“I Stand Firm! I Stand Firm! I Stand Firm!”
1 Those words of a faithful Christian who survived the Holocaust echo the determination of the thousands of Witnesses—living and dead—who were resolute in their beliefs despite Nazi cruelty. (Eph. 6:11, 13) Their thrilling story of courage and triumph is told in the heart-stirring video Jehovah’s Witnesses Stand Firm Against Nazi Assault. All in the congregation are urged to watch it and share their impressions and feelings with one another.
2 Let these questions stimulate your thinking: (1) For what reasons did Jehovah’s Witnesses take a bold stand against the Nazis? (2a) What battle lines were drawn over a greeting, and why? (2b) How did this affect Witness families? (3) How many Witnesses were sent to concentration camps, how were they identified there, and how did the Gestapo treat them? (4) What price were our brothers not willing to pay for freedom? (5a) How and when did Jehovah’s Witnesses speak out against the atrocities of Hitler’s regime? (5b) How did Hitler react? (6) How did the solidarity of Jehovah’s people prove to be lifesaving to them and to others, physically and spiritually? (7) What Kingdom song was written in a concentration camp? (8) What examples of faithful men, women, and youths inspire you to keep your integrity to Jehovah, come what may? (See also the 1999 Yearbook, pages 144-7.) (9) As one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, how does this video make you feel about being no part of the world?
3 The positive example of Jehovah’s Witnesses portrayed in the Stand Firm video can help young people, even those who are not Witnesses, to face such important issues as intolerance, peer pressure, and conscience. If you are a youth attending middle school or higher grades, can you give your teachers the opportunity to use this material in class? Perhaps you can offer them a copy of the video and describe it as a little-known piece of history or as a documentary with a moral lesson.
4 The Stand Firm video is an excellent tool to show how divine teaching gives us spiritual strength to please God by remaining firm for what is right. (1 Cor. 16:13) Share it with all who have an interest in the truth.