Yearbook—1994

Title Page/​Publishers’ Page

1994 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses

Containing Report for the Service Year of 1993

As we deal with the pressures of the last days, as we approach the great tribulation, and as we prepare to be eternal subjects of Jehovah, most appropriate is our 1994 yeartext:

“Trust in Jehovah with all your heart.”​—Prov. 3:5.

Index

3 Highlights of reports from around the world

33 Worldwide report for 1993 service year

Acts of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Modern Times:

67 Greece

117 Haiti

171 Poland

253 “Come, You People, and See the Activities of God” (Letter from the Governing Body)

Jehovah’s Witnesses​—1994 Yearbook Report

IN HARMONY with our yeartext for the past year, our earnest prayer as Jehovah’s Witnesses has been: “Instruct me, O Jehovah . . . Unify my heart to fear your name.” (Ps. 86:11) Like the psalmist David, we want to be taught by Jehovah. And how marvelously Jehovah has answered our prayer for divine teaching!

During this past year, at our Congregation Book Studies, we benefited from an in-depth study of the greatest man who ever lived, God’s only-begotten Son, the one who perfectly reflects his Father. (John 8:23; Heb. 1:3) With the help of The Watchtower, we were also fortified by studying about Jehovah’s mercy and forgiveness, and such topics as safeguarding our family life, having a balanced view of secular education, providing loving help for the sick and the elderly, and walking in wisdom with regard to the world, as well as how to cultivate such qualities as godly subjection, faith, virtue, and self-control. By means of the Service Meeting and the Theocratic Ministry School, we were helped to become more effective in our ministry and to show greater personal interest in people. How beneficial all of this has been! And in many lands, the service year was crowned with the wonderful “Divine Teaching” District Convention.

Receiving divine teaching is not merely an intellectual exercise. Such teaching is designed to mold the person we are inside so that we do not have simply a veneer of Christianity. In answer to our prayer, Jehovah helps us to unify our heart so that we will not be halfhearted, or lukewarm, in our worship to God but will be zealous in the doing of the divine will.

From around the globe come reports that give evidence of the sort of zeal that springs from such a unified heart. As a result of Jehovah’s blessing on our united efforts, during the past service year, a peak of 4,709,889 expended themselves in Jehovah’s service, sharing personally in telling others about God’s Kingdom. In a growing number of countries, there are over 100,000 Kingdom proclaimers. This is true of two lands in North America, three in Latin America, five in Europe, one in Africa, and two in the Far East. Altogether, Jehovah’s Witnesses are preaching in 231 lands. Actually they are now busy in more than 70 lands where there were no Witnesses 40 years ago.

These Kingdom publishers everywhere truly gave of themselves, devoting a combined total of 1,057,341,972 hours to the field ministry during the 1993 service year. Even in war-ravaged areas, our brothers are endeavoring to keep Kingdom interests first. Thus a congregation in central Bosnia reports a monthly average of 34 hours per publisher, not including the pioneers. On an average, each month 623,006 Witnesses around the earth shared in some branch of the pioneer service. Japan was able to report that in April the pioneers there totaled 100,441, or 56 percent of the total publishers. Home Bible studies being conducted increased by 237,460 worldwide, to a new high of 4,515,587. Memorial attendance rose to 11,865,765, and it is heartwarming to observe that, of these, 296,004 progressed during the year to the point of dedication and baptism.

In order to provide needed supervision and literature for this global work of education, 13,828 volunteers care for assignments as Bethel family members worldwide. Of these, 4,922 serve at the world headquarters, in Brooklyn, New York, and nearby facilities. All of them are members of a religious order that is devoted exclusively to the ministry.

“Divine Teaching” Conventions

How spiritually refreshing and practical the “Divine Teaching” District Conventions have proved to be! Hundreds of them have already been held; others are yet in progress. Regarding the instruction given, an elder in the Netherlands said: “We pray so often to Jehovah for help and guidance in our work. This convention has been an answer to our prayers. It is just as if Jehovah were saying: ‘Listen and apply the counsel.’”

As a result of the generosity of Jehovah’s people, 1,667 missionaries and international servants were able to attend conventions in lands where they had lived and served in the past. And they express heartfelt thanks to all who helped to make that possible. It was truly heartwarming to visit with them and to hear from them at the various conventions. Their experiences made us think of the occasion when Paul and Barnabas reported to the congregation in Antioch “the many things God had done by means of them, and that he had opened to the nations the door to faith.”​—Acts 14:27.

In Munich, Germany, a convention provided the entire program in Croatian and Serbian. Among those present were brothers from Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Macedonia, as well as delegates from Albania, Hungary, Romania, Russia, and Ukraine. A large number of Romanies (Gypsies) were present. All of these had come to benefit from divine teaching. How pleasant the peace, the love, and the unity among Jehovah’s people! It contrasted with the strife in the areas from which many of these delegates had come​—some of them forced to flee as refugees.

Of special interest to Jehovah’s Witnesses everywhere were the international conventions in Moscow, Russia, and in Kiev, Ukraine. Although it was necessary to limit the size of the convention in Moscow, delegates from 30 lands viewed it as a special privilege to be among the 23,743 who gathered there. Between sessions they seized opportunities to meet those in the various language groups. What joyful, heartwarming, faith-strengthening experiences they had in doing so! The conventioners also took time to share in the field ministry. Some got up early to do it; others coupled informal witnessing with their sight-seeing. They were impressed when they saw the Russian people not only readily accept a tract in their own language but often stop what they were doing and read it from start to finish.

In spite of some opposition, the convention in Moscow was a grand success. When the final speaker on the program expressed gratitude to Jehovah for all that He had done to make this convention possible, the audience rose and burst into thunderous and sustained applause.

Two weeks later, a much larger convention was held in Kiev. Among the 64,714 in attendance were nearly 53,000 who had come from Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, and Russia, as well as from Ukraine.

When brothers were making toilets for use at the stadium, some local residents asked if they could help. Why? They replied: “We also want to do something to serve Jehovah.” Many people in Kiev, observing the Witnesses and the spirit they showed, waved greetings to them. Pointing to the stadium, a police officer exclaimed: “I have never seen a thing like this. What people! They have such open faces. I am already in the new world. One simply has to wonder about all of this . . . I can’t figure out why you people were persecuted.” During the convention, over 2,000 interested people turned in their names and addresses, requesting that Jehovah’s Witnesses visit them as soon as possible.

The climax of the convention was reached when 7,402 individuals presented themselves for water baptism in symbol of their dedication to Jehovah God. This was the largest of such baptisms in Christian history, eclipsing the one in New York in 1958, when, with an attendance four times as great, a slightly smaller number were immersed. Yes, Jehovah has raised up thousands more as his Witnesses to share in the grand work that he is having done in this part of the earth during these final days of the old system!

Instruction at Branch Seminars

During the past year, an outstanding aspect of the program of divine instruction involved week-long seminars with branch personnel. Eight of such seminars were held from January through April.

Representatives of 17 branches in Central and South America convened at the recently dedicated branch in Colombia in January. In February, a seminar held in Australia involved eight branches that receive a major portion of their literature supplies from Australia. This was followed by meetings in the Philippines for 12 branches in southeast Asia and the Pacific. During March, 24 branches​—including most of the major printing branches—​were represented at a seminar in the United States. A seminar during April was convened in Puerto Rico to care for the needs of lands in and near the Caribbean. The same week a meeting in Nigeria was giving attention to west and central Africa. Simultaneously, another seminar, in Austria, was attended by personnel from 16 branches in that part of the world, and later in the month, at a meeting in the new branch facilities in Zambia, the remainder of the African branches were given special attention.

The program featured material provided by the Personnel, Writing, Teaching, Service, and Publishing Committees of the Governing Body. It was designed to enhance the unity of the branches and all the congregations as they exert themselves vigorously to accomplish the preaching of the good news.

Relief Operations​—An Expression of Our Love

The violent storms, severe droughts, floods, and wars that have filled the news during recent months deeply affect the lives of millions of people, including Jehovah’s Witnesses. We cannot simply wish our brothers well and then fail to share with them the necessities of life, nor do we want to do that. Love moves us to share with them whatever we have. (Jas. 2:15-17; 1 John 3:17) Jehovah’s Witnesses certainly do that, and as they are able, they endeavor to help others, too.​—Gal. 6:10.

During 1991-92, one of the worst droughts in living memory scourged large parts of Africa, including Mozambique. Some people lost harvests first by drought, then by flood and theft. The branch office in Maputo formed relief committees to coordinate efforts to provide basic food and clothing for brothers and sisters in need. This involved distribution of 25 tons of maize meal, 6 tons of beans, 2.7 tons of rice, 1,800 quarts [1,700 liters] of cooking oil, and 6.5 tons of used clothing. At times, these supplies were distributed in connection with assemblies, and the help was greatly appreciated. But the missionaries observed that, as the brothers planned to attend, it was the spiritual provision that they most eagerly anticipated. A group of 10 brothers from Ile, having no money for transportation, walked 70 miles [112 km] one way so that they would not miss their special assembly day!

Much of Zambia was similarly affected by the drought. To help brothers who were unable to benefit from the government’s relief program, the Society’s branch purchased and distributed 14 tons of cereals early in the year. The brothers also shared with one another what they had. As the Society’s trucks made deliveries of literature, they also picked up cereals to drop off in areas of need along the route.

During a time of civil strife in Rwanda, people from affected areas fled to refugee camps, where conditions were extremely difficult. However, our refugee brothers​—381 of them—​were lovingly cared for by the congregations. So that the load would be distributed, they were divided up among a number of congregations. The Society assisted with needed funds, and qualified brothers made regular visits to give spiritual encouragement. Many of these displaced publishers, though they had lost virtually everything materially, served as auxiliary pioneers during those difficult months. Others started regular pioneer service.

About a thousand brothers in Zaire were left destitute as a result of tribal warfare. Some were eating only once every three days. When the office in South Africa received word about this, the hearts of the brothers went out to those in Zaire. The office promptly reported the situation to the Governing Body and then dispatched 24 tons of food, soap, and medical supplies to alleviate the situation. Likewise, when a group of 70, adult Witnesses and their children, from Angola were forced to flee into Namibia because of civil war, the local brothers quickly looked after them. Finding that the camp to which the Witness refugees had been taken was not ready to care for them, the brothers provided tents, food, clothing, blankets, and materials for building a temporary Kingdom Hall.

Our brothers in Austria, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland have been very generous in giving of their means to assist Witnesses in the war-torn area formerly known as Yugoslavia. One hundred and fifty-three tons of food and 23 tons of clothing, cleaning materials, and medical supplies, as well as spiritual provisions, were taken to them this past year. Brothers volunteered to do the trucking in spite of danger to themselves. Regarding one of the trips to Sarajevo, a brother reported that, after customs formalities, there were still some 15 police and military checkpoints along the route. But the brothers were equipped, and at each one they left magazines with the soldiers. Roads had been destroyed, melting snow had turned the track to mire, and at times explosions were so close that the brothers thought they had been hit. But our brothers counted it a privilege to serve in this way. As for those receiving the aid, they are deeply grateful and feel more than ever that they are truly part of an international family.

On the other side of the globe, Hurricane Iniki smashed into the northwestern Hawaiian Islands in September 1992. It proved to be the worst natural disaster in the history of Hawaii. Even before the storm hit the island of Kauai, the elders there were organizing to help their brothers. Spirituality was kept to the fore. During the following weeks, repair and rebuilding was done on 400 homes of the brothers. In each instance, before work began on a specific home, the work crew and the family involved discussed the text for the day and prayed together. For a period of six months, experienced elders, accompanied by their wives, from other islands also went to the disaster area to provide shepherding, conduct meetings, take the lead in field service, and assist in filling out complicated government and/​or insurance-claim forms.

Do you know where the island of Niutao is? Not many people do. Only about 800 people live on that coral atoll in the South Pacific. Among them is one unbaptized publisher who lost his home and all his possessions as a result of a tidal wave this past January. As soon as the brothers on another island in the Tuvalu group realized what damage had been done, they provided food and other help. It took longer to get together necessary building materials and to ship these to Niutao. Then they rebuilt his home. The love thus shown by the Witnesses has been the talk of the island.

Upon observing what Jehovah’s people were doing to help one another in war-torn Liberia, a neighbor of one of our sisters said: “Your Jehovah God really loves you, to provide such a service for you people.” Yes, he truly does.

Building to Fill Needs of Rapid Growth

When 296,004 people get baptized in a year and 3,512 new congregations are formed in a single year (2,528,524 baptized and 26,835 new congregations formed in the past ten years), much needs to be done to care for all of them. Among other things, that involves construction work. And what a vast amount of it there was this past year!

In the United States, 73 Regional Building Committees assisted with Kingdom Hall construction. During the 1993 service year, with the cooperation of tens of thousands of willing volunteers, they helped to build some 200 new Kingdom Halls and remodel another 200.

In Japan, where quick-construction methods are also used, 108 Kingdom Halls were completed, but these had to be designed to withstand earthquakes and typhoons. Those who volunteered to help with the work provided not only skill and labor but also other resources.

The brothers in Argentina have made it their goal to see that each of the more than 1,500 congregations there has a suitable place to meet for worship. Last year, 57 new halls were completed. But many more are needed. There, new Kingdom Halls usually are built in about three or four weeks.

More than 800 new Kingdom Halls have been built in the Philippines during the past six years. But there are 3,332 congregations, and many of these are still in need of more suitable places in which to meet.

In Brazil, where there has been an increase of 120,687 Witnesses during the past five years, it has been impossible to keep up with the need for new Kingdom Halls. But 93 new halls were completed this past year, and construction began on 1,383 more.

More Kingdom Halls are needed, also, to care for the rapid growth in Colombia. The branch is endeavoring to develop an arrangement that would simplify construction procedures and would provide the help of special construction crews trained at the branch.

In rural areas in South Africa, some congregations make their own concrete blocks and, with the help of volunteers provided through the Regional Building Committee, are able to complete a neat, affordable hall in three to six weekends. The work of multiracial construction groups in such strife-torn areas as Soweto requires great caution, but it also demonstrates in a vivid manner the love and unity among Jehovah’s people.

In Norway, there are 21 Kingdom Halls above the Arctic Circle. One of these now is in Hammerfest, the northernmost city in Europe.

Reflecting the spirit of Isaiah 2:3, 4, the brothers in Hungary built two of their new Kingdom Halls on property that was formerly used for large Russian military bases.

The self-sacrificing spirit shown by the brothers who had traveled from abroad to help build the branch and the Assembly Hall in the Solomon Islands deeply affected the Witnesses there. This became evident when the government assigned a choice piece of land in Munda on which the brothers could build a Kingdom Hall. But the congregation was small. Who could do the work? The brothers in Honiara said: “If our brothers from overseas could use their money and time to help us build an Assembly Hall and a branch, why can’t we give up our vacation and go to Munda to build the Kingdom Hall?” That is just what they did. Brothers and sisters from 13 islands and tribes were involved, and the hall was built in just 10 days.

Resourcefulness was shown by a congregation in Slovakia in which half the publishers are pioneers. Families picked berries in order to obtain money for the construction. To hold down expenses, they also obtained sand and stone from a nearby creekbed.

Six family heads in Korea took out bank loans and then donated the funds to their congregation for its new Kingdom Hall. As their contribution to the project, the brothers personally shouldered responsibility for repaying those loans.

In Nigeria, four brothers from a small congregation approached the Onojie, the area’s traditional ruler, to ask for land to purchase for a new Kingdom Hall. But they could not pay the sum that he demanded. Some months later, one of the elders lent the Onojie the video Jehovah’s Witnesses​—The Organization Behind the Name. He was deeply impressed. After watching it five times, he made the needed land available to the brothers for their new Kingdom Hall.

In many places it has also proved practical to have our own Assembly Halls. Such halls were built in Colombia and in the United States this past year. Two others were dedicated in Brazil, two in Costa Rica, and one in Jamaica. In Peru, an Assembly Hall adequate to accommodate district conventions of 10,000 was dedicated in February 1993. The open ends, as well as sides that are open for about 10 feet [3 m] from the ground, afford good ventilation. The gently sloped concrete floor makes it possible for the entire audience to have a clear view of the platform. The brothers in France built their fifth and largest Assembly Hall this year. Many workers and their families gladly used their personal vacation time to complete that project​—in just four months! In Italy, a new hall was completed in the province of Catanzaro, and the brothers in Spain dedicated their fourth Assembly Hall.

Of course, growth in the number of Witnesses also requires enlargement of branch facilities in order to provide needed literature and supervision. Large new branch facilities were under construction this past year in Poland, Puerto Rico, and Zambia, also in Dominican Republic, Ecuador, France, Mexico, and Taiwan. In the United States, major enlargement of facilities has been continuing in Brooklyn, and excellent progress has been made on the Watchtower Educational Center at Patterson. Extensive expansion has also been under way in Britain and Canada, as well as in Australia, Brazil, Germany, Korea, New Zealand, South Africa, and Spain. New branch buildings of smaller size have been going up in Hungary, Jamaica, Mozambique, Paraguay, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Tahiti, and Western Samoa. Many thousands of brothers and sisters have made themselves available to share in this work. What a year this has been!

Branch Dedications

After the dedication of Jehovah’s temple in Jerusalem in the days of Solomon, the people returned to their homes “rejoicing and feeling merry of heart over all the goodness that Jehovah had performed” for his people. (1 Ki. 8:66) Likewise in modern times, there is great rejoicing in connection with the dedication of branch offices of the Watch Tower Society, which are also used to promote true worship. Where were branch facilities dedicated during the past service year?

Colombia

Nearly 9,000 feet [2,700 m] up in the Andes Mountains of South America, at Facatativá, Colombia, La Torre del Vigía (The Watch Tower) has a new office and printery, as well as housing for the volunteer workers. These were dedicated on November 1, 1992. The setting is beautiful, 26 miles [42 km] northwest of Bogotá, on the edge of the plateau where the Colombian capital lies. Here, full-color editions of The Watchtower and Awake! are being printed in Spanish for use in Colombia, Venezuela, Panama, Ecuador, and Peru.

When construction began on these new branch facilities, there were 34,261 of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Colombia. During the five-year construction period, the number of Witnesses in the country increased by 63 percent, to 55,693. Home Bible studies are now being conducted with 100,927 individuals and family groups. In 1993, at the Memorial of Christ’s death, 249,271 were in attendance. This truly is a joyful time of spiritual harvesting in Colombia.

Four hundred Witnesses from Colombia, along with a hundred international servants, made up the core of the construction team that transformed what was formerly a poultry farm into a center for theocratic education. Another 3,000 volunteers from nearby congregations helped on holidays and weekends, and some 1,500 others from abroad came​—some for a few weeks, others for a few months—​at their own expense. Local businessmen could hardly believe that this was the case, and one of them personally questioned both Colombian Witnesses and foreigners to make sure that it was so. Another businessman, deeply impressed by what he saw and heard, accepted a Bible study. Now he and his wife are baptized Witnesses.

There were 1,500 guests, from 14 lands, for the dedication program. Included among them were Milton Henschel and Daniel Sydlik of the Governing Body. What joyous reunions there were! And what happiness over the spiritual prosperity that Jehovah has brought to his servants in Colombia!

Poland

The same month, on November 28, another branch was dedicated, this one in Nadarzyn, near Warsaw, Poland. Theodore Jaracz, of the Governing Body, who was on hand for the occasion, declared: “This dedication is truly historic. . . . It is the first new branch constructed and now being dedicated in territory formerly known as ‘behind the Iron Curtain.’ But that so-called Iron Curtain could not prevent the onward march of Jehovah’s organization! And the evidence of it is right here!”

Some of the guests had personally waited decades for this occasion. Among them were Witnesses who had faithfully served Jehovah, despite severe trials, for 45, 50, or more years. A number of these had carried out Bethel work underground for more than 40 years. Their hearts were deeply moved as Zygfryd Adach, coordinator of the Branch Committee, said: “Beloved, you were going to great pains to share in the work of God’s organization in distributing spiritual food during hard times, even exceptionally hard. After years in prison, you often willingly offered to continue the work. Sometimes this was repeated four or five times and even more. All of us remember that time, so with absolute conviction we quote the words at Psalm 124: ‘Had it not been that Jehovah proved to be for us when men rose up against us, then they would have swallowed us up even alive . . . Blessed be Jehovah, who has not given us as a prey to their teeth. Our soul is like a bird that is escaped from the trap of baiters. The trap is broken, and we ourselves have escaped.’”​—Ps. 124:2-7.

When announcement was made that a branch was to be built, the response was spontaneous. Congregations brought in coal and wood, refrigerators, food supplies, and tools. Brothers and sisters qualified in various trades and professions eagerly volunteered their services. There were older ones who had spent years in prison. Numerous young ones, too, offered themselves willingly. International servants came from ten countries. Again and again, the hearts of the workers were thrilled as they saw evidence of Jehovah’s direction and blessing. A “stop work” order from the Commune Council was reversed. Seemingly unobtainable supplies were made available. In just two years and six months after receiving the construction permit, the site of a despoiled motel was transformed into an attractive complex of buildings for the Poland branch.

New Zealand

During the six years since a new branch in New Zealand had been dedicated, the number of Kingdom proclaimers there had increased by over 30 percent. To care for their needs, the facilities had to be enlarged. But there was more to it. As explained at the dedication program, over half of the new offices would be used for translation work, because literature is translated here into Samoan, Maori, Rarotongan, and Niuean, to benefit people on various South Pacific islands. Thus, on February 27, 1993, extensions to the office and the services buildings, as well as additional housing, were dedicated.

On hand for the occasion was Lloyd Barry, a member of the Governing Body who grew up in New Zealand and began his service to Jehovah there. All the members of the Bethel and construction families, as well as traveling overseers and their wives, were present. There were also guests from neighboring South Pacific countries. The majority, however, were New Zealand residents who had been baptized before 1955. As one of the speakers pointed out, it was these older ones who did the work that laid the foundation for what was taking place at that dedication program. But how appreciative they are for the excellent support and hard work of the newer ones who have joined with them in praising Jehovah!

Puerto Rico

The branch facilities erected 24 years ago in Puerto Rico had long been overcrowded. The number of publishers on the island had increased from 5,400 in 1969 to over 25,000 by the time the new branch was dedicated on April 17, 1993. Four years of hard work by thousands of brothers and sisters resulted in a fine complex of buildings in paradisaic surroundings.

Those on hand for the program felt specially privileged to have as speakers for the occasion Karl Klein and Albert Schroeder, of the Governing Body, as well as other representatives from Brooklyn. During the week leading up to the dedication, the new facilities had already been put to use for a seminar attended by representatives of 14 branches. Then, following the dedication, the Spanish Translation Department, with its international team of workers, was moved from Brooklyn to these new facilities.

Zambia

One week after the dedication in Puerto Rico, a new branch complex of 13 buildings was dedicated on the outskirts of Lusaka, Zambia. Why there?

Seeds of Bible truth had been sown in this country as early as 1911. By 1924, small study groups had been formed. Now there are 80,488 publishers associated with 1,993 congregations in Zambia, and Memorial attendance in 1993 was 362,204. This is a fruitful field for Kingdom expansion.

The building of the new Zambia branch was possible because of the international cooperation that is typical of Jehovah’s organization. Designing and engineering were done at the Society’s offices in the United States, Europe, and Japan. Cranes were donated by brothers in America. Radio equipment that made possible telephone installations was sent as a gift from New Zealand. The only building materials readily available locally were sand, cement, stone, and wood. But, on an average, two large truckloads of other supplies were sent in each week from South Africa​—a round trip of 2,200 miles [3,500 km]. And the Zambian Witnesses were wholehearted in giving of themselves and their resources to get the job accomplished. At the time of the dedication program, both Milton Henschel and Theodore Jaracz, of the Governing Body, were present to share with the Zambian brothers in that happy event.

Hungary

It was a specially happy day for our brothers in Hungary on July 31 when Lyman Swingle, of the Governing Body, dedicated their newly built facilities for additional residence and a translation office. These had been constructed in just five months, with the help of local congregations as well as Witnesses from eight other lands, and the completion had been announced by the Hungarian National News Agency.

After decades of harsh persecution, Jehovah’s Witnesses in Hungary were granted legal recognition in 1989. That year, a peak of 9,990 publishers reported some share in the field ministry. Since then Jehovah’s Witnesses have devoted upwards of 8,300,000 hours to the field ministry in Hungary, and the number of Kingdom proclaimers has risen to 14,347.

Britain

The first branch office of the Watch Tower Society was established in London in 1900. Its facilities have had to be enlarged many times. On August 7, 1993, the latest addition, a 200,000-square-foot [18,600 sq m] factory and administrative complex, was dedicated.

The factory buildings at the rear of the site were constructed in just 17 months, using the tilt-up method for concrete wall panels. Some 5,000 volunteers shared in the work. The administrative block is a brick building. Some 133,000 bricks were used. How many bricklayers were required to do that job? Just seven sisters, with two brothers to supervise. A contractor who visited the site shook his head in disbelief when told who did the work.

Albert Schroeder, of the Governing Body, was present to share in the dedication program. He delighted the audience by relating details of the growth of the Kingdom work in Britain since 1937, when he was sent to the British Isles to supervise the work and to encourage at least 1,000 to enroll as pioneers. What a joy to see that there are now 127,395 Kingdom proclaimers in Britain and that, on an average, 12,803 of them are in the pioneer service each month.

Translation Services

The Governing Body is keenly interested in doing whatever is necessary so that the great crowd will truly be drawn out of “all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues,” as the Bible states. (Rev. 7:9) The accomplishing of this has been a matter of prayer at the world headquarters and among Jehovah’s servants worldwide. Reaching people of all these groups is a tremendous task, one that can be successfully completed only with Jehovah’s spirit.

Translation of the Bible and Bible literature plays an important role. Can people be reached without literature in their own language? Yes; but the effectiveness of the work of preaching and disciple making is greatly enhanced when literature is available in the mother tongue of these people.

At present we have at least some current publications in 236 languages. The Watchtower is regularly printed in 116 languages. During the past year, many of the translation teams that care for languages used in the magazines were being strengthened, and those that are working on another 70 languages were being trained. Included among these are languages used in Eastern Europe, southern Asia, and Africa, as well as among Indian tribes in South America, and by peoples on the Pacific islands. Developing such teams involves locating, training, and equipping translators, checkers, and proofreaders. All of these must be dedicated Christians, volunteers who are also able to make themselves available for such work.

Of course, there are more languages that need attention, many of them spoken by more than a million people. Responsible brothers are constantly working to locate and train translators and to provide needed equipment​—if necessary, to design new type fonts and computer software to handle it. As we review what Jehovah has already done, we are confident that he will provide whatever is necessary to get the work accomplished during the time that yet remains. It is a privilege to be his fellow workers.​—1 Cor. 3:9.

Ministerial Training School Held on Six Continents

Gilead School has now been in operation for 50 years, and its graduates have shared in advancing Kingdom interests in upwards of 200 lands. What a grand ‘heap of witness’ has resulted from the work of these self-sacrificing servants of Jehovah!

More help to fill urgent needs has been provided as a result of the Ministerial Training School, which offers specialized training in an intensive two-month course. During the past service year, 29 classes of this school have given valuable training to more than 684 elders and ministerial servants. Classes were held in Japan, Nigeria, the United States, and in the territory of Latin-American branches where Spanish-speaking students from 16 different countries were enrolled. The school in Australia benefited brothers who came from Fiji, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Solomon Islands, and Western Samoa. At five locations in Europe, brothers from 12 different countries were trained.

Many congregations lack brothers to take the lead. This is particularly true in Latin America, where, in a large congregation, there may only be one or two elders and about the same number of ministerial servants. Where graduates of the Ministerial Training School have been assigned to serve in such areas of special need in their native land, field activity has increased, pioneer service has been effectively encouraged, especially among younger ones, and more personal attention has been given to the many new ones now associating.

Quite a number of those going through the school are able to speak other languages. Accordingly, in Europe and the United States particularly, such brothers have been used in Arabic, Chinese, Croatian, French, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Spanish, Turkish, and Vietnamese language groups and congregations. This has been a great help.

A number of graduates who were in a position to accept foreign assignments have been sent to Eastern Europe, parts of Africa, and the Far East to serve in branches and as missionaries, special pioneers, and traveling overseers. In this way, too, the school has contributed toward the advancement of the Kingdom work.

Of these single elders and ministerial servants who have offered themselves willingly, it can truly be said that their efforts are bearing fruit. They are among the “company of young men just like dewdrops” described at Psalm 110:3.

Reaching People of All Nationalities

In some lands, there is considerable territory where no regular preaching is done. Some of this territory is in countries that do not welcome missionaries. Yet, in recent years, millions of people from these lands have immigrated to countries where intensive preaching is regularly being done by Jehovah’s Witnesses. Publishers have found that foreign missionary fields are coming to them. And when people are away from the strong community pressures of their homeland, some of them are happy to study the Bible. In a number of places, the immigrant field has proved to be the most productive.

Thus the Cyprus branch reports: ‘A new territory is opening up here in Cyprus. We meet interested ones from Lebanon, Syria, Persia, Bulgaria, Romania, Russia, what was formerly Yugoslavia, Philippines, and elsewhere. These people who have come to work and start a new life are often more inclined to listen than are others.’

While attending a university in eastern Germany, a girl from Mongolia met and married a young man from Guyana. Later, in Guyana, they began to read some Watch Tower publications, requested a home Bible study, and were baptized in 1993. Their children are also publishers of the good news. As for the mother, she is eager to share the Kingdom message with her family and others in Mongolia.

In England, the brothers are learning to widen out in order to help fill the spiritual need of people from other lands. Meetings are now regularly held in London in 8 languages. Within Canada, there are congregations serving the needs of 11 language groups, and some meetings are held in 4 other languages. There is a fertile field among the Russian-speaking immigrants as well as the thousands of Orientals who have taken up residence in Canada in recent years.

Many people seeking asylum from harsh conditions in their homeland have traveled to Norway, as well as to other lands. The brothers in Norway have now begun to make special visits to all the places where such refugees are housed.

In Israel, too, immigration has opened up a new field for witnessing. Large numbers have come from the former Soviet Union, and a goodly number are showing interest in the truth.

Are there people in your territory who do not speak the local language? What are you doing to share the Kingdom message with them? Jehovah’s will is that “all sorts of men should be saved and come to an accurate knowledge of truth.”​—1 Tim. 2:3, 4.

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Locomotive Stadium in Moscow, where 23,743 attended an international convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses

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The public readily accepted Bible tracts, and many people promptly stopped to read them

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As a young woman, she learned the truth from German Witnesses in 1944 in the women’s concentration camp in Ravensbrück

He first learned the truth in 1942 in Bessarabia (now Moldova); repeatedly arrested because of his faith; now a circuit overseer

Stadium in Kiev where 64,714 attended and 7,402 were baptized

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Members of the Governing Body along with branch personnel at the seminar held at Wallkill, in the United States

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Watch Tower relief truck, Monrovia, Liberia

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Recently built Kingdom Hall at Igieduma, Nigeria

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New Assembly Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

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New office and printery at Facatativá, Colombia

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Expanded branch facilities in New Zealand

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At the top, Zambia; center above, Puerto Rico; at the right, Hungary

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Poland branch in Nadarzyn, near Warsaw

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Added branch facilities in London, England

Worldwide Report: 1993 Grand Totals

Number of Countries: 231

Peak Publishers: 4,709,889

Average Publishers: 4,483,900

Percentage of Increase Over 1992: 4.5

Number Baptized: 296,004

Average Pioneer Publishers: 623,006

Number of Congregations: 73,070

Total Hours: 1,057,341,972

Average Bible Studies: 4,515,587

Memorial Attendance: 11,865,765

Memorial Partakers Worldwide: 8,693

Number of Branches: 100

During the 1993 service year, the Watch Tower Society spent $48,857,112.38 in caring for special pioneers, missionaries, and traveling overseers in their field service assignments

[Chart on page 34-41]

1993 SERVICE YEAR REPORT OF JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES WORLDWIDE

(See publication)

Worldwide Report

Africa and Islands Nearby

Africa is a continent fragmented as a result of tribal and nationalistic strife. But Revelation 7:9-14 foretells that “a great crowd . . . out of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues” will become united in the worship of Jehovah, with the prospect of survival into his peaceful new world. Many thousands throughout Africa are giving convincing evidence that they are part of that happy throng.

In Cape Town, South Africa, one of our sisters was taken aback when a householder interrupted her, asking: “What is your purpose?” She answered directly: “It is to start Bible studies with people.” To her surprise the man replied: “Well! Come in, let’s start now.” A fine discussion was held with this Jewish man, and our sister arranged to return with her husband. The man has made excellent progress. In addition to his study, he has read the Bible from cover to cover four times, and three times he has read the entire book The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived. He is also busy sharing the truth with his relatives. He is most grateful that Jehovah opened his eyes to the truth. The day our sister first called, he said to his family: “Come and meet these people, for God has sent them to us.” He had been contemplating suicide.

Family ties can play an important role in spreading the truth. An auxiliary pioneer started a study in a village in Mauritius. Darmen, a curious young neighbor boy, listened with interest. What he heard he repeated to his parents, especially his mother, a Hindu. She became convinced that what she was now learning was the truth, so she demolished the Hindu shrine in her garden. Darmen talked to all his relatives in that village​—brothers, sisters, brothers-in-law, uncles, aunts, and cousins. When he learned about the daily text, he discussed that with them. Some evenings, over 30 shared in these discussions until late. After a few weeks, a special pioneer couple arranged to study with them. Thirteen from that family are now baptized; four others are unbaptized publishers. And Darmen? He is now married, and both he and his wife serve as special pioneers.

Civil war has severely disrupted the lives of people in Liberia. When the publishers from Mano River were attending a convention in Monrovia, their home area came under attack and it was impossible for them to return all year. But one unbaptized publisher who had been left behind continued to preach. Though he did not feel qualified to use the Kingdom Hall, since he had not yet been baptized, he protected it from being looted. He explained that he had also endeavored to make “shepherding calls” on those who had previously been studying, to keep their interest in the truth alive, and he had conducted meetings in his own home. He was among those baptized at the “Divine Teaching” Convention this year.

The highlight of the year in the Central African Republic was the government decree on January 20, 1993, that completely removed the ban on the activity of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Though the brothers had enjoyed considerable liberty for several years, they now have legal recognition. This has made it possible for them to reopen their Kingdom Halls. Schools, hospitals, and many government offices in the country are not functioning because of lack of money for salaries. Yet, Jehovah’s Witnesses, despite their own financial problems, have repaired and painted all five Kingdom Halls in Bangui and are using them again as centers for pure worship.

The contrast between Jehovah’s Witnesses and other religious groups is clearly evident to some African observers. As a result of ethnic strife in the south of Zaire, a group of Kasaians who had been chased out by the Katangese took refuge at the house of the chief in a village near Kamina. After inquiring to learn what had happened, the chief asked: ‘Are there any of Jehovah’s Witnesses here among you?’ They made inspection, then replied: ‘No.’ The chief asked: ‘Why not? Are there none in the village?’ ‘There are some,’ they replied. ‘Then why are there not some here?’ the chief persisted. Finally, he said: ‘Now you see why Jehovah’s Witnesses say that your religions are false. Those who chased you away are members of your churches, but Jehovah’s Witnesses have not chased away their brothers. On the contrary, they have welcomed and protected them.’

Where illiteracy is a problem, publishers may find that they need to teach not only Bible truth but also reading and writing. A pioneer sister who was doing this for her students in Zimbabwe was surprised when they offered to pay for her services as a tutor. She later wrote: “I remembered Gehazi, Elisha’s servant, and how he was struck with leprosy. Therefore, I said to them, ‘My reward is seeing you making progress in learning the truth and practicing what you learn. I do not want your money.’”​—2 Ki. 5:20-27.

Asia

It was in the Orient that Jehovah planted the original paradise and placed the first humans. They failed to appreciate what Jehovah had done for them. But in our day, there are hundreds of thousands of Orientals who give evidence that they do appreciate Jehovah’s righteous ways, and they zealously share with others the news of God’s purpose to make all the earth a paradise.

A sister in Japan who has to work full-time to support her family also enjoys pioneer service. How does she manage it? By making good use of the time she spends on the train each day. The ride takes an hour and a half each way. She has to be discreet, but as commuters ride the same train every day, she even makes return visits on people who listen to her. She places, on an average, 167 magazines every month and has started seven Bible studies there on the train.

Though a pioneer sister in Malaysia called several times at the home of a woman with whom she had been studying, no one was at home. However a fierce-looking neighbor always eyed her suspiciously. “Why not talk to this man?” the sister reasoned. “He is there everytime I come, and perhaps he can tell me where the woman is.” He greeted her rudely: “What do you want? What are you up to?” But, amazingly, after telling her that the woman had moved away, he listened to the Bible’s message and actually agreed to study, and he did so with some excitement too. The first time the study was held, his wife was also present, along with a colleague who was a staunch member of a sect of Christendom and who tried to stop the Bible study. But after observing the sister’s calm and reasoned replies to the verbal attacks, he told his colleague to mind his own business and let him study as he pleased. Progress was rapid. He was a spirit medium by profession, but when he learned that the Bible condemns spiritism, he promptly threw out all his spiritistic equipment. He and his wife are now regularly attending congregation meetings each week.

When sharing in the house-to-house work, a pioneer sister in India met three girls who were attending college. Though Hindus, they accepted the offer of a Bible study because they were seeking answers to many questions. In time, they received and read the book Mankind’s Search for God. It was this that thoroughly convinced them of the wrongness of idol worship. They explained to their mother what they had learned, and she then disposed of her idol gods. The girls got rid of their Ouija board. Later they said: “The year 1992 was an unforgettable one for us. In January we stepped out of ‘Babylon the Great’ by removing the idols. In April we started attending the meetings regularly. In August we became unbaptized publishers. In October all four of us got baptized. In November two of us became regular auxiliary pioneers, and in December we were conducting ten Bible studies, including one with our 71-year-old grandmother.”

Publishers in Thailand find that an increasing number of people in their territory are being harassed by the demons. A husband and wife in Nakhon Sawan lived in a house that was full of idols. As the couple progressed in their Bible study, the husband mentioned that all sorts of strange things were happening in their home and were hindering their sleep. He also said that when his wife tried to go to the Kingdom Hall, she felt as if someone was holding her back, preventing her from leaving the house. The publisher directed their attention to material in the brochure Spirits of the Dead. The man acknowledged that what it described was exactly what they were experiencing. He was shown from the Scriptures what he needed to do in order to have Jehovah’s blessing. (Deut. 7:25, 26; 1 John 5:21) The following day he asked the brothers to help him remove from his home all the idols as well as other religious objects​—enough to fill a pickup truck—​and to burn them in his presence outside the city. His faith was greatly strengthened when he saw that the idols, his former objects of devotion, were unable to save themselves. From that point on, the household experienced release from the power of the demons and made good spiritual progress.

Because of uncertainty as to what the future holds for them, many young people are searching for answers. Some are being helped by the brochure Enjoy Life on Earth Forever! and the book Questions Young People Ask​—Answers That Work. A Buddhist mother in Sri Lanka wrote: “I take this opportunity to thank you from the bottom of my heart for helping my daughter find the correct way. I was very glad when I saw the book that you’ve given to my daughter. I think it is the most valuable gift she has got in her life. She is reading it over and over, and even I myself have read it. So, once again, I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for the beautiful present.”

Europe

In many lands, economic conditions are difficult. But Jehovah’s servants have “plenty to do in the work of the Lord.” (1 Cor. 15:58) Instead of mourning over unemployment, Witnesses in Finland have been seizing the opportunity to spend more time helping people to see why times are so difficult and why we need the Kingdom of God.

What part are young publishers having in this? Here is an example: A sister in Finland was in the field service together with her five-year-old girl. They met a man who, because of prejudice, was not willing to talk to the sister. But when her daughter gave him a tract, he could not refuse it. Later on, when his wife found the tract on the kitchen table, she read it. She liked what it said about the hope of paradise. She ordered the Live Forever book from the Society and started to read it. When publishers again came to her door, a Bible study was started. Her husband opposed. Yet, after seeing how a Kingdom Hall was built in a couple of days, he said: “If Jehovah’s Witnesses can do things like this, there must be something much bigger behind the organization.” He also started to study, and both of them were baptized after one year.

Many congregations in Portugal cover their territory every week, and they are still finding sheeplike ones. One sister relates: “Before leaving for the service every morning, I pray to Jehovah to help me find someone interested in studying the Bible.” One day she arranged for a study with those working in a hairdresser’s shop. Later, when the study was moved to the sister’s home, only one person showed up. She said: ‘The others are not interested, but I am.’ Within a month she was conducting two studies herself. Soon she was baptized and entered the pioneer work.

Though united according to Gypsy (Romany) custom, a couple in Sweden got married in harmony with Swedish law, and they presented themselves for baptism as Jehovah’s Witnesses in 1992. Because of the respect in which he is held by other Gypsies, the husband has been able to start many Bible studies. In January of 1993 he was conducting 21 studies. One study was with a group so large that he requested use of the Kingdom Hall. When the circuit overseer went with him for the study, 26 adult Gypsies were in the apartment, waiting for the study. But the new brother said: “I cannot understand where everybody is tonight. Usually we are between 40 and 50 persons here.” The study was conducted in three languages​—Swedish, Croatian, and Romany. What appeals to these people even more than the blessings of the new world is God’s love as well as the impartial and unprejudiced attitude evident right now among Jehovah’s people.

With a view to avoiding duplication of work and making the best use of resources, major changes have been made in the work at a number of branches. The Netherlands and Switzerland were included. The Netherlands branch cares for Dutch translation; it also coordinates production and distribution of videocassettes for Europe. But the printing of Dutch magazines, as well as the storage and the shipping of literature for the Netherlands, is now being cared for by the branch in Germany. Similarly, the printing and shipping formerly done in Switzerland are now being handled in Germany. Some of the Bethel family who were serving at Emmen, the Netherlands, volunteered to help in other branches, so two were assigned to Britain, four to Germany, and seven to Nigeria, where the four-color press from the Netherlands is being installed. Equipment from Switzerland will be used to upgrade the printing in the Philippines, and a couple from Switzerland will go there to help for a while. Another brother from Switzerland is being transferred to Nigeria. Others will serve again as pioneers.

For more than a hundred years, our brothers have been witnessing in Ireland, and their patient persistence continues to pay off. A publisher in Tipperary started a Bible study with a local man, Michael. In time, though, he tried to avoid the publisher. When the publisher realized what was happening, she and another sister went to the bar to find him because they felt that there was genuine interest. When they entered the bar, a hush settled over the place; everyone knew who the sisters were. The publishers simply reminded Michael of the study arrangements. After they left, he tried to cover it over by saying to the other men: “Sure, I was supposed to fix her cooker, and I forgot!” But he realized that he could not dodge the sisters anymore.

After that, Michael made good progress. He married May, who, though she was at first suspicious of the warm interest of the sisters, did agree to study. Then Michael and May began to share with May’s sister Breda what they were learning. During 1993, all three of them got baptized. Meanwhile, May’s brother and his girlfriend, also Michael’s younger brother and his wife, began to study and to attend meetings. So, because our sister was persistent, seven people are benefiting from the truth.

Five-year-old Sara, in Austria, is a very outgoing child and frequently talks to people passing her house. On one occasion, she pointedly asked a young woman: “Do you smoke?” When the woman replied in the negative, Sara was ready with her next question: “Are you one of Jehovah’s Witnesses?” Somewhat bewildered, the woman answered, “Yes!” This led her to talk to Sara’s mother. She explained that, although she had been raised as a Witness, she had lost all contact. She asked Sara’s mother to visit her. How true the words of Matthew 21:16: “Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings you have furnished praise”!

There was great rejoicing among Jehovah’s Witnesses in Slovakia on March 24, 1993, when the religious association of Jehovah’s Witnesses was legally registered, thus officially ending a ban that had been imposed over 43 years ago. This was followed, on September 1, by similar action in the Czech Republic. There are many people in these lands who are disillusioned with religion and with politics. Some of them are searching for the truth. This was true of an elderly couple in Bobron na Orave, Slovakia. The woman had questioned the priest about the Bible, but he had replied: “Hanka, choose some better book for reading.” Yet, she and her husband persisted in reading the Bible. They were making changes in their lives in harmony with what they were learning. To satisfy their spiritual hunger, they had subscribed for a number of religious magazines. Now they agreed to study the Bible with the Witnesses. As the woman later said, right from the beginning of her conversation with the pioneers she felt that God himself had sent them.

Middle and South America

“Look! My own servants will cry out joyfully because of the good condition of the heart.” (Isa. 65:14) This good spiritual condition of heart is evident among Jehovah’s Witnesses in Mexico. In spite of concerted opposition by the Catholic Church, on May 7, 1993, the government of Mexico registered our two religious associations: La Torre del Vigía, A.R., and Los Testigos de Jehová en México, A.R. As of that date Jehovah’s Witnesses became an officially recognized religion. They now look forward to putting up signs, for the first time publicly identifying their Kingdom Halls.

This past year, 445 new congregations were formed. Publishers totaled 375,351 in June. The number attending the Memorial was 1,349,998. As the publishers increase, the territory is worked more frequently. In one well-worked territory, two sisters called at a home where the exasperated householder exclaimed: “I have already told you that I do not want you coming to my house with your message. Why can’t you pay attention?” One of the sisters replied: “Well, we are many preachers. No doubt you told some of our companions. However, we can make arrangements so that no one will call on you. Please give us your name and complete address and we will pass this information to all the Witnesses in this area and then no one will call on you again.” At this the householder said: “No, you don’t have to go to that extreme. You can still call on me, but not so often, please.” Shortly thereafter the sisters encountered the same woman at the Kingdom Hall. What had happened? When another publisher had called, she had agreed to study the Bible!

Although French Guiana has the smallest population of the countries in South America, spiritual interests are thriving there. In April, the branch reported its 21st consecutive peak in publishers, and they are averaging 14.5 hours per publisher in the field service each month. In that land, too, ‘the little one has become a thousand,’ and they are happy to be part of the “mighty nation” that is praising Jehovah worldwide.​—Isa. 60:22.

The contrast between Witnesses and others attracts lovers of righteousness. An elderly sister in Caracas, Venezuela, went to the bank to get some money. Without counting it, she put it into her purse. But on arriving at home, she found that the teller had given her 1,200 bolívares (US $13) too much. She called the bank and said to the teller that if, at the end of the day, he discovered that some money was missing, he should let her know. At 5:00 p.m. he came to the sister’s home and said that he was missing 1,200 bolívares. When the sister handed him the money, he exclaimed: “This is the first time anyone has ever done this! I could have lost my job.” The sister used the opportunity then and on future visits to the bank to give a witness. Soon a Bible study was started with that young man, and he is attending meetings at the Kingdom Hall.

As they witness, pioneers in Chile are well aware that Jehovah is directing the work. (1 Cor. 3:9) A couple in southern Chile were ready to head home after a nine-hour day in remote territory. On the main road, the last bus to Antuco passed them by. They were tired and hungry, and a 24-mile [40 km] uphill walk lay before them. It was getting dark and cold. Other vehicles, too, passed as if the couple did not exist. As they walked, they wondered what Jehovah had in mind for them. Then, without any signal from them, a bus going in the opposite direction stopped for them; so they climbed aboard. When they reached a town and got off, they remembered a couple they had met some months ago. Might they know of someone who had a vehicle and who would take them to Antuco? The man of the house had a better idea: “Why not stay overnight with us?”

When the pioneers accepted, the lady of the house was delighted and exclaimed: ‘Now we will have you all to ourselves to answer our questions!’ And ask questions they did​—about Jehovah, the anointed ones, the faithful slave, the great crowd, the wild beast, and so forth! The couple had obtained the Live Forever book and studied it until they knew much of it by memory. Oh, how they had prayed that someone would help them to understand more! “And here you are!” After a long and satisfying conversation, the hospitable family served them a delicious meal and then showed them a comfortable bed. How grateful those pioneers were that Jehovah had used them in this way!

At times, it is not refutation but kindness that penetrates the hard exterior of opposers. As Proverbs 25:15 states, “a mild tongue itself can break a bone.” Brumilda Castillo, a Witness who is an ex-nun, called on a devoutly Catholic family in Ecuador. When the wife saw the Witness, she hurled verbal abuse at her. Our sister did not try to refute the charges; she simply smiled, thanked the woman, and said that surely she would be able to speak to her at another time. As our sister was leaving, she met the husband, who not only responded as his wife had but also ordered Sister Castillo to get off his property. Again she smiled, thanked him, and said that she hoped to talk to him at another time. When husband and wife discussed what had occurred, they were perplexed. How could she smile and thank them when they had been so rude to her? They were so impressed, that the husband invited in the next Witness who called. The Witness invited them to a meeting, and they came. Who should be the first to greet them? The sister they had treated so badly. They apologized profusely to her, and she took advantage of the opportunity to start visiting them.

One day the man wanted to know what she thought of a chapel he had built on his property and filled with images. She asked if he would get angry with her if she told him the truth. “Of course not,” he replied. “Will you do what the Bible says you should do?” she asked. “I’ll do it this very day,” he promised. So she proceeded to show him what his Catholic Bible said about the use of images. At that, he said: “I want you to help me get rid of all these images.” It took four days to clean them all out and burn them.

All who become servants of Jehovah need to put on the new personality. With some people, however, the task may seem impossible. In northeastern Brazil a young man who agreed to study the Bible had a very bad reputation. His family said that almost daily someone came to their home to collect debts he had incurred when drinking. His parents constantly feared that he would be killed. Everyone told the pioneers who were conducting the study: “You are wasting your time with him. He’ll never change.” But “the word of God is alive and exerts power.” (Heb. 4:12) When the man gave up drinking and immorality, the whole town was impressed. His parents exclaimed: “Peace has come again to our home!” Because of the changes that he made, three others in his family are also studying and attending meetings.

North America and the Caribbean Islands

On more than one occasion, Jesus emphasized the importance of loving one’s neighbor as oneself. There are many ways in which such love can be shown. A sister in Martinique writes: ‘One morning when driving to work, I offered a ride to a young woman who did not look well. On the way to town, I spoke to her about God’s purpose and the blessings of the new world. She said that her mother was one of Jehovah’s Witnesses but that her own life was filled with hardship and she did not believe that God could do anything to better her condition. I proposed that she study the Bible with me for one month, and she accepted. After the month, I asked whether she wanted to continue. “As never before,” she said.

‘Her family situation was bad. Later, when her husband, who had another woman, ordered her out of the house, I helped her and her children. In time, she left Martinique for France, where she had been offered employment.

‘Some time later, her husband came to my door. At first I was fearful. But he had been deeply impressed by the change in his wife and by my own conduct. He had come to ask for a Bible study.’

A pioneer sister who is also a schoolteacher in Jamaica says that by taking an interest in people and being kind to them, she is also often able to help them spiritually. She observed that some students in the institution where she was employed were having difficulty with a particular subject, so she kindly gave them extra assistance. To help them to appreciate the value of education, she also used material from the Young People Ask book. What she was doing changed the attitude of those who observed. As a result, she was able to start four Bible studies and place a considerable quantity of literature.

A recently acquired airplane, better suited to our work than what we had before, is being used by the Alaska branch to speed up the work of witnessing in isolated villages. The tempo of this activity is about twice what it was in years past.

When calling at a home in the Dominican Republic, two publishers caught sight of a couple inside who were kneeling in prayer. They waited until the couple had finished praying, then knocked again. When the people came to the door, the publishers were greeted with the words: “Thank you, God, for listening to our prayer.” They eagerly accepted the offer of help in studying the Bible. Two days later, when scriptures condemning the use of idols were discussed, they promptly excused themselves and gathered up all the images in their home. (Deut. 7:25) Turning to his wife, the man asked: “Are we with Jehovah or with the Devil?” “Jehovah,” she responded. With that, they burned up all the images​—and they had many. Spiritually speaking, the fields are white for harvesting in the Dominican Republic, and in recent years the local Witnesses have been glad to welcome upwards of 150 other Witnesses who have come from abroad to help with the ingathering.

Islands of the Pacific

March 1, 1993, was an important day for our brothers in the Philippines. On that day the Supreme Court unanimously reversed a decision made by that court in 1959. It upheld the right of Jehovah’s Witnesses “to refuse to salute the Philippine flag on account of their religious beliefs.” Thus students were not to be barred from schools, public or private, because they refrained, for religious reasons, from saluting the flag, singing the national anthem, and reciting a prescribed patriotic pledge.

A sister on the island of Guam who works secularly full-time wanted to expand her ministry. She longed to share the joy being had by publishers who related experiences about fruitful Bible studies. Many times she prayed to Jehovah about it. As she examined her circumstances, she came to realize that there might be a potential for Bible studies right where she worked every day. After asking Jehovah for courage and support, she began talking to her fellow workers. At first it was difficult; those who showed interest were ridiculed by the others. In order to reach various ones with the good news, she prepared well, and she found prayer to be an important part of her preparation. When worldly celebrations came up, she explained the Scriptural basis for her refraining from participation. She looked for literature that would be particularly appropriate to each person. In one case, she simply read her Bible quietly where a workmate could see her. Sure enough, the young woman became curious, and a study was started. Slowly she began to develop progressive Bible studies. When transferred to another department, new opportunities opened up. One student introduced her to a dear friend who also showed interest and who, in turn, spoke to her mother, brother, and sister-in-law. All of them studied regularly. So many showed interest that our sister had to ask other publishers to help her care for them. Yes, our sister has learned that positive results and much joy can come from informal witnessing.

When in a cemetery, a teenage publisher in Australia observed a Filipino woman weeping at a grave. He engaged her in conversation and pointed to the inscription on his grandfather’s gravestone: “Sleeping awaiting a resurrection.” This opened the way for a further witness. Arrangements were made to meet her at the same location the following week, but she failed to arrive. The young publisher persisted. He and his mother searched through funeral notices in the local newspaper until they found a name that seemed to be Filipino. With the help of the telephone book, they made contact. The woman explained that she had missed the appointment because of transport problems. But she definitely was interested, and arrangements were made for a Bible study. Concern for people along with persistence brings good results.

Lands Where Conditions Have Become More Favorable

During the past five years, amazing changes have taken place. In at least 35 lands, obstacles have been cleared out of the way for freer proclamation of the Kingdom message. In many of these countries, bans have been lifted or the religious association of Jehovah’s Witnesses has been legally registered. What a vast field this has opened up! What is being done to cultivate it?

Twelve missionaries have been sent to Estonia, also 20 special pioneers from Finland. At least 200 other publishers have moved to Estonia to serve in territories where the need is greater. The brothers report: “The population of Estonia is very eager to discuss the Bible. Almost everyone welcomes the message.”

In Maardu, Estonia, the brothers were given property free on which to build their Kingdom Hall, but certain conditions were set out by the mayor: (1) They must trim the small park next to the hall; (2) the Kingdom Hall must be completed by October 15, 1993; (3) meetings must be open to all the inhabitants of the town; and (4) the Witnesses must tell the inhabitants of Maardu the Bible’s message and teach them the right way to live. The brothers were more than happy to agree to all four requests of the mayor!

Since the work of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Cape Verde Republic was legally registered in 1991, ten missionaries have been assigned to this territory. What sort of results are they having? One missionary couple report that they are conducting studies with 70 persons, some of whom began conducting studies with others after only two or three months. An isolated group of six publishers rejoiced when 150 turned out for a talk by the circuit overseer. And national television covered the building of the first Kingdom Hall in this country.

On January 8, 1993, the Supreme Court in Zaire declared the ban on Jehovah’s Witnesses to be illegal. This year, 75,944 publishers shared in the field ministry there. They conducted 163,454 home Bible studies. Further, 310,088 were in attendance at the Memorial.

More than 25 years ago, the Cambodian government refused to renew visas for George and Carolyn Crawford, so they had to leave that missionary assignment. During most of the time since then, there have been no Witnesses in Cambodia. However, last year Brother Crawford was kindly received by the director at the Cambodian Ministry of Religion. The director wanted to know how the Cambodian people would benefit if our missionaries were again allowed in the country. Other religious groups promised material benefits. But Brother Crawford explained that Jehovah’s Witnesses teach people to live by Bible laws and principles and that this yields spiritual, moral, and practical benefits, also how those who do this become better citizens. The minister was pleased. Approval was given for two missionaries to enter the country right away, with more to follow. On January 20, 1993, a letter was received in which the Watch Tower Society was granted permission to open an office in the capital city, Phnom Penh, for the preaching of the “Jehovah” Christian religion.

After a 40-year ban on Jehovah’s Witnesses in Romania, they were granted legal recognition in 1990. They have made good use of their changed circumstances. There was a 15-percent increase in Kingdom proclaimers this past year. Already, 130 Kingdom Halls have been constructed or are under construction. Some publishers are taking the initiative to reach out to areas where there were no Witnesses. In September 1991, two pioneer sisters moved to the small city of Urziceni, 35 miles [57 km] from Bucharest. At that time there were no Witnesses in this city; now 10 are baptized, and 66 attended the Memorial. Who conducts the meetings? At first, the sisters organized and conducted them. Now a ministerial servant, a brother nearly 80 years of age, travels a distance of 18 miles [30 km], three times a week, to conduct the meetings. Once a month, elders from Bucharest give a public talk and conduct the Watchtower Study for the group.

Even in some lands where Jehovah’s Witnesses are still under ban, they are able to carry on their ministry with less hindrance. In one of these countries, the publishers are now working their territory more thoroughly, calling at every home instead of skipping about in order to avoid being detected. In one town, the authorities stopped a group of publishers, examined their identification papers, and questioned them. The brothers explained that they were students of the Bible and that they wanted to share with others what they were learning. The authorities apologized for having bothered them and let them go. It was a joyful day of theocratic service.

In another land where Jehovah’s Witnesses were cruelly mistreated, they have recently been meeting and preaching more openly. This is Malawi. Formerly, when they had a small assembly, they would put up a grass fence around the house so that light from the lamps would not show outside. But in one circuit they realized that local officials who were aware of their meetings were no longer taking action against them; so, at the time of a recent assembly, they built no fence, and they even sang songs. In another area, when a brother was preaching in the market, a local official who saw him said: “Do not be afraid of us anymore. We want you to preach, and even we should be one of you.” In yet another area, a man who, like Saul of Tarsus, was a leader of those who persecuted the Witnesses accepted a Bible study. Soon others joined in, and the number of those studying rose to 26. After the first man got baptized, the number studying as a result of his changed course rose to 66. Then, at last, on August 12, 1993, the 26-year-long ban on Jehovah’s Witnesses in Malawi was lifted. What a cause for rejoicing!

Developments in Albania have truly been encouraging. In late October, 16 special pioneers from Italy and 4 from Greece were sent to Albania. After one week in Albania, though they were just beginning to learn the language, they had started 90 Bible studies! In Gjirokastër, a radio announcer was so impressed by what he was learning from one of the special pioneers that he announced over the air: “Jehovah’s Witnesses will be calling at your home. They will discuss how to keep a happy family life and teach you what the Bible says. Open your doors. Listen to them.”

Since the ban on Jehovah’s Witnesses in Benin was lifted in 1990, throngs of people have flocked to the meetings of Jehovah’s Witnesses. This past year, 15,951 attended the Memorial​—nearly five times the number of publishers. One congregation with 37 publishers had 698 in attendance!

In 1992, the final steps were taken toward granting legal recognition to Jehovah’s Witnesses in Togo, thus marking the end of a ban that had been imposed in 1978. Thousands of people were eager to study the Bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses. In 1993, the 7,125 publishers conducted 19,014 home Bible studies. In Lomé, the capital, there are 4,200 publishers, in 33 congregations, meeting in six Kingdom Halls. They urgently need more places in which to meet. Even though there was political turbulence, during which some 300,000 refugees fled from Lomé to nearby countries, the Governing Body arranged for a new branch office to go into operation there on June 1, 1993. How encouraging this was to the brothers in Togo!

In February 1993, the 23-year ban on Jehovah’s Witnesses in Cameroon was lifted. When commenting on the government’s decision, one Cameroon newspaper wrote regarding Jehovah’s people: “Socially, they display behavior that has nothing in common with the hypocrisy of those around them, . . . they preach by example.” The paper added that, with freedom of worship granted to the Witnesses, “all the old churches of Christendom face a formidable challenge.” Despite the long ban, there are 19,268 Witnesses in Cameroon, and 67,671 attended the Memorial there this past year.

What about countries that were within the former Soviet Union? As noted earlier, some of the most exciting conventions in 1993 were held in that part of the world. In 12 of those lands, during the past year our brothers devoted a total of 14,180,165 hours to the work of Kingdom proclamation, 14,973 new disciples were baptized, and at the time of the Memorial, 256,242 gathered to commemorate the death of Jesus Christ. Yes, it is evident that these lands, too, will be well represented in that ‘great crowd out of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues’ that will survive the coming great tribulation with the prospect of eternal life in Jehovah’s righteous new world.​—Rev. 7:9, 14.

Acts of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Modern Times

Greece

Ancient Greece, renowned for achievements in art, literature, and architecture, became one of the first lands in Europe to receive the good news of God’s Kingdom. In modern times, Jehovah’s Witnesses have endured tremendous hardships as they have worked to reestablish pure Christianity in this land. Their struggle makes a gripping account.

Haiti

Haiti has had an interesting, though turbulent, history. Black heroes, famous writers, and gifted artists have been part of the changing scene. Now, genuine hope is being held out to those who seek to be more than mere memories from the past. Read how Haitians are responding to the good news of everlasting life in a new world.

Poland

The faith of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Poland has been tested as in a crucible. Schemes have been devised repeatedly to discredit the Witnesses​—if possible, to destroy their organization. But no weapon formed against them has had lasting success. May your reading of these experiences strengthen your determination to trust fully in Jehovah.

Greece

ON May 25, 1993, a mighty legal battle finally ended. It began over seven years earlier on a sun-drenched Mediterranean island and reached its climax in the most esteemed court of Europe. In March 1986, an elderly couple named Kokkinakis went from door to door discussing the Bible with their neighbors on the Greek island of Crete. They spoke with one woman whose husband, it turned out, was a cantor in the Greek Orthodox Church. None too pleased with this visit from Jehovah’s Witnesses, he called the police. The couple were arrested.

Minos Kokkinakis fought his subsequent conviction, sentence, and fine all the way to the Court of Cassation, the Supreme Court of Greece, which rejected his appeal. So, in 1988, Kokkinakis appealed to the European Commission of Human Rights. This Commission, made up of 23 jurists representing the member nations of the Council of Europe, ruled that the European Court of Human Rights should hear the case. It did so in the fall of 1992. On May 25, 1993, by a vote of six to three, the Court delivered its judgment: Greece had indeed committed a violation of human rights​—namely, of the freedom of religion.

But what had led up to this titanic struggle over basic human rights? Why do Jehovah’s Witnesses find themselves fighting such battles in a land long famed for its devotion to exalted ideals? What kind of country is Greece?

The Tides of History

Throughout the ages, tides have washed against the shores of Greece. This land lies at the base of a broad peninsula jutting southward into the Mediterranean Sea and is surrounded by hundreds of islands in the Aegean and Ionian seas. So its myriad shores have weathered more tides and more storms than man has counted. Ever since the waters of the Noachian Flood withdrew, Greece has borne the brunt of a greater tide: the ebb and flow of human history. Some even say that Western civilization was born there.

The family of Noah’s grandson Javan formed a tide of humanity that flowed over from the East; Greece attracted many of these settlers.a They evidently brought with them tales of the great Flood and of the world it inundated back in Noah’s day. Some myths of ancient Greece bear all the earmarks of being corrupted and distorted versions of actual events recorded in the Bible.

In fact, the history of ancient Greece is intertwined with Bible history. The Hebrew prophet Daniel foretold in the sixth century B.C.E. that the forces behind the tides of history would carry Greece to the pinnacle of world power. So accurately did Daniel’s words match Alexander the Great’s stunning conquests, his sudden demise, and the subsequent division of his empire into four inferior parts that some scholars have tried​—unsuccessfully—​to prove that these passages were written after the fact.​—Dan. 7:2; 8:5-8, 20-22.

Although the Bible does not detail the age when Greece dominated Israel, the Christian Greek Scriptures clearly bear the lingering imprint of that era. Many of Jesus’ first-century followers spoke and wrote Greek, the common language of the civilized world at that time. The ideas of such Greek philosophers as Plato and Aristotle were prevalent among the Jews of Jesus’ day. No doubt the apostle Paul had such lofty thinkers in mind when he wrote to the congregation at Corinth that the word of God could ‘overturn strongly entrenched reasonings.’​—2 Cor. 10:4, 5.

Christianity Flourishes and Fades

Greece was the first European land to be visited by an apostle of Jesus Christ. Paul landed at the port of Neapolis and visited cities including Philippi, Thessalonica, and Beroea in the north and Athens and Corinth in the south. With the vigor typical of early Christianity, congregations soon flourished in such cities. Paul’s letters to the Christians in Philippi, Corinth, and Thessalonica, as well as letters to Christians elsewhere, which he wrote while he was in Greece, have strengthened the faith of millions of Christians since then.

Sadly, though, it was not long after the death of the last apostle, John​—who recorded the remarkable revelation given to him while he was exiled on the Greek island of Patmos—​that another tide flooded over Greece. A dark wave of apostasy swept through the Christian congregation and polluted the faith of the majority. Congregations adopted such unscriptural teachings as the immortality of the soul, hellfire torment, the Trinity, and clergy-laity distinctions.

Centuries of spiritual darkness ensued. During that time, the pope of Rome was accorded primacy over Christendom. However, the patriarch of Constantinople was in charge of the church in Greece and lands to the east. In 1054, years of tension between East and West culminated when a debate over an obscure theological point erupted into the Great Schism, which severed the Eastern Orthodox from the Roman Catholic Church. Greece has maintained its loyalty to the former. To this day, in fact, 98 percent of the ten million inhabitants of Greece belong to the Greek Orthodox Church, a self-governing member of the Eastern Orthodox Church.

The Eastern Orthodox Church has a long history of political involvement. While the Muslim Ottoman Empire dominated all the European Orthodox countries except Russia from the 1400’s into the 1800’s, the conquerors made the patriarch of Constantinople the secular ruler over all Orthodox “Christians” in the empire.

In the 1820’s, when Greece rebelled against Ottoman rule, the Greek Orthodox Church played a major role, promoting Greek nationalism and independence. The clergy have been a dominant force in Greek politics ever since, even being paid by the government. Because of the clergy’s enormous influence in that land, the modern history of Jehovah’s people there has largely been a history of persecution.

The Land and Its People Today

Shortly after the turn of this century, the tide of true Christianity began to sweep across Greece once again. In many ways, the early 20th-century preachers found the land and its people to be much the same as Paul had found them some 19 centuries earlier.

With its rumpled, deeply indented coastline and numerous islands​—which make up 20 percent of the country—​no part of Greece is far from the sea. So fishing and shipping are still popular trades. The land is rocky and mountainous, with little arable soil, though there are some fertile valley plains in a few coastal and central regions. The climate, with its hot, dry summers, is ideal for cultivating olive groves and vineyards.

What about the people? Greeks are known the world over as vibrant, colorful, and passionate, full of life and generosity. They generally hold strong opinions and do not hesitate to make them known. When Paul first visited Athens, he found that “all Athenians and the foreigners sojourning there would spend their leisure time at nothing but telling something or listening to something new.” (Acts 17:21) To this day, Greeks love to sit in the agora, or marketplace, and hold forth on politics, philosophy, and religion. They are a fiercely loyal people too​—a trait that the Orthodox clergy have sometimes exploited.

The Early 1900’s

The waters of truth returned to Greece as a result of migration. Many Greeks moved to the United States, came in contact with the Bible Students, as Jehovah’s Witnesses were then known, and began to love Bible truth. Soon they were eager to share with their relatives back home the things they were learning. The letters and tracts they sent proved to be seed that often fell on good soil. However, many realized that just sending tracts back home was not enough; some traveled to Greece to visit, while others returned to settle in their homeland.

George Kossyfas, a Greek who had learned the truth in 1900 in the United States, was sent to Greece in 1905 by Charles Taze Russell, president of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society. He took Studies in the Scriptures with him. John Bosdogiannis, a preacher and English professor on the island of Crete, translated the volumes into Greek. They were then printed and distributed to bookshops in Athens and the port of Piraeus​—even displayed at Hestia, the well-known bookstore on Stadium Street in Athens. Brother Kossyfas also did “street work,” setting out the volumes on the low wall around the Greek parliament building and answering questions for pedestrians.

On Crete, John Bosdogiannis found an eager student​—a photographer named Athanassios Karanassios, who embraced the truth in 1910. He even studied ancient Hebrew and Koine, or common Greek, as well as English.

In Athens, one of the first to show interest was a paralyzed man named Ekonomou, who lived in Exarhia. About 1910 he also eagerly accepted the truth and was zealous in sharing it with others. But he was confined to his bed. So he would write Bible verses on pieces of paper and throw them out the window, hoping that some passersby would find them. He would also send tracts and write letters to interested persons. Then Michael Triantafilopoulos, a young man who had just learned the truth, traveled to towns and villages distributing more tracts and helping interested persons to get in touch with one another.

The first meetings were held at Brother Ekonomou’s home. Soon another group was organized in Piraeus at the home of Brother Kossyfas. They used Studies in the Scriptures and other literature of the faithful and discreet slave class for their discussions. (Matt. 24:45-47) No doubt they were thrilled to learn that Brother Russell planned to visit Greece.

Brother Russell Visits Greece

In the course of his world tour, Brother Russell visited Athens and Corinth in 1912. There were only about 12 publishers in Greece then. He gave a talk at the Businessmen’s Club Hall in Athens, the very city where Paul had been irritated by rampant idolatry some 19 centuries earlier. (Acts 17:16) So many came to hear the talk that a second one had to be arranged. But this time many Greek Orthodox priests attended, interrupted the talk, and raised an uproar. Later, sitting at the bedside of Brother Ekonomou, Brother Russell answered many Bible questions.

By train, Brother Russell made his way to Corinth. Much to Brother Russell’s surprise, it was arranged for him to speak in the Greek Orthodox Church of St. Paul! The town’s mayor was there, as well as several priests and army officers. The theme of his talk was “The Great Hereafter.” It was well received, and he was asked to repeat it. Afterward, the mayor took him on a guided tour of that ancient city, where Paul once spent a year and a half building up the congregation of anointed Christians.​—Acts 18:11.

Brother Rutherford Visits

On September 28, 1920, the Simplon-Orient Express pulled into the station at Athens with the Watch Tower Society’s second president, J. F. Rutherford, aboard. The newspaper Athina announced his talk on the theme “Millions Now Living Will Never Die.” He also spoke on the Areopagus, or Mars’ Hill, where Paul had given such an effective witness about 50 C.E. (Acts 17:22-34) Later, Brother Rutherford aptly wrote: “Greece is a priest-ridden country, but we believe the people are awakening to the fact that they have been duped and misled by their blind guides. We believe there is a wide field for a witness to the truth there.”

Brother Rutherford also saw the need for better organization in Greece. Before 1922 there was no official organization. In 1922 a branch of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society was established on Lombardou Street in Athens, with Athanassios Karanassios as the branch representative. As the work became organized, traveling speakers were sent to the main cities; others were sent to smaller towns and villages. In all, there were then about 20 tireless workers in the field.

Public Talks Spread the Good News

Public talks played a key role in spreading the good news in those early years. When the talk “All Nations Marching to Armageddon, but Millions Now Living Will Never Die” was to be given, the small Athens Congregation went into action. The Town Council permitted the use of the Athens Municipal Theater free of charge. The newspaper Athina advertised the talk in banner headlines. Brother Karanassios delivered the talk to a packed audience, and it was repeated in the Odeon Hall on Phidiou Street. Many obtained the booklet Millions Now Living Will Never Die.

George Douras, a well-known poet and student of law, learned the truth in 1920 through reading a tract. He served as a pilgrim, or traveling minister, from 1922 to 1925. In November 1923 he gave a public talk in a cinema at the west coast port of Patras. Present was Pavlos Grigoriadis, a well-educated man who later became a Bible Student. His brother Grigoris also learned the truth and is still associated with the Bethel family in Greece.

In that same year, Brother Douras gave a public talk in the town of Kalamata. Dimitris Logiotatos recalled: “The whole community were as startled as I when they saw the advertisements for the talk ‘Millions Now Living Will Never Die.’ I decided to go and hear it. When I arrived, the hall was full. I sat behind Mr. Trempela, a theologian and professor at Athens University, who was known as the ‘nightingale of the Orthodox church.’ I caught every detail of the spiritual fight between the Bible Students and that prominent theologian. It was a triumph for TRUTH! Afterward I obtained a number of booklets with the same title as the talk. I read a copy in just one night. Full of joy, I ran to distribute these wonderful booklets to my friends and relatives.”

“Step Over Into Macedonia and Help Us”

Christians the world over are familiar with the urgent call that the apostle Paul received through God’s spirit to preach in the territory of Macedonia: “Step over into Macedonia and help us.” (Acts 16:9) Whereas Paul’s travels took him to Macedonia first, in this century the good news spread to Macedonia slightly later than to the southern and central parts of Greece.

A public talk gave the preaching work its start in the very town where Paul first arrived in Europe​—Kaválla, ancient Neapolis. Nicolas Kouzounis recalled being there back in 1922: “I had been feeling troubled spiritually. About that time the newspaper Simaia advertised a public talk entitled ‘Millions Now Living Will Never Die,’ to be given in a coffee shop. After the talk, I obtained the booklet Can the Living Talk With the Dead?” Deeply moved by what he had learned, Brother Kouzounis soon joined a companion in spending months at a time traveling by car to preach in the villages and towns as far as the Turkish border. The good news spread to Alexandroúpolis in the northeast, as well as to Nea Orestiada, Sakkos, and the Chalcidice prefecture.

Salonika (or, Thessaloníki) is the second-largest city in Greece. It is an ancient city, closely associated with the ministry of the apostle Paul and his companions. As early as 1926, Spyros Zacharopoulos, a former military man, and Thanasis Tsimperas, a teacher, were preaching in that area. Diogenis Kontaxopoulos carried the good news to the villages in the Serrai prefecture from 1928 to 1933. Eastern Macedonia and western Thrace received the message of the Kingdom through the faithful preaching of Yiannakos Zachariadis.

How did the good news reach those far-flung areas? Some of the brothers who were punished with exile for their irrepressible preaching work were allowed to choose their place of exile. Brother Kouzounis, from Kaválla, was exiled to the Chalcidice prefecture in 1938. After asking Jehovah for guidance, he chose the village of Nea Simantra. When the villagers there asked why he was exiled, he would tell them it was because he was a Christian. This thought-provoking answer led to many discussions​—and he handled the Scriptures quite capably. In time a congregation was established in Nea Simantra. From there the good news spread to Galátista, where another congregation was formed. In Nea Moudania a group of women became believers​—Sisters Mastoraki, Stampouli, and Nteniki. They taught others in Floyita, with the result that a congregation was formed there as well. The truth then spread to Kassándra.

The Early Years in Thessaly

In Thessaly, a region in central Greece, the good news made early progress, most notably in two small villages, Kalamaki of Larissa and Eleftherohori of Trikkala. In November 1922, George Koukoutianos, a schoolteacher who had been fired because he was a Bible Student, was traveling when bad weather led him to spend the night in Kalamaki at the home of Dimitris Pardalos. He witnessed to his hospitable host. The result? Dimitris and two other townsmen, Theodoros Pardalos and Apostolos Vlahavas, came to know Jehovah.

These three began witnessing from house to house in the surrounding villages. They also spent two or three months every year preaching in outlying territories, returning to their village to renew their strength and to earn enough money to finance future campaigns. They traveled on foot, carrying a load of literature and any produce they were given in return.

Their lives were not without lighter moments, though. One of them related: “Once we had to wade across a river. It was winter, and the water was cold. As I was the larger of us two, I suggested to my companion that I carry him on my back. To save a second trip, I carried our literature bags in one hand and our shoes and socks in the other. At the same time, I clenched my teeth on the handle of a basket full of eggs. But when we came to the middle of the river, I made the mistake of asking my companion on my back if he was all right. Of course, the egg basket fell at once. As I tried to catch it, I dropped our shoes, socks, and literature. Then, as I tried to save these, the brother fell from my back into the river!” They laughed over that memorable crossing for years.

The work in the rural areas was challenging. When they distributed the tract Ecclesiastics Indicted, the Witnesses were sometimes detained in police stations and then brought before the courts. But persecution strengthened their faith and zeal for the Kingdom. The result was that from 1930 onward, the congregation in Kalamaki steadily increased in number.

Some Opposition From Within

In 1931, God’s people adopted the name Jehovah’s Witnesses. However, not everyone accepted it. Kostas Ekonomou from Larissa recalls: “As soon as I learned of the new name, I ran to convey this joyous news to the brothers in our area. Strangely, though, these brothers said, ‘We cannot be changing names.’ They didn’t want to be called Jehovah’s Witnesses.

“At our next meeting, I reproved them for their attitude. Their response? All ten brothers there got up and threw me out of the meeting! But the next day I started preaching, believing that Jehovah would give me another congregation. This first group of brothers stopped meeting together and gradually dispersed. Only one or two brothers remained faithful in Larissa.”

Others, too, appeared within Jehovah’s organization who did not readily respond to the direction of the organization. The preaching work was a test for some. In 1928, at the Memorial of Christ’s death, 168 persons partook of the emblems. But in that same year, there were only 97 publishers of the good news in Greece! As the preaching work became more organized, those who refused to take part were gradually sifted out.

Growing Despite Opposition in Eleftherohori

In 1923 the first flash of truth illuminated the village of Eleftherohori in the region of Trikkala. A brother named John Kostarellos returned from America to his native village of Exalofos and started to preach from house to house. His brother Dimitris responded, and the two of them preached regularly in nearby Eleftherohori. In 1924 they met George Papageorgiou, who later related: “At first I was opposed. I said to them: ‘Tell me, please, are you uneducated goat thieves from Exalofos going to teach us the gospel? We have our priests and bishops, educated men! You get on with your own business.’ They left, but they came back later. I approached to listen to what they had to say. And what did I hear? ‘It is written’ in this or that book of the Bible. That made me think.” He soon joined them in the preaching work.

In 1925 all three of these brothers traveled to Athens and were baptized. Together they continued the preaching work, and in 1928, George Papageorgiou’s nephew as well as his son-in-law from nearby Valtino accepted the truth.

When Nicos Karathanassis accepted the truth, his relatives told him to leave Valtino. His cousins even grabbed him by his hair and were about to throw him to the ground when his father intervened. His brother George began to serve Jehovah as well, and more persecution followed. Fanatical relatives even persuaded George’s wife to try to kill him while he slept. But George awoke just as his wife, ax in hand, was about to strike. He spoke to her so kindly that she put the ax down, seeing the difference between her husband’s conduct and that of his accusers. She progressed in the truth, and so did other relatives​—whole families began to serve Jehovah. One of George’s sons, Kostas Karathanassis, graduated from the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead in 1975. He and his wife, Maria, serve as missionaries in Cyprus.

Vasilis Avgerinos was a schoolteacher in Eleftherohori when he first met the Bible Students back in September 1927. “As soon as I arrived,” he recalled, “I was told that in the village a ‘Freemason’ named George Papageorgiou was disturbing the community with false teachings. Being a teacher, I was to ‘put him in his place.’” Brother Papageorgiou related: “I had a discussion with this teacher, and the villagers were impressed with the rhetorical way in which he answered me. They laughed and said: ‘We villagers don’t know very much, and you present yourself as an educated man. But now justify yourself in front of the teacher!’” But just a few days later, this teacher asked Brother Papageorgiou for the first volume of Studies in the Scriptures; soon he wanted the whole series. His reaction? He recalls: “Now at last I had found the TRUTH!” Both he and his wife joined in the preaching work.

There were now seven publishers in the area. Persecution came from all sides. Brother Avgerinos related: “We were publicly abused, cursed in the streets, denounced to the police and the Ministry of Education, brought before the courts and disgraced. But much to our joy, some of these mockers and accusers later became our brothers and joined us in the preaching work.”

The Greek Islands​—Crete

The Greek islands are known the world over for their sun-soaked beauty. The apostle Paul visited some of those rocky limestone shores in the Aegean Sea. He stopped at Mitylene, Chios, and Samos as he returned from his third missionary tour in 56 C.E. (Acts 20:14, 15) Evidently he also spent time in Crete; but whether he visited other Greek islands is unknown. (Titus 1:5) The apostle John was exiled on Patmos, and some other Greek islands have been used for exile in modern times as well.​—Rev. 1:9.

After Brother Rutherford visited Athens in 1920, he also visited the towns of Canea and Iráklion on the island of Crete. Three years later, Nicos Benierakis from the village of Douliana saw the book The Harp of God in a shoe shop. He later got in touch with John Bosdogiannis in Canea, who had translated C. T. Russell’s books. Three brothers grouped together in Douliana. Sadly, though, Professor Bosdogiannis began publishing his own booklets and refused to cooperate with the Society any longer.

However, a humble teacher named Manolis Lionoudakis did progress in the truth. Expelled from his home, he gave up his job as a teacher and joined the pioneer service in Iráklion. He went from house to house, covering the whole city. For this activity, he was brought to court and was sentenced to a year of exile on Amorgos Island of the Cyclades group. He recalls: “After I had been there for six months, suddenly a man named Kokkinakis arrived from Crete. I had spoken the truth to him back there. He had been interested, and now here he was, being exiled for his new convictions! At last I had a companion with whom to study The Watchtower. It was in the sea at Amorgos that this companion of mine was baptized.”

Brother Kokkinakis is now 84 years old and has served Jehovah faithfully for 54 years. Back in 1938 he was the very first of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Greece to be arrested for violating the law against proselytism. His most recent legal battle was mentioned at the outset of this account. In all, he has been arrested over 60 times for peacefully pursuing his worship.

From such small beginnings, there are now 13 congregations on Crete, a testimony to the endurance and hard work of the brothers and sisters over many difficult years.

Samos

One of the early Witnesses on the island of Samos, Dimitris Makris, recalled how he first learned of the truth: “In January 1926, I heard one of the Bible Students speaking at a shop and introduced myself. The next day Penelope and I were present at a discussion. I asked the brothers how they could give answers from the Bible so readily. ‘You need to study the Bible,’ they told me. They showed me the book The Harp of God and how to study it. So a group of five of us studied the book each night until the early hours of the morning. Toward the end of the year, when a pilgrim, Brother Koukoutianos, visited, we were baptized. In 1927 we held a small assembly in Samos with 40 persons present from the island.

“We decided to visit all the villages on the island with the only publication we had, a booklet entitled Hell, with subtitles that asked ‘What Is It? Who Are There? Can They Get Out?’ In one village after another, we were beaten. In March 1928 a priest brought me and a sister who was from the United States before the court​—although he had beaten us. At the hearing the presiding judge asked the priest: ‘Didn’t you have [a tree] in the village to hang him from?’ I was sentenced to two months’ imprisonment; I celebrated the Memorial alone that year.”

Jehovah has blessed the brothers’ endurance and hard work. There are now three thriving congregations in Samos.

Small Beginnings on the Island of Corfu

In 1923 there were four brothers on Corfu, a beautiful island off the west coast of Greece, opposite the Italian mainland. George Douras and Christos Papakos recalled the work in those years: “We decided to give a public talk in a theater in the capital. At 10 a.m. it was full, with about a thousand present. In the front sat some members of the legal profession. However, the chief of police came and informed us that the talk could not be given. A lawyer in the audience was upset and demanded a reason. Upon learning that the archbishop was responsible, the lawyer shouted: ‘Gentlemen, I am the consul of France. In this theater it is prohibited to hear this talk. Come with me to the French consulate. There it will be allowed.’ The speaker, Brother Douras, was the first to follow the consul; then the whole audience followed them. Just imagine the spectacle as the crowd made its way along the streets of Corfu to the French consulate to hear the talk!”

A colporteur (full-time minister), Charalampos Beratis, also ran into opposition on Corfu about 1923. He related: “In a village named Pagi, all the villagers were gathered in the square. I introduced the Society’s literature, and many accepted the books. Then the village priest appeared, tugged at my coat, and announced: ‘In the name of the law and of the king, I arrest you.’ He tried to call the police by telephone, but it was out of order. I prayed silently to Jehovah to direct me as to what to do. Finally, I just picked up my book bag and shouted: ‘In the name of Jehovah, I take my bag and leave.’ There was complete silence; nobody said a word. I simply left and continued my preaching work!”

There are now some 47 congregations with 2,500 Witnesses located on the scattered islands around Greece.

The Pioneer Work

Even in those difficult early years, some zealous Greeks wanted to make a career of their ministry. Michael Kaminaris, one of the early pioneers, returned to Greece in 1934, overflowing with a desire to preach the good news full-time. Before long he was joined by Michael Triantafilopoulos. These two covered several regions of Greece. Brother Kaminaris recalls: “As the work progressed, the opposition intensified. In the village of Magouliana, we faced a mob, and in the village of Prasino, the local priest led an attack on us. In the prefecture of Messenia together with Aetolia and Acarnania prefecture, we had dozens of court cases on the issue of proselytism.

“To cut down on the number of arrests, the Society advised us to work alone rather than together. It was hard to work alone without someone to talk to, but I went ahead without dwelling on the dangers and the loneliness, putting confidence in Jehovah. Many times people would say: ‘We can imagine how much money you receive to come and reach us as far as here.’ Little did they know that oftentimes I was hungry and didn’t even know if I would have a place to sleep. Sometimes when I was in a hostile area, the safest place to sleep was the local graveyard.” Brother Kaminaris has been a member of the Bethel family since 1945. The number of regular pioneers has soared from 8 in 1938 to about 1,800 in 1993.

Efforts to Silence the Preaching Work

To support the burgeoning preaching work, the Society’s first printery in Greece​—using a secondhand Offenbach flatbed press—​started up on February 19, 1936, in the basement of 51 Lombardou Street, Athens. So in May of that year, this press was used to print The Golden Age (now Awake!). The Watchtower was still produced in the United States.

However, the clergy did not want this new magazine to be circulated. So the August 1936 edition of The Golden Age announced that under clergy influence, the undersecretary of communication and postal services had prohibited the postal distribution of the magazine. It assured subscribers, though, that they would continue to receive the magazine regularly. But worse lay ahead.

On August 4, 1936, there was a change of government. Ioannis Metaxas became the new president of the country, possessing absolute authority. In 1938, when the number of publishers had reached 212, a law prohibiting proselytism was enacted. This law has been one of the toughest obstacles to the preaching work in Greece ever since. In October 1939 at a meeting in Athens, 85 brothers and sisters were arrested. The security police kept the 35 sisters in one room while dispersing the brothers to various police stations for detention.

The next day Brother Karanassios, the branch servant, was arrested at the Society’s offices. The printery was closed, and the Society’s property was confiscated. At the clergy’s instigation, all those arrested brothers faced pressure to sign a declaration saying that they would return to the Greek Orthodox Church. They were threatened with exile to remote islands in the Aegean Sea.

Kostas Christou, one of the 85, recalls a typically devious pressure tactic: “Mr. Christou, your wife has already signed a statement. She will be freed. It would be a pity for her to be alone and you in exile on the island of Seriphos!” But Brother Christou answered: “My wife depends on Jehovah, not me. She is free to decide. But I am sure my wife didn’t sign. And besides, sign what? That it is a bad thing to worship our Creator?”

A man who was on friendly terms with the president was also familiar with Jehovah’s Witnesses; he thought the decision to exile them was monstrous. So he told the president: “These people are not our political opposers. What are they doing? They are awaiting God’s Kingdom. It will be good when it comes. We also are expecting it.” Convinced, the dictator ordered that the decision be canceled at once. The brothers were thrilled. All told, only 6 of the 85 arrested had compromised under pressure. After a court hearing, all branch property and money was returned. The branch office and printery began to function freely again. Not for long, though!

The War Years

On October 28, 1940, Italy declared war on Greece, plunging the country into World War II. German and Bulgarian armies invaded Greece, killing many. Nineteen of the brothers lost their lives. Martial law was declared. Among the 225 publishers, many brothers faced court-martial because of their neutral stand. Some received sentences of from 7 to 20 years in prison; others received life sentences. In a few cases, like that of Emmanuel Paterakis of Crete, they were sentenced to death. However, under German occupation, no death sentence was carried out in Greece.

During the occupation, the Society’s books were banned, but some continued to reach the brothers. After April 1941 the spiritual food was supplied via underground means. All communication with the brothers at headquarters was severed; articles from older Watchtower magazines were reproduced on a duplicating machine, as were the books Religion and Salvation and the booklet Refugees. The brothers continued to preach, but informally. They would lend booklets to interested people, inviting those who showed further interest to meet with small groups. Many learned the truth in this way.

Some Narrow Escapes

To fight the German occupying forces, guerrilla groups were formed among the Greek people. On October 18, 1943, the German Army invaded Kalamaki in Thessaly, where a congregation had long been active. The leftist guerrillas, who had a base there, told the villagers that they should flee to the mountains for protection. The brothers, after prayer, decided to stay put. When the Germans arrived, they plundered the houses and set the empty ones on fire. Two thirds of the houses were burned but not those of Jehovah’s people. Among the fewer than 80 families in Kalamaki, 65 people were killed. None of them were Witnesses.

On August 24, 1944, four of our brothers were charged with treason and sentenced to death by the guerrillas at Tourkolekas, a village near the city of Megalópolis. As they were being led to the place of execution, German artillery launched a surprise attack, and the guerrillas scattered. The brothers got away free!

At times German soldiers would encircle an area and kill all the men in retaliation for acts of sabotage. In Kallithéa, a suburb of Athens, German soldiers rounded up all the men for execution. They searched the home of Thanasis Paleologos and were about to arrest him when, suddenly, the officer recognized some books and magazines on the table as the forbidden publications of Jehovah’s Witnesses. He asked: “Are you a Bible Student?” Brother Paleologos replied: “Yes!” The officer confided: “My mother is a Bible Student in Germany,” and then left and took the soldiers with him!

Wartime Persecution

At Eleftherohori another long-established congregation was weathering the war years. Elias Panteras reports: “The decade of 1940-50 was a time of fiery test. As the brothers went from house to house, church bells would ring, and the head of the village, along with the priests and rural guards, would arrest the brothers and haul them to court. On two occasions nationalistic groups led by a police officer searched the brothers’ homes and led them to the Orthodox church. They tried to force them to make the sign of the cross and kiss the religious icons. When the brothers refused, they were beaten mercilessly.”

Communist groups and local leaders once arrested the brothers and ordered them to stand as guards. When they refused, they were led to a nearby village and handed over to the authorities, who decided that Nicos Papageorgiou, Costas Christanas, and Costas Papageorgiou should be executed. Of the seven-member committee, only one did not endorse the execution. The brothers were led to a mountainside village. The death sentence was read to them, and they were tied up and beaten. During the beating, Nicos Papageorgiou, who was tied hand and foot, rolled partway down the mountainside, stopping only on a ledge just above a river. The brothers were beaten repeatedly during eight days and then freed.

Nicos Papageorgiou recalls: “The team leader of the National Liberation Front took me to his office and told me that he was sorry to inform me that he had been authorized to execute me. He said that he would try to help me but that I would have to help him too. I reached out and took hold of his right hand, saying: ‘If you love me, then execute me right away. If I deny my beliefs, then you should cry for me.’” Evidently moved, this leader set about freeing Brother Papageorgiou. Interestingly, the war soon claimed the lives of all of those who had ordered this execution.

Brother Papageorgiou, now 90 years old, is still vigorous in Jehovah’s service. Two congregations thrive in Eleftherohori today. Clearly, Jehovah blessed one faithful brother​—John Kostarellos from Exalofos—​to become hundreds.​—Compare Isaiah 60:22.

A Church Dignitary Learns the Truth

Despite all the clergy-inspired persecution during the war, Helen Kouzioni learned the truth through a priest! She relates: “I was working as a teacher in a high school for girls in Athens. In 1941 an archimandrite [a church dignitary ranking below a bishop] and teacher of theology whom I knew well, Polikarpos Kinigopoulos, was assigned to my school. It so happened that a street bootblack, one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, preached to Mr. Kinigopoulos while cleaning his shoes. Interested, he told me about the conversation; together we went to the home of George Douras. That was the first time I heard of God’s purpose to make the earth a paradise. As we left, I said to the theologian, ‘This is the truth. As for me, I am not going to church anymore.’ ‘Don’t be in a hurry,’ he cautioned me, ‘we must study first.’ ‘Sure, we will study,’ I said, ‘but I’ll stay here. You can go where you like.’ In the meantime, he visited all the bishops he knew in the Athens area, but none paid any attention.

“Then a local priest began looking for witnesses to lodge accusations against Mr. Kinigopoulos. I warned my friend of the danger, and he immediately had his beard shaved off, cut his hair, put on a brown suit, and came out looking like a different man. He prepared a written defense, giving the reasons why he had become one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, and gave it personally to the church authorities.” Toward the end of 1943, he and his fleshly sister Sophia Iasonidou, as well as Helen Kouzioni, were baptized. Now he was no longer “Father Polikarpos” but Brother Kinigopoulos.

Increase in the Region of Philippi

Near the ancient Macedonian city of Philippi, where the apostle Paul and his companion Silas were beaten and imprisoned in about 50 C.E., lies a village called Kyria. In modern times, when Yiannakos Zachariadis, who had learned the truth in 1926, covered the surrounding area with the good news, a family in the village of Rodholívos accepted the book Government. Years later, in 1940, 19-year-old Timoleon Vasiliou visited that family and found a pile of books on the roof​—Government among them. He recalls: “I spent hours on the roof reading the whole book. I had found the truth!”

This young man began witnessing in the streets, and that was how he found a fellow Witness, a former policeman named Christos Triantafillou. He obtained more books from Christos, and soon a congregation of eight young persons was formed in Rodholívos. Of these brothers, Timoleon Vasiliou, Thanasis Kallos, and Panagiotis and Nikos Zinzopoulos were arrested on October 3, 1945, just because they were Jehovah’s Witnesses. They were taken to a police station, where they were beaten continually for 24 hours​—particularly on the soles of their feet. The young men were unable to walk for a month.

In 1940 the clergy hired a man to kill Brother Zachariadis, who was then serving as a traveling overseer. They promised this hired killer that he would go unpunished. So it was that during a meeting in Brother Zachariadis’ home, there was an unexpected knock on the door. It was a stranger. He asked to see Brother Zachariadis, who was just then giving a talk. The brothers asked the man to sit down. Brother Zachariadis, noticing a stranger present, adapted his talk accordingly. Afterward, the friends greeted the man, and Brother Zachariadis got acquainted with him. The stranger then asked Brother Zachariadis to come alone with him into an adjoining room. He took his revolver out of his pocket, along with the money he had been paid, and said: “The bishopric authorized me to come here to find you and kill you. This is the revolver, and this is the money I was paid to commit the crime. But God protected me from shedding innocent blood. He helped me to realize that you are a man of God, contrary to what they told me.”

Because of the faithful efforts of these brothers, congregations were organized in Rodholívos, Dhravískos, Palaeokomi, and Mavrolofos. The work has continued to grow in these northern areas of Greece.

Renewed Contact With Brooklyn

Contact with the organization outside Greece was not restored until 1945, when some literature came in from the brothers in Alexandria, Egypt. When the Greece branch at last regained contact with Brooklyn, they reported: “The truth cannot be bound. Jehovah’s spirit directed his servants for the work of gathering in his sheep.” Between 1940 and 1945, the number of Kingdom publishers had increased nearly tenfold, from 178 to 1,770.

Since the Greece branch was caring for the work in Albania, visits were made there from time to time. The 1938 Yearbook said about the work in that land: “There also Satan through the Roman Catholic Hierarchy has acted against the proclamation of the message of the Kingdom. The books were seized and, notwithstanding the petitions to the Albanian Government, until now they were not given back.” The number of publishers in 1939 was 23. When a brother paid a visit to Albania in 1948, the number preaching was about 35. After that, there was difficulty in keeping in touch with the brothers in that land because of the political situation. What good news when, after decades under ban, the work in Albania was legally recognized in May 1992, when there were 50 publishers!

Gileadites Arrive

The year 1946 was a milestone. Two Gilead graduates were sent to Greece: Anthony Sideris and James Turpin. Athanassios Karanassios, who had served faithfully as the branch servant for many years but had become ill, was replaced by Brother Sideris. The preaching work, as well as the work of translation, was reorganized.

In June 1946, 152 cartons of literature arrived by ship from Brooklyn. As soon as the clergy learned about the shipment, opposition began. A circular went to the customs authorities stating that ‘the importation of these books should be prevented by any means possible.’ However, the circular was too late; the brothers had already picked up the books. They distributed them among the Witnesses immediately. When agents of the church came to the branch to seize the books, the books were long gone!

Undaunted, the clergy tried new tactics in 1947. The Ministry of Education and Religion issued a circular to all government departments stating that all publications of Jehovah’s Witnesses should bear the words “Heresy of Jehovah’s Witnesses.” As a result, post offices and customs houses refused to let us receive literature from the United States or to mail anything within Greece unless so marked. A highlight of the year was the visit to Greece of N. H. Knorr, the Society’s third president, and M. G. Henschel, who eventually became its fifth. Arrangements were made for new branch premises at 16 Tenedou Street in Athens. Sadly, in November of that same year, the two Gilead graduates were forced to leave Greece. Plato Idreos was appointed the Society’s branch representative.

Report to Government Regarding Persecution

After government officials declared that there was no religious persecution in Greece, a report was submitted to the government in August 1946 documenting the ill-treatment of Jehovah’s Witnesses. In fact, persecution was reaching ever new heights. In 1946, during just five months, 442 of our brothers were brought before the courts. Some were even executed.

In March 1946, in Phiki, Thessaly, ten Witnesses who refused to violate Christian principles were beaten with clubs and guns, thrown to the ground, and trampled on so brutally that they were disfigured. They were then thrown into a lime pit and rolled in the lime. The villagers stood by and watched. When a fellow believer went to visit them in the evening, he received the same treatment.

Incited by the bishop of Trikkala, similar violence broke out in nearby Eleftherohori the very next day. One brother tried to use the press to protest this maltreatment of Jehovah’s Witnesses. He was taken to an underground room in the police station and beaten unconscious. They threw him, bleeding, into the small street behind the station. Passersby took him to a pharmacy for treatment. For 15 days he remained unconscious, and it was a month before he was able to relate what had happened to him.

Grigoris Karagiorgos, a family man and Witness from Paleokastro, Karditsa, also refused to compromise his religious principles. On August 15, 1946, he fell into the hands of a group of self-appointed vigilantes who put him through a medieval-style inquisition that eventually resulted in his death.

Similar atrocities took place on June 26, 1947, near Sparta. In the village of Vrondamás, a group of armed police found Panagiotis Tsembelis conducting a Bible study with a newly interested woman. Both were beaten; the police wanted to hang the woman, but some villagers intervened. After torturing the brother and smashing his jaw, they bound him and dragged him a mile [about 1.5 km] outside the village. He was then shot and killed by armed police.

In the same village, a sister had her arm broken because she would not make the sign of the cross. In nearby Goritsá, a sister was confronted in her home by armed police, stripped, hanged upside down, and tortured. George Constantakis, a pioneer, was taken into the nearby woods and executed.

Of course, none of this brutality stopped the preaching work. During the 1949 service year, there was a new peak of 2,808 publishers, even though over 700 brothers and sisters were brought before the courts.

Exile!

Many family heads were exiled to isolated islands, such as Yíaros and Makrónisos. The latter was waterless and desolate and was infamous for the harsh treatment meted out to prisoners detained there. Theodoros Neros remembered: “We were taken to Makrónisos by boat in February 1952. With me were Michalis Garas and George Panagiotoulis, who had already been in prison for five years. They had been released, and now they were being punished again for their Christian neutrality. Both were severely beaten when we arrived.

“After many days of forced labor, some soldiers came into our cell one night and woke me with the words: ‘Stand up! We are going to execute you!’ ‘All right,’ I said and started to put my clothes on. ‘No!’ they said, ‘stay as you are.’ After a while they said to me: ‘Aren’t you going to say anything?’ ‘No! What shall I say?’ I answered. ‘We are going to execute you, and you say nothing?’ ‘I have nothing to say.’ ‘Well, are you not going to write your relatives?’ ‘No!’ I replied, ‘they already know that I might die.’ ‘Then let’s go,’ they said. Outside, an officer shouted: ‘Make him stand by the wall! Turn him around!’ But then a soldier said to me: ‘Don’t you know we cannot execute you unless we court-martial you first?’ The whole thing had been a ploy to break my integrity!”

Brother Neros also related how Jehovah provided spiritual food for the brothers in exile. “One day a box of loukoumia [a Greek sweet] was sent to me. Of course, all parcels were examined. Those who did so were so eager to sample the loukoumia that they overlooked the packing underneath. That turned out to be a complete Watchtower. The brothers commented: ‘The soldiers ate the loukoumia, but we ate The Watchtower!’ Something good did come out of all that suffering. A prison warden, assigned to watch the Witnesses when they studied with other exiles, became a Witness himself 25 years later​—as did many of his family. When we meet, we remember those experiences of bygone years.”

Executions of Integrity-Keepers

The April 8, 1948, Awake! reported on the persecution of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Greece. A special letter was sent to the Greek minister of public order protesting the March 5, 1948, execution by guerrillas of 37-year-old Christos Moulotas, father of four children, for his refusal to render services to them. It also stated that government authorities had executed John Tsoukaris of Karytsa, Larissa, on February 9, 1949.

The brothers in the Larissa Congregation had tried in vain to obtain his release. During the few days before his death, they were able to get some letters through to him. In his final letter, dated February 7, 1949, Brother Tsoukaris wrote:

“My dear brother, my situation rests in the hands of Jehovah of hosts. This morning . . . they took me to Mizourlo [the place of execution], but they did not execute me, as they said the hour was too late. Still, they saw my courage, and this impressed them. I don’t know if my execution will be tomorrow morning, but let us always have confidence, and let us entreat Him. Do not let us fear man because the Bible says: ‘Trembling at men is what lays a snare, but he that is trusting in Jehovah will be protected.’ Let us have such faith as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who said quite clearly: ‘O King, if it is so, the God whom we worship can deliver us from the fiery furnace, however, if he does not, then let it be known to you that the image of gold that you have set up we will not worship and your gods we will not worship.’”

On the 9th of February, he was led to Mizourlo and executed. Awake! readers sent thousands of letters to government ministers, embassies, and consulates to protest such executions. But a Greek Orthodox theologian and professor at Athens University supported the execution of Brother Tsoukaris, saying: “To refuse to take up arms because of conscience is a thing entirely unknown and inconceivable among us.” Sadly true, those words!

Military Law Ends

When martial law ended at last, the brothers and sisters had greater freedom of movement to preach the good news. For the first time in many years, they were able to offer a bound book to the public​—“Let God Be True.” The years 1950-51 saw a 26-percent increase in publishers, a 28-percent increase in the pioneer ranks, and a 37-percent increase in Bible studies.

Of course, the persecution did not stop. In 1950 the Greek Orthodox Church resorted to another tactic. They tried to baptize the children of Jehovah’s Witnesses by force. One 17-year-old youth named Timothy, whose parents had reared him in the truth from infancy, was forcibly baptized and given the name “Demetrius”!

In December 1951, Brothers Knorr and Henschel paid their second visit to Greece. As the police refused to give a permit for an assembly, these brothers spoke to 905 Witnesses in various houses.

With the increase in theocratic activity, it was necessary to build new branch premises. The site selected was in downtown Athens on Kartali Street. Work started in 1953; by October 1954 a new three-story building was ready to house the Bethel family, factory, and offices. That year saw a new peak of 4,931 publishers.

Blessings Continue Despite Attacks

When the Society’s film The New World Society in Action was shown in 1955 in Athens, 80 brothers and sisters were arrested. The film and projector were confiscated. Nine brothers were charged with proselytism. To see what kind of film it was, the authorities showed it to some 200 guests, including priests, professors, and police officers. The film made quite an impression, and a number of newspapers commented on the matter. The film and equipment were returned to the brothers after a favorable court decision.

The Greek Orthodox Church declared 1959 to be an “antiheretic” year. Its goal: the “wiping out of Jehovah’s Witnesses,” according to an Athens newspaper. Far from being wiped out, God’s people were greatly blessed that year.

Brother Knorr visited in May and spoke to 1,915 at a theater and at the Bethel Home in Athens. A week later Brother Henschel visited Salonika and spoke to 1,250 at the Olympion, the city’s largest cinema. Smaller assemblies were held throughout the country. In Macedonia, near ancient Philippi, 27 brothers and sisters were baptized in the same river near which Paul once preached to people who had met for prayer.​—Acts 16:12-15.

For a one-day assembly on July 30, 1963, the Society rented the “Panathinaikos” stadium in Athens. The police had granted the permit, thousands of visitors from foreign lands had been invited, and hotel rooms had been booked. But suddenly the government collapsed! The new government, under pressure from the Orthodox Church, canceled the assembly.

Some of the disappointment this caused was alleviated in 1965, when the Society announced a five-day Greek-language convention to be held in Vienna, Austria. The joy of the 1,250 brothers and sisters who made the trip was boundless. The 12-car train chartered for the journey became a “moving Kingdom Hall.”

In mid-1966 a young Witness named Christos Kazanis was sentenced to death for his stand on Christian neutrality. This case received widespread publicity and led to a tremendous witness throughout Greece and beyond. The major Athens newspapers commented extensively each day about the sentence and the beliefs of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Finally the sentence was reduced to four and a half years’ imprisonment. The archbishop, Chrisostomos, came under harsh criticism in the matter, since he gave the impression that he approved of executing a young man who refused to use a gun.

Political Takeover

Suddenly, on the night of April 21, 1967, the military took over the Greek government. Articles of the Constitution protecting freedom of assembly and of the press were suspended. The printing of The Watchtower had to stop. By law, no more than five persons could attend any meeting. The preaching work had to be carried on with caution. As usual, the Orthodox clergy used the prevailing conditions to cause trouble for the brothers.

The work continued underground. The brothers had to meet in isolated places in the forests. When F. W. Franz, who later became the Society’s fourth president, visited Greece in 1969, he spoke to over a thousand brothers in a forest near Salonika.

Hatred of Jehovah’s Witnesses was especially apparent in a case in 1974. A couple named Polykandritis, whose baby died shortly after birth, were refused a permit to bury the infant. Why? Newspaper reports explained that the parents were Jehovah’s Witnesses, married as such in 1954. But during the previous government, the Ministry of the Interior had sent out a decree saying that all marriages that had been performed by Jehovah’s Witnesses were invalid, and this had the support of the Greek Orthodox Church. So the local registrar insisted that the parents had to state that their child was illegitimate before he would allow a burial. The father refused. He was not prepared to lie, tarnishing his family name and his own conscience. As the dispute dragged on, the child’s body was kept in a refrigerator for four days. General opinion in Greece condemned this bigoted persecution. To Vima, an Athens newspaper, labeled it “The Middle Ages in all their wretchedness.”

Despite the hardships of military rule, the Kingdom-preaching work continued to progress. The number of publishers rose from 10,940 in 1967 to 17,073 in 1974. Bible studies and meeting attendance also soared during that difficult time.

Construction Projects for an Expanding Organization

Jehovah’s Witnesses have many meeting places in Greece, but until recently, they were not allowed to call them Kingdom Halls. Many were therefore simply termed “lecture halls.” To date, only about 25 meeting places in Greece bear the name “Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses.” Yet, some 117 congregations with about 9,500 Witnesses meet just in Athens alone!

However, Jehovah’s people have been able to build in Greece. In 1977 the brothers bought about 13 acres [5 ha] of forest land some 22 miles [35 km] north of Athens. In a most beautiful area of mountains and pine forests, the Malakasa Assembly Hall, with a seating capacity of 1,800, was built. It has a special feature​—the sliding walls can open up to accommodate as many as 3,500 persons. On the adjoining grounds, there is room enough to hold district conventions; as many as 20,000 have attended special gatherings there. And in the Salonika assembly grounds, thousands can enjoy their circuit assemblies and district conventions.

On the island of Crete, some years ago the brothers purchased a piece of land on a hillside amid mountains, valleys, and vineyards. They built an amphitheater and two Kingdom Halls there; today this assembly site is a landmark in the area. The terraced hillside, with its variety of flowers and shrubs, blends in beautifully with the landscape. The tranquil atmosphere is ideal. When the Word of God is being expounded from the platform, the brothers often remark: “This is a touch of paradise.”

For 25 years the branch premises had been located on Kartali Street in Athens. During that time the number of publishers had increased from under 5 thousand to more than 18 thousand; more space was clearly needed. In 1962 a 2.5-acre [1 ha] site was purchased in Marousi, a suburb of Athens. This was now an ideal place to construct new Bethel premises, which would have 27 bedrooms, a factory, offices, and other facilities. The dedication took place on July 16, 1979, and Lyman Swingle represented the Governing Body for the occasion.

At the new branch, further technological advances enabled the brothers to produce higher-quality magazines and books. Starting in July 1986, The Watchtower and Awake! began to appear simultaneously with the English editions.

A Period of Readjustment

The 1980’s saw a need for readjustments within the branch organization. From 1977 to 1981, there was some stagnation. The number of publishers remained near the 18,500 mark although 2,134 were baptized during that period. What was the problem? Some uncleanness in the congregations needed attention. And a few brothers, it seems, viewed the words “elder” and “ministerial servant” as titles rather than as indicating the responsibility to care for Jehovah’s sheep. Apostasy also raised its ugly head during these years, and the congregations had to be cleansed of this divisive influence as well. Such measures, once taken, resulted in steady increases once again.

Plato Idreos, who had served as the Society’s representative for over 30 years, was now getting along in years and was succeeded by several other Branch Committee coordinators during the following years. This was a difficult period for the Bethel family in Athens. Personality clashes and pride at times got in the way of the work. But with the constant help of the Governing Body and other faithful brothers, the organization was strengthened.

Street Witnessing

In 1983 the clergy of the Greek Orthodox Church received a shock. For the first time, the brothers organized street witnessing in connection with a district convention.

The response was dramatic. Hundreds of Witnesses were arrested and taken to local police stations. The result was 38 court cases, 35 of which the brothers won outright, while 3 went to the court of appeals. The clergy were forced to see that they were fighting a losing battle. Exasperated, they called a protest rally to demonstrate against Jehovah’s Witnesses. They hired dozens of buses to convey the demonstrators, but as it turned out, not enough people showed up to fill even one bus! God’s people have continued ever since to witness in the streets, and with much success.

Special Convention of 1985

In 1985 the Society chose Greece as a site for one of the special conventions that year. Three sites were selected: the Apollo stadium in Athens; the Assembly Hall and its grounds at Malakasa, outside Athens; and the assembly grounds near Salonika.

Hundreds of delegates came from 17 countries. Two members of the Governing Body, Brothers Gangas and Barry, were present. For the benefit of the visitors, the talks were interpreted into several European languages as well as into Japanese. George Gangas, himself a Greek, spoke to the conventioners in Greek, much to the delight of his audience. The total attendance for the three conventions was 37,367, and 368 were baptized.

The love among the brothers from so many parts of the world was especially evident during the midday breaks. Sitting beneath the shady pine trees of the assembly grounds, one could hear a multitude of voices singing Kingdom songs.

Assemblies Under Attack

The following summer, in June 1986, the newspaper I Larisa reported that a crowd led by priests gathered in front of the Galaxias Cinema where 700 Witnesses had assembled for a circuit assembly. The mob was bent on stopping the assembly, but the police came to disperse them. The newspaper I Alithia of Larissa compared the mood of the mob to that of the crowd who cried out for the death of Jesus, noting: “And unfortunately their ‘leader’ was a raving . . . priest! He threatened and blasphemed. At one point he . . . gave a five-minute ultimatum for those inside to vacate the hall, otherwise ‘we will come inside and smash their heads.’”

In view of such attacks, the Governing Body decided to publish two articles on the subject. So the October 22, 1986, issue of Awake! carried an article entitled “Religious Persecution in Greece​—Why?” and the December 1, 1986, issue of The Watchtower contained the article “Religious Liberty Under Attack in Greece.” The result? Members of the Greek government were inundated! The newspaper Eleftherotipia announced: “200,000 letters from 208 countries sent by Jehovah’s Witnesses.” The newspaper Avgi mentioned that the Ministry of Justice had to set up a special service to handle the thousands of protest letters received daily.

For the 1988 district convention, the brothers rented the modern Stadium of Peace and Friendship near the port of Piraeus. With the contract signed, Jehovah’s Witnesses spent 6,000 hours cleaning the facility. But despite the stadium’s idealistic name, a prominent clergyman raised a tremendous protest​—even ordering that the bells of the churches be rung, convincing many that some disaster such as war had struck. He went so far as to threaten to take over the stadium if the permit to use the stadium was not revoked. Sadly, under such pressure the legal contract was broken​—although only three days remained before the convention was due to begin. The brothers worked day and night to prepare another area for the four-day program. It turned out well​—to the delight of all 30,000 who were able to follow parts of the program directly or by telephone hookup.

Notable Court Cases and Decisions in Defense of the Good News

When writing to the congregation at Philippi in ancient Macedonia, the apostle Paul mentioned “the defending and legally establishing of the good news.” (Phil. 1:7) The modern organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Greece has repeatedly had to resort to the courts in order to preach the good news. The greatest enemy of Jehovah’s people in that land has been and still is the Greek Orthodox Church. By influencing various governmental agencies, the clergy have made God’s people suffer terribly. However, some of the decisions that have been handed down by unprejudiced judges have aided Jehovah’s Witnesses in the preaching work.

For example, during the “antiheretic” year of 1959, Jehovah granted a notable victory. The hierarchy of the Greek Orthodox Church had posed a question to the Supreme Court as to whether Jehovah’s Witnesses are a “known” religion. The opinion of the Supreme Court was that Jehovah’s Witnesses are a known religion and hence are protected by the country’s Constitution.

Satan uses subtle means in his attempts to get the brothers to compromise​—even in connection with the paying of their bills. In the town of Patras, the inhabitants found that a strange item was included in their electric bill. There was an additional charge for “the building of the Church of St. Andrew.” Of course, Witnesses refused to pay this extra charge. The power company threatened to cut off their electricity. The matter went to court, and the obligatory contributions were ruled unconstitutional.

Another tactic the Greek Orthodox Church has often used is to claim that Jehovah’s Witnesses are a Jewish organization supporting world Zionism. The Jewish community in Greece was disturbed by this propaganda, knowing that it could hurt them as well.

In a letter dated September 21, 1976, representatives of the Central Jewish Council in Greece announced to the leaders of the Greek Orthodox Church that such accusations had no foundation whatever. In a court case on Crete, where the Greek Orthodox Church had objected to allowing the Witnesses to form a corporation, the accusation that we are a Zionist organization had been one of their chief arguments. A legal representative of the Jewish community submitted that Jehovah’s Witnesses have no connection with Judaism. In an appeal court hearing, the judges accepted this statement. Another underhanded tactic of the clergy had been foiled!

Victories Involving Neutrality

The issue of neutrality faces all the brothers who are called for military service. Before 1977 the brothers would be called to serve prison sentences repeatedly; some spent over 12 years in prison! A representative of the Netherlands presented this matter to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg on April 25, 1977. The Council’s decision resulted eventually in limiting the duration of imprisonment to one four-year term. Still, on the average, there are 400 brothers in prisons in Greece at any given time.

The Greek military does claim to exempt from military service those “who are religious ministers, monks, and trainee monks of a known religion if they so desire,” according to the official Government Gazette. Nonetheless, between 1988 and 1992, several of the brothers who are recognized as ministers of religion were serving prison sentences for their neutrality.

One of them presented his case to the Council of State. He appealed the order to join the military and appealed his subsequent prison sentence, stating that he was a recognized minister of religion. His appeal was upheld​—a double victory in that it acknowledged Jehovah’s Witnesses as a known religion as well as affirmed that Witnesses who are recognized by the government as ministers are exempt from military service. Three other brothers took similar court actions and were likewise released.

The Proselytism Law

The law against proselytism has been a formidable obstacle in Greece. First enacted in 1938 and amended in 1939, this law was reaffirmed in the 1975 Constitution.

The most outstanding case involving proselytism is that of Kokkinakis v. Greece. Brother Kokkinakis was fined and sentenced to four months’ imprisonment for proselytism. He appealed the case, whereupon his sentence was reduced to three months’ imprisonment and converted to a fine. An appeal for an annulment of the sentence was lodged with the Supreme Court of Greece, the Court of Cassation. In April 1988, the Supreme Court refused to admit the appeal. This gave Brother Kokkinakis the opportunity to lodge an individual appeal to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. On December 7, 1990, the European Commission of Human Rights reviewed the case. It voted unanimously that Greece had committed a serious breach of Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which refers to religious freedom. The case was pronounced “admissible” and was referred to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

The result, as noted at the outset of this account, was a resounding victory for religious freedom in Greece. As to how the Greek courts, judges, and juries will respond to the May 25, 1993, judgment of this high court, time alone will tell. However, all lovers of justice can find comfort in knowing that there is a Court far higher than any human court. Its divinely appointed Judge reads all human hearts; he will bring about justice whether man does or not.​—Isa. 11:1-5.

Extreme Physical Abuse

Human Rights Without Frontiers, a journal published in Belgium, recently reported extensively on this proselytism law, calling it “infamous” and adding: “[The law] provided a ‘legal alibi’ for the unleashing of a pogrom of religious persecution in Greece directed against all those who dared to not be followers of the ‘dominantly prevailing’ religion of the land.” It noted that this law has resulted in “deliberate violations of human rights” ranging from court trials, fines, and exile to “brutal physical abuse, all manner of severe deprivation and torture which, in many cases, has resulted in permanent physical illness and disability of its tormented, innocent victims, as well as agonizing death.”

This same journal quotes extensively from Witness survivors of such persecution. Faithful brothers and sisters speak of extreme abuse: of being punched, slapped, stabbed, beaten black and blue, rendered bloody and senseless; of being whipped, set upon by mobs, spat upon, thrown to the ground and stomped on, stoned, burned, tortured, tied up with ropes and chains, and shot. Savvas Tzezmetzidis recalls: “They stripped my clothing off and they tied my hands and feet together and they dragged me, completely naked, through thorns and thistles on the bare ground, beating and kicking me at the same time.”

In confinement the brothers have suffered terribly. They speak of being wrenched away from family, of spending weeks in prison cells flooded with water, of freezing winter months in unheated cells open to the wind, of slow starvation, of insufficient or nonexistent medical care, of food deliberately contaminated with excrement and other unspeakable filth, and of all manner of psychological and emotional torment.

For instance, the journal quotes one such prisoner as follows: “Once in custody, you begin by descending down into a prison basement. The further down you go, the more you realize that every semblance of human decency and personal dignity becomes submerged and completely lost in that labyrinth. From then on, only a basic sense of survival at any cost and a need to escape govern everything and everyone . . . On the filthy walls of those basements are written the history, the pain and the misery of men who have had the misfortune to spend some part of their life in there. The squalid grime, the piles of garbage and trash, the rats, the suffocating air, the one pitiful lightbulb that tries so valiantly to brighten the darkness, the clogged and overflowing toilets, the dirty . . . puddles, the used-up needles and syringes, the stains of blood on the floor and the cement benches, the torn-up sponge rubber mattresses which offer a few minutes of instant but troubled sleep, the abject and miserable-looking faces reminding one of the pathetic inmates of the mental asylum of Leros, and lost souls who pitifully ask you, ‘What day is it anyway?’, and the refugees from everywhere who softly moan to themselves sad songs in strange-sounding languages, and the coffee-vendor who slaps everyone around and outrageously charges three hundred drachmas for a plastic bottle of water, and the ‘lifers’ who try behind a screen to release all their sexual repression, and the desperate need you feel swelling up inside you to finally hear the bellowing voice of the Head Guard calling out your name that sounds like a message from heaven calling you out of this ‘hell on earth’ into paradise.”

Similarly, Fotis Lazaridis recounts: “I would sleep on a dirt floor covered with used paper bags . . . The clothing I wore on my back was very lightweight. I couldn’t use the sheet for long either. I had to tear it up into small pieces to stuff up some rat holes in the walls . . . The first nights they were literally crawling all over me when I slept. As far as toilet ‘facilities’ were concerned, all I had to use were the corners of my cell, a tiny cell measuring only 2 x 1 . . . meters [2 x 1 yards]. . . . Humidity [was] dripping from the walls.”

For the period between 1938 (when the proselytism law was passed) and 1992, the journal lists nearly 20,000 arrests for proselytism; for “conscientious objectors,” it lists 2,269 people tried, 68 exiled, 42 sentenced to death, 2 executed, and 4 tortured to death; finally, it lists 4,828 cases of physical abuse, 2,809 of these perpetrated by military officers, 1,059 by police, and 252 by priests. Regarding this last list, it adds: “Thousands of other persons have been subjected to all kinds of degrading treatment.”

How can human beings endure such harsh treatment? Violent persecution is nothing new to true Christians. The apostle Paul was abused and imprisoned in that very country, and he made it clear that it was not by his own strength that he endured. He wrote: “For all things I have the strength by virtue of him who imparts power to me.” (Phil. 4:13) It is just such an abiding faith in Jehovah God that has enabled thousands of Jehovah’s Witnesses to endure such suffering.

However, the Greek people have historically been known for their love of justice and freedom. Jehovah’s Witnesses the world over hope that honesthearted ones in the Greek government will soon move to safeguard their country’s international reputation by curtailing the influence of the Greek Orthodox Church and by protecting innocent people from persecution.

Expansion Calls for New Branch Facilities

Despite all the opposition, the preaching work continues to prosper in Greece. In fact, the 1985 service year ended with more than 20,000 publishers. The branch facilities at Marousi were now too small to house the growing Bethel family. At first the branch solved the problem by renting apartments nearby, later by purchasing a small hotel some 2.5 miles [4 km] away. But these measures were only temporary.

With the permission of the Governing Body, a search began for a site on which to build a new branch facility. This was not easy, since strict building laws do not allow for combining a residence building with a factory. Eventually, 40 miles [60 km] north of Athens, 54 acres [22 ha] of land was purchased near the national highway connecting Athens and Salonika. After waiting two and a half years to obtain the permit to build, the brothers were able to start work on the project in 1989.

The site is in Eleona, on a hillside with a view of mountains and well-watered valleys. The branch facility is visible to those passing either by road or by rail. The living quarters consist of 22 houses, each of which accommodates eight people. All the buildings in the complex follow the same pleasing, rustic style.

Of course, the Orthodox clergy opposed the project from the beginning. They even organized a demonstration at the site with some 2,500 persons. However, the authorities sent a squad of 200 riot police to bar the hooligans from trespassing on the property, so the protest fizzled. Priests also led marches through the streets of Athens carrying banners protesting the project.

The new branch was dedicated on April 13, 1991, and the brothers were delighted to have Milton Henschel and Albert Schroeder of the Governing Body with them for that milestone in the history of Jehovah’s people in Greece. Thousands of brothers and sisters volunteered their time and energy to help with the project. The love and care from Jehovah God and his earthly organization was evident. Even worldly onlookers stood by in amazement as buildings “sprang up like mushrooms.” Despite all the opposition, Jehovah has performed a modern miracle at Eleona. Paul’s words at 2 Corinthians 13:8 come to mind: “We can do nothing against the truth, but only for the truth.”

A Tide of Truth Advances!

From small beginnings in 1905, the number of praisers of Jehovah has now passed the 25,000 mark. The waters of truth have advanced from a trickle to a veritable flood tide. The activity of Jehovah’s people in that land has resulted in a tremendous witness to the name of Jehovah our God. This report mentions only a few names, but in reality thousands of our brothers and sisters have contributed to it. The flame of truth burns brightly in many Greek hearts, the hearts of humble men and women who have fearlessly spoken the good news throughout Greece and its islands. More than a few have suffered grievously and even given their lives for the sake of Jehovah’s name. Their loyal integrity has made Jehovah’s heart rejoice.​—Prov. 27:11.

The battle against falsehood must continue until the end of this system of things. In this land, where Paul stood on the Areopagus to defend the good news and where John received the Revelation while exiled on the island of Patmos, Jehovah’s Witnesses continue to put up a hard fight for the faith. Despite thousands of court cases and persecution engineered by the clergy, despite even the death of some true worshipers, the light of truth has never been extinguished. Today it shines more brightly than ever. It will shine on! The rising tide of waters of truth will continue to advance until not only the land of Greece but the whole earth will be “filled with the knowledge of Jehovah as the waters are covering the very sea.”​—Isa. 11:9.

[Footnotes]

[Box on page 109]

A BIBLE EASY TO UNDERSTAND

The 1993 “Divine Teaching” District Convention represented another milestone in the history of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Greece. For decades, preachers of the good news have used the Vamvas translation of the Bible. Prepared in the 19th century, this version uses Katharevusa, a puristic Greek that, although more contemporary than the Koine of the original Christian Scriptures, is nonetheless too outdated for the modern reader. Young people in particular find much in the Vamvas translation difficult to grasp. This has hampered progress in Bible understanding.

So on Sunday, July 18, 1993, the final day of the “Divine Teaching” District Convention, the Greek Witnesses were thrilled when Albert Schroeder, of the Governing Body, announced a new release​—The Christian Scriptures Rendered From the New World Translation. At three convention sites, which were connected by telephone hookup, attendants passed out some 30,000 copies to the conventioners in less than five minutes. All were thus able to follow along as Brother Schroeder noted some of the many improvements in this new publication over the Vamvas version. Most notable among these is the use of the divine name, Jehovah, 237 times in the text. The new rendering also includes 68 pages of indexes, scholarly notes on the text, maps, and Bible Topics for Discussion. Little wonder, then, that this new release was greeted with applause, cheers, and even tears​—in abundance.

[Chart on page 114]

(For fully formatted text, see publication)

Publishers

25,000

20,000

15,000

10,000

5,000

0

1938 1950 1960 1970 1980 1992

Arrests (cumulative)

25,000

20,000

15,000

10,000

5,000

0

1938 1950 1960 1970 1980 1992

[Map on page 66]

(For fully formatted text, see publication)

Philippi

Salonika

Larissa

Corinth

Athens

Eleona

THESSALY

CORFU

CRETE

[Pictures on page 72, 73]

1. George Koukoutianos in 1927. 2. Nicolas Kouzounis in the notorious Kaválla prison in 1948. 3. Grigoris Grigoriadis at his desk in Bethel, Kartali Street, Athens. 4. Repairing fishing nets in Levkás. 5. George Douras (see arrow) with the Athens Congregation. Background: Kaválla, ancient Neapolis, the port where the apostle Paul first landed in Europe.

[Pictures on page 88, 89]

1. Plato Idreos with his wife, Phyllis. 2. Athanassios Karanassios, the Society’s first branch representative in Greece. 3. Fisherman in Molivos, on the island of Mytilene. 4. Michael Kaminaris (second from the left), who is still a member of the Bethel family in Greece. 5. The Corinth canal. Background: Patmos, the island where the apostle John received the Revelation from Jesus Christ in 96 C.E.

Haiti

ON A reef off the Caribbean island that Haiti shares with the Dominican Republic, the flagship of Christopher Columbus was lost during his 1492 voyage of exploration. Nevertheless, that journey laid a foundation for the colonizing of a New World for Europe. He found peaceful Amerindians, the Arawaks. From their language came the name Haiti, meaning “Land of Mountains.” Since 1492 this “Land of Mountains” has undergone many changes.

Columbus claimed the land in the name of Isabella, queen of Spain, and named it Española (Spanish Island). Spanish conquistadores subjected the Arawaks to harsh slave labor. Soon there were few Arawaks. Then Africans were brought in to replace them.

In course of time, French adventurers settled on the western part of the island, which France claimed as Saint-Domingue in 1697. The land was fertile, large plantations developed with the help of slave labor, and Saint-Domingue became a prosperous territory.

Some 100 years later, Toussaint Louverture, a man of royal African descent but born a slave, won military and diplomatic victories to free the slaves. He became ruler of Saint-Domingue in 1801. Jean-Jacques Dessalines, also born a slave, later drove out the French and changed the name of the territory back to what the Arawaks had called it. Thus the first independent black nation of the Americas came into existence in 1804: the then wealthy country of Haiti.

After the death of Dessalines in 1806, Henry Christophe took control of the northern part of the country. Some of his accomplishments helped to make the nation one that, for a time, ranked among the strongest in the New World. He built the imposing Sans-Souci palace and the fabulous Citadelle Laferrière​—a fortress on a mountain peak. In time, however, leadership struggles, revolutions, and misuse of public funds impoverished the country.

Nevertheless, Haiti still has a unique character in language, culture, and people. Many speak French, but the language of the people in general is Creole​—an expressive patois that combines French words with the grammar of West African languages. The population blends African and European traits in a colorful, beautiful people. Picturesque mountains continue to dominate the land. But most have become stark​—stripped of trees—​and once-fertile plains have grown dry.

This is a land that glories in its past, bemoans the present, and hopes for a better future​—a new world. Fittingly, good news of a truly new world under God’s Kingdom is reaching these people, even in remote villages behind the mountains.

Good News Comes to Aquin

Recollections as to how the good news of God’s Kingdom first reached Haiti are hazy. As early as February 1887, Zion’s Watch Tower lists Hayti (or, Haiti) among the places from which letters written by interested persons had come. However, it was not until decades later, during the winter of 1929/30, that a Witness, a pioneer, who devoted her full time to witnessing to others about God’s purpose, spent several months here. Then, in 1938, a lawyer named Démosthène Lhérisson somehow obtained in Port-au-Prince the books Creation and Prophecy and the booklet Cause of Death. He took these home to Aquin, on the south coast. What was the result? From what he read, he became convinced that these publications pointed the way to true Christianity. He rejected the Catholic Church and began sharing Bible truth with others, including his nephew.

After the lawyer died, this nephew invited friends to study the books with him, and they did so regularly. One of them said: “We realized we were living in the last days of this world, that the Kingdom of Jehovah was established in the heavens since 1914, and that the religions would be destroyed because of being part of this world.” They were beginning to put their hope in a new world.

About 1943, in Cayes, a large town to the west of Aquin, a traveler who had returned from Cuba had several Watch Tower publications in his possession. That literature got into the hands of Solomon Sévère, who lived in Vieux-bourg, about six miles [10 km] from Aquin.

In time the interested ones in Aquin and those in Vieux-bourg got together. But some of them adhered to the teachings of a minority religion known as Christianism, or Solomonites, and certain ones of its practices, such as plurality of wives, definitely were not Christian. Those sincerely seeking the truth came to realize that they needed to break their ties with Christendom and to quit sharing in its practices.

By 1944, seven individuals in Haiti were having a part in preaching the good news to others, and they reported a total of 1,500 hours devoted to that activity during the year. The following year, five more joined in the field ministry, and the total number of hours they devoted to publicly preaching the Kingdom message soared to 6,164. Near the end of the service year, two well-trained missionaries became part of this group.

The First Watch Tower Missionaries

Two young Watch Tower missionaries, Roland Fredette and Harold Wright, from North America, arrived in Port-au-Prince in August 1945. They had studied French at the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead, but as they soon discovered, they now had to learn Creole. They became a familiar sight as they moved around, preaching with the aid of testimony cards and phonographs.

Keen on seeing the preaching of the good news become well organized in Haiti, N. H. Knorr and F. W. Franz, respectively president and vice president of the Watch Tower Society at that time, also came to Port-au-Prince, arriving on March 19, 1946. Eleven attended a meeting held in the missionary home that evening for just the Witnesses. After a talk by Brother Franz, Brother Knorr spoke about organizing the preaching work in Haiti. He announced the establishment of the Haiti branch of the Watch Tower Society, with Brother Fredette as branch overseer. Then, at seven o’clock the next evening, a group of 74 assembled in the missionary home to hear Brother Knorr speak on the subject “Be Glad, Ye Nations.”

The branch office was opened on April 1, 1946. Soon after, government recognition was given the Watch Tower Society. Five new missionaries arrived, and the preaching of the good news spread out to towns near Port-au-Prince and as far north as Cap-Haïtien, on the north coast.

Vieux-bourg Meets the Missionaries

During this time, members of the Vieux-bourg group often talked to a man named Cassindo. When visiting Port-au-Prince in 1948, he listened to one of the missionaries giving a talk at Place Jérémie and afterward told the missionary that people who spoke like him were at Vieux-bourg. Cassindo returned home with the news, “Genyen moun kom sa yo nan Port-au-Prince” (There are people like these in Port-au-Prince). Excitement ran high among the Vieux-bourg group.

They contacted the missionaries, who then went down to visit them. What joy this brought to the group in Vieux-bourg! They were so happy, they spent the entire first day with their visitors in the field service. That evening a Bible talk was given in the public square under the light of an oil lamp.

On a follow-up trip, those who qualified were baptized, and the group was organized into a congregation, one of the first in Haiti. But there were problems. Solomon Sévère tended to lord it over the others. So a brother who showed more humility was appointed to be congregation overseer. At that, Sévère rebelled and influenced some to follow him in withdrawing from the congregation.​—Acts 20:29, 30.

The 12 who remained recognized Jesus Christ as their Leader and loyally continued in Jehovah’s service. (Matt. 23:10) This brought rich blessings. By 1949, Vieux-bourg, with a population of about 400, reported 21 publishers​—more than there were in Port-au-Prince.

A Pastor Learns About the New World

During this time, a few of Christendom’s clergy unwittingly helped to bring the truth to their own church members. Let Diego Scotland, a native of Dominica, tell us what happened in his own case:

“While I was pastor in a Pentecostal church, the chief pastor of the church brought several Watch Tower publications from the United States for his own use. When I started to study them, he warned me against losing my sanity. I ignored this because I saw that they contained the truth. But when I began refusing to conduct church services, tension grew between us. A final break came after we had a debate on the doctrine of immortality of the soul.”

Defeated, the senior pastor declared that he would not allow Jehovah’s Witnesses to take root in Haiti. Quoting Gamaliel, Diego, a slim man with a calm personality, replied that if Jehovah’s Witnesses had the true religion, no one could stop them. (Acts 5:39) He started studying with the Witnesses, progressed quickly, and soon became a baptized publisher.

Others Learn and Quickly Begin to Share

Four more Gilead graduates came to Haiti in 1948​—Alexander Brodie and Harvey Drinkle in April and Fred and Peter Lukuc in the summer. All of them were Canadians. Working from their missionary home at 32 Rue Capois, they did much to intensify the preaching of the good news in Port-au-Prince.

Fred Lukuc was 23 years old that year and had been a pioneer since 1943. After arriving in Haiti, he placed the book “The Truth Shall Make You Free” with the owner of a shop that made leather products, and he promised to return that Sunday. But much happened before Sunday came. This man’s son-in-law, Maurice Sanon, saw the book and started to read it. Every afternoon this former schoolmaster sat studying the Bible with the help of his father-in-law’s book. Within a few days, he began pointing out to his friends the false doctrines that the Catholic Church had been teaching them. He was impatient to meet Fred Lukuc.

“Maurice asked many questions,” Brother Lukuc stated some years later, “and we started a Bible study. He progressed rapidly, sharing the newfound truth with relatives and others. But when I invited him to go with me in the service, he objected: ‘I don’t know enough.’ I replied, ‘You know more of the Bible than the people out there. Anyway, I will do the talking.’ He agreed. But from the first call, this energetic man did most of the talking.” In time, his wife and four children joined the study, and this whole family, with some nephews and nieces, became dedicated Witnesses.

The following year, 1949, Fred met a sincere 40-year-old Protestant at Carrefour, near Port-au-Prince. This man too was thirsting for the truth. “Dumoine Vallon asked many doctrinal questions,” Fred related. “I returned the next week, as agreed, but he was not at home. I was disappointed, as I had come a long way by bicycle.” What had happened? Fred says: “He soon came in and explained that he had been out preaching to people in the vicinity. ‘They know nothing about God,’ he said.” With the help of a home Bible study, he made rapid progress and got baptized in June 1950. He has remained a loyal minister of the good news.

Our First District Convention

Our first district convention was held in 1950. Brother Knorr attended and shared with the publishers in wearing “sandwich signs” to advertise the public talk. At this unusual spectacle, people gathered around them along the roads, and some made fun of them. But how happy they were when 474 attended the talk in an outdoor theater beside the harbor! Earlier that day 13 had been baptized at the Club Thorland beach.

Brother Knorr gave instructions on improving congregation organization, training publishers, and correcting those who were attending meetings but who had wrong motives. People had to learn that Jehovah’s Witnesses are not like the Protestants, who were gaining converts from the Catholic Church by offering material advantages.

Noting that after five years of missionary activity, only 86 publishers were reporting, Brother Knorr advised that the ministry could possibly be more productive if Creole instead of French was used for meetings and field service. When the change was made, good results came quickly.

Brother Knorr also announced that the booklet Can You Live Forever in Happiness on Earth? would be translated into Creole. However, the translator used a phonetic system prepared by a German named Laubach. This system made Creole easy for English-speaking people to pronounce, but it was not what the Catholic population had been accustomed to, so the booklet’s circulation was limited.

More Fruitage in the South

The Vieux-bourg Congregation had been reaching southward to Saint-Louis du Sud, home of Benoît Sterlin, a well-known businessman who had been studying with the Witnesses since 1946. He was also preaching. In 1950, the group of seven publishers there in Saint-Louis du Sud became the second congregation in the south. Benoît was baptized the following March, and he and his wife became very active publishers.

Up to then, only a few missionaries were licensed to perform marriages. When Haitian brothers also began to be appointed as marriage officers, Benoît was one of those sworn in by a judge in Port-au-Prince.

The Truth Won Out

Alex Brodie was witnessing in a business district on Rue des Miracles in the capital one day in 1951 when he stopped at a shop called The Elegant Tailor. He met 32-year-old Rodrigue Médor and placed with him the book “Let God Be True.” This well-groomed master tailor agreed to a Bible study; but Alex rarely found him on subsequent visits. Rodrigue himself admits: “I took the book to get rid of him. My wife and I were ardent Catholics. When Alex offered a study, I told him he could come. But then, I dodged each time.”

However, the truth won out. He recalls: “I tried to defeat him with a question about the Virgin; but he answered it satisfactorily, and then I started to study seriously. My wife opposed this, even having a priest say prayers for nine days to make me stop. So we studied elsewhere.”

After Rodrigue learned what the Bible said about use of images, he took decisive action, removing the image of the Virgin from the sitting room and smashing it. His wife was furious. But eventually his changed focus of interest impressed her. For example, Rodrigue was spending nights reading Bible literature instead of going out with his friends. Observing this, his wife also started to study. He was baptized in February 1952, and she was baptized three years later.

Another missionary, David Homer, was calling on Albert Jérome in his little grocery shop. At first this man tended to belittle the truth. But feeling there was “something genuine” in the man, David continued calling. A Bible study was finally started with Albert, and he progressed rapidly. After he was baptized, they continued to study together, using material in the books “Equipped for Every Good Work” and Qualified to Be Ministers. This contributed to Albert’s becoming a valuable minister in the congregation.

Spreading the Good News in Creole

Conducting Bible studies presented unusual challenges to the missionaries. The books were in French, but explanations had to be in Creole for most people. In some areas the only light available in the evening was from a small oil lamp made from a Carnation milk can. “The light was dim,” Alex Brodie recalls, “but the desire to learn shown by the student made up for this inconvenience.”

At public talks in Creole given in a park on the edge of Port-au-Prince, and sometimes by the seashore, attendance was always good. The missionaries brought their portable sound system by bicycle and mounted the loudspeakers in palm trees. People brought their own chairs or sat on the grass.

Much interest was being found in the Carrefour area, where Dumoine Vallon lived. So a Congregation Book Study was established in his home. And what was taking place in Vieux-bourg? The publishers were zealously preaching in the surrounding countryside, giving public talks as they went. They traveled by horse, donkey, or mule and slept right under the stars if night overtook them on the road. Then, abruptly, serious problems arose in Haiti.

A Sudden Ban!

In a letter dated April 19, 1951, the Ministry of Religious Affairs informed the branch office that all activity of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Haiti must cease. The letter accused the Witnesses of being “antinational” and of using Awake! to propagate communist ideas. Why the change?

The clergy were behind it. For months they had been drawing the government’s attention to the issue of flag salute. Catholics were denouncing the brothers as communists. “Down with the communists!” was what they often shouted against the Witnesses.

It took over three months and many letters to convince the authorities that they had been fed false information and that Jehovah’s Witnesses had no political connections. Finally the ban was lifted in August.

How had all of this affected the work? The police had closed the Kingdom Halls. But meetings had continued in homes where Congregation Book Study groups met. During July, while the ban was on, the ten publishers at Carrefour had been formed into a congregation, with Peter Lukuc as overseer. Also, five more Gilead graduates had arrived. Then, after the ban was lifted, they quickly received residence permits. When the brothers in a town in the south went to the police station to request the return of Kingdom Hall equipment that had been seized, the captain handed it over and said: “Go, work for Jehovah until the end!”

An Encounter With Voodoo

Victor Winterburn was one of the newly arrived missionaries. A Canadian, he was 23, was baptized in 1940 at the age of 12, and had been pioneering since 1946. Soon after Victor became branch overseer in September 1951, the life of one of the Witnesses, Frank Paul, was endangered by voodoo superstitions. Victor Winterburn and Alex Brodie went to Frank’s aid. Let them relate what happened:

“In 1952, following up on reports from brothers, we found Frank semiconscious on a cot in a voodoo temple. His hands were tied to a post behind him. His feet were also tied. A gag prevented his mouth from closing. His lips were cracked. His emaciated face was covered with blisters. We tried to talk to the mambo (priestess), but she ignored us. We could not communicate with Frank. And we could not remove him. Even the police said that they could not touch him, since he had been taken there by his parents.

“We visited his parents and pieced the story together. His wife had left him, and he was raising his child by himself, doing tailoring at home. He fell ill and became delirious, so he was hospitalized. Believing he was possessed by a bad spirit, his parents transferred him to the temple. We were later told that the sick are beaten and hot pepper is put in their eyes to drive out the evil spirits.

“Growing afraid because his condition worsened, his parents called one of the brothers, who tried to return him to the hospital. But knowing where he had been, the hospital did not want him. He was admitted only after a sister with nursing experience offered to buy the required drugs and take care of him. The congregation provided his meals​—a service normally rendered by the patient’s family.

“The doctors said he had typhoid and malaria. We wondered if he would recover. Yet, he regained his health, resumed his ministry, and eventually remarried. He greatly appreciated the assistance the brothers gave and the warm, supportive spirit of his congregation.”

Eventful Circuit Trips

The branch overseer, usually accompanied by another missionary, used to visit the congregations as circuit overseer, preaching all along the route.

On one such trip in November 1951, Victor Winterburn and his companion bicycled 320 miles [520 km], reaching Les Anglais in the south. They averaged nearly ten hours a day in the service on that journey and placed over 500 pieces of literature.

When Fred Lukuc was visiting these congregations in the spring of 1952, he had to cut short his visit because he came down with malaria. He later wrote: “I started homeward from Cavaillon, my bicycle loaded with personal effects and literature, for this ride of 108 miles [174 km]. I passed the first night at Vieux-bourg-d’Aquin and took the last of my medicine. The next day’s ride, as I pedaled through the hills to Grand-Goâve, was exhausting. That night I lodged with an elderly interested man. I slept little. The fever and perspiring left me weak. So the humble old man arranged for me to go by truck to Port-au-Prince. Back in Bethel, my condition became critical, and my doctor recommended that I return to Canada to recuperate.”

Because of this, Fred Lukuc left Haiti in 1952. But he had an indomitable missionary spirit, and three years later he returned to continue the fine work he had been doing. Peter Lukuc too eventually had to return to Canada to be treated for severe amebiasis. But with the same tenacious spirit, he also came back to continue serving in Haiti.

Reaching Into New Territories

There were now congregations in Port-au-Prince and along the southern route to Cayes. Efforts were also being made to develop groups in other regions. Alex Brodie and Harvey Drinkle were making trips northward through the swamps and rice fields of the Artibonite plains to Saint-Marc and on to Gonaïves in cactus-filled country. Harvey was a quietly courageous person. Much later he underwent surgery in Canada, during which his right eye was removed because of cancer. But he returned to Haiti to continue in his assignment.

He and Alex traveled unpaved roads on bicycles loaded with literature while they visited the homes and villages along the way. People rise early in rural Haiti. These missionaries would make their first call by six o’clock in the morning and continue preaching until after dark. Then they would stay the night in the small thatched houses of the hospitable rural folk. In Saint-Marc and Gonaïves there were hotels in which they could stay. Warmly, Alex later said: “This was an enjoyable time, visiting these vivacious people.”

Other missionaries were pushing far into the southwest. Marigo Lolos, who later became Alex’s wife, tells of her trip to Jérémie with three other single missionary sisters​—Naomi Adams, Virnette Curry, and Frances Bailey:

“In January 1952 we took passage on the Clarion​—a sailboat with an auxiliary motor. The sea was rough, the boat rocked and rolled, and we became thoroughly seasick; but we reached Jérémie, where we enjoyed preaching and placed much literature.

“We went by camion (a truck used as a bus) as far as Anse-d’Hainault. Men passengers stayed atop the load of produce on the truck. On the way back, we had a collision with another truck, and Frances was injured. Naomi had a first-aid kit and was able to dress the wound; but we were stranded in the mountains. Praying in our hearts, we settled down by the roadside, with Frances wrapped in a blanket on a camp cot.

“A boy had heard the crash from the valley below and came up with an iron kettle, some cassava, and plantains. He built a fire and cooked us a meal​—an act of kindness that touched our hearts.

“Night fell, cold and dark. At 10:00 p.m. we heard a vehicle approaching and knew it could not pass. The road was narrow, with a sheer drop on one side. So Naomi went toward it with a flashlight and signaled the driver to stop. To our astonishment, he managed to turn his truck around; and to our relief, he took us to Jérémie. We returned to Port-au-Prince the next day, happy to have shared in spreading the good news in that outlying territory.”

Many people still remember and talk about those courageous missionary sisters. One Haitian sister, who was baptized in 1990 at 72 years of age, recalls that her first contact with the truth was through one of them over 30 years ago. She says: “I wish now that I had studied with her and become a Witness at that time. Then I would not have lost all those years that I could have been serving Jehovah.”

A Pastor Makes a Poor Showing

When witnessing to the clergy, our brothers were bold, confident in God’s Word. In 1954 a publisher had such a discussion with a Protestant pastor and three of his church members. The topic was immortality of the soul. When shown in his own Bible that Ezekiel 18:4 says: “L’âme qui pèche est celle qui mourra” (The soul that sins, it is it that will die), the pastor bluntly said he could not believe it. (La Sainte Bible, translated by L. Segond) The brother narrates some of the further developments:

“I asked him: ‘What is the destiny of the wicked and of the righteous?’ He replied that the wicked suffer eternal fire, while the souls of the just, including Adam, are resurrected to rejoice with God in his Kingdom. He said that God pardoned Adam’s sin when he covered him with animal skins. He could not explain how a soul that does not die could be resurrected. By reasoning on several Scripture texts, I showed him that Adam had sinned willfully, knowing what he was doing; and that if God had pardoned him, then his descendants would have been born perfect, not under condemnation of sin.

“Some days later one of the church members told me that his pastor wanted to know where Jehovah’s Witnesses learned the Bible so well. This member and others started to study with us, and before long, one of them started in the preaching work.”

Jehovah’s Witnesses in the News

Up to the early 1950’s, there had hardly ever been anything in the local papers about Jehovah’s Witnesses. But things changed at the time of the New World Society Assembly at Yankee Stadium, New York, in July 1953. Six papers gave free coverage to news about the Haitian delegates. Le National published a picture of the first day at the stadium and later reported about plans to have a convention with a similar program in Haiti.

Radio stations in two cities also gave us free broadcasting time. After seeing the script for the Watch Tower’s public service program “Things People Are Thinking About,” one manager revised his broadcasting schedule to make time for it. Another station asked that the program be increased to 30 minutes.

Haitian Brothers Take On Greater Responsibility

Two directors of the Watch Tower Society visited Haiti in 1954. Milton Henschel’s visit to serve a convention coincided with the Memorial on April 17, and the brothers enjoyed having him give the discourse. During his visit, Brother Henschel recommended that local brothers be given greater responsibility. So adjustments were made, and Congregation Service Committees were soon composed entirely of Haitians. This left the missionaries freer to carry on the field ministry. Brother Henschel also left a set of reels of the film The New World Society in Action. This film was shown to large audiences all over the country.

In August, when Fred Franz visited Haiti, he recommended locating the branch office and Kingdom Halls in better areas of town. The lease on the building that housed the branch office and the missionary home, as well as a Kingdom Hall, was now expiring. To stimulate the brothers to action, the congregation overseer, Maurice Sanon, repeatedly told them: “If we do not find our own hall, we will be holding meetings under the stars.”

The new location for the branch office, at 39 Rue Lafleur Duchène, did provide a temporary hall “under the stars” in its large paved yard. Meetings were held there for some months into 1955, until the brothers leased a bungalow on Grande Rue. Then, with the owner’s permission, they removed the interior walls of the house to create an area more than double the size of the area that had been used as a Kingdom Hall in the house on Rue Capois.

Realizing they would soon be parents, the Brodies returned to Canada just before the move to the house on Lafleur Duchène. They now live in Toronto, where Alex serves as an elder.

Fred Lukuc Returns

During the 1955 district convention in Dallas, Texas, Fred Lukuc, who was trying to regain his health, unexpectedly met Roland Fredette, who urged him: “Fred, come back to Haiti. You will do better there.” Fred was then serving at the Watchtower Farm at Norval, Canada. But his health was poor, and he had relapses from time to time. What should he do?

“In September 1955, weighing only 119 pounds [54 kg], I returned to Cap-Haïtien with Roland Fredette,” Fred later wrote. “The Society and all the brothers were very kind. A few months later, the Society invited me to do circuit work in northern Haiti. What a privilege! But could I do it? I did not feel strong enough. I prayed. Then I wrote to the Society: ‘I will try it.’ So I resumed circuit work in June 1956. During the next six years, I was richly blessed by Jehovah. I actually gained 40 pounds [18 kg] and recovered my health completely.”

A Man Can Do It!

The ranks of the Gilead graduates in Haiti were again reinforced in 1956. These included Max Danyleyko, who had been a missionary in Quebec and so already spoke French. He arrived in February and was assigned to work with Grady Rains, who had been in Haiti since 1952. With reference to his early experiences, Brother Danyleyko says:

“The home we rented in Petit-Goâve had no running water. So, pail in hand, we headed for the public fountain; but women came running, grabbed the pail, and carried it for us. They said: ‘Yon nonm pa kapab fè sa!’ (A man cannot do that!) That was the woman’s job. The same thing happened at the market. It was some time before we made them understand that a man can do it. Later we began seeing other men following our example.”

The markets are partially under enormous sheds. But they also spill into the open air. The endless displays of wares, if not arranged on long tables under the roofs, are right out on the paved road outside. Let us visit one of these markets.

We squeeze through the crowds, stepping gingerly around the traders or over their goods. Spotting some nice limes, we approach the woman squatting near them, and this exchange follows: ‘How much for four piles?’ ‘Eighty cents.’ ‘I will give you 50 cents.’ ‘No, 70 cents, last price.’ We say, ‘Sixty cents,’ and we walk away. Then she makes a hissing sound to call us back. We pay 60 cents, gather up the limes, and ask: ‘Wa ban m’ degi?’ (How about a gift?) She smiles and hands us a free lime. Everybody is happy.

Missionaries for Saint-Marc

When missionaries George and Thelma Corwin arrived in Haiti in April 1956, George was plunged right into the field ministry. He says: “We got to Bethel from the airport and had lunch, then Peter Lukuc invited me into the service. We visited a few homes together, then he asked me to go to one while he did another. My first day in Haiti! And a strange language! But Haitians are considerate, and I was able to cope.”

The Corwins were sent to Saint-Marc along with Peter Lukuc. As a start, they were given some subscription-expiration slips. While looking for a woman named on one of the slips, the Corwins met her sister, a retired schoolteacher named Adèle Canel. Together they studied “Let God Be True”​—her book in French, theirs in English. Her husband eventually joined in. Soon this couple screened off part of their room for their quarters and set aside the larger part for the meetings. Both became Witnesses, and so the Saint-Marc Congregation got its start in 1956.

Among those with whom the Corwins studied was Marc-Aurel Jean, in his tailor shop. His father, Emmanuel, listened and learned, even though he could not read. Soon both were attending meetings and sharing in preaching​—the older man reciting his sermon by heart. In time, he started a Bible study with a fisherman. He would first go over a few paragraphs with his son and absorb the information; then with Bible, booklet, and songbook, he would be off to conduct the study, opening and closing with song and prayer​—just as at the meetings.

On the Circuit With the Society’s Film

As circuit overseer, Fred Lukuc visited many parts of the country. From 1956 on, he was showing the film The New World Society in Action in the towns he visited. In the inland town of Hinche, he chose a location in a park facing the Catholic Church. As the church services ended, he showed a few of the opening scenes of the first reel to attract the attention of people leaving the church. Then he rewound the reel, gave his introduction, and ran the entire film. Though there were only two special pioneers and two other publishers in Hinche at that time, the audience numbered about a thousand.

Electricity was not available at Mirebalais, south of Hinche. So how could the film be shown there? Fred witnessed to an army sergeant and mentioned this problem. The sergeant arranged for it to be shown in the military barracks, using their generator. The townspeople could not be invited, but he did permit the few brothers to attend. The audience of 75 also included the soldiers’ wives and friends.

Many years later, in 1988, after Fred Lukuc gave a talk in the French congregation in Delray Beach, Florida, the presiding overseer, Brother Fabien, introduced himself and said: “You called on me in 1957 when I was sergeant in Mirebalais. I left the army in 1971. Now I am your brother. My daughter is a regular pioneer.” What a pleasant reunion that was after some 30 years!

It was also in Mirebalais that a 20-year-old youth became a courageous example for the brothers. Both his legs were paralyzed, but he came to town on his donkey for Fred’s circuit visit. He had to be carried piggyback into and out of the Kingdom Hall for the meetings. Mounted on his donkey, he also engaged in field service in his village, 11 miles [18 km] from town. He was among the 54 who were baptized during the district convention in Port-au-Prince in 1957.

Over 30 years later, Fred also clearly remembered some of the publishers in the Ouanaminthe Congregation on the Dominican Republic border. He recalled that three of these faithful Witnesses who lived 12 miles [19 km] from the Kingdom Hall came on foot for Sunday-morning field service. They spent all day in the service, attended the meetings in the evening, then walked the 12 miles [19 km] home by moonlight.

Productive Pioneers

As Fred traveled, he saw some picturesque landscapes. Even more beautiful, however, was the fact that the brothers were finding truth seekers.

At Petite-Rivière-de-l’Artibonite, Fred visited two special pioneers. What results were they having? After just 14 months there, they had been joined in the field service by several Bible students. These included Gaston Antoine (a pharmacist) and his wife, also his sister and her husband, a former Church of God pastor. Eleven shared in the field service that week, six for the first time. And many, many more were showing interest. About 800 came to the showing of the Society’s film in a park, and the other meetings were also well attended.

Through Storm and Flood

Peter Lukuc made a circuit trip in the south in 1957. He went by motorboat from Anse-à-Veau to Baradères, a town subject to flooding. After he gave a public talk to an audience of 30, he saw ominous clouds gathering. He left by boat the next morning, but a furious storm broke out while he was on the boat; driving rain soaked the passengers. So the boat pulled in to Petit-Trou de Nippes.

The weather did not stop Peter. Thinking this to be the first time the town would receive a witness, he went out preaching in the rain that afternoon. But a publisher whom he had met in Miragoâne was already there. This brother was thrilled to see Peter again. Next morning, as the boat headed back toward Anse-à-Veau, there was another storm. However, they managed to reach the already flooded town safely.

En route from there by land, Peter still had Grande-Rivière (Great River) to cross. From two miles [3 km] away he could hear it roaring down from the mountains. It was impassable. People on both sides waited all day and all night. Meanwhile, Peter waded barefoot through the mud to witness and place magazines at a few homes. By the next morning, the river had receded to just below shoulder level, so Peter waded across.

Brothers were also witnessing in Miragoâne, a quaint seaport northeast of Vieux-bourg, and sheeplike people were responding. One day the son of a Baptist preacher sat in on a Bible study in which the future new world was being discussed. He was impressed by proof from the Bible that the earth will be a paradise free from suffering, death, and badness. He saw the reasonable conclusion that not all good people would go to heaven. (2 Pet. 3:13; Rev. 7:9; 21:4, 5) Immediately he returned to his village in the mountains, assembled the members of the church, along with his father, and showed them what the Bible says about earth’s real future. The next day they sent a delegation to Miragoâne to ask the Witnesses to come and teach them the Bible. Most of that church group, including the preacher, began to study, and some 30 became Witnesses.

They Were Pillars of the Church

In the north too, people who were deeply involved in church activities were gratefully embracing Bible truth. For example, after seven months in Port-de-Paix, on the north coast, François Doccy and Jean Sénat rejoiced to have found a number of people who were eager to serve Jehovah. During the visit of the circuit overseer, nine persons shared in field service. A conversation between Fred Lukuc and a Catholic girl reveals who some of these were. Here is how he recalls it:

“She asked: ‘Did you go out alone today?’ I replied: ‘No, Rock St.-Gérard was with me.’ ‘Rock St.-Gérard?’ she asked, stunned. ‘He is one of Jehovah’s Witnesses now,’ I said. ‘But,’ she exclaimed, ‘he was president of the association of Légionnaires! A pillar of the Catholic Church!’ Then I added, ‘His wife is also a Witness.’ She asked, ‘Is it true that Irlande Sarette is studying with you Witnesses?’ I said, ‘Yes. She attends our meetings and goes out preaching with us.’ She said: ‘My! My! She was president of the Croisée organization!’ I said: ‘Then there is Lucianne Lublin . . .’ She interrupted me: ‘That makes four pillars of the church!’ ‘Well,’ I said, ‘you should study too.’ ‘I will,’ she replied.”

Those mentioned above and others got baptized at the district convention in December that year​—1957. Don Adams of the Brooklyn headquarters was present as zone overseer.

Progress Despite Opposition

The penetration of the good news into new areas brought false accusations from church leaders. When Roland Fredette, Fred Lukuc, and Hiram Rupp, a missionary from the fourth class of Gilead, began visiting the people in Mont-Organisé, 22 miles [35 km] south of Ouanaminthe, in 1957, the clergy reacted with warnings. “The false prophets have arrived!” they said. “American spies are in the village.” “Beware of the communists!”

The brothers tactfully refuted the accusations. A prominent man in the town, François Codio, engaged in a three-hour discussion with the brothers. Impressed by their explanations, he took a copy of each publication they had. Other people began listening, instead of arguing, and many accepted literature.

The work was continuing to expand in Port-au-Prince too, and this contributed to the need for a larger branch office. Furthermore, during political unrest in 1957, the vicinity of the branch building at Lafleur Duchène became a hotbed of violence. So when the lease on that house expired, the Bethel Home and office were moved to 3 Pont-Pradel in Bois-Verna, a better section of town. A new congregation that could meet in this home and hold meetings in French was formed.

The political unrest, with six changes of government in ten months, continued into 1958. But the brothers kept preaching God’s Kingdom as the real answer to problems of government, while remaining neutral, as they had always done.

Fruits of Good Work

By 1958 the small group of publishers in Saint-Marc had been molded into a mature congregation. This was seen in August when they were left on their own while the missionaries attended the international convention in New York. The field service of the local publishers was better than in any previous month, and two new ones started preaching. Indeed, a fine example of spiritual stability and zeal for the service!

George Corwin and his wife were happy to have had a share in building this congregation. But then, with the onset of family responsibilities, they left Saint-Marc in May 1960 and returned to Canada.

More Missionaries to Help

Four more missionaries​—Roland Sicard, Stanley Boggus, Steve Simmons, and Maceo Davis—​arrived in 1958. When Daniel Eyssallenne brought them home from the airport, they found Peter Lukuc waiting for them in the room where they would be taught French. A month later they began trying out their new language on people near the missionary home. Stanley Boggus says: “We were amazed that people did all they could to help us express ourselves.”

Three months later Stanley and Steve were assigned to Cayes, and they quickly found that learning French was not enough. One day Stanley, accompanied by Max Danyleyko as circuit overseer, was talking to a woman who kept saying, ‘M’pa sou sa.’ Thinking she meant, ‘I did not know that,’ Stanley told her he was there to tell her about it. Later on, Max told him that she was saying, ‘I am not interested in that.’ So Stanley settled down to learn Creole.

A Husband’s Change of Heart

Stanley Boggus married Bertha Jean, a Haitian pioneer, in October 1960, and they remained in Cayes as special pioneers. Two months later they met Edèle Antoine, who said: ‘I believe God is with you people. Will you teach me how to worship him?’ She made fine progress in spite of violent opposition from her husband and neighbors, and she got baptized at the next circuit assembly. When she returned from the assembly, to her great surprise, her husband kissed her and the three children and said: ‘Welcome home. I heard you got baptized.’ He started attending meetings, became a Witness, and remained faithful until his death many years later.

Some 25 years after he left Haiti, Stanley Boggus added this footnote to his experience: “In 1987 I was asked to help teach the Pioneer Service School for the French circuit in New York City. As I reviewed the enrollment list, I came across the name Edèle Antoine. Yes, she was the same person I had helped into the truth 27 years earlier. It was encouraging to see her there among the pioneers.”

Not to Be Outside With False Religions

Shortly after arriving in Mont-Organisé in May 1960 to work as health inspector, Sénèque Raphaël accepted François Codio’s invitation to meetings he held in his home. An eager young man of 24, he expressed a desire to know more about the Bible. So François lent him the book “Let God Be True,” and Sénèque studied it from cover to cover. In August, as Sénèque was leaving for Ouanaminthe to see his parents and be baptized by the Baptists, François encouraged him to visit the Kingdom Hall there and contact a pioneer named Mercius Vincent.

Mercius questioned Sénèque about his beliefs and saw that he understood that church doctrines are quite different from what the Bible teaches. So, looking closely at this stocky, dark-skinned young man, he said: “Now, officer, the Bible says here in Revelation 22:15 that anyone who loves and practices a lie is outside. That includes those who teach falsehoods. So you will be ‘outside’ with them if you belong to that religion.”

After a pause, Sénèque asked, “What shall I do?” Mercius gave him the booklet “This Good News of the Kingdom” and promised to study it with him the next morning. Sénèque read it, learning much of it by heart. After his first study, he attended the meeting that evening and then joined in the field service the next morning. He got baptized in January 1961. But François Codio, who had introduced him to the truth, never did become a Witness, although his wife did.

Preparing for More Growth

The Carrefour Congregation had increased to 54 publishers, and they began to build a hall that would be large enough. When they poured the concrete roof, 67 volunteers worked hard all day on the construction, while the sisters prepared meals for them. On December 17, 1960, Fred Lukuc gave the dedication talk in this new hall to a large, appreciative audience. Dumoine Vallon served as presiding overseer here for a number of years. He became a special pioneer in 1978 and in 1993, at 84 years of age, he was still serving as such in the Thorland-Carrefour Congregation.

By mid-1960, there were over 800 publishers in 23 congregations in Haiti, compared with 99 publishers in 1950. Max Danyleyko was now called to Bethel as branch overseer. Victor Winterburn was planning to get married, and about a year later, he returned to Canada with his wife to care for oncoming family responsibilities.

In 1961, Fred Lukuc was called to work part-time in the branch office and to serve as instructor for the Kingdom Ministry School from May through August. The training of 40 overseers and special pioneers in this two-week course was very timely, as it helped to equip and fortify them for tests that the brothers were soon to face.

The district convention in January 1962 also prepared the local brothers to carry on an expanded field ministry. Speaking on pioneering, the branch overseer encouraged qualified brothers who were free of family responsibilities to enroll as special pioneers. Sénèque Raphaël, who submitted an application, makes this comment:

“I was serving in Artibonite as a regular pioneer with Emile Cinéus and was eager to be a special pioneer. So I left my employment with the Health Department. I had $40, barber’s shears, and a pair of scissors with which I hoped to provide for my needs​—but these have always been provided for, thanks to Jehovah.” Sénèque had no idea that government action against Jehovah’s Witnesses would begin a few days after he had submitted that application.

Arrested!

On January 23, 1962, Max Danyleyko and Andrew D’Amico were arrested at the branch office, and the stock of Awake! of January 8, 1962 (in French), was confiscated. Andrew and Helen D’Amico, missionaries from Canada, were living in Bethel. Helen escaped arrest because Andrew had told her to conceal herself in the bathroom. They hoped that she would remain free to tell the others what had happened.

She says: “I stood behind the locked door and prayed.” She heard men searching the room. They came to the bathroom door. But one made some comment about another closet door, and they went to search the rest of the house. When they left, a guard remained outside until nightfall. He left just before Donald Rachwal, another missionary who lived in the home, came in from the service. Told what had happened, he sent Helen to stay with the sisters in the other missionary home, and then he began contacting other qualified brothers.

Meanwhile, the arrested brothers were confined with 17 other men in a tiny cell at the police station. They slept as best they could, sitting on the floor when not standing, since there was no room to lie down. They were interrogated throughout Wednesday but were not told the charges. Next morning they were brought before a high-ranking official who referred to an item about Haiti in the January 8 Awake! and lectured them on the equality of the races. (The news item was a quotation from articles in the magazines Le Monde and Le Soir that mentioned the practice of voodoo.) He dismissed them without allowing them to reply, and they were released.

Three weeks later, on February 14, the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Religion said: “We will have to expel the children of Jehovah’s Witnesses from our State schools.” This occurred in connection with the expulsion of a young sister who had written to the principal of her school explaining why she could not salute the flag. The principal​—a Roman Catholic nun—​had sent the letter to the government authorities. Another sister was also expelled at that time. Both girls were in their last year of school and were excellent publishers.

Deported!

Four weeks later, on March 17, Max, Donald, Andrew, and Helen were personally notified by the chief of police that all the missionaries had 24 hours to leave the country. No explanation was given. They were then taken home to collect their passports. There they saw Albert Jérome, who was now the city servant, and in a brief exchange, told him what was happening.

Back at the police station, they were kept under guard. However, Rodrigue Médor was studying with a sergeant who was on duty, so Max sent him with a note telling the brothers to contact the Canadian embassy. Through the sergeant, Rodrigue was able to visit the imprisoned missionaries at night and receive the key to the Society’s post office box from them. This officer ran errands to buy them food, contact the brothers, and check for mail.

On Sunday, March 18, the three Canadians were taken under guard to the airport for departure to Kingston, Jamaica. But since they did not have onward tickets to Canada, the airline refused them passage. A number of brothers were at the airport, and Max Danyleyko was able to speak briefly to Albert Jérome and a few others. The next day they were taken under guard right into the plane and sent off to Kingston, where they remained for a few weeks before going on to Canada. Donald Rachwal, who was from the United States, flew out separately.

Stanley Boggus, who was traveling in the circuit work, was deported along with the remaining missionaries on April 3. He later served in Zaire. Returning to the United States in 1971, he has continued to serve with the French congregations in New York. After a few months in Canada, Max Danyleyko went on to serve in Congo-Brazzaville, Central African Republic, Chad, Nigeria, and now Côte d’Ivoire. Fred Lukuc served in Congo-Brazzaville and Côte d’Ivoire. For health reasons he and his wife were transferred to the Canada Bethel in 1985. Peter is presently serving with Spanish congregations in the United States. The rest of the missionaries still serve Jehovah loyally or have died faithful.

Religious Leaders Gloat

Religious leaders had been busy telling government officials that Jehovah’s Witnesses were communists who do not support the government. The clergy had also told the Witnesses that they were only awaiting a government order to get rid of them.

So they joyfully welcomed the missionaries’ expulsion. One evangelical radio station on the south coast gloatingly broadcast the news in this fashion: “Christ and the State have expelled the false prophets from the country.” The clergy expected the Kingdom work to end. But it should be noted that Jehovah’s Witnesses had not been banned.

Haitians Carry On

André René, one of the first Haitians to receive Gilead training, became branch overseer, and the local brothers carried on as best they could. Renan Sanon (who had served briefly as circuit overseer), Emile Cinéus, and Don Delva were chosen to care for the three circuits. To the chagrin of opposers, the work continued to grow remarkably.

Even some from the ranks of the clergy accepted the truth. For example, Sénèque Raphaël had a long discussion about the new world with Augustin Josémond, a Protestant pastor at Liancourt. This man accepted a Bible study, resigned from his church, and got baptized. He and his family of ten children are very active Witnesses.

Growing numbers were taking up the pioneer service. These included some who had learned to read and write in the congregation literacy classes. The brothers encouraged and helped these pioneers. Those with businesses even gave them “pioneer rates”​—reduced prices for goods and services.

The congregations kept on growing so well that in 1963 the thousand-publisher mark was passed, with a total of 1,036. A new circuit was formed during the year, and Sénèque Raphaël, now an ebullient speaker, was assigned as circuit overseer in the north. His small circuit could be covered in four months. So he used the “free months” to visit towns where there were no Witnesses.

Two More Promising Young Men

Among those who became Witnesses during this time were some who became zealous promoters of pure worship.

Back in 1961, Fulgens Gaspard, a 22-year-old, had seen an Adventist man tear a page from his own Bible when he could not refute the texts with which a Witness confronted him. Though a loyal Catholic, Fulgens admitted that Jehovah’s Witnesses knew the Bible well. He had found that he could not understand what he read in the Bible he used to borrow, so he asked this Witness to help him. They studied every Sunday. Soon he started to attend meetings, stopped going to church, and began to share in field service. When he got baptized in March 1965, his next goal was to be a pioneer.

In 1962 Wilner Emmanuel, at 15 years of age, was studying Marxism with other youths. But he believed that God existed and was responsible for the order in the universe. Another student, son of Diego Scotland, used to lend him The Watchtower, Awake!, and other literature. And Alphonse Hector, a 35-year-old neighbor who was not yet a Witness, gave him the book “Let God Be True” and advised him to study the Bible.

Wilner now says: “I read the entire book that night and began to view myself as dedicated to Jehovah. Some days later, Alphonse arranged for Sister Derenoncourt to study with me. She was astonished at how well I understood what I had read.” Wilner made quick progress and got baptized in August 1965. He too developed into a hard worker for Jehovah’s Kingdom and the new world.

Meanwhile, in 1966, the one then serving as branch overseer proved unfaithful to his Christian trust and was disfellowshipped. Prophète Painson, a mild-natured and cautious man of 29, became branch overseer and served for the next six years. He had been baptized in 1960 and had begun pioneering in 1962. The office was now situated at the corner of Ruelle Waag and Avenue Christophe in Port-au-Prince.

In 1967, Fulgens Gaspard, baptized just two years earlier, was working as a schoolteacher. Since he planned to pioneer, he applied to be allowed to teach part-time. This was refused, so he resigned from his job in the hope that he could earn a living by means of his hobby as an artist. But before he could submit his application to be a regular pioneer, he was appointed to be a special pioneer. Three months later he was called to work at Bethel and then, in January 1969, he began serving as circuit overseer. A man with a quiet disposition, he had already become a fluent public speaker, pleasant to hear.

Facing Down Opposition

In 1969 the clergy again started the rumor that Jehovah’s Witnesses were communists. The government ordered a search for subversive literature that the Witnesses were allegedly using. This led to the rumor that they were being arrested in Port-au-Prince. Many people hurried to destroy the magazines they had obtained and would no longer receive the brothers favorably.

In isolated cases, local officers took action against our brothers, though they had no directive from the central government to do so. Two special pioneer sisters, Furcina Charles and Yolande Fièvre, received a note from the prefect at Limbé, saying: “You have been denounced by public outcry as undesirables in Limbé. I am informing you that you are no longer welcome among us.” The mayor told them he could not allow them to preach and hold meetings unless they had permits from the authorities in Port-au-Prince. He had the Kingdom Hall closed. But these sisters and the few other publishers there continued to preach and to hold meetings in private homes​—varying the locations and meeting days.

A few months later, Furcina married Jacques François, a special pioneer. She was 39, had been baptized in 1959, and was pioneering since 1961. Jacques was 29. On arrival in Limbé, he resumed holding meetings in the Kingdom Hall. He said: “Jehovah’s Witnesses are a recognized religion, and I know of no decree banning them.”

Now he and Furcina were arrested and taken to the prefecture. The prefect told them that he had no charges against them but that the mayor was responsible for the action. The next day the mayor told them that the militia chief was responsible. In turn, the militia chief said he had nothing against them. So they continued holding the meetings with no further problems. Jacques died in 1993, while faithfully serving as an elder in Port-au-Prince.

The Mayor’s Daughters Were the Sheep

At Bassin-Bleu a special pioneer began conducting a Bible study with the priest in 1970, and the priest attended the Memorial. However, the town mayor sought to discourage him, saying: “Father, you have done your studies. It is not proper for you to sit before this little Jehovah’s Witness to be taught by him.” Finally the priest stopped the study.

However, the mayor’s oldest daughter, Josette, then began studying. Her father opposed this, but she took a firm stand for the truth and was baptized. In time her sisters followed her example. The mayor did not; but he became friendly toward the Witnesses. As for Josette, she is now a regular pioneer and the wife of an elder.

The false rumors made it hard for our brothers to rent halls for assemblies. So they built a simple one at Mariani, Port-au-Prince. They began using it in 1970 and added to it as attendance grew each year. It was hot under the corrugated iron roof; but this was better than nothing for the 2,049 publishers reporting in 1970.

A Haitian Abroad Returns to Help

By this time the exodus of Haitians to North America was gathering momentum. From a trickle in the 1960’s, it became a flood of people leaving in flimsy boats by the late 1970’s. There were already enough Haitians in New York in the early 1960’s to make up a French-speaking missionary territory there. The first French-speaking congregation was formed in 1969, and it is out of this that Michel Mentor came.

A Haitian resident in the United States, he began studying with the Witnesses in 1966. He progressed quickly and got baptized in 1967. He was trained in Gilead School in 1971 and assigned to Haiti as branch overseer. Then a stocky unmarried man of 34, he was friendly and showed good leadership ability. His coming was particularly welcome, since efforts to get missionaries into the country were not successful.

Other Witnesses were coming on their own to serve as pioneers where the need is greater. Then, in 1972, the Society decided to test the situation further by sending four new Gilead graduates for missionary work. However, with the support of the Minister for Internal Affairs, a senior official told them they would be prosecuted if they were still in the country after their visitor’s visas expired. So they went to Puerto Rico to await a new assignment. Shortly after they left, the senior official died. Three months later, the minister fell into disgrace, was dismissed from office, and went into exile.

An Unexpected Defender

Acts of opposition were mostly by officials who were incited or embarrassed into action by clergy propaganda. Some had their own prejudices. Their action was not an official government stand. The then recently deceased president of Haiti had studied with the Witnesses as a youth. Though he chose a different way of life, he still had respect for the brothers. What is more, the Witnesses’ honesty, political neutrality, and respect for law earned them the admiration of other highly placed persons. For example, a pioneer relates this experience:

“As I offered magazines to two men in Port-au-Prince, one of them said: ‘If I had the authority, I would put all of you Jehovah’s Witnesses in prison.’ The other, a government minister, intervened before I could reply. He told the man that, from what he had seen in his travels and at religious ceremonies, all religions except Jehovah’s Witnesses mixed spiritism into their worship. Then he added: ‘Jehovah’s Witnesses are the ones practicing true Christianity.’”

Seeking Better Branch Facilities

However, since there was no branch office owned by the Society, the work of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Haiti lacked dignity and identity in the eyes of some. In 1971 a lawyer had rented a house situated on Rue St.-Gérard to the Society. But when he learned that it was for Jehovah’s Witnesses, he refused to renew the rent contract.

After considerable effort to find another place, the branch office moved to a house on Rue Chérièz at Canapé-Vert. It remained there for four years before being moved to Delmas in 1975, but that house was too small for our needs. Michel Mentor recalls: “We had to stock literature supplies in bedrooms, the drawing room, and on the stairs. So the zone overseer advised us to look for another place, and the idea of finding land on which to build began to develop.”

Praised by Some of the Clergy; Condemned by Others

In 1968 the brothers received the book The Truth That Leads to Eternal Life. They were enthusiastic about using it. This publication helped to win the hearts of young ones over to the Bible. Certain clergymen even used material from it in their sermons, only omitting the name Jehovah.

In 1972 a Catholic priest even displayed it in the cathedral in Port-au-Prince and said: “If Jehovah’s Witnesses offer you this little blue book, accept it. It is the truth.” One woman stared at him in astonishment. Her son was a Witness, and she had been opposing him. She returned home and asked him if Jehovah’s Witnesses had a little blue book. “Yes,” he replied. She then told him what the priest had said, and she accepted her son’s offer to study with her. She became a baptized Witness.

However, the clergy in general were enraged on seeing church members quitting their flocks. They began criticizing the Truth book from the pulpit. Protestant pastors​—Evane Antoine, Louis Désiré, and others—​began making anti-Witness radio broadcasts. Antoine took evil pleasure in criticizing the book sentence by sentence in a program on MBC radio in Port-au-Prince every Sunday afternoon and made malicious comments about the teachings of Jehovah’s Witnesses. His purpose was to turn people against the Truth book.

The opposite happened. People became curious, and the book saw wide distribution from 1972 to 1975. People often stopped the publishers on the streets and asked for “ti liv po ble a” (the little blue-covered book). Many of these became Witnesses.

The radio programs also aroused the sympathy of high government officials for Jehovah’s Witnesses. Regarding this, Rodrigue Médor says:

“Michel Mentor and I were summoned by the Minister of Religious Affairs on the question of flag salute. He recognized me as his tailor and said, ‘Are you the one giving us so much trouble?’ Then he spoke about the pastor on the radio. ‘Why not reply?’ he asked. I explained that we were not seeking public debates, which would only compromise the dignity of our message.”

Jehovah’s Witnesses on the Air

However, in April 1973, the Society began presenting its own 30-minute program, “Your Word Is Truth,” on Radio Haiti every Wednesday evening. Its goal was to promote better knowledge about Jehovah’s Witnesses and to counteract prejudice that the anti-Witness broadcasts created. The program did not enter into controversy with the pastors’ statements but dealt with subjects such as earth’s future, God’s purposes, and family interests. Material was taken from the Society’s publications, such as Is the Bible Really the Word of God? and Awake! Thus, the program was lifted to a higher level than those of the pastors, and this earned people’s admiration and respect.

Once its goal had been achieved, and since it had to be paid for, the program was discontinued in November 1974. By then, people had seen that Jehovah’s Witnesses defended themselves well. And the Truth book continued to have phenomenal distribution.

However, religious leaders and people under their influence renewed the attack by again publicizing the issue of flag salute in the schools. Some newspapers carried anti-Witness articles. So the authorities again became concerned about the question. Government ministers summoned Rodrigue Médor and informed him, in effect, that they were being embarrassed by this problem. But they knew him well and respected him; so they left it at that.

Problem of Inadequate Halls

A few officials, some of whom were influenced by church loyalties, imposed restraints on Jehovah’s Witnesses. To hinder the granting of permits to build Kingdom Halls, such officials took advantage of the fact that the Witnesses did not have a locally incorporated society. However, the hall problem was mainly financial. Most congregations could not afford to build, so they rented small buildings, most of which lacked basic facilities. Some people hesitated to attend meetings in such humble places. Yet, attendance would soar on certain occasions. One congregation of 100 publishers had over 400 at the Memorial in 1975. More were outside the hall than were inside. Some way had to be found to build Kingdom Halls.

Some congregations succeeded by obtaining loans from brothers who could afford to provide such, and later the Governing Body put in place an arrangement to help finance Kingdom Hall construction. Many fine halls have been built since this was done in 1978.

Branch Committee

The Branch Committee arrangement began operating in 1976. The original members were Michel Mentor, Sénèque Raphaël, and Défense Joseph, who had begun to serve as a special pioneer within 11 months of his baptism in 1962. Rodrigue Médor was made a member of the committee in 1977. In 1980, to care for his family obligations, Défense Joseph took up residence in the United States.

When the booklet Blood, Medicine and the Law of God (in French) was received in 1978, the Branch Committee asked Wilner Emmanuel to contact the medical faculty of the University of Haiti. The dean assembled the medical students and requested that Wilner explain the viewpoint of Jehovah’s Witnesses on the matter of blood. After the talk, they were happy to receive complimentary copies of the booklet. Since then, as professional doctors, many of them have shown respect for the stand of Jehovah’s Witnesses against blood transfusions.

New Missionaries at Last!

At last, in May 1981, a missionary couple was again able to enter the country and obtain residence visas. John and Inez Norman had been in circuit work in Canada, where they had been very effective in the ministry. Commenting on John’s way of preaching, a district overseer once said: “It is interesting to go out with him because one never knows what he will do from one door to the other. He has originality.”

John was born in Montserrat in the West Indies in 1940 and grew up in Canada. His parents had served where the need was greater in Liberia. John got baptized in 1954 and started pioneering in 1958. His wife, a Canadian, had started to pioneer in 1968.

After coming to Haiti, they were assigned to pioneer for a while. Then they were called into Bethel in January 1983, and John was appointed coordinator of the Branch Committee. Michel Mentor had supervised the branch office well for eleven years. He now entered the traveling work as district overseer, while also serving as a special pioneer during the months when there were no assemblies.

Other missionaries from Canada, the United States, Belgium, France, Nigeria, and other parts of the Caribbean are also contributing to the progress of the Kingdom work here. They love the people. They enjoy working among the masses of the poor in their dwellings huddled together on the edges of gullies, as well as the rich in their palatial homes. People of both classes​—judges, doctors, engineers, businessmen, tradesmen, traders, and laborers—​have joined them in preaching to others about the coming new world.

To Serve Where the Need Is Greater

In addition to the missionaries, there are many who have personally taken the initiative to come to Haiti to serve where the need is greater. Among these are Maxine Stump and Betty Wooten, who have done productive work in Pétion-ville and Thomassin. Maxine was located in Thomassin, a community many thought would not produce any Witnesses.

At 55, she was beginning to feel her years. Her husband had forsaken her and Jehovah’s organization. Yet, she endured 23 years in that mountain territory, in the face of local opposition. Her limited French and Creole sounded more like English. Maybe people had to listen more carefully to understand her; but her warm interest and sincerity attracted them. Many studied with her and became Witnesses. She served as a regular pioneer in Thomassin until 1992 when, at the age of 75, she could no longer cope with the mountains. She returned to the United States for medical attention, and now she serves as a pioneer in Florida.

Betty Wooten started “pioneering” the day she got baptized in 1962. She did not realize that she should submit an application! She was actually appointed in 1967. Since coming to Haiti, she has served in Pétion-ville as a special pioneer. She is black, exuberant, and looks much younger than her 57 years. Sometimes in the intensity of explaining the Scriptures, she slips out of her imperfect Creole into English. But her sincere presentation of the truth and her forceful reasoning make people listen and respond.

While John and Inez Norman were visiting the Canada branch office in 1982, someone in the subscription department asked them, “Who is Betty Wooten?” The department was processing dozens of magazine subscriptions that she had obtained. Why this success? She is always preaching. Her formal field service is an extension of her informal witnessing. In shops, when she goes to a restaurant, at gas stations​—anywhere, anytime is an opportunity to offer magazines, books, subscriptions, and Bible studies. She can now look back over her 22 years in Haiti, satisfied that she has shared in helping more than 70 people to take up Jehovah’s service!

There are now four congregations in Pétion-ville, two in Thomassin, and another in Kenscoff​—seven congregations with a total approaching 700 publishers in 1993, in territory formerly cared for by one congregation.

A Houngan Finds the Truth

Among those who have become Jehovah’s Witnesses in Haiti is a former voodoo priest​—a houngan—​at Labiche. Irilien Désir began to wonder about God and felt a desire to quit voodoo. He expressed this openly to the Catholic priest and brought him his ceremonial materials. However, he received no spiritual help, so he returned to voodoo.

Then his sons in Port-au-Prince and overseas wrote telling him they were studying with Jehovah’s Witnesses and they advised him to do the same. As a result, he rode his horse 30 miles [50 km] to L’Azile to find the Witnesses. He kept on riding there twice a week to study with them and attend the meetings. The spirits, or loas, he served began to harass him and even announced his death. He had a coffin made, but he said: “I do not fear death anymore. I know there will be a resurrection.” However, since he did not die at that time, he used the coffin to store foodstuffs that he harvested.

He joined in preaching with pioneers who were now assigned to Labiche, and he got baptized. Then he donated a piece of his land on which to build a Kingdom Hall. In 1989 he died faithful to Jehovah.

A Revolution but Not a New World

The crowded, narrow streets of Port-au-Prince are usually a moving patchwork of gaudy, colorfully painted vehicles, packed with passengers. But both vehicles and streets were more jam-packed than usual December 5-8, 1985. Haiti was host to hundreds of Witnesses from other lands. They were attending the “Integrity Keepers” Convention in the Centre Sportif de Carrefour. The 4,048 publishers were amazed at the attendance of 16,260 at the public talk “God’s Times and Seasons​—To What Do They Point?”

Two months after this, a revolution ended the 28-year Duvalier rule on February 7, 1986. The nation rejoiced, hoping for better conditions. But the ruined economy and the quality of life continued to worsen as political instability brought six changes of government in six years, up to 1992!

Building a New Bethel

Meanwhile, Jehovah’s Witnesses were anticipating a different historic event. Since November 1984, skilled international volunteers, from North America and other places, had been helping them to build new branch facilities on 11 acres [4.5 ha] of land at Santo, near Port-au-Prince. Haitian Witnesses with building skills were hired, and hundreds of others volunteered for the work. The U-shaped Bethel complex comprises offices, literature depot, and two-story residential quarters. An Assembly Hall was built at the same time.

These facilities were dedicated on January 25, 1987. Charles Molohan from the Brooklyn headquarters gave the dedication talk. It was a stimulating and joyful occasion. The brothers are proud of these branch facilities. But what do they think of the Assembly Hall? Summing up their feelings, Betty Wooten says: “The grounds are beautifully landscaped and adorned with trees and flowers. The hall​—with modern conveniences—​is designed for Haiti’s tropical climate. It is an honor to Jehovah’s people.” Fulgens Gaspard, who became a Branch Committee member in 1987, expresses appreciation for the fact that “it is well ventilated, making it possible to listen to the program in comfort.”

Highly Appreciated Literature

The brochure Enjoy Life on Earth Forever! was published in Creole in 1987. The brothers welcomed it as a fine tool for helping people to visualize the new world, and they have been placing large numbers of it. It is a useful textbook in congregation literacy classes, which classes have contributed to the high literacy level among Jehovah’s Witnesses. From 1987 to 1992, these classes, which are also open to non-Witnesses, helped 1,343 people learn to read and write.

The book You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth (in French) has helped thousands of people understand the Bible, and it is still in great demand. But in 1989 the booklet “This Good News of the Kingdom” was published in Creole, and of course, this is especially useful in Haiti.

Since 1989 the book Questions Young People Ask​—Answers That Work has captured the interest of youths both inside and outside the congregations. Young people frequently stop Witnesses on the streets to ask for it. Many books are being placed in schools by students or teachers.

In Canapé-Vert, Nelly Saladin, a lively young schoolteacher, placed over a hundred copies of the Young People Ask book with students in her school in one month. In Jacmel a teacher ordered several cartons of it to give to students as prizes. A number of schools use it as a textbook for social and cultural classes.

In 1990 the owner and director of a vocational school for girls in Port-au-Prince asked her niece if she had any ideas as to what she could give the girls as prizes. This niece was then studying with Jehovah’s Witnesses, so she suggested the books Questions Young People Ask​—Answers That Work, Making Your Family Life Happy, and Your Youth—​Getting the Best Out Of It. The director was delighted and ordered 40 books right away and more later​—a total of 301. Some of the students who received this literature have become Witnesses, and others are now unbaptized publishers.

Official and Legal Recognition

Legal recognition of an association to represent Jehovah’s Witnesses was once again granted in 1989. Since 1962 the Watch Tower Society had not been considered accredited in Haiti. But Jehovah’s Witnesses remained a recognized religion because the constitution guarantees freedom of worship. Over the years Rodrigue Médor had repeatedly met with government ministers, trying to obtain legal status for the Association of Jehovah’s Witnesses. But it was the government change in 1986 that brought a favorable climate for success. So the branch office’s Legal Committee applied to the new government for recognition. This was approved and, after some months, L’Association Chrétienne les Témoins de Jéhovah d’Haiti (Christian Association of Jehovah’s Witnesses of Haiti) became a legal corporate body.

Concerning this, Haiti’s official journal, on February 20, 1989, stated that “considering that l’Association Chrétienne ‘LES TÉMOINS DE JÉHOVAH D’HAITI’ has been contributing for many years to the education of the masses in rural and urban areas of the country by literacy classes,” it is recognized as a “public service organization” with “the rights and prerogatives connected with a corporate person.”

This is important because such an organization can own property. Previously, property for Kingdom Halls and the branch property had to be acquired in the names of brothers. Now ownership could be placed in the name of the association.

Good Citizenship Recognized

Jehovah’s Witnesses desire to help people understand why Jesus taught his disciples to pray: “Let your kingdom come. Let your will take place . . . upon earth.” (Matt. 6:10) They show their kindhearted and patient fellow Haitians that it is not God’s will for people to suffer hunger, sickness, and violence or to grow old and die. They explain that God’s will is for earth to become home to the new world​—with a paradise that includes Haiti. And they are teaching people to be law-abiding and to lead good, honest lives so that they can qualify for everlasting life in that new world.

Many recognize the benefits the Witnesses bring to the nation by this work. When a murder was committed in Saint-Georges in 1984, people began hiding because the police started arresting them for questioning. However, Jehovah’s Witnesses continued preaching, and the police allowed them to circulate freely. Said one policeman: “Jehovah’s Witnesses preach about the end of wicked people. They are not the ones who committed this crime.”

During riots and demonstrations in 1991, people started looting in Cité Soleil, Port-au-Prince, while two young sisters were witnessing in the same area. Two soldiers arrived and stood one at each end of a narrow lane, forcing the looters to pass them and receive strokes from a whip. And the sisters? Each holding a Watchtower, they walked toward one of the soldiers. Recognizing them as Witnesses, he let them pass unscathed, then resumed the whipping. It is as a military officer in Thomassique declared in 1991: ‘I know that the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ youths would not be involved in such riots and demonstrations and looting.’

The First Quickly Built Hall

A congregation of 14 publishers in the southern village of Bidouze holds the distinction of being the first to have a quickly built Kingdom Hall. It was built in four days. After much preparatory work, construction began in pouring rain on Thursday, November 1, 1990. The 18 brothers from Port-au-Prince and the local brothers worked hard through each day, and some continued until long after sundown with the help of moonlight and a gas lamp. The building was not prefabricated, so the 1,500 concrete blocks had to be mortared into place one by one. Yet, by 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, the hall was painted, ready for the first meeting there​—an abbreviated Watchtower Study and the dedication talk, with 81 present.

The branch’s building committee had now shown that modest halls could be built for rural congregations, using quick-construction methods, for less than $5,000. This is an important consideration in view of the very limited financial means of the brothers.

The need for halls is growing. The number of Witnesses grew by over 1,900 between 1990 and 1993. There was a new peak of 8,392 in 174 congregations in June 1993. The attendance at the six “Divine Teaching” District Conventions (1993) was 19,433. There were 44,476 at the Memorial in April 1993. And Jehovah’s Witnesses are now the largest religious group in Carrefour, where the first Port-au-Prince congregation was formed.

Looking to the New World

Yes, an increasing number of people are realizing that God’s Kingdom is the only hope for removing mankind’s ills and that efforts to patch up this old world are only temporary. So they gladly receive the “good news of the kingdom”​—the good news of a better world.​—Matt. 24:14.

Jehovah’s Witnesses in Haiti are happy to help such people live a better life now by teaching them to apply God’s Word and by imparting to them the sure hope of everlasting life in Jehovah’s righteous new world.

[Chart on page 168]

(For fully formatted text, see publication)

Publishers

10,000

8,000

6,000

4,000

2,000

0

1950 1960 1970 1980 1993

Memorial Attendance

50,000

40,000

30,000

20,000

10,000

0

1950 1960 1970 1980 1993

[Map on page 116]

(For fully formatted text, see publication)

Port-au-Prince

St.-Marc

Cavaillon

Cap-Haïtien

Port-de-Paix

Gonaïves

Vieux-bourg-d’Aquin

Hinche

Cayes

[Picture on page 120]

Roland Fredette, who arrived in Haiti as a missionary in 1945, became the first branch overseer there

[Picture on page 122]

Congregation at Vieux-bourg-d’Aquin, in mid-1950’s

[Pictures on page 124]

Some of the early missionaries in Haiti: (1) David and Celia Homer, (2) Alex and Marigo Brodie, (3) Victor and Sandra Winterburn, (4) Peter Lukuc, (5) Fred Lukuc

[Pictures on page 126]

A few who were already zealous Witnesses in Haiti by the early 1950’s: (1) Rodrigue Médor, (2) Albert Jérome, (3) Dumoine Vallon, (4) Benoît Sterlin, (5) Diego Scotland

[Picture on page 132]

Gloria Hill, Naomi Adams, Helen D’Amico, and Frances Bailey made valuable contributions to the preaching activity in Haiti

[Picture on page 139]

Like some other early missionaries here, George and Thelma Corwin covered their territory on a motorcycle

[Picture on page 143]

Some early Kingdom proclaimers in Port-de-Paix: Special pioneers François Doccy and Jean Sénat in the rear; Rock St.-Gérard, his wife, and Lucianne Lublin in front

[Pictures on page 147]

In 1962 Max Danyleyko (above) and Andrew D’Amico (left) were arrested and deported

[Pictures on page 161]

Maxine Stump and Betty Wooten have each contributed more than 20 years to serving here where the need is great

[Picture on page 162]

This Assembly Hall at Santo serves most circuits in Haiti

[Picture on page 167]

Happy missionaries serving Kingdom interests in Haiti

[Picture on page 169]

Branch Committee (from left to right): Fulgens Gaspard, John Norman, Rodrigue Médor, Sénèque Raphaël

Poland

A COUNTRY of well-watered plains and rapidly growing cities. A country bordered by the Commonwealth of Independent States on the east, Slovakia and the Czech Republic on the south, Germany on the west, and the Baltic Sea on the northwest. Home to over 38 million people. This is Poland.

But in the case of music lovers, Poland brings other things to mind. It is associated with composers such as Frédéric Chopin as well as pianists such as Ignacy Jan Paderewski and Arthur Rubinstein. To scientists, Poland is the birthplace of Nicolaus Copernicus, who developed the theory that the earth moves around the sun and that, at the same time, it turns on its axis once a day. Madame Curie (Maria Skłodowska-Curie), a discoverer of radium, was also born in Poland, in Warsaw.

On the other hand, heartache has been part of the history of Poland. Though it once was an empire that extended across Europe from the Baltic down toward the Black Sea, for a hundred years it virtually disappeared from the map. After a brief existence as a republic following World War I, it was again dismembered and came under foreign domination during World War II. The Polish people were just clearing away the rubble of that war when, like other Central and Eastern European lands, Poland was cut off from the rest of the world by an “Iron Curtain.” However, in recent years that barrier has crumbled.

In 1985, Jehovah’s Witnesses around the globe began to hear reports of large international conventions of their Christian brothers in Poland. They later rejoiced over news that in 1991 the number of Witnesses in Poland had surpassed 100,000 and that twice that many had been at the commemoration of the Lord’s Evening Meal. Yet, how was this possible? After all, ever since 1950, when the Witnesses in Poland numbered only 18,116, their activity had been prohibited there.

In answering that question, we call to mind these words recorded by the prophet Isaiah: “Any weapon whatever that will be formed against you will have no success . . . This is the hereditary possession of the servants of Jehovah.”​—Isa. 54:17.

How the Bible Found Its Way to Poland

Poland has been considered a “Christian” country ever since 966 C.E., when Prince Mieszko I was baptized according to rites of the Roman Catholic Church. Mass baptisms of his subjects also took place​—not meaning, of course, that they suddenly became good Christians. Actually, people continued observing pagan Slavic traditions and superstitions for hundreds of years. Some still do.

For centuries after the country became Catholic, the Bible was not available to the Polish people, not even to the clergy. The Psałterz floriański (Florianski Psalter) of the 14th century and the Biblia królowej Zofii (Queen Zofia Bible) of the late 15th century are the oldest preserved Polish translations. But only one manuscript of each of these Bibles was made, and just a chosen few had access to them. In the 16th century, however, in many European countries, including Poland, religious views underwent drastic changes. Catholic dogma was challenged. The Holy Scriptures were increasingly viewed as the sole criterion. As a result, translators more frequently made the Bible available in vernacular languages so that the public could read it.

A Polish “New Testament” that appeared in 1574 used the Creator’s name, Jehowa (Jehovah), in several passages. It was published by Szymon Budny, who belonged to a small group of people desirous of adhering to God’s Word and who called themselves simply Christians or brethren. Later they adopted the name Polish Brethren. As a result of what they learned, they rejected the Trinity dogma.

In 1658, however, the Polish Sejm, or parliament, decreed that the Polish Brethren, under penalty of death, be given three years’ time​—and later a year was shaved off that period—​either to become Catholics or to leave the country. How did this come about?

A marked change had come over the land. For years, Poland had been a land known for its religious toleration. Victims of religious persecution in other lands had sought refuge in Poland. The oath administered to Polish kings from 1573 onward had included such guarantees as this: “I . . . promise and solemnly swear by Almighty God that . . . I will preserve and maintain peace and quiet among those that differ with regard to religion, and will not in any way . . . suffer anyone to be influenced or oppressed by reason of his religion.” Indeed, John II Casimir Vasa, during whose reign the Polish Brethren were banished, had taken that oath. But there can be no doubt that his training for the Jesuit priesthood, prior to his becoming king, influenced his attitude regarding religious freedom.

The Jesuits had begun operations in Poland in 1564, some 84 years before John Casimir came to the throne. They had shrewdly directed their influence toward the royal court. At the same time, they sought to gain control of the schools and thereby mold the thinking of the populace. The guarantee of religious freedom was gradually eroded. Those trained in the Jesuit-controlled schools were imbued with a spirit of religious intolerance, manifest in violent attacks on those who adhered to other faiths as well as on their homes and on their places of worship. The Bible came to be viewed as a forbidden book. During this period, Poland lost much of its territory. Surrounding nations seized one portion of the country and then another, until, in 1795, Poland as an independent nation disappeared from the map of Europe.

Once again, however, religious freedom has been established by law in Poland. No longer does the law forbid Roman Catholics to change to another religion, as it did under the Polish Constitution of 1791. As of 1993, the Constitution declares: “The Republic of Poland shall guarantee freedom of conscience and religion to its citizens.” More of the Polish people are availing themselves of that freedom and are turning to the Bible for direction. The Roman Catholic Church has been forced to abandon the policy of keeping God’s written Word away from the people. Since the end of World War II, several good Polish Bible translations have been published, and Jehovah’s Witnesses make good use of them. When the Witnesses share with others the good news of God’s Kingdom, many, like those noble-minded people referred to in the Bible at Acts 17:11, are eager to examine ‘whether these things are so.’

The Light of Truth Reaches Emigrants

As Poland came under the domination of other countries, conditions were at times very hard for the people. Many Poles, either willingly or unwillingly, moved abroad​—some to the United States. The religion of their parents, the one that had been inculcated in them at home and in church, was Roman Catholicism. A considerable number of them sought to preserve a national identity by practicing that faith. Hence the common notion that “a Pole is a Catholic.”

However, with their traditional environment left behind, some began to change their way of thinking. As an example, in a letter to the Watch Tower Society in 1891, C. Antoszewski (then living in Chicago, U.S.A.) explained that though he grew up in the Russian sector of partitioned Poland and was reared by Catholic parents, he had been searching for the truth. When he came into possession of some of the Watch Tower literature, he became convinced that he had found what he was seeking. Almost every evening, he translated information from the books for another man from Poland who had also been hungering for spiritual truth. As Jesus advised, they did not ‘hide this spiritual light under a basket.’ Together they began to visit other Polish families to share the good news with them.​—Matt. 5:3, 14-16.

Among the Polish immigrants were those who not only accepted precious Bible truths readily but also shared these with their family and friends in the Old Country. Some of them returned to the land of their birth in order to publicize the news of Christ’s presence. Under the heading “Progress of the Work Abroad,” Zion’s Watch Tower of June 15, 1895, reported: “Brother Oleszynski, a Polander who received the truth into a good and honest heart some three years ago, has gone to his native land to search out consecrated ones to preach to them the grand gospel of ransom, restitution and the high calling.”

At first they had to use whatever literature was available in English and German. But the work of sharing Bible truth with fellow Poles was greatly helped in 1909 when the Watch Tower Society published Polish tracts for free distribution. A condensed Polish edition of material from Studies in the Scriptures also appeared that year. And by 1915, The Watch Tower was being printed regularly in Polish each month.

Seeds of Truth Begin to Sprout

In the fall of 1905, the management of a Warsaw lace factory was taken over by a new director from Switzerland, a Bible Student named Mr. Bente. Despite having to communicate with his workers through an interpreter, he won their confidence, and his home became a meeting place for people who wanted to learn about genuine Christian brotherhood. Soon they were holding regular discussions, considering current events in the light of God’s Word and with the help of Bible literature.

This was a period of protest and turmoil in Russia. Polish territory under Russian control was affected as well. Still, an edict of the Russian czar in 1906 granted to all religious denominations the right to engage in peaceful religious activity.

Yet, the light of Bible truth scarcely penetrated the darkness and went largely unnoticed except by close relatives and acquaintances of people already interested in the Bible. Nonetheless, the light did seep out beyond Warsaw, and small groups were formed in other towns. These were visited several times by Brother H. Herkendell from the Society’s office in Barmen-Elberfeld, Germany, which supplied the groups with literature.

New Stimulus

In May 1910, Charles Taze Russell, the first president of the Watch Tower Society, paid a short visit to Warsaw. What a joy for the group of about 20 persons who came to hear him! Three of them were so enthusiastic that they applied for colporteur work, as pioneer service was then called. They succeeded in placing much literature and found people who were interested in learning about the upcoming end of “the times of the Gentiles.” (Luke 21:24, King James Version) In 1913 some of these who were showing interest in God’s Word formed a group in Łódź, as well as in other places.

Problems began to develop in Warsaw, however, in connection with holding public gatherings. The Russian police were becoming suspicious of anything that looked like preparations for an uprising. But a military official who had recently taken an interest in the truth intervened in behalf of the Bible Students, so that an edict was issued granting them legal recognition. When Poland regained its independence after World War I, that edict issued in 1913 by the military general who was governor of Warsaw provided a legal basis for the activities of the brothers.

For a time the Bible Students operated normally. Some longtime fighters for the truth still recall or remember hearing from their parents about brothers active in the pre-1914 Warsaw Congregation. Among them were Brothers Kącki, Kokosiński, Barcikowski, Rudaś, and Kremer. Brother Dojczman and Sister Maron were active in other areas.

When war broke out in 1914, difficult living conditions​—especially in the cities—​caused families in the Warsaw and Łódź groups to scatter. Nevertheless, the activity of the Bible Students did not come to a standstill. A small group still held meetings in a Warsaw apartment. In time this group found more people who were searching for the Biblical explanation of world events. For example, Bolesław Uchman was baptized in 1916 and then served as a pillar in the Warsaw Congregation for over half a century. By 1918 as many as 50 persons were attending public talks. Once the war was over and Polish-American brothers came to help, the work picked up momentum.

Flourishing Polish Congregations in the United States

Of all the foreign-language groups of Bible Students in the United States at that time, those of Polish origin were among the largest and most active.

Although the Bible Students in the United States were undergoing severe persecution, especially during 1918-19, the Polish group showed initiative in serving Jehovah in an organized way. At the beginning of 1919, they set up a legal corporation especially to care for the needs of the Polish-speaking congregations. They registered it in Detroit, Michigan. Its Polish name, Strażnica​—Towarzystwo Biblijne i Broszur, means “Watchtower Bible and Brochure Society.” It was not designed to compete with the parent corporation, Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society. The Detroit office was simply viewed as the Society’s Polish branch. It was meant to supply the congregations with spiritual food from the organization and to provide encouragement to faithfulness during a difficult time, as well as to help spread Bible truth in Poland.

As early as 1920, this corporation arranged for ten traveling representatives, called pilgrims, to visit Polish congregations. The 622 public lectures they delivered were attended by 211,692 persons. Polish colporteurs numbered 36. The Polish Watch Tower appeared regularly twice a month. Congregations were able to replenish their supplies of booklets as well as of volumes of Studies in the Scriptures in Polish. In 1921 a new songbook, Hymns of the Millennial Dawn, appeared. A translation of the booklet Millions Now Living Will Never Die was received with enthusiasm, and within a year 45,545 copies had been distributed. Moreover, a seventh volume of the Studies was published, as was the book The Harp of God, some time later.

The Polish brothers had no desire to be independent of their English-speaking brothers. Thus, in January 1921 the directors of the Detroit corporation chose J. F. Rutherford, who was then president of the parent corporation, to be their president. Later, in July, during the corporation’s general meeting, the decision was made to merge with the Society’s Pennsylvania corporation. From then on, it was even more evident that the Detroit office served as a branch of the Watch Tower Society. In May 1922 that branch moved to Brooklyn, which since October 1919 had again been the Society’s center of activity. The Polish Watch Tower, as well as books and booklets, was thereafter published in Brooklyn.

Because of the zeal shown by the Polish brothers as well as their respect for the organization that Jehovah was using, Jehovah blessed their efforts. For example, the 1921 Memorial of Christ’s death was celebrated in Polish in the United States in 65 places, with a total attendance of 2,942. A year later, 73 Polish congregations and groups reported Memorial celebrations. And in 1923 the Chicago Polish Congregation had 675 persons in attendance, the fourth-largest figure in the world; only in New York City (906), London (1,029), and Los Angeles (850) were attendances higher for any language.

The effects of this were also felt in Poland. In greater numbers than ever before, the Polish brothers began visiting their families in the Old Country, explaining Bible truths to them and sometimes even staying to form congregations. This became easier in 1921, when Poland adopted a democratic constitution. Although the Roman Catholic Church was given a privileged position, freedom of conscience and religion was guaranteed for all.

In ever-increasing numbers, Watch Tower publications were sent to Poland. To facilitate the work there, announcement was made in 1919 of plans to establish a branch office in Warsaw. The office began operation in 1921.

False Brothers Sought to Subvert Faith

During World War I, the brothers in the Polish sector of Russia had been cut off from contact with the outside world. It was not until 1919, for example, over two years after the fact, that the Warsaw Congregation received news of Brother Russell’s death​—and even then, only through private channels. Unsettling rumors about divisions among the brothers in America also arrived, and these caused difficulties, especially when a representative of an opposition group traveled from the United States to Warsaw to influence the group there. By drawing away most of the brothers for themselves, the opposers gained control of the legal corporation that was then being used by the brothers in Poland. Among other things, this resulted in the loss of the meeting place of the Warsaw Congregation.

Happily, however, loyal Polish brothers in America also arranged to send a delegation to Poland. It consisted of W. Kołomyjski, a pilgrim, or traveling speaker, who was chairman of the Society’s Michigan corporation, and C. Kasprzykowski. Arriving in Poland in 1920, they were joyfully received by brothers in Warsaw.

Having lost their regular meeting place, the remaining brothers rented movie theaters for congregation studies and public talks. Sunday public discourses were advertised in newspapers and by handbills distributed on the streets. Despite the problems the brothers had faced, prospects for progress looked bright.

That same year Satan struck another blow. War broke out between Soviet Russia and Poland, causing inflation on a scale heretofore unknown. This greatly hampered the work. Also at that critical time, Brother Kołomyjski came down with typhoid. After recuperating, he returned to the United States, where he continued to serve as a pilgrim.

At the request of the Warsaw brothers, the Society kept Brother Kasprzykowski in Poland as its representative. He showed great initiative, accomplishing, for example, the registration of the Bible Students Association Group II. This Group II was composed of brothers loyal to the Society; it replaced the former corporation, which was in the hands of the opposition. With legal recognition once again, the Bible Students could organize public talks on a grander scale. During 1921 these talks were sometimes attended by as many as 700 people. Also, the brothers located a building to use as a new hall, and after remodeling, it seated more than 400 persons.

At the first general convention (October 30 to November 2, 1921), 500 were in attendance from various parts of Poland, and 14 got baptized. The following year, Memorial attendance, at 32 locations throughout the country, reached 657! That same year several conventions were held, at which 108 individuals presented themselves for water immersion. The work was moving ahead at a good pace.

Was He Slandering the Pope?

Jan Kusina returned from the United States to Kraków, a large city in the territory of former Austria-Hungary, in 1920. Though himself new in the truth, he quickly managed to generate interest among a small group of sincere people. But he was arrested and charged with slandering the pope. In fact, however, all he had done was to share Bible truths with others. In court he relied on the Bible to defend himself. The judge, a fair-minded man, acquitted him.

About the same time, Józef Krett, a pilgrim brother from the United States who visited Warsaw and Kraków, reported that schoolchildren were being instructed to amend their catechism prayer so that they said: “From sudden death, hunger, fire, war, and the pestilence of American heresy, preserve us, O Lord.”

Theologians Try to Discredit Bible Students

Another repatriate, Brother Winiarz, a wealthy but self-sacrificing man, bought a house in Kraków to use as a meeting place. In 1922 that house served as the site of a debate between three brothers and three Catholic theologians.

The previous year Franciszek Puchała had returned from America and privately published a leaflet containing a list of 13 church doctrines. He offered 10,000 Polish marks to anyone for each doctrine that the person could prove to be based on the Holy Scriptures. Included were immortality of the human soul, hellfire, purgatory, sacrifice of the Mass, celibacy of the clergy, confession to priests, use of the rosary, and so forth. “It was like poking a stick into an anthill,” Brother Puchała later wrote.

The clergy, speaking through Catholic papers, demanded a public renunciation of the leaflet. Otherwise, they declared, they would prosecute Franciszek Puchała for slandering the church. Not to be intimidated, he called for a public discussion.

After consulting the Roman Curia, the clergy agreed to a discussion, but only behind closed doors, ‘because of the sacred nature of the things involved,’ as they put it. Brother Puchała agreed. So sure were the clergy that they would win that they arranged to have present a lawyer who was to launch legal action against the brothers as soon as they were defeated. Arrogantly the church newspaper declared: “We will see who is right​—the centuries-old Roman Catholic Church or this pitiful handful of misled creatures who are incapable of even correctly reading the Holy Scriptures.”

The well-known Jesuit theologian Jan Rostworowski led the Catholic delegation, accompanied by two other priests. The Bible Students were represented by Franciszek Puchała and two other brothers. Stenographers, as well as several persons to serve as witnesses, were also present. The Jesuits came equipped with two large suitcases full of books. The brothers had only their Bibles and Greek and Hebrew dictionaries.

The clergymen asked that point 13 on the leaflet (immortality of the soul) be considered first. After two hours or so, the theologians excused themselves, saying they had no more time, and left. Although never publicly conceding defeat, they did confess in a newspaper article: “We must admit that the Bible Students . . . are not totally ignorant.”

The entire discussion was published in a booklet entitled Bitwa na niebie (The Battle in the Heavens), which had an initial circulation of 10,000 copies and was reprinted a number of times. The traditionally religious community of Kraków along with the surrounding area was forced to sit up and take notice. The result? By 1923, there were 69 persons present for the Memorial celebration in Kraków.

The clergy, of course, never forgave Brother Puchała for publicly undermining the authority of the Roman Catholic Church. They tried everything possible to make his life difficult. A policeman was sent to take notes at meetings held in his home, and he was later hauled into court several times. More than once hired killers threatened his life, but Jehovah protected him.

During a sermon in the village of Wawrzeńczyce, a priest incited the people to attack Brother Puchała with wooden clubs when he came to give a discourse. A group of overly zealous women were anxious to do the priest’s bidding. They lay in wait for Brother Puchała from early morning until late afternoon. When he arrived, he addressed them calmly, saying: “The one among you without sin should strike me with her club first.” Eventually the women withdrew. Upon returning home, however, they were struck by their husbands with the very clubs they had taken to use on Brother Puchała. Why? Because the husbands were upset at having been forced to wait so long for dinner!

Store Owner Shares Truth With Schoolteacher

In 1919 the owner of a large shoe store in the textile center of Łódź went to Gdańsk for medical treatment. There this businesswoman, Mrs. Mandowa, heard the truth from the Holy Scriptures for the first time. She accepted it into an honest heart. She returned home with a stack of the Society’s literature and enthusiastically spoke to friends and acquaintances about what she read. Her arguments deeply impressed a young teacher who was urged by a friend to attend meetings with her.

In 1920 this teacher, Wilhelm Scheider, arranged to be transferred from a rural area to Łódź so that he could have closer contact with the small group of interested persons there. Mrs. Mandowa later became a Bible Student, and the group meeting with her was supported by brothers who occasionally came by train from Gdańsk, 240 miles [390 km] away. Study of the Society’s publications along with the Bible likewise convinced Mr. Scheider that he had found the truth. Despite trials and tribulations, he faithfully built his life around it until the end of his earthly course in 1971.

Giving a Bold Public Witness in Łódź

At first the activity of the Łódź group was rather limited as to any public witnessing. But after Sister Mandowa died in 1922, the problems involved with her funeral marked a turning point. The clergy refused to grant permission for burial in the cemetery. This gave rise to a storm in the media. After a three-day struggle in which even the police had to intervene, a burial plot was obtained in a small Muslim cemetery. About one thousand persons attended the funeral, curious to find out what the Bible Students really believed. The Scriptural talk, delivered by a brother from Gdańsk, was the first public witness ever given in Łódź.

From then on, public discourses were arranged more frequently and were advertised in the newspapers. Movie theaters were rented for these meetings. At first these were large enough, but soon even the largest theater in that city of 500,000 inhabitants was too small. Meanwhile, small groups were meeting in private homes to study the Bible and Bible-based literature. Since many of the people in Łódź were of German and Jewish origin, the public talks and the smaller meetings were held in both Polish and German.

Hundreds, if not thousands, of those who attended these public talks in Łódź were, as the disciple James expressed it, “hearers only” but not “doers of the word.” (Jas. 1:22) Nonetheless, the attendance at the Memorial had jumped from 25 persons in 1922 to 92 in 1924. And in 1924, after having remodeled an unused factory in the center of the city, the brothers in Łódź had a beautiful hall to use for their first convention. On that occasion about 200 were present.

At this time the brothers were concentrating on the new work of inviting people to see the “Photo-Drama of Creation,” a film that had just begun to be shown in Poland in the early 1920’s. The complete program consisted of four two-hour presentations. Such large crowds wanted to see it that, despite having engaged the biggest halls, the brothers had to repeat the showings many times.

Public Meetings Bring Growth in Poznań

In 1910, at 18 years of age, Teofil Szmidt had left his home near Radomsko and moved to Germany to find work. There in 1914 he heard about the Bible Students and went to see the “Photo-Drama of Creation.” He got satisfying information on two subjects that had been of concern to him for a long time: Christ’s return and the end of the world.

Later, after moving back to the part of Poland then controlled by Prussia, he contacted a group in Poznań who were reading the books written by C. T. Russell. Though not yet baptized, he took the lead in the study sessions there and continued to make progress. In 1918, during a visit by Brother Kujat from Berlin, Teofil Szmidt got baptized and also became a servant in Poznań’s first congregation. During the next few years, he was zealous about organizing public meetings. By the time he left Poznań in 1922, the congregation had grown to some 20 regular members.

Then Brother Kącki moved from Warsaw in order to care for the congregation in Poznań. He had learned the truth before 1914, at a time when, as a gifted sculptor, he was about to go to Paris for university training. Instead, he devoted himself to Jehovah’s service. Zealously he rented halls in Poznań at his own expense and gave encouraging Bible discourses. As a result, by 1924 attendance at the Memorial celebration in Poznań had risen to 91. That same year, there were 281 in Warsaw, as well as 625 who attended in 13 other Polish cities and towns if we count only groups where at least 20 persons were present. Future growth seemed assured. But serious trials of faith lay ahead.

The Year 1925​—A Time of Division

Although Brother Kasprzykowski had performed valuable service in behalf of the brothers after World War I, pride later became a stumbling block for him. His resenting counsel was an early evidence of this pride; later, he became an outright opposer of his former brothers. When The Watch Tower began to emphasize ever more pointedly the responsibility of each one to share in preaching the good news, he found willing ears among those who wanted to do no more than listen.

For a while the Warsaw Congregation continued to make a pretense of unity by meeting together, but they were sharply divided. The situation came to a head at the time of the Memorial in 1925. Out of about 300 brothers, only 30 continued loyal to the Society.

Soon other congregations were engulfed. Of some 150 persons in Łódź, only 3 brothers and 6 sisters loyally continued to meet together for study of God’s Word with the help of the Watch Tower publications. They also shared in the field service, making good use of the Golden Age magazine (now Awake!), which began publication in Polish in 1925.

Many indecisive or confused ones, upon seeing the spirituality and zeal of this small group in Łódź, returned to the organization. That summer the congregation in Łódź took the lead in following the Society’s instructions to arrange for “missionary” groups to witness in distant territories. Some of the places where they arranged for public talks were as far as 90 miles [150 km] away.

Nevertheless, the problems were not over. Throughout the country, there were some whose motivation for serving God was considerably influenced by the belief that they would receive their heavenly reward by 1925 at the latest. Many of these became spiritually weak or fell away after that year passed. During that period, various opposition groups were actively trying to gain control of the congregations or at least to weaken them. Three of these opposition groups exist till this day. Nevertheless, as the years passed, it became obvious who had God’s blessing and were ‘preaching the good news of God’s Kingdom,’ as outlined in the Scriptures.​—Matt. 24:14.

Following these crises, the work being done under the direction of “the faithful and discreet slave” had to start almost anew. There were more obstacles; yet there were positive results too.​—Matt. 24:45-47.

The Work Gains Greater Stability

The situation in Warsaw did not offer promise of being quickly normalized. Brother Wnorowski was sent to Poland, but after a year or so, he tired of the situation and returned to America. Then Brother Szwed was put in charge of the office in Warsaw; but after a year he was replaced by Wacław Narodowicz, who, though he was a fine speaker, did not like office work and, after a year, preferred to return to the field.

During this difficult time, the brothers loyal to the Society had no legal agency through which they could arrange public lectures, much less assemblies. The original corporation was in the hands of opposers, and now even Bible Students Association Group II was under the control of apostates, Kasprzykowski and his followers. The authorities refused to consider the idea of a third group, so the situation was deadlocked.

But Jehovah listened to the prayers of his loyal servants and provided a solution. A modest man named Całka, who had learned the truth before World War I, had been registered in Warsaw as a member of the original corporation of Bible Students. At one time he had stumbled spiritually, but at this critical moment, he took the initiative to renew his association with the congregation. He also consented to hand over his plenipotentiary authority to Wilhelm Scheider. This was of great help to the brothers “in the defending and legally establishing of the good news.”​—Phil. 1:7.

In 1927 the Society sent to Poland a pleasant and capable brother who had visited congregations in the United States and France as a pilgrim. This brother, Ludwik Kuźma, encouraged many to zealous activity. But by the time he returned to America, he well realized that closer contact with the Society’s headquarters was needed. Consequently, Brother Rutherford decided to make certain organizational adjustments.

Since Brother Narodowicz had left the Warsaw office, Paul Balzereit was dispatched from the Society’s office in Germany to find someone in Poland who would work along with the office in Germany in caring for Jehovah’s servants in Poland. At that time, the Łódź Congregation was taking a fine lead in the field ministry, so Brother Balzereit asked Wilhelm Scheider, in Łódź, if he would accept the assignment. However, Brother Scheider humbly suggested Edward Rüdiger, who was then a translator of the Golden Age magazine, and Brother Rüdiger did care for the responsibility for almost a year.

When travel restrictions made it impossible for the brothers in Germany to give further help in Poland, general supervision of theocratic activities in Poland was put under the Society’s Central European Office, in Bern, Switzerland. From there, in 1928, Martin Harbeck went to Poland, once again to locate someone qualified to serve as overseer for the Polish field. Again, Brother Scheider was asked to accept the assignment, and this time he did.

Steady growth was now evident. In 1927, Memorial attendance had been 1,101 persons, but only 76 of these had reported any share in preaching the good news. By the end of 1928, there had been 24 congregations organized for service, and 256 publishers had been regularly reporting activity. In 1929 the number of congregations organized to preach the Kingdom message reached 40, and in 1930 there were 55.

From time to time, in accordance with Society instructions, these congregations organized weeks of increased activity. In 1929, for the first time, some of the colporteurs were transferred to southeastern parts of Poland to share Kingdom truths with the Ukrainians there. Said the 1930 Yearbook: “More and more the brethren recognize that they are called, not to sit down with the Lord in the vineyard, but to work with him.”

A Time for Sifting

Meanwhile, the space that was being rented for the office in Warsaw was no longer adequate. The search for something else in that city brought no results; everything was too expensive. So it was decided to move the office to Łódź.

A temporary office was set up there in the congregation’s meeting place. Finally, in 1932, a suitable building was found at 24 Rzgowska Street. The congregations were told what funds would be needed in order to obtain it, but the brothers, previously so willing to sacrifice, failed to respond. The owner agreed to postpone payment, even though he had other buyers. Once again the brothers were informed of the situation. Again there was no response. Why?

Before the answer came to light, Jehovah provided help from another source. Three days before the payment deadline, Sister Scheider was able to borrow the needed money from her comparatively wealthy stepsister, even though the stepsister had not been favorably disposed toward the truth.

Soon it became apparent, however, why the congregations had been hesitant about providing funds to buy a building in Łódź. Wacław Narodowicz, who was serving as a pilgrim, had been traveling throughout Poland arguing that the office should be left in Warsaw and should again be under his management. He solicited money to obtain an office location in Warsaw and asked that the money be given to him. Although failing in his objective, Narodowicz did cause many brothers to become disturbed. He later turned apostate.

It was a time when “unsteady souls” who followed men, instead of clinging to Jehovah and his organization, were sifted out. (2 Pet. 2:14, 15) A big factor in this involved the activity associated with adoption of the name Jehovah’s Witnesses. Not everyone wanted to witness. But those who remained with the organization gave evidence of the genuineness of their love for Jehovah. This was important, because the 1930’s​—and the years thereafter—​proved to be years during which Jehovah’s Witnesses in Poland had to fight for survival. This was a time when the truthfulness of Isaiah 54:17 was repeatedly demonstrated​—yes, many ‘weapons were formed’ against Jehovah’s servants, but none of these succeeded in stamping out true worship.

Attacks and Counterattacks

The Roman Catholic clergy resorted with increasing frequency to slander against Jehovah’s servants, especially in the press. They also demanded that the people turn in any literature received from the Bible Students so that it could be publicly burned. An instance of this that received much publicity took place in Chojnice. The public prosecutor’s office there charged Brother Śmieszko, a local pioneer, with blasphemy by means of printed material. The trial, in 1933, was attended by a large crowd. A Catholic priest named Janke was called to testify. He had a Ph.D. and was a teacher of religion in the local high school. Brother Scheider represented the Society. Immortality of the soul, eternal torment, and purgatory were among the subjects discussed. Afterward, Mr. Janke, acknowledging defeat, approached Brother Scheider, shook his hand, and said that never again would he allow himself to get involved in such a case.

The Kraków newspaper Ilustrowany Kurier Codzienny (Illustrated Daily Courier) joined in the attack upon the Witnesses, falsely accusing them of being covert Communists who sang Bolshevik songs, were trained in the Soviet Union, and received payment from there. In this instance, the brothers took the newspaper’s responsible ones to court, and the editor was punished.

Mieczysław Skrudlik, a Jesuit, personally published booklets that slandered the Witnesses. But when he was taken to court, he claimed that he was ill. Three times he asked that the case be postponed. In the meantime, he moved several times and could no longer be located.

Attacks by the clergy were not all verbal, however. They and their henchmen also resorted to violence, repeatedly so. When the Witnesses engaged in their house-to-house ministry, opposers attacked them. The opposers used fists, feet, sticks, and stones, destroying Bible literature and leaving the Witnesses bloody or unconscious on the ground. Witnesses traveling to distant territories to preach were intercepted, beaten, and ducked in water; their bicycles and motorcycles were smashed; their literature was confiscated and destroyed.

A longtime pioneer, Bolesław Zawadzki, wrote in his memoirs that when a meeting was being held at his parents’ home in Kielce, a mob of 2,000 angry, shouting people surrounded the house and hurled stones. Wheelbarrows were used to bring up fresh supplies. Not until long after midnight did the “game” end. The stones that had come through the roof filled six carts when gathered up! In an attempt to ward off this wave of persecution, the brothers sometimes succeeded in having the actual perpetrators punished. Less often they were able to bring to justice the real instigators, the clergy.

Blessings of Proper Organization

Especially from the late 1920’s onward, greater help was given to the congregations in connection with the field ministry. Congregations were assigned specific field service territories. Regional service directors, sent to visit each congregation, not only gave talks but also trained the brothers in the field ministry. This arrangement was helpful and refreshing. One of these zealous and self-sacrificing brothers, Ludwik Kinicki, is still remembered by many old-timers.

The pioneers​—some 30 to 50 at the time—​also displayed a spirit of self-sacrifice. Gladly they preached even in remote territories where there were no congregations, and they walked many miles because only a few had bicycles. They were permitted to keep some of the contributions received for literature, and in some instances they had very little additional income. In wintertime, they often slept in a haystack or on straw spread over the floor in a barn, with their coat as a covering.

The people they met, although good-hearted, frequently had little knowledge of the Bible or of secular history. During a conversation with a group of villagers, Stefan Milewski recalls mentioning that by birth Jesus was a Jew. The people were indignant, and he barely escaped a beating. Angrily they shouted: “The Lord Jesus was a Pole and a Catholic!”

Still, the Witnesses continued to show zeal in searching for sheeplike ones. In 1932 they spent 103,323 hours in the ministry, placed 177,505 books and booklets, 2,101 Bibles, and 87,455 copies of The Golden Age. This led a Warsaw newspaper to comment: “The Bible Students in Poland could hardly number more than 600,000, and of this small number there appears to be so much agitation as is not observed in any other religion.” Actually, at that time the number of active Witnesses numbered only about 600! But in the eyes of some onlookers, the little one had already become a thousand.​—Compare Isaiah 60:22.

The Struggle Intensifies

The Catholic clergy continued to exert pressure on the authorities to stop the Witnesses. The charges they leveled against the Witnesses were always the same: spreading Communist propaganda, soliciting without a license, violating the Sunday sabbath, and blaspheming the church and its teachings. In 1933 about 100 cases of police stopping publishers were reported. There were also 41 instances of severe beatings at the hands of fanatical mobs. Two years later, there were 3,000 cases in which the clergy denounced the Witnesses to the police. When charges based on one ordinance did not bring results, the clergy resorted to another, and another, and another. But even before the cases came to trial, most of them were dropped as being without substance; others resulted in acquittal.

The brothers could not afford to hire lawyers every time they were arrested. But the Society’s office provided them with legal counsel. It sent them hundreds of documents with information about appeals, favorable decisions, and cases that set valuable precedents. In accord with the instructions provided, when the brothers were in court, they emphasized the preaching of the good news of God’s Kingdom instead of stressing legal technicalities. For a few serious cases, however, there were lawyers who made themselves available to defend the brothers.

To counteract charges of peddling, the Society issued cards stating the individual’s authorization to preach on the basis of freedom of conscience and religion. For Witness children who attended public schools and who were often not promoted from one class to the next because of their refusal to attend obligatory religion classes, the Society issued special certificates. These verified that the child had taken a religious course in his own religious community and had received such and such grades. Consequently, many congregations operated “Sunday schools” for several years. After much effort by the brothers, the Ministry of Education and Religious Denominations enacted a decree obliging school authorities to accept these certificates. Once the grades were entered on school records, the child could be promoted.

Some public officials clearly discerned the religious intolerance that motivated charges against Jehovah’s Witnesses. Thus, the state attorney of the court of appeal in Toruń, in a case involving a Witness, rejected the charge of blasphemy, demanded acquittal, and declared that Jehovah’s Witnesses were taking the same stand as did the early Christians. In another case, the state attorney of the court of appeal of Poznań refused to prosecute a Witness who was charged with referring to the clergy as part of “Satan’s organization.” (Compare John 8:44.) He himself pointed to the papal court of Alexander VI, from which it was well-known that a grossly immoral spirit had spread out. He then contrasted this with the fine conduct of Jehovah’s Witnesses and their zeal in serving Jehovah.

Trying to Stop the Flow of Literature

Again and again, the clergy endeavored to cut off the flow of literature that Jehovah’s Witnesses were using in their activity. When possible, the clergy manipulated government officials to do their bidding. For example, in 1930 they persuaded the minister of the interior to cancel our postal rights for the Golden Age magazine, which fearlessly exposed religious hypocrisy. But only a few weeks later, the minister was forced from office, and his successor once again permitted The Golden Age to be imported and to be circulated by mail.

Those who opposed the Witnesses finally succeeded in blocking all importation of The Golden Age from Switzerland. So, in 1933, the brothers undertook printing it in Łódź. Each time the clergy brought pressure to bear on a printer so that he would no longer work for the brothers, they found someone else who was glad to do it. This happened repeatedly, until, following many confiscations ordered by the censorship office, a ban was imposed on the magazine itself. After appealing this decision, the brothers kept right on publishing The Golden Age until the ban was upheld and Augustyn Raczek, the magazine’s editor, was sentenced to a year in prison.

It might have seemed to the opposers that they had achieved their aim. However, the brothers did not give up. The last issue of The Golden Age was dated September 1, 1936. On October 1 of that same year, it was replaced by a new magazine printed in Warsaw. Entitled Nowy Dzień (New Day), it continued to publish articles that exposed corruption and religious hypocrisy and that upheld Bible truth. It was printed in Warsaw until the outbreak of World War II.

In the meantime, in 1937, the minister of the interior imposed a ban on The Watchtower, which was used by Jehovah’s Witnesses along with the Bible in their congregation meetings. There was nothing in The Watchtower that was subversive, but the Catholic clergy did not want it to be circulated in what they viewed as their domain. Our brothers, however, determined to “obey God as ruler rather than men,” began reproducing it in mimeographed form.​—Acts 5:29.

At this time, Bishop Jasiński from Łódź, backed by Catholic Action,a set up “An Office Against Religious Minorities.” This agency, in turn, systematically worked its own people into the highest governmental offices. One of their objectives was to confiscate all Watch Tower literature. Despite the risk of being caught, the Witnesses went ahead and published two new brochures. Penalties were imposed by the authorities. But who was behind the action? Rather than secular laws, canonical laws of the Catholic Church were often used to press charges. It would be hard to find better proof that the whole campaign was carried out under the direction of the Catholic hierarchy.

During 1937, Catholic Action was responsible for violence against the Witnesses in 75 instances; in 2 of these, brothers were murdered. Of 263 court cases, 99 ended in acquittal and 71 in sentencing. The rest were postponed. Literature was confiscated in 129 instances, but the brothers fought successfully to have it returned in 99 cases. The 1938 Yearbook report noted: “All the Lord’s people in this land are determined to carry on the witness work regardless of whether it pleases men or not, remembering . . . that ‘we must obey God rather than man.’”

That is certainly how the publishers in the 121 service-oriented congregations felt about it. On a monthly average, some 800 publishers were reporting, and during Memorial month there were 1,040! But the opposers were determined to strike a lethal blow. Undoubtedly they thought they had done it when on March 22, 1938, the authorities sealed shut the doors of our Łódź office. Publications could no longer be sent by post or by railway courier; both senders and recipients were liable to punishment. The Witnesses wanted to appeal to a higher court, but a favorably disposed high official confidentially told them that it would be in vain. The “spirit of the times” had changed, he said, and even if the Witnesses won the case, the minister of the interior would make sure that their activities throughout the country were strongly restricted. So it was decided not to pursue the matter further in the courts but to trust in Jehovah and to press forward in other ways.

As it happened, when sealing our office, the police had overlooked an emergency exit in the literature storage room. So day by day, Bethel workers removed Bible literature, eventually tons of it, and distributed it to the congregations. In addition to the literature in Polish, there were also publications in Ukrainian, Russian, German, and Yiddish.

The brothers in the field wholeheartedly cooperated in storing up large quantities of the literature for use in the troublesome times ahead. For example, Józef Włodarczyk from the Lublin area accepted 12,000 booklets, many books, 500 Bibles, 500 “New Testaments,” 500 songbooks, and 250 phonograph records, which he then carefully concealed. Other brothers did the same, and this proved most useful during the war, when there were no new deliveries.

The 1938 ban gave the brothers more than a year to prepare for carrying on the work underground during the difficult years of World War II. They divided the country into zones, each with a number of congregations. Each zone was supervised by the most zealous local brothers and was responsible for mimeographing literature, especially The Watchtower, for its congregations. This was the only “fresh food” that the congregations received. This organizational system successfully met the challenge later presented by the chaos of war.

War Strikes!

World War II erupted on September 1, 1939. The last report dispatched from Poland indicated that there were 1,039 publishers. How would they fare?

During the occupation, Poland was divided into three regions. The western section was annexed by the German Reich. The middle part, including the cities of Warsaw, Kraków, Lublin, and later Lviv, was called the General Gouvernement and was put under German administration. The eastern part was annexed by the Soviet Union. Conditions differed from one region to another.

In the western section, the German Gestapo arrested anyone known to be one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. The totalitarian Nazi system dealt cruelly with anyone not totally submissive to it. The Witnesses as advocates of God’s Kingdom were viewed as foes. To be found with a single issue of The Watchtower or to be found in the same photograph with a Witness was taken as proof that a person was a criminal. Brutal means were used to force Witnesses to divulge the names and addresses of their spiritual brothers and sisters. Those who refused to betray their brothers or to sign a declaration renouncing their faith were sent to concentration camps. Very few compromised. Even the persecutors marveled at the loyalty of these servants of Jehovah.

In Łódź the Gestapo arrested Brother Scheider and many others and put them into camps. From Poznań 69 brothers and sisters were sent to German camps; 22 were killed. Despite this, so many people in Poznań learned the truth during the war that afterward a strong congregation emerged. Its zeal spread to neighboring territories and helped to rebuild the organization in western Poland.

Of course, the brothers suffered in many other cities and smaller towns also. For example, from Wisła, a mountain resort of about 6,000 inhabitants at that time, 51 brothers and sisters were taken to concentration camps. Only 13 returned.

Jehovah Did Not Forsake His People

That the Creator protected his people during this time of severe persecution is evident. For them, victory depended not on survival but on faithfulness​—until death if necessary. (Rev. 2:10) One brother relates that he was relentlessly beaten for many hours, especially on the back and in the kidney region. But he endured despite attempts to force him to denounce other brothers and to betray organizational matters. The ill-treatment was repeated the next day, only this time it was much worse. On the third day, his swollen and battered body reacted to the blows with excruciating pain. The brother prayed to Jehovah for relief, even for death. Suddenly the Gestapo agent who was flogging him broke out in a fit of swearing, dropped his whip, and departed. What had happened?

Several days later the brother spotted this man in the corridor with a bandaged hand. Fellow prisoners told the brother that the agent had broken his forefinger​—evidently while flogging.

The Witnesses who managed to avoid arrest did not let themselves be scattered. They met together in small groups to study the Bible and The Watchtower. The magazines that they received usually came from brothers in Germany; then they mimeographed or copied these by hand. Fritz Otto took an active part in the underground work in Łódź throughout this period of occupation, maintaining contacts with Poznań, Bydgoszcz, and Gdańsk. Although the line of communication was occasionally cut by adversaries, communication was never shut down for very long.

In the General Gouvernement

The situation in the central and southern parts of Poland was different. There the officials did not hunt down and persecute Jehovah’s Witnesses quite as furiously, so while always taking precautionary measures, the brothers worked vigorously. They prepared stencils for The Watchtower in Warsaw; then the responsible ones in each zone did the mimeographing, using the primitive duplicating devices that were available. Various methods were used to smuggle master copies of the literature. Sometimes even German soldiers whose families were in the truth unknowingly served as couriers when they returned to the eastern front after being home on leave.

There were many heartrending experiences too. In December 1942, German police in Warsaw caught Stefan Milewski and Jan Gontkiewicz when they were mimeographing. They were promptly sent to the concentration camp at Majdanek and then to Buchenwald. At that, Ludwik Kinicki, who was supervising the activity of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the entire area known as the General Gouvernement, took over their duties. Two years later, in 1944, he was arrested, and by the end of the year, he had died in the concentration camp at Gusen, Austria. Had the enemy won? By no means! Those brothers, all of them, had remained unwaveringly loyal to Jehovah. And as for their opposers, these had been given opportunity to demonstrate before the heavenly Judge their attitude toward rulership by God.​—Job 31:14; Rom. 14:12.

During this time of terror, people were easily intimidated. Everyone was suspicious of everyone else. To prevent needless problems, the brothers exercised great caution in inviting people to meetings or in introducing them to other interested ones. But the Witnesses were zealous, Jehovah blessed them, and new groups sprouted like mushrooms.

Sometimes the opportunities to witness were unexpected. In the late fall of 1940, an interested person in Wojkowice Komorne, Katowice district, died. He had previously expressed his desire to be buried by Jehovah’s Witnesses, so a brother prepared to express a few words of consolation at the home of the deceased. But a large crowd gathered in the cemetery. Upon seeing them, our brother simply could not hold back; for more than an hour, he spoke about the Scriptural hope for the dead. From then on, the Witnesses always held their funerals on Sundays so that as many people as possible might hear the Bible’s message.

Preaching in cities was usually done informally, but in rural areas, especially around Lublin, the publishers began to engage in house-to-house work again even before the war ended. However, in order to avoid attracting undue attention, they would start their conversation by asking, for example, about the possibility of buying something. The reply often opened the way to discuss spiritual matters.

Some congregations organized witnessing excursions to remote villages, where they discovered that wartime experiences had changed former attitudes. Many people, including youths, were now eager to listen. The literature that the brothers still had was put to good use, and new congregations were formed.

Of course, Satan endeavored to stop this expansion of pure worship. One way that he did so was by making use of guerrilla groups. Some of them, at the instigation of Catholic priests, began fighting not only the German occupation forces but also the Witnesses, bringing a new trial of faith. The brothers’ homes were raided at night. Men, women, and children were beaten and ordered to cross themselves, to kiss the cross, and to hang “holy” images on their walls. The intruders plundered and destroyed. Some families experienced such attacks repeatedly. A number of brothers were forced to go into hiding in order to stay alive.

A “New Deal” in the Soviet Sector

A large section of eastern Poland had been annexed by the Soviet Union in September 1939. This meant that about half of our publishers, including Polish and Ukrainian as well as a few Russian and Jewish Witnesses, were cut off from the rest of the organization. Although they were zealous, their spirituality was threatened by a lack of fresh spiritual food. They tried to establish contact with the organization through Slovakia, but this proved to be extremely difficult.

Thus it was that a number of congregations became involved in a “new deal.” Initially, its goal was to help the brothers adapt to their new situation. It stressed the need of being separate from the world and of leading a life in “splendors of holiness.” (Ps. 110:3) This “new deal” spread from Lviv by way of Lublin as far as Warsaw. However, instead of being counseled simply to apply carefully what is stated in God’s Word, they were soon being urged to engage in activities that were merely the idea of an individual.

Under this influence, for example, a group of disoriented publishers swept down on the military headquarters in German-occupied Białystok, removed the swastika from its roof, and replaced it with a white flag. They were arrested and executed that very same day. These events were a painful reminder of what can occur when an individual takes too much on himself, going beyond what is written in the Scriptures and beyond the example set by Christ and his apostles, not looking to “the faithful and discreet slave” for direction.​—Matt. 24:45.

A Final Test Before the Postwar Era

Just before the end of the war, a new challenge faced the brothers. As the eastern front drew ever closer, people were ordered to dig antitank trenches. As Christian neutrals, Jehovah’s Witnesses could not conscientiously participate, and they refused to do so even under threat of death. Dozens of them, some new in the truth, were shot to death, and this publicly. Yet, this too served as a witness because others became aware that Jehovah’s Witnesses had a faith so strong that they would rather die than abandon their God.

Finally the years of occupation ended. Jehovah’s Witnesses in Poland had successfully met severe tests. Now, in numbers even greater than before the war, they took up the tasks that lay ahead.

Moving Ahead With the Lord’s Work

Those of Jehovah’s Witnesses who survived the concentration camps returned in the spring of 1945, ready to press ahead with public proclamation of God’s Kingdom. Among them was Wilhelm Scheider.

In time he was able to arrange to use the property at 24 Rzgowska Street in Łódź once again. Unfortunately, new literature could be received only when someone was able personally to bring it from abroad, because the public postal system was not yet functioning. But whenever literature did arrive, it was translated as soon as possible, and stencils were dispatched to each zone. Soon additional volunteers offered to help with the work. And Jehovah moved the hearts of others to support the work with material contributions.

The contrast between Jehovah’s servants and others of the populace was evident. (John 13:35) Most Ukrainians, including hundreds of our brothers, were relocated to the east, within the new Soviet borders. Before this took place, however, there were numerous outbursts of hatred between the Poles and the Ukrainians living in the eastern and southern parts of the General Gouvernement. The Polish and Ukrainian Witnesses, on the other hand, were at peace. On one occasion, a Polish brother was returning home from a meeting, walking with three Ukrainian sisters, when they encountered Ukrainian guerrillas. The guerrillas tried to seize the brother, intent on shooting him, but the sisters protested, physically intervening on his behalf. The struggle went on for two hours. Finally the guerrillas relented, but first they tore off the brother’s clothes and burned them. Clad only in his underwear, he ran over a mile [2 km] barefoot through the snow to the home of a Ukrainian brother.

With wartime restrictions gone, the Witnesses engaged in field service with enthusiasm. The first postwar report revealed about 2,500 publishers. In 1939 there had been just 1,039. About half of these, however, were now living in areas annexed by the Soviet Union. So during six years of war and occupation, there had actually been a 400-percent increase in the remainder of the country! How true the inspired words of the prophet Daniel had proved to be: “As regards the people who are knowing their God, they will prevail and act effectively. And as regards those having insight among the people, they will impart understanding to the many”!​—Dan. 11:32, 33.

The increased interest in the Kingdom message was very apparent in some places. Of Poznań, Jan Wąsikowski reports: “What a joy for the brothers returning from the camps in 1945 to see that a small body of Witnesses had grown to the encouraging total of about 600 Kingdom publishers! Out of one active city congregation, three were formed.”

The most amazing developments, though, were seen in the eastern part of the country. Living conditions were extremely difficult. A circuit overseer relates that, after arriving there in 1947, he saw not only burned-down houses but entire settlements that had been destroyed. Brothers lived in dugouts and cellars. Nevertheless, the congregations were growing at an astounding rate. During 1945 and 1946, the Teresin Congregation often increased by 15 to 20 new publishers each month, and even by 42 one month! By 1947 it already had 240 publishers. The congregation in Alojzów had 190.

Satisfying Their Spiritual Hunger

Although the brothers had few material possessions, they felt that their principal need was for Bibles and Bible study aids. Anyone with a personal copy of the Christian Greek Scriptures was fortunate. Some publishers had only one Gospel account to use in the field service. But help came quickly.

In 1946 the Watch Tower Society invited Witnesses in the United States, Canada, Switzerland, and Sweden to donate clothing for fellow believers in war-torn countries. They seized the opportunity to send not only clothing but also cartons of Bibles! Shortly thereafter thousands of copies of the book “The Truth Shall Make You Free” arrived, as well as 250,000 copies of the booklet Religion Reaps the Whirlwind. Imagine how grateful the brothers were!

Hunger for God’s Word on the part of people in postwar Poland was great. By 1946, over 6,000 Kingdom publishers stood ready to help fill that need. To the best of its ability, the branch office tried to supply literature. But since the branch had no central printing facilities, The Watchtower as well as booklets and other printed material continued to be reproduced in the zones into which the country had been divided. Even though the equipment was limited, the brothers were soon being well supplied with basic spiritual food.

New Fields of Activity

A number of the Witnesses​—both individuals and entire families—​decided to move to an area that for years had been inhabited by Germans but that after the war was made western Poland. Many Poles who had lived in the eastern part of prewar Poland, which had now been annexed by the Soviet Union, also moved into this western area. The people in these newly settled territories responded well to the truth.

One of the zealous volunteers serving in this area was Stanisław Kocieniewski, who later became a traveling overseer. When he returned from wartime incarceration in a German labor camp, he was totally exhausted. But after a period of recuperation, he was eager to get busy again. He moved his family to Jelenia Góra. Theirs was the first family of Witnesses to settle there. Later others joined them, and soon a congregation was formed. At present, there are nine congregations in that city.

Similarly, Jan Pieniewski and his wife moved to Gorzów Wielkopolski to serve. Brother Pieniewski recalls: “In February 1946 we started our house-to-house ministry, visiting our neighbors first. We did the first three houses together, but afterward each of us preached separately. My wife asked: ‘When will we ever be able to cover the whole city?’ . . . We met a man who was willing to exchange a cow for a single copy of the Bible! We brought him the Bible but, of course, refrained from accepting the cow.”

Not all Witnesses of German origin who were living in Poland decided to return to Germany after the war. For some of them, learning Polish was quite a task. But the Society helped them with their field ministry by preparing leaflets that presented the Kingdom message in both Polish and German. On the other hand, when a Polish sister and her family returned from France and settled near Wałbrzych, they were the ones who felt like foreigners, since there were so many German-speaking people in the area. But by taking the initiative to witness, the sister soon made contact with the German brothers. “What a joy!” she said. “We went with them in the house-to-house ministry, visiting interested ones regularly and conducting Bible studies.”

Seeing the need for preachers of the good news in their area, many publishers started pioneering. Zofia Kuśmierz writes: “There were no Witnesses in the area, so I started full-time service. I spent five days a week in the territory . . . People manifested keen interest. Sometimes I was able to help 20 persons a year to accept the truth.”

The territory was vast. No transportation was yet available. But Jan Skiba recalls: “We used to go to many towns on foot, walking 30 to 40 kilometers [20-25 mi.] one way. We would leave home at five in the morning, work till sundown, and often return late at night. Or at times we would sleep somewhere in the straw.” They were reaching places where nobody had ever preached the good news before. Within about a year after the end of the war, the Witnesses were preaching in every part of the country. In March 1946, Poland reported 6,783 Kingdom publishers!

Provisions That Promoted Increase

During World War II, the brothers in Poland had no direct contact with the world headquarters of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Even the Swiss branch office, which had the oversight of many European lands, had received only limited information about Witnesses living in German-occupied territories. It is therefore understandable that the Polish Witnesses knew little about the organizational changes that had been introduced in other parts of the world.

However, despite postwar obstacles, as soon as the Łódź office could obtain the needed information, the changes were quickly implemented. Prior to this, major emphasis had been put on literature distribution. But the May 1946 Polish Informant (now Our Kingdom Ministry) explained how to make effective return visits, how to study Bible literature with interested people, and how to report correctly. Changes were made too in the congregation meetings. A Course in Theocratic Ministry, now called the Theocratic Ministry School, was introduced. The arrangement for visits by servants to the brethren (now known as circuit overseers) was outlined.

These organizational changes led to increased activity. And as in the first century, so in modern times, when the congregations applied directions from the governing body, “the congregations continued to be made firm in the faith and to increase in number from day to day.”​—Acts 16:5.

Our First Kingdom Halls

Within a short time after the end of the war, the brothers began searching for buildings suitable to remodel for use as Kingdom Halls. In Poznań a hall seating 60 persons was already in use by late 1945. Building materials were hard to get, but the brothers were resourceful. Even wood from boxes used by the Society for shipping was reclaimed.

Where necessary, club rooms, movie theaters, or other public facilities were rented. When these were not available, meetings were held in private houses or apartments.

Our brothers loved music, and they took pleasure in using this gift to praise Jehovah. During the early postwar years, some of them organized amateur choirs and orchestras. When they performed before public lectures were given, entire villages sometimes turned out to hear the talks.

Conventions​—Official and Unofficial

The first two postwar conventions in Poland were unforgettable. One, held in June 1946, was in the village of Borówek, near Lublin. About 1,500 persons attended. That two-day convention, organized by the brothers according to what knowledge they had, was unofficial in nature. As had to be the case in years gone by, certain brothers gave discourses on subjects of their own choosing. Others related experiences. What a joy it was for those present to see 260 persons symbolize by water baptism their dedication to do Jehovah’s will!

Later that year, in September, a national convention arranged by the Society was held in Katowice. Attendance was 5,300 persons. This program was especially designed to encourage the brothers to zealous and unified activity and to carry on their service to Jehovah in a way pleasing to him.

Gilead-Trained Missionaries Arrive

On March 19, 1947, Stefan Behunick and Paweł Muhaluk, two graduates of the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead, stepped ashore at Gdynia from the ship Jutlandia. Both spoke comparatively good Polish, and they quickly got to work on the assignment that had been especially entrusted to them.

One of the more important of their duties was to organize the circuit and district work. This required that they train traveling overseers​—brothers who would regularly visit the congregations, share with local Witnesses in the preaching work, and deliver helpful and encouraging discourses. District work was inaugurated, with arrangements for regular assemblies in each circuit. During the next few years, dozens of these assemblies were held throughout the country. In some instances public auditoriums were available, but when not, the assemblies were held on property belonging to the Witnesses.

The first district encompassed the entire country. Its overseer, Edward Kwiatosz, faithfully served Jehovah in the branch office in Poland until the end of his earthly course in 1992.

As part of the program to train brothers to fill various needs, pioneers were invited to Łódź in 1947 for special courses. One who attended wrote later: “The two weeks at the branch office were unforgettable. Daily I received what I needed the most.” Four from that group were invited to share in serving the congregations as traveling overseers.

The missionaries did not merely give counsel on organizational matters but also kept busy in the field with the brothers. As far as possible, they visited the circuits and rendered practical assistance. Overseers and publishers alike treasured their help, and many remember it to this day.

Raid on the Office in Łódź

As the organization expanded, the Witnesses were devoting their efforts to helping people benefit from the Bible. But opposition to their activity did not cease even though they were now living under socialistic rule.

As early as February 1946, their office in Łódź was raided, and all the brothers working there were arrested. Only a few sisters were left. The building was put under 24-hour surveillance by guards from the UB, or Urząd Bezpieczeństwa (Office of Security). But one of the sisters was able to send a telegram to the branch office in Switzerland. Through that office an appeal was made to the Polish embassy in Bern. At that time, the authorities were eager to be well thought of in other lands, so within a week the brothers in Łódź were released.

Meanwhile, the UB (Office of Security) tried to get the brothers to work with them in keeping the Catholic clergy under surveillance, as if they were the “common enemy.” How little they understood the principle of Christian neutrality!

Interestingly, the following year, when the Witnesses held a countrywide convention in Kraków, 7,000 delegates wore lapel badges similar in shape to the purple triangle that had identified Jehovah’s Witnesses in the concentration camps. They had not forgotten, nor did they let others forget, how severely they had been persecuted under Nazi rule.

“The World Was Not Worthy of Them”

In 1946, reports began reaching the branch office telling of vicious acts of brutality against Jehovah’s Witnesses in various parts of the country. Particularly ruthless in their opposition were the guerrilla squads of the Narodowe Siły Zbrojne (National Armed Forces). Their activity was directed not only against the Communist government but also, as a result of the influence of the Roman Catholic clergy, against Jehovah’s Witnesses. What they demanded was remarkably similar to what Satan wanted from Jesus Christ. Satan urged: ‘Do just one act of worship to me.’ (Matt. 4:9, 10) These Catholic guerrilla squads demanded: ‘Do just one act of worship to show you are a Catholic.’

On March 1, for example, 15-year-old Henryka Żur from near Chełm accompanied a brother from her congregation to visit interested persons in a neighboring village. It was to be her last return visit. Both publishers fell into the hands of members of the Narodowe Siły Zbrojne who were staying overnight in the village. The brother was severely beaten but escaped with his life. The sister was horribly tortured for many hours. “Think inside whatever you want to,” suggested one of her tormentors, “just make the Catholic sign of the cross. Otherwise a bullet awaits you!” Finally, her integrity unbroken, the young sister was dragged into a nearby forest and shot.

Less than three weeks later, on the evening of March 18, a mob of 30 people raided Jan Ziemcow’s home in eastern Poland. At first they tried to force the family to go to the local Catholic priest for confession and to obtain a certificate from him verifying that they had done so. When Bible truths were presented, the mob went mad. They mercilessly struck Brother Ziemcow with clubs and repeatedly ordered him to kiss a cross. In their efforts to force him to renounce the Bible and return to the Catholic Church, they beat him into unconsciousness. Then, after reviving him with cold water, they literally beat him to death. After committing this murder, they calmly sat down and ate supper before beating the rest of the family into unconsciousness.

On June 12 another murder occurred. Aleksander Kulesza, from the Podlasie area, had gone to care for Brother Kadziela and his family, who had been attacked the previous night. A terrifying sight awaited him. He found it difficult even to recognize the victims! After administering help, Brother Kulesza and his family returned home, little knowing that they had already been singled out as the next victims.

That evening a gang surrounded their house and, egged on by the local parish priest, mistreated the family for six hours. So determined was the mob to force Brother Kulesza into returning to the Catholic Church that they beat him to death. His son Jerzy, though severely beaten on that occasion, entered the full-time ministry two years later and continues in that service to this day.

In 1947 a review of acts perpetrated against Jehovah’s Witnesses in Poland to try to convert them to Catholicism revealed that 4,000 persons had been mistreated​—60 of them murdered. The Narodowe Siły Zbrojne had launched some 800 attacks against Jehovah’s Witnesses in their homes. Of these modern-day Witnesses of Jehovah, it can truthfully be said, even as of Jehovah’s ancient witnesses: “The world was not worthy of them.”​—Heb. 11:38.

“A ‘Middle Ages’ Bloody September”

Catholic clergymen had inculcated in their flocks fanatic intolerance of anything that was not in line with the Catholic religion. Representing Poland’s dominant religion, they often took unfair advantage of school youths as well as of adults, using them to commit acts of mob violence.

When Jehovah’s Witnesses held a district convention in Lublin in 1948, the clergy inflamed their flocks by claiming that the Witnesses had come from all parts of Poland to destroy local Catholic sanctuaries. The faithful were called upon to defend their churches and their city. A crowd of religious fanatics attacked. On that occasion, armed policemen, assigned to care for convention security, pulled the more aggressive ringleaders into cars and drove them as much as 20 miles [30 km] out of the city before freeing them far from transportation routes.

The situation was somewhat different on September 5, 1948, when the Witnesses were attending a circuit assembly in Piotrków Trybunalski, a town about 70 miles [120 km] from Warsaw. The missionaries, Brothers Behunick and Muhaluk, were present. By five o’clock in the afternoon, a large menacing crowd had gathered nearby, waiting for the program to end so that they could get their hands on “the bishops,” as they called the missionaries. When the Witnesses left the hall, a mob of several hundred attacked, beating some, including the missionaries, into unconsciousness. The injured were taken to Holy Trinity Hospital, where their wounds were dressed. But hospital personnel, under the influence of the nuns there, refused to permit them to remain in the hospital.

Initially the press made no mention of the incident. But shortly after the American embassy in Warsaw was supplied with details as to what had happened, news services in the United States reported the mob action.

Less than three weeks later​—almost like the second act in “a ‘Middle Ages’ Bloody September,” as one magazine called it—​something else happened in the same region, stirring up public opinion. A group of university students responded to a request made by the Ministry of Culture and Arts that the architectural relics, sculptures, and paintings located in the vicinity of Piotrków Trybunalski be cataloged. The ministry obtained permission from ecclesiastical authorities, and the students began work in a local church.

But in Kamiensk, a nearby town, a parish priest’s overly zealous housekeeper stormed into the church and began calling the students names. She claimed they were not students at all but were Jehovah’s Witnesses, who, she said, go about breaking crosses, profaning churches, and desecrating tombs. Although none of the students were Jehovah’s Witnesses, the priest ordered the students to leave the church immediately. Rumor spread throughout nearby villages like wildfire. Explanations were of no avail. A frenzied crowd, armed with clubs, pitchforks, and stones, brutally beat the youths, hospitalizing six of them.

This time the authorities were quick to react. The instigators, including the parish priest and his housekeeper, were arrested and sentenced to long prison terms. This episode at least slowed down the attempts of the clergy to employ mob violence as a tool against the Witnesses.

Official Harassment

Once again, however, a dramatic change in the political climate was under way in Poland. Those coming into power sought to make religion subservient to the State.

As already noted, in February 1946 an official in the district security office in Łódź had endeavored to enlist the Witnesses as spies against the Catholic Church, but the Witnesses had refused. When a secret police agent revisited the branch office four months later, he again insisted that the brothers do the bidding of the police, promising the best halls for meetings of Jehovah’s Witnesses if they cooperated but warning of grave consequences if they did not. “Nobody can stop us,” he threatened upon leaving.

Later on, permission to hold certain assemblies was canceled; in other instances the police tried to disperse those who came to attend. In May 1949, during a circuit assembly near Chełm, the police ordered that the program be stopped. When the brothers in charge continued, they were arrested. The Witnesses reassembled on the final day, and a baptism talk was delivered by a brother who had taken the place of one who had been arrested. That afternoon about a thousand persons came to the public talk. The police arrested one speaker after another. As soon as one was taken away, another would step in to take his place. Before the day was over, 27 different brothers had spoken!

Missionaries Expelled

On July 24, 1949, two years and four months after their arrival in Poland, Stefan Behunick and Paweł Muhaluk were forced to leave the country. In private notes about those years of service, Brother Behunick wrote: “Now, in 1949, work in the branch is already better organized. There is greater cooperation between the congregations. We already have three districts, and in June we had 13,699 publishers, twice as many as in 1947 when we [missionaries] arrived. There are 710 active congregations, and 45 persons are working in the branch office. Our activity is tolerated, and house-to-house preaching is continuing.”

Actually, by 1949, the activity of the Witnesses had been tolerated longer than anticipated. A year earlier, in 1948, the minister of justice had spoken on the subject “Religious Freedom in the Soviet Union.” During his talk, delivered in the hall of the district court in Łódź, he stated that religious minorities in the Soviet Union had unilaterally and voluntarily dissolved themselves and joined the church that was officially recognized by the State. Jehovah’s Witnesses understood this ‘voluntary dissolving’ of religious minorities in the Soviet Union to mean that a similar process would soon take place in Poland. They began preparing to work underground.

At the same time, in accord with a new law on associations, the Witnesses submitted to the authorities a proposed charter that described the Watch Tower Society’s activity. They asked that it be legally registered in accordance with the new legal situation.

Meanwhile, more people were flocking into the organization. Ten consecutive publisher peaks were reached, with 18,116 publishers in 864 congregations reporting in March 1950. That year, the Memorial of Christ’s death was attended by 28,918 persons. What strong evidence that there were still many prospective worshipers of Jehovah in Poland!

No Thought of Giving Way to Fear

Then, during the night of April 21, 1950, a large group of UB agents, entering through a window, raided the Łódź branch office. It was claimed that Bethel workers were spying for the United States and were “trying to overturn by force the government of the Polish People’s Republic.” The UB agents exhaustively searched the premises for evidence. Of course, nothing was found. But documents dealing with the Witnesses’ religious activity were confiscated. The next day the Society’s directors were arrested.

Those left behind at the branch decided to print as many magazines as possible and to distribute these to the congregations. They used up the entire supply of paper, about 20 tons, and sent out the literature. Then they hid the mimeograph and other machines, as well as the files. Continuing to work at the branch under these circumstances required a great deal of courage. During this time they received letters from supposedly interested persons asking the brothers to meet them at certain locations in the city. The real aim, however, was simply to lure the brothers out into the streets, where some Bethel brothers were in fact kidnapped. After that happened, the others left the premises only in larger groups.

On the evening of June 21, Bethel was again raided. This time almost everyone was arrested. The brothers were loaded into an open truck and driven through Łódź. The guards mocked that it was like taking a holiday excursion. “If so,” suggested a brother, “then let’s sing.” And suddenly, ignoring the protests of the guards, these courageous servants of Jehovah began singing: “He that is faithful, he that is loyal, never will give way to fear.”

That same night the homes of hundreds of Witnesses throughout the country were searched. Many brothers were arrested. Foes of God’s Kingdom wanted to disband the organization and force Jehovah’s Witnesses into silence.

Not until after all of this, on July 2, 1950, did the Office for Religious Affairs announce to the media its rejection of the application for registration of the Association of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Poland. The arbitrary announcement stated that the organization was now dissolved and that its property was to be expropriated by the State.

UB Torture Chambers

For many Witnesses this wave of arrests and investigations was the start of a long period of torture and suffering. Investigators tried to force them to confess to crimes of which they were not guilty, especially to acting in behalf of foreign intelligence services. Attempts were also made to persuade the brothers to become UB informants. According to unpublished UB statistics, 90 percent of what that source referred to as “the sect’s members” came in for repressive treatment. As a result, the number who were able to report sharing in the field service temporarily dropped to half.

Wilhelm Scheider was interrogated for eight days and nights without interruption. By administering beastly beatings, interrogators tried to force him to plead guilty to the charges they had fabricated. When he lost consciousness, he was doused with cold water until he revived. He was given nothing to eat and nothing to drink and once was forced to kneel for 72 hours at a stretch. Later he was transferred from Łódź to Warsaw and then was thrown naked into a cramped dungeon for 24 days. There he could not sit, lie down, or stand erect. In a further attempt to force him to compromise, the UB arrested and mistreated his wife and daughter. But nothing broke his integrity.

The same treatment was meted out to Harald Abt, the branch secretary. For six days nonstop, he was interrogated, all the while being beaten on the head and punched in the stomach. “Even though you spent five years in a camp because of being against Nazism, we will still be able to prove you to have been a Gestapo man,” he was told.

Edward Kwiatosz was brutally beaten and given no food for three days. Ruthless investigators threatened to hang him. They made him go without sleep for two weeks. He was beaten on the heels with rubber clubs. His ribs and nose were broken, his skull caved in, and an eardrum was perforated. Altogether, he suffered 32 days of ill-treatment. But he was not intimidated into falsely accusing his brothers in order to get relief for himself.​—Compare Job 2:4.

Other brothers were mistreated similarly. Some of them, when interrogated by their tormentors, were made to sit on a stool with a spike protruding from the center of the seat. This was called the “Roman treatment.” All of this they suffered simply for being Jehovah’s Witnesses, for refusing to sign statements that were filled with lies, and for refusing to bear false witness against their Christian brothers.

Some brothers were taken to prison in Zawiercie in 1950 because they refused to sign the political Stockholm Appeal. First to arrive there was Władysław Drabek from Poręba. He was locked in a dark dungeon with water reaching to his knees. He could rest a little by sitting with bent knees on top of some timber in a corner. Two days later the cell was packed with brothers. All had refused to sign the Appeal. From time to time, the guards gave the prisoners buckets in which to relieve themselves. If they did not use them when provided, they were not given a second chance. Understandably, after a few days, the water stank abominably.

A lifetime would be too short to relate every example of mistreatment that Jehovah’s Witnesses suffered after the mass arrests of 1950. The integrity of God’s servants was severely tested, and not surprisingly, some died as a result of the inhuman treatment.

Faithful Even to Death

Brother J. Szlauer was only 20 years old when, in August 1950, he was summoned to UB quarters in Cieszyn for interrogation. He steadfastly refused to denounce fellow believers. Frustrated, the interrogator shot him twice during the inquiry, and after an hour this young servant of Jehovah died. But before his death he managed to tell the doctor: “I was shot by the UB officer because I was faithful to Jehovah.”

Other Witnesses suffered for years before death finally brought release. A traveling overseer, Alojzy Prostak from Kraków, was arrested in May 1952 in Szczecin. After two years of being held in custody in Warsaw and Łódź, he was so battered and exhausted that he had to be hospitalized. Acting at the suggestion of an attorney, his wife succeeded in having him released in 1954, but he died a week later. About 2,000 persons attended his funeral. The brother who courageously delivered his funeral talk at the cemetery used the occasion to protest the sadistic methods UB agents used when interrogating the Witnesses. Afterward he himself was forced to go into hiding in order to avoid arrest.

By 1956, reports revealed that 16 brothers, in all parts of Poland, had died because of UB torture or because of having been refused medical care. (Additional cases later came to light.) The corpses of these brothers were usually sent to the bereaved families in closed coffins, which they were not permitted to open. In other cases, they did not learn about the death of a loved one until many months had elapsed.

A Trial Behind Closed Doors

Survivors of this inhuman treatment described attempts that were made to force them to testify against the Society’s directors. Two brothers did break down under torture and let themselves be forced to give false testimony. But the UB also fabricated “evidence” of its own.

Using this, they staged a trial in Warsaw behind closed doors from March 16 to 22, 1951. Despite the danger to themselves, other Witnesses of Jehovah gathered in front of the courthouse in large numbers, hoping by their presence to encourage their brothers to endure faithfully.

By using paramedic vans, which were driven into the inner courtyard, the officials tried to get the defendants into the courtroom without their being seen. However, when the prisoners emerged from the vans, children of our brothers who had been able to get close to the courtyard wall shouted words of encouragement, a reminder to the defendants that they were not alone.

Seven brothers sat in the prisoners’ dock: four members of the board of directors of the Society’s legal corporation in Poland and three other brothers who for various reasons were viewed as important to the organization. The public prosecutor demanded capital punishment for Wilhelm Scheider. The Court sentenced him to life imprisonment. The other three directors were sentenced to 15 years apiece, the rest to shorter terms. All were placed in a maximum-security prison.

What Next?

With loving concern for all the congregations, two district servants who had managed to avoid detention, along with several other experienced brothers, began making plans to supply the brotherhood with spiritual food. They devised a communications system that proved effective for almost 40 years. Circuit overseers were appointed to carry on the work formerly done by those imprisoned, and by the end of 1952, despite constant harassment, the number preaching to others about God’s Kingdom had increased to 19,991!

This was not what the security forces had expected. Their plan had been to rid Poland of Jehovah’s Witnesses within two years. Angered by their failure, they plotted what they viewed as a final, knockout blow. A new wave of arrests ensued. Four members of the Country Committee, as well as other zealous brothers and sisters, were seized. Plans were made for holding a show trial in Łódź.

During the months before the trial, one of the brothers died, several suffered nervous breakdowns, and another, Zygfryd Adach, was released because of a serious illness he contracted while in prison. After more than two years of preparation, a five-day trial began on March 10, 1955. The result was the handing down of the severest verdicts since the Warsaw trial. Three members of the Country Committee, Jan Lorek, Tadeusz Chodara, and Władysław Szklarzewicz, were sentenced to 12 years in prison each.

Did that frighten other Witnesses into silence?

Youths Demonstrate Faith and Courage

Even young Witnesses attending school held firm to their faith. True, at school they were bombarded with atheistic ideas. Those who resisted were mocked. Political matters were often included in the curriculum, and attendance at marches or demonstrations was compulsory. Some schools introduced military classes. Those who conscientiously objected to participation were usually expelled.

But instead of becoming disheartened, many of these young Witnesses went into the pioneer service, thereby making a major contribution to the spread of the Kingdom message. In 1954, with due caution, a number of special meetings lasting several days were held with the pioneers. They were given information from some of the talks delivered in New York during the 1953 international New World Society Assembly. What a source of spiritual refreshment! How strengthening to be reminded in this way that they were part of the loving worldwide brotherhood of Jehovah’s people!

And what were the brothers in prison doing?

Prisons​—A Field for Evangelizing

Władysław Przybysz, imprisoned for the first time from 1952 to 1956 and released the fourth time in 1969, recalls: “A prison sentence was accepted as being a work assignment in territory not accessible to others.” As a result of the preaching done behind prison bars, many prisoners heard about Jehovah and his marvelous purposes. The imprisoned brothers also organized small groups and arranged to hold short meetings daily. Even behind prison bars, “the number of the disciples kept multiplying.”​—Acts 6:7.

Thanks to the exemplary behavior of the Witnesses, there was also a gradual change in the attitude of some of the prison personnel. Romuald Stawski remembers that in one prison the menu was changed so that the Witnesses were no longer tested by being given food containing blood. One day two large food containers were brought into the cell, one full of blood sausage, the other containing vegetable soup. “This [soup] is just for the Witnesses,” the guard stressed.

Prison Doors Swing Open

However, by 1956 the official attitude toward Jehovah’s Witnesses began to change. In the spring a district overseer from Kraków was released from prison and was told that the authorities were ready to negotiate with the Witnesses. The matter was given consideration, and an official delegation of three brothers was chosen to approach the Office for Religious Affairs.

The three brothers emphasized that they were interested only in getting information, that the only ones authorized to negotiate were the Society’s imprisoned directors. But the Office for Religious Affairs manifested no willingness to deal with convicts. A second meeting also ended without apparent results when the three brothers stressed that as far as the Witnesses were concerned, the imprisoned directors were innocent.

Soon, however, many brothers and sisters, some imprisoned since 1950, were being released. Included were three members of the board of directors and the members of the Country Committee who had been sentenced later. Finally, in August 1956, Wilhelm Scheider was also freed. What had happened?

More was involved than political changes. The two brothers mentioned earlier who had given false testimony retracted it, and on this basis the charges against the directors were formally dropped. But there was more to it. Officials could see that Jehovah’s Witnesses were growing in numbers, and at a rapid rate. Within three years the number of Kingdom publishers had reached 37,411, an increase of 87 percent! Later, in 1972, a well-informed agent of the security service acknowledged: “We see that making announcements about the court trials of Jehovah’s Witnesses and about their propaganda has not weakened the organization but has had just the opposite effect.” Loyalty to Jehovah had won the day!

Increased Activity in the Face of Legal Obstacles

Once released, the brothers promptly gave attention to the spiritual needs of the congregations and to the public preaching of the good news. Kingdom Ministry, which offered fine counsel on how to preach and how to make disciples, was provided for the brothers. Despite continuing difficulties, the congregations were being visited regularly by traveling overseers and were zealous in theocratic activity.

The Polish Constitution officially guaranteed the freedom to practice religion, and Jehovah’s Witnesses accepted that guarantee. Preaching from house to house was part of their worship, so they engaged in it. Still, when the brothers were in the field service, the police arrested them “for being a part of” what was described as “an association whose existence, makeup, and purpose is kept hidden from the State in a shroud of mystery.” A new phase of the legal fight for religious freedom was about to begin.

The brothers patiently repeated their position in court and in letters that they or their legal representatives wrote to the authorities. Finally, in May 1963, seven judges of the Supreme Court ruled: “Dissolving the religious association logically means the banning of every form of organizational activity but does not influence individual or private worship, which is not punishable.” The brothers understood that to mean that individual preaching from house to house was not to be considered illegal.

Now the Witnesses proceeded with even greater vigor in the work of the spiritual harvest. (Matt. 9:37) The number of active publishers increased rapidly, especially in large cities. The situation in sparsely populated areas, on the other hand, was less positive. So the brothers in southern Poland began organizing auxiliary pioneer groups to be sent to territories where the need was greater. Later these became known as pioneer centers. Each group, usually consisting of a dozen or so persons, stayed in farm buildings belonging to the brothers or, often, in tents.

This activity gained momentum as many publishers served as auxiliary pioneers at least once a year from the pioneer centers. Newly started Bible studies were turned over to publishers from the nearest congregation. Even today this method is sometimes used. It is apparent that it has had Jehovah’s blessing.

Progress in Supplying Spiritual Food

Jehovah, as a loving Father, also provides his people with spiritual food, doing so even when they experience adversity. Despite persecution, literature was delivered to the congregations on a fairly regular basis.

At first only very primitive manual mimeographing devices were available for reproducing Bible literature. A brother recalls: “The quality of print was poor and the number of copies small. Mimeographing required much paper. It had to be brought to where the work was done, and then the finished magazines had to be distributed, all of this, of course, under the cover of darkness. If a location was discovered by the police, it meant several years of imprisonment for the landlord and the workers.”

More was needed, however, than just the ability to reproduce some literature. There was a need to increase the quantity of what was printed and to improve the quality of the printing. So in the late 1950’s, a Rotaprint offset press, a small machine, was obtained; later, others were added. A kindly disposed manager of a small printery in Kraków showed our brothers how to use the machine and how to prepare aluminum stencils. These stencils were much more durable, so more copies could be made in less time.

Later a brother mastered the art of photochemical platemaking​—which he even learned at the Polish Academy of Sciences. Then the brothers themselves proceeded to manufacture the necessary equipment. It proved to be a success. Now the size of type could be photographically reduced, thus getting more text on the same amount of hard-to-get paper. Books were printed in addition to magazines, the first book being From Paradise Lost to Paradise Regained, published in Poland in 1960.

There were many problems. For example, more electric power was now required. To avoid arousing suspicion, the brothers arranged to bypass the electric meter. But for the sake of conscience, they made anonymous remittances to the power company. Security forces once discovered one of the Witnesses’ “bakeries,” as the printeries were called, near Gdańsk. The workers were taken to court and charged, among other things, with stealing electricity. But once the brothers proved that they had actually made anonymous payments for the power used, this charge was dropped. An excellent witness was given.

According to statistics of the security forces, between 1956 and 1969, they uncovered and put out of operation 34 of the Witnesses’ literature production and distribution centers. One of their officers from Bydgoszcz bragged: “The Intelligence Service is so well organized that a secret printery of Jehovah’s Witnesses can be located within no more than six months.”

This was quite an overstatement. Nonetheless, every Rotaprint confiscated meant a real loss. These complicated machines were not manufactured anywhere in Poland, and because of State control it was very difficult to buy them. Therefore, a large proportion of those we had​—about 50 of them—​were produced by our own brothers, with Jehovah’s support.

Could the Organization Be Weakened From Within?

Because direct attack proved unsuccessful, the authorities made attempts to destroy the unity of the Witnesses from within. Enemies began publishing a counterfeit Watchtower containing information that slandered Jehovah’s loyal servants. An unidentified “committee of twelve” circulated letters​—using addresses taken from files of the security service—​that viciously attacked prominent brothers. But the sheep knew the voice of their Shepherd and could distinguish between truth and falsehood.​—John 10:27.

By the end of the 1950’s, it was evident that the 1956 thaw was about to end. It seemed appropriate to declare the good news on the greatest scale possible while it could still be done. There were outstanding increases, but an unhealthy spirit of competition developed among some. As a result, many new publishers failed to measure up to the Bible’s requirements. An interested person began to be viewed as a publisher if he merely nodded when asked whether he had spoken to someone about the Kingdom hope as Jehovah’s Witnesses do. Consequently, the slogan came into use: “Today interested, tomorrow a publisher.” Many of them were not even attending meetings. Thus, in March 1959, when 84,061 publishers reported, not even that many attended the Memorial. Easily such a situation would weaken the spiritual strength of the organization.​—1 Cor. 3:5-7.

Corrective measures were taken. Slowly the number of publishers dropped, finally leveling off at about 50,000. It took almost 29 years​—until January 1988—​before a new peak of publishers was reached again. But this time they were real publishers, 84,559 of them!

Coordinated Legal Action

In view of the numerous court cases the Witnesses faced, the brothers took steps to coordinate the handling of their legal defense. There were a few gifted and courageous attorneys who were willing to represent them. Sound legal arguments were presented, but emphasis was placed on what the Witnesses believe and teach from God’s Word. As a consequence, every trial resulted in a witness to judges and public alike. Romuald Stawski, who has looked after legal affairs for Jehovah’s Witnesses, remembers one month when there were 30 trials, not including those on matters of Christian neutrality. Attendance at Witness trials grew until it reached some 30,000 persons annually.​—Matt. 10:18.

At times, government officials openly expressed their hatred for the Witnesses. For example, in Poznań during the trial of six traveling overseers, a sister testified that the public prosecutor had told her that if Hitler were still alive, ‘he would quickly straighten out the matter of Jehovah’s Witnesses.’ This prosecutor later added that he would personally be willing to shoot thousands of Witnesses.

But for what reason? The religious activity of Jehovah’s Witnesses posed absolutely no threat to the authorities. This was clearly demonstrated at another trial in Poznań, when a defense attorney recalled that a crowd had stormed a penitentiary in 1956, releasing all its prisoners, including three Witnesses sentenced to long prison terms. But​—so read the minutes of the garrison military court—​all three Witnesses “immediately and voluntarily surrendered to the People’s Militia.”

More “Weapons”​—No Lasting Success

The authorities did not stop trying to find some “weapon” that would achieve their aim of bringing the organization of Jehovah’s servants under their control. In 1961 they perhaps felt that they were succeeding. By promising greater freedom of movement, they induced 15 spiritually weak brothers to apply for the registration of a denomination that would act independently of the international association of Jehovah’s Witnesses. But the brothers in general did not support it. Two years later the registration application itself was rejected.

So the opposers tried another device. They searched for some “influential” persons who could be blackmailed. Again, they seemed to have success. They found a brother in a principal position of responsibility who was violating Christian standards of morality. Brothers assigned to check into the charges against this overseer were suddenly arrested. He destroyed documents incriminating himself. Then other brothers began to receive letters supposedly from friends who either discredited respected brothers and tried to clear the erring one or vice versa. Understandably, this caused confusion among the brothers, which is exactly what the authorities wanted.

But Jehovah knew what was happening. (Heb. 4:13) In time, indisputable proof was presented to show what had actually taken place, and the immoral one who had allowed himself to become a pawn of the opposers was disfellowshipped. The trap was broken. Thus another weapon against Jehovah’s servants had had no lasting success.​—Ps. 124:7.

In 1972, opposers thought they had found a new weapon. An officer in the security service had for many years collected slanderous material against the Witnesses. He was now using it to write a thesis in pursuit of his Doctor of Arts degree. Entitled “The Contents and Form of Propaganda Used by the Sect of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the Polish People’s Republic,” it was designed to serve later as a manual for legal officials in their fight against the Witnesses.

Before the degree could be conferred, however, the thesis had to be defended in a public discussion. This was usually just a formality. But as soon as the brothers found out when and where this was to occur, they made it a matter of prayer. Despite having little time to prepare, they decided to use this as an opportunity to defend Jehovah’s name and his people.

Thus, on May 31, 1972, when Henryk Skibiński presented his venomous thesis at the University in Toruń, Jehovah’s Witnesses were in the audience. Skibiński claimed that Jehovah’s Witnesses were hostile to the State and its allies, were spies of an unfriendly superpower, and were enemies, among other things, of science, blood transfusions, and evolution. But he did feel obliged to mention that they were known to be conscientious and honest citizens. The professor who would confer the degree as well as the reviewers then spoke. Afterward, those in attendance were asked to express themselves.

Brother Jan Waldemar Rynkiewicz from Bydgoszcz seized the opportunity to speak at length, thoroughly refuting the charge that Jehovah’s Witnesses were hostile to the State and were spies. He pointed out inconsistencies in Mr. Skibiński’s thesis and the partiality in his argumentation. (He had, for example, entirely omitted the fact that the courts had abandoned the accusation of espionage and had vindicated many of the Witnesses.) Furthermore, Brother Rynkiewicz drew special attention to the contribution made by the Witnesses to nonblood surgery​—another point that Mr. Skibiński had omitted. The examining board accepted the documents that Brother Rynkiewicz submitted. Brothers Zygmunt Sawicki and Józef Rajchel, who were also in the audience, then courageously presented the Bible’s view of Christian involvement in politics and worldly conflicts. All in attendance listened with rapt attention. During his attempted refutation, Mr. Skibiński lost his temper, and the chairman was forced to cut him off. The Doctor of Arts degree was not conferred, much to the chagrin of Skibiński’s relatives and friends, who were left standing with flowers in their hands but with no one to congratulate.

Thus, exactly 50 years after the Witnesses had had a famous discussion with Jesuits in Kraków, another group of Witnesses had also fought a victorious battle​—this time with an equally desperate, atheistic adversary. From that time on, the authorities were somewhat less enthusiastic about trying to justify their persecution of the Witnesses. Also, the way in which officials dealt with Jehovah’s Witnesses began to change.

Forest Conventions

In the late 1960’s, besides holding regular congregation meetings in private homes, Witnesses from the Śląsk Cieszyński area began to meet in larger groups in the forest during the summers. Shortly thereafter arrangements were made to prepare a convention program centrally, and these meetings, called forest conventions, were held throughout the country.

At first the authorities prosecuted the organizers and those who attended. But was there really any harm in what the Witnesses were doing? They were simply discussing God’s Word. As time passed, the officials grew accustomed to these assemblies of Jehovah’s people. They steadily grew in size. In the beginning, only a few dozen brothers came; by the 1970’s, there were usually hundreds.

In the late 1970’s, the program included a Bible drama and, oftentimes, arrangements for baptism. Microphones, loudspeakers, and tape recorders came into use. In some places these conventions took on a more normal character, being held at definite places prepared beforehand.

Members of the Governing Body Visit

At the end of November 1977, Frederick Franz, Theodore Jaracz, and Daniel Sydlik, from the international headquarters of Jehovah’s Witnesses, were granted permission to visit Poland. This was the first official visit by members of the Governing Body. They spoke to overseers, pioneers, and longtime Witnesses in various cities, telling them of theocratic progress in other lands and answering numerous questions. The congregations responded to the visit with increased Kingdom activity.

A year later Milton Henschel and Theodore Jaracz visited Poland. This time they made a courtesy call at the Office for Religious Affairs. During the ensuing years, the Governing Body was able to give more attention to the work in Poland and established closer ties with overseers throughout the country. With greater exposure to such welcome theocratic direction and influence, responsible brothers in Poland were now in a position to implement arrangements and make provisions for the local organization similar to those benefiting God’s people in many other lands. At the same time, a noteworthy change was observed as government representatives began showing a more tolerant attitude toward us and our activities.

Enjoying Austrian Hospitality

By the end of the 1970’s, some of the brothers were able to attend district conventions outside Poland, first in Lille, France, and later in Denmark. Then, in the summer of 1980, something unusual happened.

Even though the organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses was still banned, about 2,000 Witnesses received official permission to attend the “Divine Love” District Convention in Vienna, Austria. The Austrian brothers welcomed their guests hospitably. In the large tent set up for the Polish sessions, everyone followed the program appreciatively.

To close the convention, the various language groups all assembled in the nearby stadium. Unitedly, each group in its own language sang “We Thank You, Jehovah.” Even after sharing together in the closing prayer, no one wanted to leave. Loving Austrian hosts had extended hospitality to guests not only from Poland but from Hungary, Yugoslavia, and other lands as well. Now, amid prolonged applause, eyes filled with tears of joy. These were true Christians rejoicing in the unity that had removed the painful barriers so typical of the old, dying world!

The “Kingdom Loyalty” Convention held in Austria the following year was attended by more than 5,000 Polish Witnesses. This time the Austrian brothers met in a tent and gave their guests the stadium facilities. Moreover, the Polish guests were allowed to help organize the convention, thus gaining valuable experience that would later prove beneficial when they would prepare large conventions inside Poland.

A Decade of Historic Conventions at Home

The same year that those 5,000 Polish Witnesses held convention sessions in a stadium in Austria, local officials in Gdańsk allowed the Witnesses to hold a convention in the Olivia Hall. In attendance, on July 5, 1981, was an audience of 5,751. Witnesses in the Kraków area were also granted the use of a small sports hall that year. There, in Skawina, two “Kingdom Loyalty” Conventions were held.

Things were indeed looking up. But, alas, on December 13, 1981, Poland was put under martial law! Armed police and military patrols took up their stations throughout the country. All passing cars were checked. Public meetings were forbidden. What would this mean for us?

During the first few weeks, it became apparent that the Witnesses, known for their stand of Christian neutrality, could meet in private homes without difficulty. Despite travel restrictions, circuit overseers were still able to visit the congregations. Literature, although still published out of public view, continued to reach the brothers.

But the summer of 1982 was fast approaching. What about district conventions? The borders were closed, so no one would be able to travel to another country. Strict enforcement of martial law ruled out any possibility of forest conventions. What could be done? The brothers approached the owners of sports halls to ask whether these could be rented for convention purposes. Permission was granted! The news was received with enthusiasm, and more than 80 spiritual feasts were held throughout the country.

In 1983, fewer but larger district conventions were held, mostly in rented halls. For the first time, Witnesses from countries of Western Europe were allowed to attend. Altogether, 114,166 were present, and 2,388 were baptized.

Would it be possible for Jehovah’s Witnesses to hold international conventions of major proportions in Poland? During the summer of 1984, the brothers asked the authorities for permission to rent four large stadiums for such conventions in 1985. Months went by without reply. Until the middle of February 1985, it was still uncertain whether permission would be granted. At last, approval was received! Time was limited. Intense work got under way to finalize the many details involved in order to hold four 3-day conventions, in Chorzów, Warsaw, Wrocław, and Poznań. More than 94,000 persons attended, including hundreds of guests from abroad. How they rejoiced to see 3,140 new servants of Jehovah get baptized! They listened with rapt attention and deep appreciation to the program, including talks delivered by four members of the Governing Body.

Polish television later made two documentaries about the life and activity of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Poland. These programs incorporated scenes from the conventions. Entitled “Good News About the Kingdom” and “Integrity Keepers,” both programs were shown on nationwide television.

Holding Firmly to Theocratic Order

It should not be concluded, however, that all pressure from official sources had ceased. Even though Witnesses at the congregation level were not being hindered as they preached from house to house, brothers in responsible positions carried a heavy load. Remember, the organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses still did not have legal recognition; the ban had never officially been lifted. Conventions had to be arranged by selected brothers who obtained permission for them as private individuals. Attempts were made to censor parts of the convention program. But these brothers were determined to do nothing without the approval of the Governing Body.

A situation involving the traveling overseers arose in 1984. A martial law decree still in effect required all men between 20 and 45 years of age to do secular work. On the basis of this law, traveling overseers were summoned to the government’s provincial religious departments. There the brothers were presented with prepared certificates containing their territory assignment. On the surface this looked like a legalization of their work, but the certificates had to be renewed periodically, and any change in territory or assignment had to be reported. The brothers firmly rejected the arrangement. Their assignments as shepherds of the flock were theocratic, not subject to approval or regulation by secular authorities.

Spiritual Food in Abundance

Today, Jehovah’s Witnesses in Poland have beautiful literature for personal study and for use in their public ministry. But the road leading to this situation has not been strewn with roses. For years, their printing equipment had been confiscated whenever it could be found. Then efforts were made by the authorities to gain at least semiofficial control of what was being produced by the brothers in their “bakeries,” or printeries.

However, the brothers suggested that they be permitted to import books, brochures, and magazines from abroad. Like other religious publications, these would, according to law, be exempt from censorship. At first, this seemed like an impossible goal, even though the brothers emphasized the socially educational value of their Bible-based literature. But their persistence finally paid off.

In 1984 permission was granted to import up to 60,000 copies of My Book of Bible Stories from the United States. Later, approval was received for them to get even larger numbers of the brochures “Look! I Am Making All Things New” and The Divine Name That Will Endure Forever. It took somewhat longer before the book You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth could be imported, but once it was, imagine the joy of having a quarter of a million copies! Thereafter, usually with less difficulty, books and brochures were supplied in most cases by the Society’s branch in Selters/​Taunus, Germany. In 1989 this included the book Life​—How Did It Get Here? By Evolution or by Creation?, an appropriate, albeit controversial, subject in atheistic countries.

In mid-1988​—almost a year before the Watch Tower Society became the legal representative of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Poland—​four-color editions of the semimonthly Watchtower and the monthly Awake! began to arrive regularly. Presently, hundreds of thousands of copies are being received, and the number grows steadily. Throughout the country, people have become accustomed to seeing The Watchtower and Awake! in Polish offered to them by Jehovah’s Witnesses on the streets and at railway stations, as well as when publishers call at their homes. Since April 1, 1989, the Polish Watchtower has been published simultaneously with the English edition, as is true of scores of other languages.

This huge amount of literature, of high quality both in form and in content, has helped to spread the good news of God’s Kingdom on an unprecedented scale. The number of Bible studies conducted with honesthearted persons has multiplied to over 80,000, helping more and more people onto the road that leads to everlasting life. Jesus Christ has clearly opened wide a door of opportunity in this land.​—Compare Revelation 3:7, 8.

Kingdom Halls Reappear

During the severe years of ban, there were, of course, no Kingdom Halls. But in the early 1980’s, they began to reappear. They were unofficial and were set up in buildings owned by Witnesses. In 1986 a seminar was held for representatives from congregations that had already built a hall or were in the process of doing so. Technical and legal matters were discussed in detail.

By May 1993, the brothers had 644 Kingdom Halls that belonged to them. Another 257 were being rented, and 130 more were under construction.

Legal Recognition​—At Last!

Back in 1949, the petition for legal recognition submitted by Jehovah’s Witnesses had been rejected by government authorities. In subsequent years the brothers tried repeatedly to get legal recognition so that they might better represent the interests of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Poland. Often there simply was no reply.

Then, in 1985, to facilitate the importing of literature, a court-approved company was registered under the name Strażnica​—Wydawnictwo Wyznania Świadków Jehowy w Polsce (Watchtower—​The Publishing House of the Religion of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Poland). It was an important step in the direction of legalizing our publishing activity.

In 1987 another proposed charter was submitted to the Office for Religious Affairs. It had been carefully prepared under the direction of the Governing Body. Two years of correspondence and discussion followed. Among the members of the delegation that spoke with the officials were two brothers who had signed the first registration application in 1949. Imagine their joy when, 40 years later, on May 12, 1989, the director of the Office for Religious Affairs approved the charter of the Strażnica​—Towarzystwo Biblijne i Traktatowe, Zarejestrowany Związek Wyznania Świadków Jehowy w Polsce (Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, Registered Religious Association of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Poland)! All branches of the media reported this news, and Jehovah’s Witnesses worldwide rejoiced.

Making up the Association’s original board of directors were Harald Abt, Zygfryd Adach, Stanisław Kardyga, Edward Kwiatosz, Franciszek Mielczarek, Antoni Tomaszewski, and Adam Wojtyniak. However, in the years since the charter was approved, death has taken away two of these brothers​—Harald Abtb and Edward Kwiatosz, both of whom served Jehovah faithfully until death. They were replaced by Wiesław Jaśko and Jan Klaudiusz Skowron.

Getting legal recognition from the secular authorities was important here in Poland, but it is, of course, secondary to having the recognition and approval of Jehovah God, whose sovereignty will soon be vindicated before all creation.​—Rev. 4:11.

On a Scale Grander Than Ever Before

Shortly after legal registration had been accomplished, international “Godly Devotion” Conventions convened in Warsaw, Chorzów, and Poznań during the summer of 1989. Delegates from almost every continent rejoiced to be present, including thousands from other Eastern European lands, as well as five members of the Governing Body. The program for foreign delegates in Chorzów, Poznań, and Warsaw was simultaneously translated into many languages. Attendance totaling 166,000 and a baptism figure of 6,093 were causes for great joy.

Then, on August 9-12, 1990, at Warsaw’s Dziesięciolecia Stadium another historic event took place. The Polish capital’s largest stadium was filled. Delegates from the Soviet Union sat on one side and their Polish brothers and hosts on the other. It was an unforgettable experience as each group listened to the program in its own language.

Just a few days previously, the success of the convention had been thrown into jeopardy. Soviet officials had announced travel restrictions for its nationals traveling to Poland. Soviet travel agents warned the Witnesses that they would be turned back at the border. But trusting in Jehovah, the brothers continued to make convention plans. Just in time, the date for introducing the travel restrictions was postponed until after the convention. Immediately, more than 17,000 Soviet Witnesses flooded across the border. The rich program of spiritual delicacies they enjoyed was an abundant reward for the sacrifices they had made to be there.

This was by no means the end. The next year, 1991, more conventions were held, this time in more cities. Again, Jehovah’s blessing was evident. Six days before the convention was to begin in Chorzów, the crew of a famous rock group scheduled for an upcoming concert at the stadium hung up a large advertising placard on the stadium tower. It depicted satanic images and symbols. The Convention Committee protested several times, asking that it be removed, but to no avail. They turned to Jehovah in heartfelt prayer. During the night, a sudden burst of wind ripped the placard to pieces, thereby solving the problem!

In that same year, more than 22,000 Polish delegates were among the conventioners attending conventions in Budapest, Hungary; in Lviv, Ukraine; and in Prague, in what is now the Czech Republic. How they rejoiced in these opportunities to share in spiritual fellowship with others of the global brotherhood!

What could be done to provide a suitable center in Poland from which to provide oversight for the congregations and their preaching of the good news?

A Branch Office for Poland

After the loss of the office in Łódź in 1950, the departments generally found in a branch office were located, not under one roof, but in a variety of places for almost 40 years. Once the Religious Association of Jehovah’s Witnesses was legalized, this arrangement could be changed. A house at 17 Prosta Street in Marki, near Warsaw, was chosen as a temporary office from which to direct the work. Then a search got under way to find a permanent site for constructing a branch office.

In October 1989 appropriate property, including a deserted motel, was purchased in the small town of Nadarzyn, about 12 miles [20 km] southwest of Warsaw. The Society’s Regional Engineering Office in Europe drew up building plans, and construction soon began. At times as many as 600 volunteers were working at the construction site. So within the surprisingly short time of one year and eight months, a building complex where the Bethel family could live and work was finished. On November 28, 1992, the new facilities were officially dedicated.

Seeing the efficiency of the brothers and the way in which they worked, onlookers were amazed. In the newspaper Gazeta Stołeczna (Metropolitan Paper), an article entitled “In God’s Way” commented: “The work is in full swing; no one is standing around doing nothing. Everyone wears a protective helmet during work. When concrete for the floors is to be poured on the following day, the carpenters work as long as necessary to finish the outside framework. It is unthinkable that the volunteers coming to work the next day should encounter delays. . . . The Witnesses’ main goal is to take the good news to everyone desiring it. The Bethel Home builders do not forget their mission. After work some of them take a Bible and a few issues of The Watchtower and head out to preach God’s Word from house to house. They have regular Bible discussions with many people in Nadarzyn and nearby.”

The brothers in Poland are grateful to Jehovah that it has been possible for them to complete this project. They are confident that the new branch office will facilitate theocratic activity in Poland. They also wish to express their gratitude to the global brotherhood who by prayers and practical assistance helped them, in so many different ways, to endure to see this day.

Determined to Keep On Enduring

Efforts of opposers, both religious and secular, to blot out Jehovah’s Witnesses have failed. The Witnesses are today the third-largest religious group in Poland! A large proportion of the populace who are not Jehovah’s Witnesses have relatives or acquaintances who are. In recent years the media have said and written much about the Witnesses, usually in an objective, and often even a positive, way. Large conventions contributed to this the most. But the brothers have also become more efficient in providing worthwhile information to the media.

Similarly, at the beginning of 1991, Hospital Liaison Committees were formed. Members of these committees have carried on beneficial discussions with medical personnel in many large Polish cities. This has led to a positive change in attitudes in medical circles toward Jehovah’s Witnesses and their stand on blood transfusions. Regarding the hospital in Skwierzyna, the newspaper Ziemia Gorzowska reported: “The medical staff got used to their principles; blood is forced on nobody anymore.”

Some years ago, hundreds of Jehovah’s Witnesses were in prison because of their stand of Christian neutrality. Now, however, as baptized preachers, ordained ministers of God, Jehovah’s Witnesses in Poland are exempt from military service. Their exemption is granted by the government on the basis of a certificate issued by the Society to those who qualify. While no Witnesses are presently imprisoned for reasons of neutrality, they have not forgotten those prisoners whom they met in years past and who showed a sincere interest in God’s Word. They continue to visit these, assisting them to conform their lives to his will.

What a joy to see that in 1993 the number of publishers in Poland reached a peak of 113,551. What countless reasons these tens of thousands of Witnesses have for being grateful to Jehovah! They have seen the truth passed down from generation to generation so that some Polish families today can pride themselves in knowing that the fifth generation is taking up the banner of truth! They have personally experienced the loving-kindness of a close-knit international Christian brotherhood! They have been witnesses of how Jehovah stood by them during very difficult times, giving them the needed strength to stay on the side of God’s heavenly Kingdom under Jesus Christ! They have experienced a strengthening of their faith and a deepening of their trust in the Creator, refined by countless trials and persecution!​—Jas. 1:2-4.

Therefore, it is not with a spirit of proud boasting but with humble gratitude for Jehovah’s loving care that they affirm the truthfulness of the divine promise: “Any weapon whatever that will be formed against you will have no success.”​—Isa. 54:17.

[Footnotes]

[Chart on page 252]

(For fully formatted text, see publication)

Publishers

125,000

100,000

75,000

50,000

25,000

0

1981 1983 1985 1987 1989 1993

Hours (millions)

20

16

12

 8

 4

 0

1981 1983 1985 1987 1989 1993

[Map on page 170]

(For fully formatted text, see publication)

Gdańsk

Chojnice

Gorzów Wielkopolski

Bydgoszcz

Białystok

Nadarzyn

Poznań

Warsaw

Łódź

Wrocław

Lublin

Kielce

Katowice

Kraków

[Pictures on page 183]

Here in Kraków, Franciszek Puchała offered a sizable reward to anyone who could prove from the Bible certain fundamental church teachings

[Pictures on page 191]

Wilhelm and Amelia Scheider soon after they began their Bethel service in Poland

[Pictures on page 193]

Jan Śmieszko, who was tried for blasphemy in this courthouse in Chojnice; the priest who testified against him admitted defeat

[Picture on page 197]

A group of Witnesses in southern Poland ready for activity, in 1933

[Picture on page 199]

When “Złoty Wiek” (The Golden Age) was banned, the brothers changed the name to “Nowy Dzień” (New Day)

[Pictures on page 202]

A few of those who proved their faith in prisons and concentration camps: (1) Paulina Woelfle, 5 years. (2) Jan Otre̗bski, 4 years. (3) Harald and Elsa Abt; he, 14 years; she, 7. (4) Franz Schipp, 3 years

[Pictures on page 207]

In 1940, Jan Sadowski (as seen then and now) seized the opportunity to witness at length to a large crowd in this cemetery

[Picture on page 215]

Enthusiastic Polish Witnesses, 5,300 of them, gathered at Katowice for postwar convention in 1946

[Pictures on page 216]

Branch office at Łódź, in 1948, and the Bethel family that served there

[Picture on page 217]

Henryka Żur, martyred three years after this photo because she would not make the Catholic sign of the cross

[Picture on page 223]

Paweł Muhaluk (left) and Stefan Behunick, missionaries expelled from Poland

[Pictures on page 227]

In this court in Warsaw, heavy sentences were imposed on Jehovah’s Witnesses in 1951. From right to left in front row: Wilhelm Scheider, Edward Kwiatosz, Harald Abt, Wladyslaw Sukiennik, and a guard

[Pictures on page 235]

Printing presses constructed and used by the Witnesses to print Bible literature when under ban, and a group of sisters who for many years risked their lives and freedom to print and deliver that literature

[Pictures on page 238]

Here at the University in Toruń, Jan W. Rynkiewicz and two others publicly refuted slanderous charges against the Witnesses

[Picture on page 240]

A “forest convention” in 1981

[Picture on page 251]

Poland Branch Committee in 1992

“Come, You People, and See the Activities of God”

AS Jehovah’s Witnesses, we confidently extend the invitation to people of all the earth to come and see the activities of God. (Ps. 66:5) Jehovah’s activities are very evident not only in nature but also in the work of his people. After you have read the foregoing worldwide report, we ask, Who but God could have impelled and strengthened us to accomplish all that was done during the 1993 service year? For example, the total number of hours spent in preaching was well over 1,057,341,000, which is 32,431,000 more hours than the preceding year. And the average number of Bible studies was up 237,460, to a total of 4,515,587. All of this required extraordinary “power beyond what is normal.” (2 Cor. 4:7) Only God could have supplied the strength necessary. The apostle Paul declared: “For God is the one that, for the sake of his good pleasure, is acting within you in order for you both to will and to act.” (Phil. 2:13) Therefore, to the living God, who puts his holy spirit in us, goes all the credit!

We invite all to come and see how Jehovah’s active force is working among his Witnesses. Love and peace are fruits of Jehovah’s active force, his holy spirit. (Gal. 5:22, 23) Come to racially troubled South Africa and see multiracial construction groups of Jehovah’s Witnesses cooperate in building new Kingdom Halls and meet peacefully together. Come to Israel and see Jewish and Arab Witnesses side by side joyfully preaching the good news of the Messianic Kingdom. In war-torn Northern Ireland, come and see Jehovah’s Witnesses who were formerly warring Catholics and Protestants getting along now as Christian brothers. In the lands of the former Yugoslavia​—Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Serbia, where nationalism and religious hatred have resulted in a terrible war—​come, see Jehovah’s Witnesses united in peace and love, no part of that vicious conflict.

In 1993, thousands of delegates from many different countries traveled to “Divine Teaching” District Conventions in many parts of the earth. What did they see? They saw firsthand the activities of Jehovah in Moscow’s Locomotive Stadium and in Kiev, Ukraine. They were thrilled to meet brothers and sisters who had endured decades of Communist rule. These faithful ones can say to Jehovah, as did the psalmist: “You have made mortal man to ride over our head; we have come through fire and through water, and you proceeded to bring us forth to relief. Come, listen, all you who fear God, and I will relate what he has done for my soul.” (Ps. 66:12, 16) Our hearts rejoice to see how Jehovah’s mighty hand worked out matters so that more people in these former Soviet lands have an opportunity to come to know him. How quickly the meek ones are taking their stand! Amazingly, there were 8,891 baptized at just these two conventions in Moscow and Kiev! Truly, the Word of God is moving speedily, and people are talking about his magnificent things!​—Acts 2:11; 2 Thess. 3:1.

The activities of Jehovah are visibly evident in the rapid expansion of new branch facilities throughout the earth. In Brooklyn, New York, prominently facing the Manhattan skyline, stands the Society’s new 30-story residence building at 90 Sands Street. During October, the Bethel family happily toured the lower ten floors, which were ready for use. When completed, this fine new facility will house about a thousand Bethel volunteers. Not just at the world headquarters but throughout the earth, Jehovah has been with us in construction projects, making it possible to obtain land and buildings for branch complexes and Assembly Halls and to rent properties for the Society’s use in many places. Over 57 countries have been involved! Despite shaky economic conditions throughout the world, Jehovah’s hand has not been short in providing his organization with the monetary and human resources needed to advance the Kingdom work.​—Isa. 59:1.

Organizationally, Jehovah has been active in strengthening his people. Evidence of this could be seen in the special meetings of Branch Committee members that were held during 1993 in eight locations, including Watchtower Farms at Wallkill, New York, involving brothers from some 100 branches. Members of the Governing Body and others shared in giving instruction. The responsible brothers attending were better equipped to provide uniform theocratic direction in their respective branches.

As we enter into 1994, let us continue to concern ourselves with Jehovah’s activities. “My Father has kept working until now, and I keep working,” Jesus Christ said. (John 5:17) Assuredly, Jehovah God and Jesus Christ will continue to be active workers, drawing thousands more sheeplike ones into the one flock under the one shepherd. (John 6:44; 10:16) How involved will you be in the activity of God and of his Son? We urge the thousands of youths and others in the congregations: Use your energy to bring glory to God. Orient your life around the preaching and disciple-making activity, which will result in everlasting life for you and for those who listen to you. (1 Tim. 4:16) And to all who have endured in the work for many years, we exhort: “Be courageous and do not let your hands drop down, because there exists a reward for your activity.”​—2 Chron. 15:7; Col. 3:24.

As the great tribulation approaches, the world will become even more insecure and restless than it is. Let us all resolve to apply more fully the wise counsel of the 1994 yeartext: “Trust in Jehovah with all your heart.” (Prov. 3:5) We can fully trust that Jehovah will act in our behalf as we pray and work in harmony with him in the doing of his will.

May Jehovah bless all of you.

Your brothers,

Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses