the Nazi era, along with 10 scholars of history and religion.

The Ravensbrück concentration camp once held hundreds of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Some surviving Witnesses, imprisoned more than 50 years ago by the Nazis, were present for the premiere. They, as well as historians and government officials, recalled the dark days when the Nazi regime swept across Europe in a reign of terror. The audience of some 350 listened to inspiring accounts of the Christian integrity of hundreds of Witnesses who went bravely to their deaths rather than deny their faith.

The News Media Take Note

A press conference was held at a Berlin hotel on the morning of the premiere, November 6, 1996. Journalists viewed clips of the video and then listened to speeches by scholars who commented on the importance of the new documentary in telling a little-known but important aspect of history. Dr. Detlef Garbe, director of the Neuengamme Memorial, explained: “We—Jehovah’s Witnesses and non-Witnesses—should not be allowed to forget the history of the prisoners with the purple triangle [the symbol worn by Witness inmates]. This was a beam of light in a dark age.”

Several Witness survivors who appeared in Stand Firm were on hand to speak about their experiences. Were they bitter about their sufferings? Their serene and radiant faces indicated that they were not.

After a period of questions and answers, the reporters were invited to the premiere showing of the Stand Firm documentary at the Ravensbrück Memorial, about 40 miles away. Virtually all accepted the invitation.

The Premiere

The gray skies and fine drizzle on this chilly autumn day gave way to the excited atmosphere inside the newly refurbished hall next to the Ravensbrück Memorial. Professor Jürgen Dittberner, then director of the Foundation for the Ravensbrück, Sachsenhausen, and Brandenburg memorials, said: “The moral courage shown by Jehovah’s Witnesses under national socialism must be respected. . . . We hold in all honor the memory of these people who did not betray their faith and who had to suffer or even die as a result.”

Angelika Peter, the minister for education, youth, and sport for Brandenburg, Germany, sent a message, which was read. It proclaimed: “It is important that we recall today the exemplary steadfastness of Jehovah’s Witnesses.” Dr. Sigrid Jacobeit, director of the Ravensbrück Memorial, said: “I am looking forward to this premiere with anticipation and joy. This is a special day, I believe, for all of us.”

Then the lights were dimmed for the start of the video. For 78 minutes not only the survivors present from eight countries but also all in the audience relived the tragedy and triumph of this painful chapter of German history. Many found it difficult to hold back tears as these ordinary people told of extraordinary deeds of love and faith under the most horrible conditions.

After the thunderous applause subsided, historian Joachim Görlitz read the final words of a Witness who had been executed at Brandenburg. Görlitz had found the note just two weeks earlier while doing research at the Brandenburg Memorial and Archive, of which he is director. His voice cracked with emotion as he read the words of this faithful Christian man encouraging his fellow believers to hold true to their Lord. Then Görlitz concluded: “Ladies and Gentlemen, I believe that the film about Jehovah’s Witnesses will make an important contribution to our educational work.”

Historian Wulff Brebeck declared that “by means of this film an important new treasure has been added—the voice of survivors who have been heard far too infrequently, and . . . the voice of nonsurvivors.” Dr. Garbe added: “These are important experiences of humans whose faith in God and trust in the promises of the Bible gave them the strength to resist during that horrible time.”

As an appropriate conclusion to the program, once again several Witness survivors addressed the audience. It was clear to all that these stalwart Christians still have the same strong faith that sustained them during their many trials.

Since the premiere, more than 340 articles about Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Stand Firm documentary have appeared in newspapers across Germany. Several radio programs, one on a national radio station, carried fine reports as well.

The Stand Firm documentary will ultimately be made available in at least 24 languages. An edited classroom version will also be produced in time. Since the video’s release, a growing number of educators have begun using the Stand Firm documentary as part of their curriculum to help young people consider important issues, such as prejudice, peer pressure, and the voice of conscience.

In this world so divided by hatred and betrayal, how timely that this story of integrity should be made known to the public! Truly the sufferings of these faithful Christians have not been in vain.—Hebrews 6:10.

[Pictures on page 15]

The Berlin press conference. From left: Dr. Detlef Garbe, Holocaust survivors Simone Liebster and Franz Wohlfahrt, and historian Wulff Brebeck