Hi Norm,
The Yearbook of 1974 states that there was a TOTAL of 2,000 Witnesses in the camps! And that the number of deaths was "a total of 635"! Yet we see that the Watchtower throw around fantasy figures like 10,000 Witnesses in the camps, and 4,000 dead! Why?
As it's stated before 635 doesn't sound as much.
Well the reason why the Watchtower still "throw around fantasy figures like 10,000 Witnesses in the camps, and 4,000 dead" I think have two reasons.
First, they 'need' the big figurs to confirm their image as the persecuted people of the true God, one of many proofs that they are and have the truth.
Secondly, "figures like 10,000 Witnesses in the camps, and 4,000 dead" as found in many non-JW books and articles talking about the JW's during the World War II has its origen indirectly from WT.
When Christine Elizabeth King in 1982 released the book "The Nazi state and the new religions" she used the figurs 10,000/4,000. These figurs were given to her by the WT during her research in the subject. The WT knew this wasn't true, but it seems that they needed something more than just 635 dead. By helping King they now had a proof from a researcher that many tousands died in the Nazi camps.
When writers to articles from WT is looking for figurs of dead in the camps all they have to do is give a reference to King or others. It conform their selfimage and if the figurs is wrong it's King's error, not the WTs.
Henriksen