REMOVED FROM "Persecution and Resistance of Jehovah's Witnesses in Nazi Germany and in Communist Regimes - English Web Links" Austrian
Research Centers / Dissertationsdatenbank.
Summary of Dr. Anita Farkas' master thesis (original
written in the German language), "Geschichte(n) ins
Leben holen. Die Bibelforscherinnen des
Frauenkonzentrationslager St. Lambrecht" (History
/ Testimonies Fetch Back to Life. The female Jehova`s
Witnesses of the Concentration Camp Sankt Lambrecht.) The German book
(Graz, Austria, 2004) is now available. ["Subject
of the research work was the concentration camp Sankt
Lambrecht in Styria, which has been used from the
beginning of may 1943 until the liberation by the British
army 1945. This small concentration camp for women was
installed in a part of the monastry of Sankt Lambrecht.
Founded as a branch of the women`s concentration camp
Ravensbrück it was taken over by Mauthausen in the
autumn of 1944. The concentration camp was run for two
years. During this time the National Socialistic
Dictators exploited the working capacity of twenty three
female Jehova`s Witnesses which were kept there. Research
methods, that was used, have been archiv research and
bigraphical interviews. A few survivors of the women`s
concentration camp Sankt Lambrecht were interviewed by my
own in a psychoanalytic way. With the results of the
study we are able to reconstruct a specific concentration
camp situation which shows us an inside perspective. The
hypothesis that the Jehova`s Witnesses had kept their
piritual-moral integrity and stability could bei proofed.
Unfortunately the psyches and physis of the survivors was
traumatized at the same time." ] Embassy of Austria. Austrian
Press & Information Service - Washington, D.C.
New book by Austrian Bernhard Rammerstorfer entitled, Unbroken
Will: The Extraordinary Courage of an Ordinary Man, Grammaton
Press, New Orleans, April 2004 (German edition: Nein
statt Ja and Amen!). It is the sensitive portrayal
of an extraordinary personality, Leopold Engleitner, a
menial farm laborer and one of Jehovah's Witnesses, now
99 years old, whose experience during the time of the
Holocaust, serves as a valuable lesson to others and
reaches far beyond the borders of his native Austria.
Federal President Thomas Klestil met with Leopold
Engleitner recently. Mr. Rammerstorfer
has also produced a documentary film and a DVD on the
life of Leopold Engleitner. These are available in
German, English and Italian. Germany, Minister for Foreign
Affairs (Auswärtiges Amt). Speech by the
Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs at the ceremony to
commemorate the 60th anniversary of the liberation of
Sachsenhausen concentration camp on 17 April 2005 at
the Sachsenhausen Memorial. (Text in German and French.)
["Between 1936 and 1945 the Nazis
incarcerated more than 200,000 people here. Initially
these chiefly comprised political opponents of the
National Socialist regime: communists, socialdemocrats,
liberal and conservative politicians. Later the SS also
brought homosexuals, Sinti and Roma, Christians,
Jehovah's Witnesses and Jews to Sachsenhausen. They, too,
suffered a terrible fate. With the outbreak of the Second
World War, they were joined by thousands of prisoners of
war and civilians from more than 40 countries, until
eventually nine out of ten prisoners came from outside
Germany, most of them from the former Soviet Union and
Poland."] Hesse, Hans (Historian, Germany).
"Female Jehovah's Witnesses in the Women's
Concentration Camp in Moringen: Research on the
Resistance of Women to Nazism," by Jürgen Harder
and Hans Hesse. [Bibelforscher, women
concentration camps Moringen, Lichtenburg, Ravensbrück /
Ravensbrueck] Imperial War Museum, London.
Beyond Camps and Forced Labour: Current International
Research on Survivors of Nazi Persecution International
Multidisciplinary Conference at the Imperial War Museum,
London, 29-31 January 2003. PANEL 15: Jehovah’s
Witnesses. Chair: Mike Dennis (University of
Wolverhampton / UK), JOLENE CHU (Jehovah's Witness
Holocaust-Era Survivors Fund / USA) "Witnesses to
the Holocaust then and now." Jehovah's Witnesses, Britain. Jehovah's
Witnesses and the Holocaust -- their place in history.
RATIONALE: Why study about Jehovah's Witnesss in the Nazi
era? [Bibelforscher; Else Abt (Gestapo,
foto, Auschwitz)] Jehovah's Witnesses, Britain. Jehovah's
Witnesses and the Holocaust -- their place in history.
OVERVIEW: Who were they? [Bibelforscher;
children, Paul-Gerhard Kusserow (foto) ; Nazi camp
system, Esterwegen concentration camp (foto of diagram,
published 1938 in "Crusade" book),
Sachsenhausen concentration camp (foto of diagram,
published 1938 in "Crusade" book)] Jehovah's Witnesses, Britain. Jehovah's
Witnesses and the Holocaust -- their place in history.
CHRONOLOGY -- Jehovah's Witnesses and the Nazis. Text
Adapted from the Study Guide for the Documentary Video
"Jehovah's Witnesses Stand Firm Against Nazi
Assault." Jehovah's Witnesses, Britain. Jehovah's
Witnesses and the Holocaust -- their place in history.
QUOTES: JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES PUBLICATIONS report on tragic
events [Jews] as they happen. [Bibelforscher;
quotes from Golden Age, January 4, 1933,
p. 209; July 5, 1933, p. 623;
October 9, 1935, p. 6; December 4, 1935,
p. 150; January 29, 1936, p. 276;
Consolation, May 4, 1938, p. 7;
December 14, 1938, pp. 8-9; May 3, 1939,
p. 25; June 12, 1940, p. 26;
April 30, 1941, pp. 8, 22; December 10,
1941, p. 27. Historians and observer comment on the
History of Jehovah's Witnesses during the Holocaust:
Genevieve de Gaulle, Martin Niemöller [Niemoeller], Kurt
Hutten, Anna Pawelczynska, Dr. Christine
E. King; Claudia Koonz, Dr. Hubert Roser, James
Taylor, James N. Pellechia, Johannes Wrobel] Singelenberg, Richard. Book review:
"Facing the Lion: Memoirs of a young girl in Nazi
Europe." (book written by Simone Liebster)
Originally published in "Religion - Staat -
Gesellschaft", 2 (1) 200, pp. 375-376. Singelenberg, Richard. Book review:
Jehovah's Witnesses in the GDR. Persecution and Response
of a Religious Minority (title translated from German;
book written by Gerald Hacke). Originally published in
Church and State, Vol 42, #2, 2000, pp. 574-576. Singelenberg, Richard. Book review:
"Persecution and Resistance of Jehovah's Witnesses
During the Nazi Regime" (book published by Hans
Hesse. Recently also published in "Religion - Staat
- Gesellschaft" 1 (2003), pp.
97-114. Reply by Johannes Wrobel: Die Verfolgung
der Zeugen Jehovas im Nationalsozialismus - Rezeption,
Rezension, Interpretation (Deutsch, English abstract). Richard Singelenberg: Rejoinder to
Wrobel. Johannes Wrobel: Reaction to Singelenberg. [Zeugen Jehovas; Bibelforscher] The Tablet, Catholic weekly, UK. Alexandra
Hudson: Triangles of courage. Jehovah's Witnesses were
fiercely persecuted during the Hitler era. A Tablet reporter
heard from four who faced the Nazi terror. The Tablet,
February 1, 2003. [National Socialism,
concentration camps, nazi victims; Bibelforscher (Bible
Students); conscientious objectors; ignorance; Professor
Christine King of Staffordshire University (non-Witness);
Holocaust Memorial Day; refused Heil Hitler salute, to
join Nazi Party and display the Swastika flag; children;
Magdalena Kusserow Reuter; Gestapo; Ravensbrück,
Sachsenhausen concentration camp; Auschwitz; National
Socialist Party; the party believed persecution would
appease the Catholic and Protestant Churches; Rudolf
Höss, commandand of Auschwitz; Heinrich Himmler; refused
duties relating to war efforts (Angora rabbits); Max
Liebster] United States Holocaust Memorial Museum,
Washington D.C. Holocaust Encyclopedia.
Jehovah's Witnesses: ID Cards (biographies) of Adolphe
Arnold, France; Emma Arnold, France; Simone Arnold,
France; Johanna Niedermeier Buchner, Austria; Helene
Gotthold, Germany; Walther Hamann, Germany; Hilda
Kusserow, Germany; Magdalena Kusserow, Germany; Wilhelm
Kusserow, Germany; Wolfgang Kusserow, Germany; Johannes
M. Lublink, Netherlands; Berthold Mewes, Germany; Ernst
Reiter, Austria; Josef Schoen, Czechoslavakia [Canada];
Johannes Stossier, Austria; Ruth Warter, Germany; Franz
Wohlfahrt, Austria; Gregor Wohlfahrt [sen.], Austria;
Gregor Wohlfahrt [jun.], Austria; Willibald Wohlfahrt,
Austria. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum,
Washington D.C. Research / Library /
Bibliographies & Links - Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Introduction. Background Information. The Nazi Period
(English, French, German, Italien/Slovene books), Films
and Videos. Museum Web Resources. Additonal Resources [music: song of Erich Frost]. [Bibelforscher; fotos] United States Holocaust Memorial Museum,
Washington D.C. Holocaust Learning Center:
Jehovah's Witnesses. Summarizes the history of Nazi
persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses. Explains why the
Nazis targeted this small religious group and describes
the arrest and imprisonment of thousands of Witnesses
unwilling to denounce their beliefs and capitulate to
Nazi rule. Also highlights the Witnesses' treatment and
behavior in the camps and provides statistics concerning
convictions and deaths of Jehovah's Witnesses under the
Third Reich. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum,
Washington D.C. Jehovah's Witnesses: Persecution
1870-1936 (article in the USHMM's Holocaust Learning
Center) United States Holocaust Memorial Museum,
Washington D.C. Bibliographies: Berthold Mewes
(foto), Germany. [Jehovah's Witnesses,
Bibelforscher] United States Holocaust Memorial Museum,
Washington D.C. Bibliographies: Franz Wohlfahrt
(foto), Austria. [Jehovah's Witnesses,
Bibelforscher, bibliographie] United States Holocaust Memorial Museum,
Washington D.C. Bibliographies: Johann Stossier
(foto), Austria. [Jehovah's Witnesses,
Bibelforscher, bibliographie] United States Holocaust Memorial Museum,
Washington D.C. USHMM Collection. Bible found at
liberation (foto). [Jehovah's Witnesses,
Bibelforscher] United States Holocaust Memorial Museum,
Washington D.C. Highlights. Persecution and
Resistance of Jehovah's Witnesses During the Nazi Regime,
1933-1945, edited by Hans Hesse (authors: Henry
Friedlander, Christoph Daxelmüller [Daxelmueller],
Jürgen Harder and Hans Hesse, Kirsten John-Stucke, Antje
Zeiger, Thomas Rahe, Johannes Wrobel, Sybil Milton,
Wolfram Slupina, Ursula Krause-Schmidt, Hubert Roser,
Hans-Hermann Dirksen, Göran Westphal, Detlef Garbe,
Walter Köbe [Koebe], Gabriele Yonan, Dietrich Hellmund,
Lutz Lehmhöfer [Lehmhoefer], Jolene Chu, James N.
Pellechia). [Bibelforscher, Bible
Students; standard work on the subject] United States Holocaust
Memorial Museum, Washington D.C. Music
of the Holocaust: Highlights from the Collection - Stand
Fast (Fest steht). Sachsenhausen concentration camp,
1942. Lyricist and composer: Erich Frost. Language:
German. Men's Choir directed by Erich Frost. Listen to
Simone Arnold Liebster sing the English version of the
song Forward, You Witnesses! [Jehovah's
Witnesses, Bibelforscher] United States Holocaust Memorial Museum,
Washington D.C. Music of the Holocaust:
English translation of Erich Frost interview (in German)
excerpt describing the origin of the concentration camp
song "Zeugen Jehovas"/"Forward You
Witnesses." [Jehovah's Witnesses,
Bibelforscher; Nazism; fotos: Erich Frost; Simone Arnold
Liebster with parents, Bible study material smuggled into
Dachau concentration camp] OTHER LANGUAGES FRENCH: Discours prononcé par Monsieur Joschka
Fischer, ministre fédéral des Affaires étrangères, à
l'occasion de la commémoration du 60e anniversaire de la
libération du camp de concentration de Sachsenhausen le
17 avril 2005 au Mémorial de Sachsenhausen. (Text in German and English.)
["Entre 1936 et 1945, les nazis ont
détenu ici plus de 200 000 personnes. Tout au début, il
s'est agi avant tout d'adversaires politiques du régime
national-socialiste: des communistes, des
sociaux-démocrates, des responsables politiques des
camps des libéraux et des conservateurs. Plus tard, les
SS ont également interné à Sachsenhausen des
homosexuels, des Sinti et des Rom, des chrétiens, des
Témoins de Jéhovah et des Juifs. Eux aussi ont vécu un
effroyable destin. À partir du début de la Seconde
Guerre mondiale, des milliers de prisonniers de guerre et
de civils originaires de plus de quarante pays ont été
internés, jusqu'à ce que, finalement, neuf sur dix
détenus viennent de l'étranger, dont la plupart de
l'ex-Union soviétique et de la Pologne."] JAPANESE. Japanese-language Awake!
magazine article, "Jehovah's Witnesses -- Courageous
in the Face of Nazi Peril," July 8, 1998. [English version. Ssubheadings: No Compromise With Hitler /
Looking Back / What Happened When Hitler Came to Power? /
Convention of Courage or Compromise? (Berlin convention,
Wilmersdorfer Tennishallen, June 25, 1933) / 2 actual
photographs of the convention attended by Jehovah's
Witnesses in 1933 at the Tennishallen / A Statements of
Intent (1933 "Declaration of Facts" [German
"Erklärung" / "Erklaerung"] /
videocassette documentary entitled 'Jehovah's Witnesses
Stand Firm Against Nazi Assault'] __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ |