News

School Events 2023

Wawasee Middle School, Syracuse, Indiana, USA Video conference with 9 classes, 250 students and teachers and Simone Liebster.February 17 San Tan Valley (Phoenix), Arizona, USA Video conference with 70 students and 170 parents and members of the community and Simone Liebster.February 20 Yelm, Washington, USA Video conference with 20 Spanish

Forgotten Heroes: New Book Documents the Resistance of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Austria During the Nazi Era

New book documents the moving fates of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Nazi Austria: Gerti Malle researches resistance and persecution based on personal testimonies. 596 pages, 114 illustrations.
Photo of Elisabeth Dopazo (née Fickert), 2023 (source: privately owned by Elisabeth Dopazo).
Elisabeth Dopazo (née Fickert), 2023 (source: privately owned by Elisabeth Dopazo).

95-year-old witnesses Stolperstein laying – family helped Jewish neighbors

On November 4, 2024, Elisabeth Dopazo (95) will experience the laying of Stolpersteine (stumbling stones) in Sachsenburg for her, her brother and her parents. Although she herself was persecuted as a Jehovah’s Witness during the Nazi era, her family helped Jewish neighbors.
Photo of Emma Tiesel with granddaughter Johanna, 1954. (Source: private.)
Emma Tiesel with granddaughter Johanna, 1954. (Source: private.)

First Stolperstein (stumbling stone) for Jehovah’s Witnesses in Schwerin

On September 25, 2024, a Stolperstein (stumbling stone) will be laid in Schwerin in memory of Jehovah’s Witness Emma Tiesel. This is the first time that the state capital of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern has commemorated a member of the religious community who was persecuted under National Socialism. The Bible Students were already

Photo of the goldfish pond in Berlin-Tiergarten
Photo of the goldfish pond in Berlin-Tiergarten

Commemoration of the 91st anniversary of the ban on Jehovah’s Witnesses

The commemoration unfortunately has to be canceled due to security measures in connection with the European Football Championship. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. The foundation Stiftung Denkmal für die ermordeten Juden Europas, together with the Arnold Liebster Foundation, invites to a public commemoration on the 91st anniversary

Photo of Hermine Schmidt at a young age
Photo of Hermine Schmidt at a young age

Last German concentration camp survivor of the Nazi victims’ group Jehovah’s Witnesses dies

On March 31, 2024, concentration camp survivor Hermine Schmidt passed away at the age of 98. She was baptized as a Jehovah’s Witness in 1942 and was arrested by the Gestapo in 1943. In 1944, she was deported to the Stutthof concentration camp, where she had to witness indescribable atrocities.

School Events 2022

Little London International Academy, Voluntari, Romania Video conference with 20 high school students and Simone Liebster.January 17 Aachen Comprehensive School, Germany Video conference with students and Simone Liebster.January 27 Hainesport Township School, Hainesport, New Jersey – USA Video conference with 22 students and teachers and Simone Liebster.February 11 Chicago, Illinois

Photo of Simone Arnold-Liebster during a Zoom conference
Photo of Simone Arnold-Liebster during a Zoom conference

Award of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany to Simone Arnold-Liebster

The President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Mr. Frank-Walter Steinmeier, has awarded Simone Arnold-Liebster the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany as a token of gratitude for her commitment to preserving and passing on the memory of the tyranny of the National Socialists. The award rightly

Photo of Deliana Rademakers. Copyright Jehovas Zeugen in Deutschland, K. d. ö. R.
Photo of Deliana Rademakers. Copyright Jehovas Zeugen in Deutschland, K. d. ö. R.

Memorial to persecuted and murdered Jehovah’s Witnesses receives unanimous vote

On June 22, 2023, the German Bundestag unanimously approved the erection of a memorial to Jehovah’s Witnesses persecuted and murdered under National Socialism. The memorial is to be erected in Berlin’s Tiergarten, near the Goldfish Pond, by the Foundation Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. It will consist of