leopold engleitner oldest concentration camp survivor dead at 107
by StephaneLaliberte 10 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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inbetween
If you want to sum up the "good" about witnesses, I think, you can manifest it in this person. He was a humble, nice man, gone through hell, but remained positive towards his end. A truly great guy, sure, he was misleaded as many, but he truly believed and acted courageously. The Borg actually did not give much credit to him. They are more interested in publishing their litera-trash...
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designs
inbetween- Leopold seemed the real deal, a humble person who practiced nonviolence when all around him were at war. I think he was able to tour up until about a year ago.
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Band on the Run
Is he truly the last concentration camp survivor of all concentration camp survivors or the last JW survivor. I only learned here that compared to other internees, the Witness had a much easier deal. The info. shocked me and I am gratefu lthat people posted the analysis. Witnesses did not have it easy but compared to Jews, gays, communists, gypsies, and disabled people, they were relative kings.
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TheOldHippie
That is a very wrong and insulting statement, Band on the run. The reality in their situation was much more complicated, and you should read Garbe or other historians who have considered this. In the pre-war years and even early war years up until the war laws were approved, they were not treated too badly by the ordinary judicial authorities, but as soon as they had finished their prison term, they were met by the Gestapo and sent to the consentration camps where they were treated horribly and suffered exactly the same hardships as other groups of prisoners. It was good for them if they managed to receive long prison sentences in the ordinary prisons, as that sort of protected them from ending up at the camps. But from 1942-43 onwards a change took place, Himmler acknowledged that they were harmless and he started having phantacies about them being used after the war as a sort of buffer zone towards Russia, they could be sent to populate Ukraine and pacify the people living there etc., and so they were treated better, could be given work in the Nazi leaders' households, be used to build cottages and houses for them etc. As labourers in such outward commandoes they received better food and fared relatively seen better. At the same time, because of the war laws the ordinary judicial system started to treat the JWs worse, death sentences for preaching, refusing military service etc. So in these couple final years of the wars, it was a refuge, a help, for the JWs to be sent to the camps, now things changed so that the camps were a safer place. So from 1933 and 10 years onwards, it was better for them to be judged by the ordinary judicial system, as the camps were a place they were treated terribly, but during the last couple of years it was better for them to be in camps because there were treated slightly better than other prisoners whereas in the ordinary judicial system they were particularly targeted for execution and torture.
No matter what one thinks of the JW belief system, the sufferings they endured during the Nazi regime should be honoured. And individuals like Engletner, who toured Europe and the USA until he was 105, should be held in high esteem. Books are written about him, "No in stead of Yes and Amen" and "100 years of Unbroken Will". For some 40 years after the war ended, he was ridiculed in his home country Austria and in the area he lived, because he had been a consentration camp prisoner, as people thought that prople who had been there must have been criminals. People in Austria and Germany until recently were not taught about the Nazi crimes at school, it has been silenced, and people like Engleitner suffered first during the war and then for decades after the war. It was not until around 1990 that Engleitner was honoured as he should have been all the time, he was awarded medals, he got to meet the Chancellors of Austria and Germany etc. For 45 years after the war and until then he had lived as a poor man, sick from the evils he had received during the war and the illness and death of his wife, getting little work, just occational road or construction or farm work, ridiculed because of his poverty, because of his inprisonment during the war and because he was a JW.
Hats off to the memory of Engleitner and thousands like him. It is so easy to sit here 70 years later and say that they really did not meet any hardships, that they in fact were no heroes etc. - so easy to "know it all" 70 years later. No, shame on such thoughts. Engleitner really was a man, really was a humble hero, zero education but with a peasant-like wit that silenced Gestapo wardens and made even them like this strange, small guy who spoke with a dialect that was almost not understandable.
I have read the books about the guy. I have watched the DVDs about the guy. And I tell you, I love the guy.
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TheOldHippie
By the way, to clarify, he was the oldest survivor of the the concentration camps Buchenwald, Niederhagen and Ravensbrueck. No matter what faith.
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cantleave
I rarely agree with the old hippie - this is one occasion when I do!
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AnnOMaly
I haven't read Engleitner's book but I agree with TheOldHippie when he says:
No matter what one thinks of the JW belief system, the sufferings they endured during the Nazi regime should be honoured. ...
... Hats off to the memory of Engleitner and thousands like him.
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designs
Band- I think there is a Jewish woman who is the oldest survivor, 109.
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slimboyfat
This is sad news. He was a grand old man who lived a great life. God bless Leopold Engleitner.