Did you know that Jehovah's Witnesses were persecuted and killed during Hitler's regime ?

Question

Taken from the "United States Holocaust Memorial Museum as a pamphlet titled "JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES".


Jehovah's Witnesses endured intense persecution under the Nazi regime. Actions against the religious group and its individual members spanned the Nazi years 1933 to 1945. Unlike Jews and Sinti and Roma ("Gypsies"), persecuted and killed by virtue of their birth, Jehovah's Witnesses had the opportunity to escape persecution and personal harm by renouncing their religious beliefs. The courage the vast majority displayed in refusing to do so, in the face of torture, maltreatment in concentration camps, and sometimes execution, won them the respect of many contemporaries.

Answer 1

Of course I did. :) My daughter brought home a children's book about Anne Frank that mentioned the persecution of homosexuals, Gypsies, etc. but made no mention of Jehovah's faithful people. Interestingly, a caught a part of a 7th Heaven episode which mentioned Jehovah's Witnesses as having been persecuted by Hitler. The writer's did their homework, apparently! I've include a link to a page on wikipedia that shows the badges worn by different types of prisoners in Germany during WWII. Keep fighting the fine fight!

Answer 2

It doesn't bother us that people deny the fact that Jehovah's Witnesses were broodily harmed during the holocaust. We know what went on and so dose everyone else if they care to do some research. It is in history books, papers across the globe and much more, we don't have to fight this fact. But we as a whole don't do much to remember this horrible tragedy that befell almost 100 years ago. It is mentioned at time in some of our books or magazines but other than that we have done nothing.

Answer 3

The difference between Jehovah's Witnesses and others who were persecuted: Jehovah's Witnesses had a choice. Jewish people, handicapped people. and even homosexuals by modern definition did not have a choice but were persecuted on the basis of the way they were born. Hitler announced "I will exterminate this brood from Germany!" Most of them were healthy Aryan people. They had only to renounce their religious beliefs and Heil Hitler to avoid the death camps.

Answer 4

And atheists, as well. As per two Wiki pages...

"Once appointed to the Chancellorship of Germany, Hitler banned freethought organizations and launched an “anti-godless” movement. In a 1933 speech he declared: “We have . . . undertaken the fight against the atheistic movement, and that not merely with a few theoretical declarations: we have stamped it out."

"For example, in the 20th century, atheists ... were persecuted alongside Jews by the Nazis, who lumped all of these terms into one complex issue or theme; 'the Jewish-Bolshevik world conspiracy', as addressed in Joseph Goebbels' 1935 speech "Communism with the Mask Off", in which Aryan civilization was described as antithetical to "Jewish Communism"."

Answer 5

Handicapped people, Germans, Gays, Gypsies, Jews, Christians and everybody who opposed Hiter were persecuted and killed.

Answer 6

They may have been. I wouldn't take their word for it without external proof. That they were persecuted and killed means not much because Christians, Jews and inferior races met the same fate.

Answer 7

I had two little old ladies that were JW come to my door today and I couldn't be mean to them and slam the door,If I knew what they were doing I wouldn't have opened the door. But I was nice and listened to them for a few,they gave me their pamphlets and went on their way. Well just being curious I opened them up and looked through them to see what they were selling. I came across this page about obedience and submission. I read it and it said, that they have to obey and submit to what the leaders of the congregation ask,even in doubt submit. They gave a passage from the book of Timothy about this, my thought is how can you give that much control to man even if he is supposedly a messenger of God?
Follow where your leader takes you,hmmm,he is man,he is imperfect and what if he has his own agenda and uses God's word to abuse his authority,look at the Jim Baker's of the christian world,self made millionaires through their church up until he was busted,and he isn't the only one.The other pamphlet was all about people being at their lowest points,that's the time people are most vulnerable to get sucked up into their religion. Sorry I know this had nothing to do with your question but,I just don't get why people need to be led blindly,especially for some group that says trust me and your soul will be saved,I don't need to be led around.I will do just fine without the man made BS that they are knocking on the doors to sell me.

Answer 8

Despite being a relatively minor religion, and mostly of the so-called "Aryan" race, Jehovah's Witnesses were a unique target of Hitler's Satanic agents. Amazingly, most Witnesses could have simply agreed to change religion in order to attain release from the concentration camps.

Almost to a man (and woman), Jehovah's Witnesses refused to compromise.



http://www.jw-media.org/newsroom/index.htm

Learn more:
http://watchtower.org/e/20030301/
http://watchtower.org/e/19980708/
http://jw-media.org/edu_videos/vcfi_e.htm

http://watchtower.org/e/19980601/
http://watchtower.org/e/20030115/
http://watchtower.org/e/pr/index.htm?article=article_01.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/20000622/article_02.htm

Answer 9

Yes, I did know that. Did you know that Catholics were also persecuted and killed, including almost 3,000 priests in Poland alone?
http://www.holocaust-history.org/questions/non-jewish.shtml

Answer 10

So were Catholics, Jews, Christians, gays and lesbians and many other people who wouldn't toe the party line.

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