Nazi SS Chief Himmler; admirer of jws
by sf 5 Replies latest jw friends
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r51785
Interesting point.
Many Jehovah's Witnesses do not understand history and therefore cannot understand why they were presecuted by the Nazi's. The Nazi's started as a small group after the World War I. When Hitler joined up there were fewer than 20 members. From this small group they took over the country in a dozen years time. Hitler and his fellow fanatics believed that their success was a result of their strong and unshakeable will. (Note that German filmaker Leni Rieftenstahl named her documentary about the Nazi Party rally "Triumph of the Will.") The Nazi's saw similar characteristics in the German Bible students. They also saw that they were financed and controlled from America. From the Nazi frame of mind it was impossible to understand that a group such as the Bible Students did not have political goals. Refusing to accept this fact the Nazi's actually feared (and respected) the Bible Students. Thus the persecution. Remember that any Bible Student who renounced his faith was released (not an option available to Jews, homosexuals or gypsies).
I do not agree with what the Nazis did by any stretch of the imagination but given mindset and experience it is understandable. The witnesses may believe that Hitler persecuted them because they were the one true religion, but the real reason was as stated above.
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metatron
You are correct, sir.
If you read internal documents from the SS, found after
the war, it will confirm that Nazis feared Witnesses
as possible competitors or challengers. Many libraries
have "Nazi Persecution of the Churches" - which refers
to this.metatron
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sf
Schroeder
Jaracz
Henschel
Lettuce ponder the ancestry, shall we now.
sKally
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arachnia
Actually I went to the Troy, MI congregation for awhile and Himmler's grandson and his wife attended that hall; she makes jewelry and created my friend's engagement ring for her. I think they go to the Port Huron, MI hall now?
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Big Tex
Forgive me being Dumb History Guy, but I thought the reason the Nazis Jehovah's Witnesses (Bible Students) was because they refused to serve in the military and/or work in factories making military equipment. Actually the reasons I've read here make more sense, although I've never thought of the possibility of the Nazis fearing the Witnesses because of their fanaticism.