1933 Letter from JW's to Hitler and Nazi Party (page 4)

rebel8

So in summary then....the wts kissed Hitler's butt and individual jws followed their principles, at the pain of death....and the wts is trying to take credit for what the jws did and disown what the org did.

Kinda calls into question the claim that the wts and jws are separate entities. Apparently they are only separate when it's convenient.

kls*

The actual date is June 25 1933...........http://www.bible.ca/jw-hitler.htm#hitlerletter

jeanV

I WONDER WHAT WT WOULD DO IF COPIES OF THIS LETTER WERE DISTRIBUTED IN A PUBLIC PLACE OR EVEN DOOR-DOOR.
IF WT DOESN'T SUE, IT MUST BE TRUE.

I wonder if anyone has written to the WTBS about it. It would be interesting to read their reply.

Pahpa

The Watchtower has tried to make a feeble excuse for the "Declaration." It even tried to blame the leadership at the German Bethel for its contents. However, at the time, Rutherford saw fit to publish it in the 1934 Yearbook without any disclaimers. So, one can only assume that it had his full approval at the time. One has to wonder how many German JWs that were taken to the concentration camps were involved in the distribution of that tract in the campaign that followed the announcement.

However, the letter to Hitler was a blatant attempt to compromise Watchtower "neutrality" to save its property. There is simply no excuse for such detestable conduct.

jwfacts

Leo, Thanks for the clarification. I thought the yearbook info was the letter, and so am quite shocked to realise that even in the declaration there was so much political sentiment.

greendawn

He was trying to protect the interests of the WTS in Germany so he sought to distance the org from the Jews who had in fact greatly assisted its launching and development. It shows that they only care about money just as they did in Mexico yeras later.

DocBob

rebel8 wrote:

A while back I was researching wts finances and came across this nonprofit which *seems* to have been formed to receive reparation funds for dead jws.

http://www.guidestar.org/pqShowFastResults.do;jsessionid=5859F44B3B491D5B32A32C5031600A76.web06Worker.web06Worker?partner=guidestar&source=homepage

You must register and sign in but it's free. Then you will see:
"JEHOVAHS WITNESS HOLOCAUST-ERA SURVIVORS FUND INC
144 KENILWORTH AVE
WEBSTER GRVS , MO 63119 learn more about Charity Check

I think the original financing for this fund may have come from when the WTS applied for funds from the Swiss Bank settlement. The text of their application is quoted below. Can you belive the unmitigated gall of these people?

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

In re Holocaust Victim Assets Litigation: Master Document No. CV -96-4849 (ERK) (MDG) Consolidates with CV-96-S161 and : CV-96-461

This Document Relates to All Actions :

Holocaust Victim Assets Litigation (Swiss Bank Litigation) Proposed Plan of Allocation for Jehovah's Witness Victims and Targets of Nazi Persecution

December 7, 1999

COMES NOW, the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, (hereinafter Watch Tower), the corporate agency directing the administrative and religious work of Jehovah's Witnesses worldwide, by its attorney, Carolyn R. Wah, requesting an allocation of a portion of the settlement fund for Holocaust education and remembrance as well as just and equitable compensation as outlined below:

As the attached report entitled "Spiritual Resistance and Its Cost for a Christian Minority: A Documentary Report of Jehovah's Witnesses Under Nazism, 1933-1945" will show, the Nazi persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses, which spanned virtually the entire Nazi period, exacted a heavy physical, financial, and emotional toll on that small religious community in all Nazi- occupied lands. The report also evidences that the Witnesses' individual and organized stance in opposition to the violent ideology of the regime was a decisive factor in the severity of the persecution, resulting in profound losses.

Although conclusive documentation may be lacking for the claims of individuals targeted as Jehovah's Witnesses; there are three factors that argue for a favorable hearing for the individual applicants, even where the elusive "Swiss connection" may be weak:

(1) Since Jehovah's Witnesses were among the earliest groups to be targeted for sentencing to concentration camps, they were often used in the actual construction of the camps. In some cases, the SS-run camps could, in themselves, be considered commercial enterprises that benefited from slave labor. Because the Witnesses had been in the camp system for long periods of time, they sometimes worked for the camp administration, but without due compensation, of course

(2) Witness literature often carried sharp criticism of flagrant human rights violations in Nazi Germany. This was true of Witness literature produced and distributed clandestinely within Nazi-occupied Europe, as well as Witness literature published internationally. The Gestapo was well aware of the critical and revealing content of the literature, and thus they expended extraordinary effort to expose and destroy the secret printing facilities. They confiscated printing equipment, burned stocks of literature whenever it was found, and hunted down and executed many of those involved with the underground work. Thus, the nonviolent resistance offered by the Witnesses increased the financial, material, and physical losses they sustained.

(3) The nonviolent, nonpolitical resistance of Jehovah's Witnesses to Nazi policies is distinctive for its duration and consistency. It is not possible to quantify the losses suffered by families whose mothers or fathers were given lengthy sentences in camp or prison because of their faith. Beyond the lost wages, lost property, and lost years are the intangible costs suffered by all victims of Nazi terror. Unlike other victims, however, most Witnesses had a choice. Generally, they were targeted solely because of their religious convictions. Witnesses were offered the opportunity to avoid persecution simply by renouncing their beliefs. Therefore, by virtue of the length of the persecution and the nature of their resistance, we ask that the court grant special consideration to the applications of Witness survivors or their heirs, which will no doubt be few in number. Further, the court may allocate a portion of the settlement to be used for purposes of Holocaust education and remembrance. Combating intolerance and indifference is extremely important work. The Watch Tower and individual Jehovah's Witnesses have expended hundreds of thousands of dollars to promote awareness of the Holocaust and its lessons. The Watch Tower and its affiliate branch offices have made educational and academic presentations, free of admission charge, in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Israel, and most countries of Eastern and Western Europe. More than 400 seminars and exhibitions have been held in

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Germany alone, often in cooperation with concentration camp memorials, research institutions, and museums. Important research and archival work is being conducted in Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Russia, Israel, and other places.

The few remaining Witness survivors have used their waning vitality to speak to young people, educators, and scholars about their experiences and those of their martyred fellow believers. If the court sees fit to allocate a portion of the settlement fund to the Watch Tower to continue this work of remembrance, we believe it would constitute fitting recognition of individual Witnesses who suffered and died while maintaining their faith and human values.

Some Witnesses died prematurely and left no heirs to make a claim to the Swiss Bank Settlement Fund. However, the legacy of spiritual resistance that they left behind is of great value in the education of future generations about the importance of standing up for the dignity and value of human life. Representing these individuals, the Watch Tower would be pleased to devote any allocated moneys solely to the interests of Holocaust education and the remembrance of the prisoners who bore the purple triangle, according as the court might stipulate.

Realizing that thousands of survivors and heirs will apply to the court to receive a portion of the Settlement Fund, Watch Tower is not in a position to recommend a certain percentage to be allotted for the purposes outlined above, nor are we able to suggest what portion of the Fund should be allotted to individual Witness survivors. Watch Tower acknowledges that no amount of money can fully compensate for the losses of any victims of Nazi persecution. However, if the funds provided by the Swiss Banks Settlement can symbolically or practically mitigate the human suffering of survivors or their families, or if it can advance the work of education and remembrance, the money will have been well spent. In this allocation process, we rely on the court's equity and fairness.

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WHERFORE, in light of this information, Watch Tower, respectfully request an award in harmony with the just and equitable principles outlined in the settlement order.

December 7,1999.

Respectfully submitted,

signature

Carolyn R. Wah
Associate General Counsel
Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society
of Pennsylvania
100 Watchtower Drive
Patterson, NY 12563
Tel: (914) 306-0700
Fax: (914) 306-0709

badboy

I WONDER WHAT NEO-NAZIS WOULMAKE OF THIS.

WOULD DAVID IRVING BE INTERESTED?

Hortensia

You know, in all my years in and out of the WTBTS, I never heard much about this. It's amazing how much the org. will compromise, while not allowing their members to compromise. The reason JWs went to concentration camps is just because they weren't allowed to compromise, although the governing body was certainly will to kiss ass in a really disgusting way. I thought the following, in their own words, puts the whole matter very clearly:
"Instead of being against the principles advocated by the government of Germany, we stand squarely for such principles, and point out that Jehovah God through Christ Jesus will bring about the full realization of these principles and will give to the people peace and prosperity and the greatest desire of every honest heart…" In the previous sentences the WTBTS equated big business with Jews. So the message was, dear Mr. Chancellor, please go after those nasty Jews and Catholics but leave us alone. We're special and we think you are just wonderful!

Those principles advocated by the government of Germany included the extermination of anyone who didn't agree with them and the extermination of entire groups of people like the Jews and gypsies. The WTBTS would have been OK with the destruction of those groups, after all they are looking forward with really shameful glee to the destruction of damn near everyone on earth. But they felt they themselves were too special to be treated the same.

richard

See for an academic discussion: http://www.cesnur.org/2006/sd_chryssides.htm

1933 Letter from JW's to Hitler and Nazi Party

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