In English:
Translation of Declaration Document
Concentration camp .......................................
Department II
DECLARATION
I, the ...................................................
born on ..................................................
in .......................................................
herewith make the following declaration:
I have come to know that the International Bible Students Association is proclaiming erroneous teachings and under the cloak of religion follows hostile purposes against the State.
I have therefore left the organization entirely and made myself absolutely free from the teachings of this sect.
I herewith give assurance that I will never again take any part in the activity of the International Bible Students Association. Any persons approaching me with the teaching of the Bible Students, or who in any manner reveal their connections with them, I will denounce immediately. All literature from the Bible Students that should be sent to my address I will at once deliver to the nearest police station.
I will in the future esteem the laws of the State, especially in the event of war will I, with weapon in hand, defend the fatherland, and join in every way the community of the people.
I have been informed that I will at once be taken again into protective custody if I should act against the declaration given today.
.................................., Dated ................
...........................................................
Signature
Children of Jehovah's Witnesses also suffered under the Nazi regime. In classrooms, teachers ridiculed children who refused to give the Heil Hitler salute or sing patriotic songs. Principals found reasons to expel them from school. Following the lead of adults, classmates shunned or beat the children of Witnesses. On occasion, authorities sought to remove children from their Witness parents and send them to other schools, orphanages, or private homes to be brought up as "good Germans"
(Emphasis added)In Social Disinterest, Governmental Disinformation, Renewed Persecution, and Now Manipulation of History? Garbe stated, "Taking everything into consideration, it has been established that no other religious movement resisted the pressure to conform to National Socialism with comparable unanimity and steadfastness." He later went on to say that at "no point did they support Nazi rule. Rather, the stand taken by Jehovah's Witnesses would have, according to Klaus Drobisch, "been befitting" for the majority of the population".
(Emphasis added)In concentration camps, Jehovah's Witnesses, along with members of Witness splinter groups, and members of the Adventist, Baptist, and New Apostolic movements, wore purple triangle badges that identified them as Bibelforscher (Bible Students).
The Watchtower has claimed that during the Nazi era Jehovah’s Witnesses "underwent persecution equal to that heaped upon the Jews."
11,300 Jehovah's Witnesses were placed in camps, and about 1,490 died, of whom 270 were executed as conscientious objectors.
Link: Persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in Nazi Germany
The Mormon response to Hitler: The Mormon Church Attempts to Conceal Temple Records for Adolf Hitler.
He was baptised by proxy in 1993. Two US presidents had their proxy baptisms delayed because of “the way they treated Mormons”, yet neither placed Mormons in concentration camps, and neither was responsible for the cold-blooded murder of six million Jews.
Mormons in Germany:
(Emphasis added)During World War II, only the Lutheran, Catholic, and Mormon Churches were allowed to remain open, although meetings of the Mormon Church were watched by SS officers, and the Gestapo routinely interrogated all Mormon leaders. In desperation, the Mormons in Germany quoted the Twelfth Article of Faith, which says that Mormons seek to be loyal citizens. Tens of thousands of Mormons were drawn into this conflict on every side of the war. The Church was affected worldwide, but the Prophet, Heber J. Grant, counseled the members to help one another in enduring the conflict and to stick together. Mormons in Germany for the most part remained safe, though some died as soldiers in the war.
Mormonism in Germany.
A list of persecution in various countries including the United States.
Witness persecution in America.
While millions of Americans were defending liberty against the Nazis, liberty was under vicious attack at home. One of the worst outbreaks of religious persecution in U.S. history occurred during World War II when Jehovah's Witnesses were intimidated, beaten, and even imprisoned for refusing to salute the flag or serve in the armed forces…..
Judging Jehovah's Witnesses tells how persecution--much of it directed by members of patriotic organizations like the American Legion--touched the lives of Witnesses of all ages; why the Justice Department and state officials ignored the Witnesses' pleas for relief; and how the ACLU and liberal clergymen finally stepped forward to help them. Drawing on interviews with Witnesses and extensive research in ACLU archives, Peters examines the strategies that beleaguered Witnesses used to combat discrimination and goes beyond the familiar Supreme Court rulings by analyzing more obscure lower court decisions as well.
"A vivid depiction of the hysterical and brutal suppression of the Witnesses during the 1930s and 1940s and how their legal resistance transformed the civil liberties of all Americans. A story of cowardice and courage, well told."--Norman Dorsen, Stokes Professor, NYU, and president, ACLU 1976–1991
Do I agree with their decision to veto military service? No. Do I agree with their right to do so in principle with their religious belief? Yes.
Jehovah's Witnesses in Georgia (Soviet Union): Chronology of Acts of Violence and Intimidation (1996-2004):
(Emphasis added)In an ongoing campaign of persecution against Jehovah's Witnesses, there have been numerous acts of mob violence against them, including the destruction of personal property and the burning of tons of religious literature by religious extremists. Although the victims have filed more than 800 criminal complaints, no one has been punished, and in most cases no charges have ever been brought, or laid, by prosecutors against those accused of the violence. This detailed chronology is based on eyewitness testimony.
Examples:
February 29, 2004
In Samtredia at 1 a.m., an unknown individual or individuals in an act of arson set fire to a small kiosk located in the yard of a home where meetings of Jehovah's Witnesses are held. A complaint is filed with the police and the General Prosecutor. Although the home and its owner had already been subjected to a mob attack just five days earlier, on February 24, the police refuse to initiate a criminal case.
January 31, 2004
In the city of Samtredia, a mob of about 30 persons interrupts a religious meeting of the local congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses, insulting and threatening those in attendance. Police are called to the scene and some of the eight policemen who arrive sympathize with the attackers. Criminal complaints are filed by the victims with the General Prosecutor and the local police. No charges are laid.
In conclusion: I do not subscribe to nor believe in the theology of Jehovah’s Witnesses, but I have never turned a Witness away from my door, and have always respected their conviction and tenacity. Before I became a Mormon I seriously contemplated becoming a Jehovah’s Witness, and met with their Elders several times. I was partly deterred by relatives who told me “oh no, not them”. I am not an atheist (sorry to disappoint some), and in my corny and deluded way I believe that God works through diverse ways and means, “according to our needs”. For some it is Mormonism, for others it is not. I have created this thread as a “reference” in response to the now closed Do I feel intimidated? Yes thread on MADB. Here I have the freedom to do so without being censored or asked to “remain on topic” or leave the thread.
I do not condone violence against Mormons, nor anyone, but I seriously think that on that thread some Mormons were complaining about a leak in the boat, when by comparison the Jehovah’s Witnesses went down with the Titanic while singing “Nearer, My God, to thee”. And in doing research for this thread I have felt sickened and appalled and disgusted by what they have tolerated. I was already aware of their Yearbook detailing annual persecution, but never read it in detail.
So are some conscientious Mormons going to speak out about violence and intimidation of Jehovah’s Witnesses? I’m not holding my breath.