Holocaust: Thousands of Jehovah’s Witnesses were victims of Nazism

LAGOS, Nigeria – The world is today marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day,  a symbolic date to commemorate the victims of Nazism. Murderous Nazi terror targeted millions for reasons of biology, nationality, or political ideology.

But it is a lesser known fact that the Nazis’ victims included thousands of Jehovah’s Witnesses, who suffered for their Christian faith.

Jehovah’s Witnesses, also then known as Bible Students, were “the only group in the Third Reich to be persecuted on the basis of their religious beliefs alone,” says Professor Robert Gerwarth. The Nazi regime branded Witnesses“enemies of the State,” according to historian Christine King, because of “their very public refusal to accept even the smallest elements of [Nazism], which didn’t fit their faith and their beliefs.”

On religious grounds, the politically neutral Witnesses refused to give the “Heil Hitler” salute, take part in racist and violent acts, or join the German army. Moreover, “in their literature they publicly identified the evils of the regime, including what was happening to the Jews,” stated King.

Witnesses were among the first sent to concentration camps, where they bore a unique uniform symbol—the purple triangle. Of about 35,000 Witnesses in Nazi-occupied Europe, more than one-third suffered direct persecution.

Most were arrested and imprisoned. Hundreds of their children were taken to Nazi homes or reformatories. About 4,200 Witnesses went to Nazi concentration camps. Leading authority Detlef Garbe wrote:“The declared intention of the NS [Nazi] rulers was to completely eliminate the Bible Students from German history.”  An estimated 1,600 Witnesses died, 370 by execution.

The Nazis sought to break Witnesses’ religious convictions by offering them freedom in exchange for a pledge of obedience. The standard Erklärung (issued beginning in 1938) required the signee to renounce his or her faith, denounce other Witnesses to the police, fully submit to the Nazi government, and defend the “Fatherland” with weapon in hand. Prison and camp officials often used torture and privation to induce Witnesses to sign.

According to Garbe, “extremely low numbers” of Witnesses recanted their faith.  “While the Jews could hardly have made use of any option to erase their Jewishness and escape the holocaust, Jehovah’s Witnesses had the option of denouncing  their faith renouncing their neutrality to politics andwars, or signing a piece of paper in order to secure their freedom” writes Professor Babatunde Sofela of the History Department at the University of Ibadan,“but they did not use any of these options to gain their freedom.”

Geneviève de Gaulle, a niece of General Charles de Gaulle andmember of the French Resistance, said offemale Witness prisoners in Ravensbrück concentration camp: “What I admired a lot in them was that they could have left at any time just by signing a renunciation of their faith. . . . Ultimately, these women, who appeared to be so weak and worn out, were stronger than the SS, who had power and all the means at their disposal. They had their strength, and it was their willpower that no one could beat.”

The failure of Nazi coercion in the case of Jehovah’s Witnesses contrasts with widespread societal conformity to Nazi aims before and during the Holocaust. The nonviolent resistance of ordinary people to racism, extreme nationalism, and violence merits thoughtful reflection on this International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Why did the Nazis hate a Christian group?

The Nazi regime branded Jehovah’s Witnesses “enemies of the State,” according to historian Christine King, because of “their very public refusal to accept even the smallest elements of [Nazism], which didn’t fit their faith and their beliefs.”

For example, based on their understanding of Christ’s teachings, Jehovah’s Witnesses took a politically neutral stance and refused to give the “Heil Hitler” salute, take part in racist and violent acts, or join the German army.

Also noteworthy, “in their literature they publicly identified the evils of the regime, including what was happening to the Jews,” says King.

Consequently, the Witnesses were among the first sent to concentration camps and were assigned a unique uniform symbol, the purple triangle. Unlike other victim groups, however, the Witnesses were presented with a choice that could have saved them from Nazi terror.

Why were the Witnesses given a choice?

The regime considered breaking the Witnesses’ religious convictions a greater victory than killing them or placing them in camps. Thus, the Nazis offered the Witnesses the opportunity to avoid execution and be released from the camp if they signed an Erklärung (issued beginning in 1938) pledging to renounce his or her faith, report other Witnesses to the police, fully submit to the Nazi government, and defend the “Fatherland” with weapon in hand. Prison and camp officials often used torture and privation to try to induce Witnesses to sign.

The overwhelming majority did not waiver in their convictions. According to historian Detlef Garbe, “extremely low numbers” of Witnesses recanted their faith.” Thus, Garbe adds, “the declared intention of the NS [Nazi] rulers was to completely eliminate the Bible Students from German history.”

“Memory, Dignity, and Justice” | 2022 U.N. IHRD theme

This year’s theme guiding the international Holocaust remembrance and education is “Memory, Dignity, and Justice.” The U.N. explains: “The writing of history and the act of remembering brings dignity and justice to those whom the perpetrators of the Holocaust intended to obliterate.”

Memory—Jehovah’s Witnesses during the Holocaust

• Of about 35,000 Witnesses in Nazi-occupied Europe, more than one-third suffered direct persecution
• About 4,200 sent to Nazi concentration camps
• Some 1,600 killed, 548 by execution (e.g., firing squad or beheading), including at least 39 minors
• Hundreds of children were abducted from Witness families and taken to Nazi homes or reformatories

Although Nazi terror targeted millions for reasons of biology, nationality, or political ideology, Jehovah’s Witnesses, also then known as Bible Students, were “the only group in the Third Reich to be persecuted on the basis of their religious beliefs alone,” notes Professor Robert Gerwarth.

Holocaust museums and memorials around the world display artifacts and plaques commemorating the persecution of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Remembering the Witnesses’ experiences is important because they are still being systematically attacked—imprisoned, beaten, and tortured—for peacefully practicing their faith in some countries, Russia being the foremost persecutor.

Dignity

Geneviève de Gaulle, a niece of General Charles de Gaulle and member of the French Resistance, got to know female Witness prisoners while in Ravensbrück concentration camp. She relates: “What I admired a lot in them was that they could have left at any time just by signing a renunciation of their faith. . . . Ultimately, these women, who appeared to be so weak and worn out, were stronger than the SS, who had power and all the means at their disposal. They had their strength, and it was their willpower that no one could beat.” Such humble, faithful believers proved to be victors, not merely victims. The Witness community outlasted the Holocaust and continues to thrive decades after the Nazi regime crumbled.

Rudolf Hoess, SS Commandant of Auschwitz, wrote in his autobiography about the execution of certain ones of Jehovah’s Witnesses for refusal to violate their Christian neutrality. He said: “Thus do I imagine that the first Christian martyrs must have appeared as they waited in the circus for the wild beasts to tear them in pieces. Their faces completely transformed, their eyes raised to heaven, and their hands clasped and lifted in prayer, they went to their death. All who saw them die were deeply moved, and even the execution squad itself was affected.”

The failure of Nazi coercion in the case of Jehovah’s Witnesses contrasts with widespread societal conformity to Nazi aims before and during the Holocaust. The nonviolent resistance of ordinary people to racism, extreme nationalism, and violence merits thoughtful reflection on this International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Justice

Commemorations bring justice to Jehovah’s Witnesses in Nazi-occupied Europe:

Germany: Commemoration of Brandenberg liberation

Italy: Plaque unveiling at the Civic Museum of the Risiera di San Sabba

Hungary: Plaque unveiling at the Holocaust Memorial Center in Budapest

Poland: Commemoration of Auschwitz liberation

Anniversary of Auschwitz-Birkenau liberation | January 27

The anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau coincides with IHRD on January 27. According to the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum website: “Aside from brief mentions, the literature on the history of Auschwitz Concentration Camp does not take account of the Jehovah’s Witnesses (referred to in the camp records as Bible [Students]) who were imprisoned because of their religious convictions. These prisoners deserve closer attention because of the way they managed to hold on to their moral principles under camp conditions.”

• Jehovah’s Witnesses among first prisoners in Auschwitz, according to museum records, “as early as the first months when the camp was in operation”
• At least 387 Jehovah’s Witnesses sent to Auschwitz during its five years of operation
• At least 152 (close to 40% of the Witnesses) died in the camp

Profile: Andrzej Szalbot (prisoner # 108703) was arrested and taken to the Cieszyn Gestapo office for refusing to join the German army in 1943. He was promised immediate freedom if he signed a document renouncing membership in the organization and declaring its teachings erroneous. Andrzej refused to sign. He was tortured and repeatedly beaten. Andrzej relates: “I lost consciousness a few times. I was not able to walk out of there on my own.” After six weeks of interrogation, at the age of 19, Andrzej was sent to Auschwitz

Profile: Cienciała family. In 1943, the Gestapo arrested Helena Cienciała and sent her to Auschwitz (prisoner # 45856). Two months later her father, Paweł, arrived in Auschwitz, and in two more months, so did her mother Ewa (who died in the camp). The whole family was arrested simply because they were Jehovah’s Witnesses

Non-Witness camp survivor, Anna Pawełczyńska: In her book Values and Violence in Auschwitz, she states:

“This group of prisoners was a solid ideological force and they won their battle against Nazism. The German group of this sect had been a tiny island of unflagging resistance existing in the bosom of a terrorized nation, and in that same undismayed spirit they functioned in the camp at Auschwitz. They managed to win the respect of their fellow-prisoners . . . of prisoner-functionaries, and even of the SS officers. Everyone knew that no ‘Bibelforscher’ [Jehovah’s Witness] would perform a command contrary to his religious belief.”

Non-Witness camp survivor, Tibor Wohl: In his book Arbeit macht tot—Eine Jugend in Auschwitz, he relates a conversation he overheard in the camp between fellow prisoners, one being an Austrian who claimed to be a “nonbeliever” but was impressed by the Witnesses.

“They do not go to war,” said the Austrian to his companion. “They would rather be killed than kill anyone else. In my view that is the way true Christians should behave. I must tell you about a very pleasant episode I had with them. We were together with both Jews and Bible Students in one block in the camp of Stutthof. In those days the Bible Students had to do hard labor, outdoors in the bitter cold. We could not understand how they survived.

They said Jehovah gave them strength. They needed their bread desperately, since they were famished. But what did they do? They collected all the bread they had, took half of it and gave the other half to their brothers, their spiritual brothers, who came in ravenous from other camps. And they welcomed them and kissed them. Before they ate, they prayed, and afterward their faces beamed with happiness. They said that nobody was hungry anymore. So, you see, then I thought to myself, ‘These are true Christians.’ That was how I always imagined they should be. How nice it would have been to give starving comrades such a welcome here in Auschwitz!”

More information about Jehovah’s Witnesses during the Holocaust can be found on https://jw.org