Did Knorr take a Bribe?

by RR 13 Replies latest watchtower scandals

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  RR

  Cleaning the basement and I found this letter that I copied from the DAWN Bible Students Archives years ago when I worked there!
  
  

  Have fun!
  
  RR
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  joenobody

  Anyone know if Knorr actually had a Caddy?
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  onacruse

  Interesting.

  A bit about Anton Koerber (pertinent info in red)(some portions deleted for brevity):

  *** w68 5/15 pp. 313-318 Happiness Results from Making the Most of One’s Talents ***

  The life story of ANTON KOERBER as told by his friends

  IT WAS late in the summer of 1967 and the occasion was a convention of Jehovah’s witnesses. The location was the Laurel, Maryland, racetrack. High up in the stands, from where one could view the program, sat a white-haired elderly gentleman in a wheelchair, surrounded by a handful of friends. Though it turned out that he did not have much longer to live—he died within four months—his mind was alert and his spirit happy and enthusiastic as he shared upbuilding thoughts and items of interest with his friends.

  ...

  The semi-invalid was Anton Koerber, seventy-five years old, a happy and zealous servant of Jehovah God for more than fifty years. During this time he enjoyed a great variety of opportunities of serving his God Jehovah and his fellowmen, Christians and non-Christians. At the same time he was blessed with no mean share of this world’s goods, of which he made generous use.

  Anton was born on June 13, 1892, of Lutheran parents in modest circumstances, his father being a hotel chef in Baltimore, Maryland. Home was small but clean, and thrift was practiced, and so was discipline. Circumstances allowed little time for sports, and beginning with the age of twelve he spent school vacations working, first at a grocery store and then at a newspaper office. Modest family circumstances dictated getting a job as soon as eight grades of grammar school were completed. While thus working Anton attended night school and took correspondence courses in engineering to gain the equivalent of a high school education.

  ...Before many months passed he dedicated himself to God to do his will and was baptized at Fairmont, West Virginia, in July 1913.

  ...

  Three years later he married and moved to Washington, D.C., where a son and daughter were born to him. During World War I he was arrested and tried because of his conscientious objection to war, but the case was held in abeyance and dropped when the war was over. He now saw his way clear to enter the full-time preaching work. This he did with William N. Hall, a retired army brigadier general, whose privilege it had been to accompany Pastor Russell, the first president of the Watch Tower Society, on one of his world tours. Anton found Hall a helpful companion and a fine soldier of Jesus Christ. They traveled far and wide in Maryland, Virginia and other Eastern states...

  For years Anton had been in the insurance business. While such issues as buying war bonds caused strained relations with his business associates, it was the slogan "Millions Now Living Will Never Die," which the Bible Students were then preaching, that caused him to sever his connections with the insurance business and enter the real estate field. There his natural abilities enabled him to become highly successful, buying, selling, building, financing and managing houses, hotels, apartment and office buildings.

  BOUGHT

  OUT THE OPPORTUNE TIME

  Anton had a most positive personality (as is apparent from his business successes), which he used to good advantage to witness to God’s name and kingdom. From the start he never missed an opportunity to use his business connections to that end. He witnessed to all, rich and poor, high and low. They accorded him respect and some even acknowledged that what he told them was the truth and said that they wished that they could have the faith he had. He told them that they could if they would only believe the Bible!

  ...No wonder that in 1955, a typical year, he obtained 532 subscriptions!

  ...

  LIAISON

  ACTIVITY

  Anton Koerber also had much happiness in serving the cause of God’s kingdom by making successful business contacts, serving as a liaison officer as it were. He worked out contracts with radio stations and radio networks for broadcasting the Kingdom good news. He also proved of assistance in acquiring property in Brooklyn, New York, in South Lansing, New York, for the Kingdom Farm and Gilead School there, and in Toronto, Canada, for the Bethel home and factory there. While his business experience and contacts were of great help in these matters, he stated that he always put his trust in Jehovah to bring matters to a successful conclusion.

  Even greater were his privileges in connection with representing God’s cause to the government officials located in Washington, D.C. He had a share, back in 1925, in fighting for licenses for radio stations owned by the Watch Tower Society. For some twenty-five years and more he appeared before presidents, cabinet members and members of Congress to serve them with the many resolutions adopted by Jehovah’s witnesses at their various assemblies...

  ...

  In 1933, while his wife and two children were at the Brooklyn headquarters, Anton was sent out as a Regional Servant in the eastern part of the United States. He helped to organize the congregations into special service groups. These groups were then used to concentrate on a particular city where the Witnesses had been arrested and otherwise harassed for preaching the good news about God’s kingdom. Upward of a hundred Witnesses in twenty or more autos would meet at a predetermined contact point outside the city and then all descend upon the city for house-to-house preaching. At the same time Anton called on the city officials and the police to enlighten them as to the Constitutional rights of the Witnesses to engage in this work.

  In 1935, he was sent to Germany to try to get the printing presses at the Watch Tower Society’s Magdeburg branch, which had been seized by Hitler, transferred to Russia, with the hope of opening a branch in Russia. This was a most trying mission for him, as he was being watched constantly by the agents of both Nazi Germany and Communist Russia, neither of which had any affection for Jehovah’s Christian witnesses. While his mission did not meet with success, he was able to contact some of the Witnesses in Russia and, of course, many in Germany whom he was able to encourage.

  HAD

  RIGHT VIEW OF SECULAR ACTIVITY

  Shortly thereafter Anton returned to his real estate activity, after which he again became active as a full-time pioneer minister. Then in 1952 he was able to arrange his affairs so as to be able to travel as a circuit minister for the Watch Tower Society. In this capacity he served for seven years; this was a work that brought him much joy. He was able to revisit many of the groups that he, with Brother Hall, had originally organized many years before. He also enjoyed many privileges through the years serving at various assemblies, circuit, district, national and international. His remarks were always very upbuilding and encouraging. It was apparent to all that he was very happy using his talents in serving Jehovah.

  That Anton had the right view of secular work was apparent in a number of ways. One of these was the generosity he showed toward those who had served God’s kingdom full time over many years at such places as the Brooklyn Bethel. Also indicative of his having the right perspective was the position he took in an incident that took place only a few years ago. He was approached by some of his old business associates, who were well acquainted with his business acumen, with what they thought was a tantalizing business offer, a proposition in which he could clear a million dollars for himself. But to realize this he would have to devote all his time for about a year to extensive business matters. He thought the matter over carefully, for one can do a lot of good with a million dollars. But after praying over the matter and asking for guidance and direction and the spirit of a sound mind, he came to the conclusion: "It is not possible for me to give up my wonderful privileges of serving Jehovah here for even just one year, no, not for all the money in the world. Serving my brothers here in Washington is more precious to me, and here I know I have Jehovah’s blessing. I no doubt would make a million dollars, but at the end of the year of that kind of life, what would I be like spiritually, or even physically?" And so he turned down the offer.

  THROUGH

  MUCH TRIBULATION

  Anton’s life was not one without obstacles or problems. No Christian can enter the Kingdom without his share of tribulation. (Acts 14:22) His very positive personality at times caused misunderstandings with his brothers, resulting in his being on the sidelines, as it were, for a time. During this time, in 1938, his wife was smitten with paralysis and for fourteen years she was a bedridden invalid, lovingly cared for by her husband and her daughter until her death in 1952. Shortly before she died Anton himself had to undergo surgery for cancer, and, though he suffered much, he never complained. He had one operation after another, from which the doctors as well as his close friends did not expect him to recover.

  ...

  ...Nothing further could be done for him by the doctors, and he gradually weakened until his death on November 19, 1967.

  ...

  This guy was definitely a financial mover and shaker.

  Craig
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  Englishman

  Anyone know if Knorr actually had a Caddy?

  Yes, he did. I recall my father telling me in the late 50's that some of the "brothers" had clubbed together and presented NHK with a Cadillac. This came via the London bethel, probably from Ron Drage with whom my Dad occasionally had a beer. Englishman.
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  onacruse

  A little more about what got Koerber in "trouble":

  *** jv chap. 28 pp. 639-640 Testing and Sifting From Within ***

  For the organization to continue to have Jehovah’s approval, it must be devoted exclusively to the work that his Word commands for our day. That work is the preaching of the good news of the Kingdom of God. (Matt. 24:14) However, there have been a few instances in which individuals who worked hard in cooperation with the organization also endeavored to use it to promote programs that tended to divert their associates to other activities. When reproved, this was a test to them, especially when they felt that their motives had been noble.

  This occurred in Finland during 1915, when some brothers founded a cooperative association called Ararat and used the columns of the Finnish edition of The Watch Tower to urge its readers to join this business association. The one who had initiated this activity in Finland responded humbly when Brother Russell pointed out that he and his associates were letting themselves be "led away from the important work of the Gospel." However, pride hindered another brother, one who had been active in Jehovah’s service for over a decade in Norway, from accepting the same counsel.

  During the 1930’s, in the United States, a somewhat similar problem arose. A number of congregations were publishing their own monthly service instruction sheets, which included reminders from the Society’s Bulletin as well as experiences and their local schedule of service arrangements. One of these, published in Baltimore, Maryland, gave enthusiastic support to the preaching activity but was also used to promote certain business ventures. Initially Brother Rutherford gave tacit approval to some of these. But when it was realized what could develop from involvement in such ventures, The Watchtower stated that the Society did not endorse them. This presented a severe personal test to Anton Koerber, for he had intended by these means to be of help to his brothers. In time, however, he again made full use of his abilities to further the preaching work being done by Jehovah’s Witnesses.
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  Gamaliel

  RR,

  I tried to verify this story in 1978/9 with a bit of success. Also there was no doubt that Knorr had enjoyed at least one Cadillac in the past. A Bethelite I knew from my home state once took me to see about four black/gray Lincoln Town cars which he said belonged to Knorr, Suiter, et al. That would be about 1976. I don't really recall any more if any Cadillacs were among these cars he claimed were owned by various Bethel "heavies" as he called them.

  This letter you've copied was quoted and discussed in Bill Cetnar's testimony in one of the first "apostate" books I read (while still in Bethel). I met Bill Cetnar just a couple years later and he told me about it with the same level of detail in the book and letter, very little more. (Bill and his wife always ran the ex-JWs for Jesus Convention, as you know.) I couldn't get the story directly verified by anyone outside of Bill Cetnar, which, of course, is not absolutely necessary to believe it, but I wanted to know if someone else was willing to back him up.

  If I had tried to verify it openly I would have put myself and a few others in immediate trouble, but I did know one person, a good friend of mine, (Bethel Elder, Table Head & "Heavy") who told almost exactly the same story, but very obliquely, and without naming either Knorr or Koerber. However, he also hinted that Knorr was the key player in the story, and made it clear that he had very little love for the man.

  Additionally, there was another rumor around Bethel that could be heard from several sources that Knorr had in fact once tried to kick this same friend of mine out of Bethel on false charges, which prompted my friend to always hold "paper ammunition" which would be exposed if Knorr tried it again. The last part could be wild rumors, but it explained some things. Also these stories my friend told me, which tend to verify both the Koerber story and the rumors, are a very personal part of my friend's life, and he appreciates privacy in these matters, but someday soon I will mention it again to him and see if he wishes to expand on it a bit publicly.

  The things the Society later printed about Koerber tend to support the story in many ways, too. I think it's very credible that most everything in Cetnar's version is true, although I must add that Knorr didn't seem the type who would care so much about this specific "bribe." There may have been more to it, of course, but Knorr could have received cars any time by dropping hints near wealthy brothers.

  Gamaliel
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  metatron

  There were rumors about vehicles given by paper companies to Knorr's partners in crime.

  Oldsmobiles, I think

  metatron
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  RR

  Russell Pollack was an old timer from the days of Pastor Russell, and he was a pilgrim in the twentis, his name appears in the old Yearbooks under the listings of "Pilgrims."

  To tell you the truth, I have know many old timers among the Bible Students who have told me some interesting stories, friom their own personal accounts about the Judge and others.

  RR
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  LittleToe

  Sorry if this is totally off-thread, but it jogged my mind...

  Eman:You just reminded me of the fact that it was Ron Drage who got my old man kicked out of Bethel - LOL.

  I bumped into him a few months before I DA'ed, and he was highly embarrased when he realised who I was, as I looked at him with a gleam in my eye.
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  mizpah

  My mother-in-law saw Knorr drive off in a white Cadillac after one of the assemblies in the 1950s. The reason it made such an impression on her was that her two children were pioneering and using an "old fliver" to get around their territories. This old car was "falling apart" and needed tires. But here was the President of the Watchtower Society being chauffered like some eastern Potentate!

  We never knew if this was his personal property. We assumed it was probably donated to the Watchtower organization for his use. It really didn't matter. The contrast of the life of the Knorr and the front line workers such as the pioneers as quite evident. And it was an impression that she never forgot!