Historical remembrance in Berlin – New publication on the unveiling of the memorial

Their resistance was life-threatening. Because it was directed against a regime that did not tolerate any resistance. This makes the location of the event all the more astonishing: the goldfish pond in Berlin’s Tiergarten was the hub of the resistance that Jehovah’s Witnesses put up to the Nazi regime throughout the Reich – right under the eyes of the Gestapo.

On June 24, 2026, the memorial to the Jehovah’s Witnesses persecuted and murdered under National Socialism will be ceremoniously handed over to the public at the site of the event. The documentation volume will be published in fall 2026, tracing the history of this memorial project in detail: from the initial idea, which was born as early as 1948, to the ceremony and the accompanying events in June 2026 – the culmination of the long struggle for the dignified commemoration of the resistance of Jehovah’s Witnesses against the Nazi regime. The four parts of the documentation volume with well over 200 illustrations outline the history of the memorial:

• the report on the symposium “Bible Students – Incredible Courage” 2022 in the rooms of the Topography of Terror Foundation;
• the chronological recording of the steps, consultations and debates of the subsequent political decision-making process;
• the biographies of the 13 goldfish pond activists and a critical look at the perpetrators – with numerous previously unpublished images and details from over seven years of research;
• Reports on the commemorative events on June 24, the official day of remembrance of the persecuted group, at the Berlin Goldfish Pond between 2023 and 2026.

More information:

• Press release of the Monument Foundation
• Video “Bibelforscher – unglaublicher Mut. Film der Ständigen Konferenz der NS-Gedenkorte im Berliner Raum”