A Faithful “Warrior” Passes On in Germany

KONRAD FRANKE first came in touch with the Kingdom message in 1920, when just ten years of age, and was baptized in 1924. Each Sunday he and his father would start out early in their ministry, carrying large cases of Bible literature on their bicycles. In the evening they would return home tired but happy, freshen up and attend the weekly Watchtower study.

In 1931 Brother Franke entered full-time service. Soon thereafter he married his wife, Trudl, who shared with him in enduring the persecutions of the Hitler regime. After a number of brief imprisonments, Brother Franke was arrested in 1936 and incarcerated for nine years, the last four years being spent in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. In April 1945 he was one of the united group of 230 Witnesses who survived the death march from Sachsenhausen to Schwerin.

During the late 1940’s Brother Franke took the lead in reestablishing the Watch Tower Society’s branch office, this time at Wiesbaden, where he served for some years as branch overseer and down to the time of his death as a member of the German Branch Committee. The recent illness of his wife, Trudl, distressed him, but he attended the “Kingdom Unity” District Convention in Munich, where on July 31, 1983, he died in his sleep the day before he was to give his talk. Thus he passed on to his heavenly reward the way he always wanted to​—active in ‘fighting the fine fight’ as a “warrior” of the Kingdom.​—2 Timothy 4:7, 8.

[Picture on page 31]

Konrad Franke​—with his concentration-camp uniform—​and Trudl Franke