The Buchenwald SeriesWatercolors by Johannes SteyerA Jehovah’s Witness survivor As prisoner #1795, Steyer shares 27 freeze-frame visions in chronological order that contrast ten years of Nazi terror with individual religious determination and hope. The artist chose to use bright colors, perhaps reflecting the hope and optimistic yearning that infused his
Below you will find the transcript of the following video: https://sfi.usc.edu/content/living-histories-franz-wohlfahrt A more extensive video can be found here: https://sfi.usc.edu/content/franz-wohlfahrt CARD #1 Jehovah’s Witnesses were targeted for persecution based on their religious convictions and/or expression of those convictions. When they refused to comply with compulsory military service in Germany, increasing
During the 2009 school year tenth-grade students from Northrop High School in Fort Wayne, Indiana asked Robert Wagemann the following questions regarding his personal experiences during the Holocaust. Question #1 : Did you or your family have second thoughts about your faith and whether there was a god? Question #2
QUESTION #1:DID YOU OR YOUR FAMILY HAVE SECOND THOUGHTS ABOUT YOUR FAITH AND WHETHER THERE WAS A GOD? After seeing the hypocrisy of the mainstream religions (the Catholic Church making a Concordat with the Hitler regime and the Protestants’ clergy encouraging the people to vote for It), my parents’ study
QUESTION #2:FAITH PLAYED THE BIGGEST ROLE IN HELPING YOU AND YOUR FAMILY TO SURVIVE, BUT DID YOU ALSO RELY ON YOUR WITS OR SOMETHING MORE? To answer this question I will relate what happened to my mother on one occasion: Since Jehovah’s Witnesses were banned, they could not meet in large groups
QUESTION #4 :HOW DID YOU PERSONALLY REACT TOWARD THE SS GUARDS ? WERE THEY ALL VIOLENT ?HOW COULD PEOPLE BEHAVE THAT WAY ?IS THERE A LESSON TO BE LEARNED? The SS man who rescued me in Auschwitz once told me: “I feel like I’m on a runaway train going downhill.
QUESTION :WHY DIDN’T YOU JUST SIGN THE PAPER AND GO BEHIND THEIR BACKS TO PRACTICE YOUR RELIGION? IF YOU HAD SIGNED THE DECLARATION, YOU WOULD HAVE BEEN FREE AND LIVED WITHOUT A LIFE OF TERROR? That is an interesting question and I thank you for bringing up this point. First
QUESTION :HOW DID GOING THROUGH THE HOLOCAUST CHANGE YOUR VIEWS ON LIFE, AND HAS IT AFFECTED YOUR LIFE NOW? DO YOU BELIEVE YOU WOULD BE DIFFERENT IF THIS EVENT HAD NOT HAPPENED? I was 11 years old when the Nazis occupied Poland, where I was born. At the age of
During the 2009 school year tenth-grade students from Northrop High School in Fort Wayne, Indiana asked Joseph Kempler the following question regarding his personal experiences during the Holocaust. Question : How did going through the holocaust change your views on life, and has it affected your life now? do you