“We were convinced that the proclamation of Jehovah and his name could not be blocked by such a man-made decree,” says Richard Rudolph, now over 100 years old.a “An important means for our study and ministry was Bible literature. However, that was no longer readily available because of the ban. We were wondering how the work would continue.” Richard soon learned that he could assist in filling that need in a most unusual way. It would be done in the shadows of the mountains.​—Judg. 9:36.

In the 1930’s, when the Giant Mountains separated Czechoslovakia and Germany, determined Witnesses began to use the abandoned smugglers’ trails. To do what? To transport precious Bible literature from where it was more readily available. Young Richard was one of those Witnesses.

DANGEROUS “HIKES”

“On weekends, we headed for the mountains in groups of seven or so young brothers dressed as hikers,” recalls Richard. “From the German side, it took us about three hours to cross the mountains and reach Špindlerův Mlýn”​—a resort some ten miles (16.5 km) away on the Czech side. In those days, many Germans lived in that area. One was a farmer who agreed to cooperate with the brothers. With a horse-drawn wagon normally used to transport vacationers, he picked up boxes of literature from a nearby town, where the boxes had been sent by railway from Prague. He took the boxes back to his farm and hid them in the hayloft to await the couriers who would take the literature to the German side.

Richard continues: “After we got to that farm, we loaded our backpacks, especially designed for carrying the heavy loads. Each of us carried some 100 pounds (50 kg).” To escape detection, they walked under the cover of darkness, starting out at sunset and arriving home before sunrise.

“One evening I had to work longer,” recalls Richard, “so I set off for the Czech side later than my brothers. It was dark and foggy, and I was shivering as I walked in the freezing rain. I got lost in the dwarf pines, and I could not find my way out for several hours. Many hikers have died in this way. Only when my brothers were on their way back early in the morning did I encounter them.”

In 1936, a literature depot was uncovered near Berlin. Among the things found there were three packages from an unknown sender in Hirschberg. The police used handwriting analysis to identify a key member of the smuggling group and arrested him. Soon afterward, two more suspects, including Richard Rudolph, were arrested. Because the brothers accepted all responsibility, for some time others could continue making the increasingly dangerous trips.