The facts

  I publish for my readers consideration the full text of the pamphlet a declaration of facts addressed to the state and people of Nazi Germany requesting that Jehovah's servants in Hitler's Germany be left in peace to carry on their preaching and teaching work circa 1933.I've done this so that you can read the document in its entirety and form your own conclusions.

Declaration of Facts

"This company of German people, who are peaceable and law-abiding citizens

representing many others from every part of Germany, all of whom are

earnestly laboring for the highest welfare of the people of this land,

being now duly assembled at Berlin this 25th day of June, AD.. 1933, do

joyfully declare our complete devotion to Jehovah, the Almighty God, and to

his kingdom under Christ Jesus, whose shed blood bought the human race. We

declare that the holy Scriptures set forth in the Bible constitute the Word

of Jehovah God given to men for their guidance in righteousness, and that

the Word of God is the truth, and that it is of greatest importance that

man have a knowledge of his relationship to God. We ask to be judged by the

standard of the Word of God.

"Christ Jesus is Jehovah God's great Witness to the truth, and as his

faithful and devoted followers we are, by His grace, witnesses to the

truth. The purpose of this Declaration is that we may present a true and

faithful witness before rulers and the people as to the name and purpose of

Jehovah God and our relation thereto.

"We are wrongfully charged before the ruling powers of this government and

before the people of this nation; and in order that the name of Jehovah God

may be exalted in the minds of the people, and that his benevolent purposes

be better understood and our position fairly placed before the government,

we do respectfully ask the rulers of the nation and the people to give a

fair and impartial consideration to the statement of facts here made.

"The Scriptures plainly state that the chief opposer of Jehovah God and the

greatest enemy of mankind is Satan the Devil whose name is also that of

Serpent and Dragon. It is written in the Scriptures that Satan, who has

long been the invisible ruler of this world, deceives and blinds the people

to the truth in order that the light of and concerning Jehovah God and

Christ Jesus may not shine into the minds of men. (2 Corinthians 4: 3,4)

Frequently by fraud, subtility [sic]] and deception Satan has induced

honest persons to war with each other, in order that he might turn them all

away from God and destroy them. Above all things, the people need to know

Jehovah God and his gracious provision for their general welfare.

"By the term 'clergy', as used in our literature, reference is made to the

class of professed religious teachers, priests and Jesuits who employ

improper political means to accomplish their ends and pin forces even with

those who deny God and the Lord Jesus Christ. That is the same class to

whom Jesus referred as his persecutors. We have no criticism of any honest

religious teacher.

"When Jesus went to the Jews to tell them of the truth, it was the Jewish

clergy, that is to say, the Pharisees and priests, that violently opposed

him and persecuted him and caused him to be charged with all manner of

crimes and offenses. They refused to hear the truth, and addressing them

Jesus said: "Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot

hear my word. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father

ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in truth,

because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of

his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I tell you the

truth, ye believe me not.' (John 8: 43-45) Although the Pharisees and

priests then claimed to represent Jehovah God Jesus told them that they

were in fact the representatives of Satan the Devil.

"We have no fight with any persons or religious teachers, but we must call

attention to the fact that it is generally those who claim to represent God

and Christ Jesus who are in fact our persecutors and who misrepresent us

before the governments and nations. As true followers of Christ Jesus we

are to expect such opposition, and we mention it here in explanation of why

we have been misrepresented before the rulers of this nation. To his

faithful followers Jesus said: 'Remember the word I said unto you, The

servant is not greater than his lord. If they [the false religious

teachers] have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have

kept my saying, they will keep yours also.' (John 15: 20) Furthermore,

Jesus said that this same class of men would cause his true followers to be

wrongfully charged before the ruling powers, his language being: 'But take

heed to yourselves: for they [false religious teachers] shall deliver you

up to councils [police power]; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten;

and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a

testimony against them.' (Mark 13: 9) This explains why Jehovah God now

permits his faithful witnesses to be misrepresented and persecuted, namely,

that those of a wrong spirit may identify themselves as opponents of God

and thus bear witness against themselves. The same materialistic spirit

that caused the persecution of Jesus Christ now exists and is back of the

persecution of us his faithful followers.

"It is falsely charged by our enemies that we have received financial

support for our work from the Jews. Nothing is farther from the truth. Up

to this hour there never has been the slightest bit of money contributed to

our work by Jews. We are the faithful followers of Christ Jesus and believe

upon Him as the Savior of the world, whereas the Jews entirely reject Jesus

Christ and emphatically deny that he is the Savior of the world sent of God

for man's good. This of itself should be sufficient proof to show that we

receive no support from Jews and that therefore the charges against us are

maliciously false and could proceed only from Satan, our great enemy.

"The greatest and most oppressive empire on earth is the Anglo-American

empire. By that is meant the British Empire, of which the United States of

America forms a part. It has been the commercial Jews of the

British-American empire that have built up and carried on Big Business as a

means of exploiting and oppressing the peoples of many nations. This fact

particularly applies to the cities of London and New York, the stronghold

of Big Business. This fact is so manifest in America that there is a

proverb concerning the city of New York which says: 'The Jews own it, the

Irish Catholics rule it, and the Americans pay the bills.' We have no fight

with any of these persons mentioned, but, as the witnesses for Jehovah and

in obedience to his commandment set forth in the Scriptures, we are

compelled to call attention to the truth concerning the same in order that

the people may be enlightened concerning God and his purpose.

Our Literature

"It is said that our books and like literature, when circulated amongst the

people, constitute a danger to the peace and safety of the nation. We are

certain that this conclusion is due to the fact that our books and other

literature have not been carefully examined by the rulers and hence are not

properly understood. We respectfully call attention to the fact that these

books and other literature were written originally in America and the

language therein used has been adapted to the American style of plainness

of speech and, when translated into German, the same appears to be harsh.

We admit that the same truths might be stated in a less blunt and more

pleasing phrase, and yet the language of these books follows closely the

language of the Bible.

"It should be borne in mind that in the British Empire and in America the

common people have suffered and are now suffering greatly because of the

misrule of Big Business and conscienceless politicians, which misrule has

been and is supported by political religionists, and hence the

writers of our books or literature have endeavored to employ plain

language to convey to the people the proper thought or understanding. The

language used, however, is not as strong or emphatic as that used by Jesus

Christ in denouncing the oppressors and false teachers of his time.

"The present government of Germany has declared emphatically against Big

Business oppressors and in opposition to the wrongful religious influence

in the political affairs of the nation. Such is exactly our position; and

we further state in our literature the reason for the existence of

oppressive Big Business and the wrongful political religious influence,

because the Holy Scriptures plainly declare that these oppressive

instruments proceed from the Devil, and that the complete relief therefrom

is God's kingdom under Christ. It is therefore impossible for our

literature or our work to in any wise be a danger or a menace to the peace

and safety of the state.

"Our organization is not political in any sense. We only insist on teaching

the Word of Jehovah God to the people, and that without hindrance. We do

not object or try to hinder anyone's teaching or believing what he desires,

but we only ask the freedom to believe and teach what we conceive the bible

to teach, and then let the people decide which they wish to believe.

"To know Jehovah God and his gracious provision for mankind is of most

vital importance to all persons, because God has declared in His Word that

where there is no vision or understanding of his Word the people perish.

(Proverbs 29: 18) We have devoted our lives and our material substance to

the work of enabling the people to gain a vision or understanding of God's

Word, and therefore it is impossible for our literature and our work to be

a menace to the peace and safety of the nation. Instead of being against

the principles advocated by the government of Germany, we stand squarely

for such principles, and point out that Jehovah God through Christ Jesus

will bring about the full realization of these principles and will give to

the people peace and prosperity and the greatest desire of every honest

heart.

"Our organization seeks neither money nor members, but we are a company or

organized body of Christian people engaged solely in the benevolent work of

teaching the Word of God to the people at the least possible cost to them.

Our organization was originally incorporated in the United States of

America in 1884 under the name of the WATCH TOWER BIBLE 15r TRACT SOCIETY,

and in 1914 incorporated under the laws of Great Britain by the name of the

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE STUDENTS ASSOCIATION. These are merely the corporate

names of our organization for legally carrying forward its work. The

Scriptural name by which we are known is 'Jehovah's witnesses'. We are

engaged solely in a benevolent work. The purpose of our organization is to

aid the people to understand the Bible, which discloses the only possible way

for the complete relief and blessing for mankind. Our organization has

extended its work throughout the earth. The education, culture and

upbuilding of the people must and will come through the agency of God's

kingdom concerning which we teach as set forth in the Bible. The salvation

of the people depends upon the true knowledge of and obedience to Jehovah

God and his righteous ways.

"The people are in great distress and in need of help to understand the

reason for their unhappy condition and what is the means of relief. The

Scriptures, when understood, make this matter clear. Instead of collecting

money from the people and using the same to erect great buildings and to

support men in luxury, we print the gospel message of God's kingdom and

carry it to the homes of the people that they may, at the least

inconvenience to themselves, gain a knowledge of God's purposes concerning

them.

"A careful examination of our books and literature will disclose the fact

that the very high ideals held and promulgated by the present national

government are set forth in and endorsed and strongly emphasized in our

publications, and show that Jehovah God will see to it that these high

ideals in due time will be attained by all persons who love righteousness

and who obey the Most High. Instead, therefore, of our literature and our

work's being a menace to the principles of the present government we are

the strongest supporters of such high ideals. For this reason Satan, the

enemy of all men who desire righteousness, has sought to misrepresent our

work and prevent us from carrying it on in this land.

"For many years our organization has put forth an unselfish and persistent

effort to do good to the people. Our American brethren have greatly

assisted in the work in Germany, and with money freely contributed, and

that at a time when all Germany was in dire distress. Now because it

appears that Germany may soon be free from oppression and that the people

may be lifted up, Satan, the great enemy, puts forth his endeavours to

destroy that benevolent work in this land.

League of Nations

"The language in our books or literature concerning the League of Nations

has been seized upon as a reason for prohibiting our work and the

distribution of our books. Let us remind the government and the people of

Germany that it was the League of Nations compact that laid upon the

shoulders of the German people the great unjust and unbearable burdens.

That League of Nations compact was not brought forth by the friends of

Germany. In America at one time the public press announced

that 140,000 clergymen had set aside a certain period of time in which a

concerted movement was to be made, and which was made, to induce the

American people to fully endorse the League of Nations. It was the

Federation of Churches in America that issued a manifesto stating that the

'League of Nations is the political expression of God's kingdom on earth',

and which by them was substituted in the place and stead of God's kingdom

under Christ. It was in America that our organization under the visible

leadership of its president pointed out emphatically that the League of

Nations is not an institution of Jehovah God, because it is oppressive and

unfair. It was that condition, existing at the time, which called forth

language that appears in our books concerning the League of Nations and

also calling attention to the fact that such League of Nations compact can

never bring about the relief and blessing of the people, because such

relief and blessing can come by adhering strictly to the principles laid

down in God's Word and in the manner which Jehovah has pointed out.

"For almost half a century our strictly Christian organization has carried

on its work in various parts of the earth. Its books are published in more

than 50 languages, and upward of 140 million of these books are in the

hands of the people. For more than thirty years our books and literature

have been distributed throughout Germany, and millions of these are now in

the hands of the German people and are read by the people, all of whom will

bear testimony to the fact that these books, based strictly on the Bible,

are of great help to them and upbuild them and give them hope for a

realization of the blessings which Jehovah God long ago promised. In all

these years of our work, and in the wide distribution of our books and

literature, not one instance can be truthfully cited wherein our work or

literature has been a menace to the government or has in any wise

endangered the peace and safety of the nations.

"The endeavors of our organization being exclusively confined to bearing

testimony to the name and Word of Jehovah God, it would be entirely

inconsistent for us to attempt to exert any political influence in the

governments of this world or to do anything that would endanger the peace

and safety of the nation. We have no desire nor inclination to do anything

except to carry out our divinely given commission to proclaim the Word of

Jehovah God.

"In America, Canada and other parts of the British Empire the political

clergy, priests and Jesuits have persistently persecuted and continue to

persecute those of our organization, and without just cause or excuse; and

we have every reason to believe that a like influence has been subtly

[sic] employed by the great enemy Satan to misrepresent us and our work in

Germany. We remind you that in the years past the political clergymen have

brought more sorrow upon the German people than probably any other class of

men. We have no desire to fight with the clergymen, but we do ask that the

ruling powers of the nation judge us not by the misrepresentation of such

men, but that we be judged according to the Word of God and the work we are

doing consistent therewith. Jehovah God persecutes no one, but permits each

one to choose his own course, holding him responsible for his acts

according to knowledge. Jehovah God has emphatically expressed his anger

against those who do persecute others who are trying to serve him; and this

proves that those who persecute us do not represent God, but that they are

incited so to do by the enemy of God and man.-Psalm 72:4

Great Truths

"The Holy Scriptures, viewed in the light of present-day events which are

in fulfilment of divine prophecy, disclose that: The time has arrived when

Jehovah will make his name known to all creation and vindicate his name and

clear it from the defamation which Satan has placed against that holy name.

(Psalm 83: 18) When Jesus Christ, the Vindicator, ascended into heaven

Jehovah commanded him to wait until his due time to put the enemy down.

That period of waiting has now come to an end and God has sent forth his

beloved Son to oust the enemy and rule in righteousness. (Psalm 110: 14;

Hebrews 10: 12,13) The world, or uninterrupted rule, of Satan has ended,

and this began to be evidenced by the World War in 1914, and since then

until now is the time when the gospel of the Kingdom must be told to the

people. (Matthew 24: 3,14) Satan has now been cast out of heaven and down

to the earth and now confines his operations to the earth in an endeavor to

blind the people to the truth and destroy them, and that is the reason for

the present-day sufferings of humanity. The prophetic words of Jesus now

apply: 'Woe to the inhabiters [the rulers] of the earth, and of the sea

[the people in general]! for the devil is come down unto you, having great

wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.'-Revelation 12:

12.

"The people of Germany have suffered great misery since 1914 and have been

the victims of much injustice practiced upon them by others. The

nationalists have declared themselves against all such unrighteousness and

announced that 'Our relationship to God is high and holy'. Since our

organization fully endorses these righteous principles and is engaged

solely in carrying forth the work of enlightening the people concerning the

Word of Jehovah God, Satan by subtlety [sic] endeavors to set the

government against our work and destroy it because we magnify the

importance of knowing and serving God. Instead of our organization's being

a menace to the peace and safety of the government, it is the one

organization standing for the peace and safety of this land .

We beg to remind all that the great crisis is upon the world because the

transition period from bad to good is at hand, and the hope of the world is

God's kingdom under Christ, for which Jesus taught his followers to

constantly pray: 'Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is

done in heaven.'

"The power of Jehovah God is supreme and there is no power that can

successfully resist him. His time to exercise his power in the interest of

humanity and to the vindication of his great name is here. In this

connection we respectfully call attention to the admonition and warning of

Jehovah God, both to the rulers and to the people, which applies to this

very hour, wherein he says: "Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of

Zion.... Be wise now, therefor, O ye kings; be instructed, ye judges of the

earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son,

lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but

a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.'-Psalm 2: 6,

10-12.

'"The present government having declared adherence to the aforementioned

high ideals, we are persuaded that the rulers do not desire to knowingly

resist the progressive witness work to the name of Jehovah God and his

kingdom which we are now carrying forward. If our work is merely that of

men, it will fall of its own weight. If it is of Jehovah God and being

carried forward in obedience to his commandment, then to resist it means to

fight against God.-Acts 5: 39.

We therefore appeal to the high sense of justice of the government and

nation and respectfully ask that the order of prohibition against our work

and our literature be set aside, and the opportunity be given us to have a

fair hearing before we are judged. We respectfully ask that the government

appoint a committee of impartial men to hold conference with a committee of

our organization and that a fair and impartial examination of our

literature and our work be made, to the end that all misunderstanding may

be removed and that we may without hindrance obey Jehovah God's commandment

now applying to us, to wit: 'Go through, go through the gates; prepare ye

the way of the people; cast up the highway; gather out the stones; lift up

a standard for the people.'-Isaiah 62: 10.

"The peoples of Germany are a God-fearing people and should not be deprived

of an opportunity to learn of Jehovah God and of his gracious provision to

bring lasting peace, prosperity, liberty and everlasting life on earth to

all those who know and obey him. Let all who love God work together to the

honor and vindication of his name. All who take a

 contrary course must take responsibility before God; but as for us we will

serve Jehovah forever.

"RESOLVED, That copies of this Declaration be respectfully delivered to

high officials of the government and that the same be given wide

publication to the people, that the name of Jehovah may be further known."

Ps.The two world wars remain an enormous embarrassment for Christendom the spectre of supposed Christians indulging in the most unchristian mass fratricide on an industrial scale has certainly called the west's Christian credentials into question especially WWII the co-operation of the Protestant,Catholic and evangelical churches with both sides of what still holds the record as the most lethal international conflict of all time has left a particularly stubborn stain.The most notable exception to this failure to adhere to the christian principle of unarmed and pacific neutrality re:The national/political conflicts of the present civilisation (see Matthew26:52,Revelation13:10) has been Jehovah's servants in the twentieth and twenty first centuries.For their steadfasness in obeying God and Christ in this regard they have had to endure all manner of ill treatment at the hands of the political powers of this world with the full support of their religious confederates.

 While no apology has ever been given by this civilisation's politicised religions for the ungodly hostility in which they have participated against Jehovah's people their representatives have been quite busy spreading all manner of libellous distortions half-truths and outright lies about us.

   My aim in publishing in full the Watchtower Society's 1933 declaration to the German state and people is to counter one particularly egregious revision of the historical facts by anti-JW propagandists.The steadfastness of German servants of Jehovah in refusing to give any political/military co-operation to the Nazi state or even to so much as say "heil Hitler" is a matter historical record as is the suffering they willingly endured as a result.

  Alas anti-JW propagandists aren't the sort to let a little thing like the facts get in the way of their mission thus some have quote mined the above document in an attempt to support the claim that the society proposed some kind of political compromise with the German state.

   By way of providing some background at the time the Nazi party had just ascended to power as part of a coalition a mere three months before so the concentration camps,the final solution were yet ahead and like all entities indulging in electoral politics there was much rhetoric uttered about standing up for the common man against the elite,restoring or extending national greatness,supporting the family as the basic unit of the society and other platitudes with which no sane person would/could take issue.