Holocaust: Non-Jewish Victims
Newsletter: Volume 1, Issue 1 F
© 1999, 2008 Terese Pencak Schwartz

Jehovah Witnesses

Hitler Was the
Ultimate Racist

Five Million Often Forgotten

The Holocaust is usually taught as the mass genocide of almost six million Jews in Europe during World War II. But, more than five million others were also persecuted, tortured, tattooed and killed. These five million included innocent citizens - men women and children. The survivors and the families of these five million often feel left out -- overshadowed by the Jewish casualties. Nonetheless, these people need to be recognized and memorialized. Many of these died for their race or their beliefs. Many of these died while helping their Jewish neighbors. They too deserve their place in history.

Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933 when Germany was experiencing severe economic hardship. Hitler promised the Germans that he would bring them prosperity and power. Hitler had a vision of a Master Race of Aryans that would control Europe. He used powerful propaganda techniques to convince not only the German people, but countless others, that if they eliminated the people who stood in their way and the degenerates and racially inferior, they - "the great Germans" would prosper.

Jehovah Witnesses: Stood Firm

Every country, even Germany, had those who did not believe in the Nazi ideology and who were willing to die for their beliefs. Perhaps no other group stood so firmly in their beliefs as the Jehovah Witnesses. Hitler felt very threatened by this strong group of Christians because they, from the very beginning, refused to recognize any God other than Jehovah. When asked to sign documents of loyalty to the Nazi ideology, they refused. Jehovah Witnesses were forced to wear purple armbands and thousands were imprisoned as "dangerous" traitors because they refused to take a pledge of loyalty to the Third Reich.

Facing the Lion - Memoirs of a Young Girl in Nazi Europe by Simone Arnold Liebster A reader from Patterson, NY USA says: "This excellent auto-biography provides a glimpse into the life and trials of a girl and her family who found themselves facing the wrath of Hitler. As members of the Jehovah's Witnesses, they refused to support Hitler's war machine and so the Nazis vowed to exterminate the group. Persecuted for their beliefs, not for their ethnicity, this story tells of Simone's quiet fight for right. Sustained by her hope and faith, she overcame opposition of the strongest kind and has found the strength and courage to share her story. For anyone who loved Anne Frank, this is a must read!"

This newsletter is published by the Holocaust Forgotten Memorial, 4607 Lakeview Canyon Rd., Ste. 367, Westlake Village, California 91361. See and print complete Newsletter. Information for this newsletter was taken from various sources, including The Other Victims : First-Person Stories of Non-Jews Persecuted by the Nazis by Ina R. Friedman. Houghton Mifflin Company

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