1934 Yearbook, pp.127-140--Watchtower support for German Government. (Hitler) Click the link at the bottom of the next page. http://www.sendspace.com/file/osfaqf Cheers! Atlantis!-
1934 Yearbook,pp.127-140--by request!
by Atlantis 10 Replies latest watchtower bible
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kool aid man06
This is very helpfull .Thank you Atlantis.
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Awakened at Gilead
Thanks Atlantis... and welcome to JWR!
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Atlantis
Kool aid man06:
Awakened at Gilead:
You are more than welcome my friends! Thank you for the welcome to JWR.
Cheers! Atlantis!-
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BluesBrother
Thank you for posting this up, it is good to read it in context..Having done that, I really do not see that the comments of JFR are anywhere as bad as they are claimed to be.
He describes the persecution of J W's in Germany saying that those who opposed them were "on the side of satan"..He did say that the terms of the Treaty of Versailles induced the German people to reach for "any kind of Government to free themselves" but that is hardly an endorsement. He rails against the Anglo American Empire , but then,he frequently did that .
The article speaks of the German Government's opposition to "Big business oppressors" and it is in this context that he says that
" 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"
I can see that the wording is badly framed, I think he was trying to mitigate persecution by appealing to the Nazi Government , but I do not see "support" for the German government here.
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Leolaia
"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"
I can see that the wording is badly framed, I think he was trying to mitigate persecution by appealing to the Nazi Government , but I do not see "support" for the German government here.
You do need to bear in mind that this Erklärung was presented to the Chancellor with a cover letter. This document said that "the Brooklyn administration of the Watch Tower Society is and in the past has been outstandingly friendly to Germany", refusing to "publish war propaganda against Germany" (for which it was "outlawed and suppressed in the United States"), such that it "not only refused to participate in the horror propaganda against Germany but took a position against it". As for the "principles advocated by the government of Germany" in the Erklärung, the letter referred specifically to the "just principles enunciated by the Chancellor of the Reich himself" in the Nazi Platform, and then proceeded to quote a portion of it referring to "the ethical and moral beliefs of the German race" which "opposes the Jewish-materialist spirit domestically and abroad". The letter goes on to discuss how the Society has been persecuted by the Jews: "The attached Erklärung refers to the fact that the circles that led in promoting horror propaganda in the United States (commercialistic Jews and Catholics) are also the most eager persecutors of the Society". The German version of the Erklärung contained a statement not found in the English version that maligns Jews and Catholics for "insulting the national government in Germany" and for joining together to boycott the country because of the Nazi Party's "announced principle". This was the 1933 anti-Nazi boycott that was intended to make Germany stop its own announced boycott of Jewish businesses (which fulfulls the government's fight against the "Jewish materialist spirit"). Joseph Goebbels referred to the foreign press' characterization of Nazi boycott of Jews as "false charges against the Nazis in the overseas press" (compare the reference to "horror propaganda" in the Watchtower letter to Hitler), and insisted that the boycott would continue "until German Jewry has been annihilated". In addition to the solidarity given to Germany in its boycott of Jewish businesses, the Erklärung also had a lengthy section on the Jews, which while insisting that they have no "fight" per se against said persons, clearly articulated an antisemitic stance that criticized the Jews for carrying on exploitive "Big Business" to oppress the people of many nations. The letter again states in unequivocal terms the nature of the solidarity the Society has with Nazi Germany's ethical and moral goals, as affirmed at the Bible Student convention where the Erklärung was issued:
"At the convention, it was stated that there are no opposing views in the relationship between German Bible Students and the National Government of the German Reich, but that, to the contrary, respecting the purely religious and apolitical goals and objectives of the Bible Students, it can be said that these are in complete harmony with the similar goals of the National Government of the German Reich....The five-thousand-delegate convention pointed out in this connection that the contents of our books that were banned referred only to circumstances in the Anglo-American World Empire and that it -- especially England -- is to be held responsible for the League of Nations and the unjustified treaties and burdens placed on Germany. The things said in the above-mentioned spirit are therefore directed -- whether in a financial, political, or Roman Catholic sense -- against the oppressors of the German people and country, not against the Germany struggling against these burdens."
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orangefatcat
excellent post, thanks for that link I enjoyed reading the same ole stuff that JWs GB's said so long ago and still say the same things today.
I love what they call Babylon the Great, the Federation of Churches. and they claim they don't put anyone down but all they do is condemn the churches clerics, Jews, and catholic, and governments and then in the next breathe say they don't speak out against them. Give me a break who are they kidding. Same message, just in a different package. I see they really loathe the Catholic Church big time.
Orangefatcat.
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Atlantis
Instead of being againstthe principles advocated by the government of Germany, we stand squarely for such principles..." (p.136) This is "support" for the German government! If you are "for" a government, then you are "not" neutral! You are infact, saying "yes" to what that government does.
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Atlantis
BluesBrother:
Leolaia:
Orangefatcat:
Thank you!
Nevada!-