{"id":17787,"date":"2026-08-03T18:00:51","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T18:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alst.org\/?p=17787"},"modified":"2026-08-06T18:47:58","modified_gmt":"2026-08-06T18:47:58","slug":"biographies-of-persecuted-jehovahs-witnesses-new-digital-knowledge-portal-launched","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alst.org\/en\/news\/biographies-of-persecuted-jehovahs-witnesses-new-digital-knowledge-portal-launched\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cBiographies of Persecuted Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses\u201d \u2013 New Digital Knowledge Portal Launched"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Screenshot<\/a>
Screenshot of the homepage of the knowledge portal \u201cBiographies of Persecuted Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses\u201d. Source: Foundation Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, accessed August 3, 2026.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

AI disclosure:<\/strong> This English version was translated from the German original with the assistance of artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ahead of the official dedication ceremony of the Memorial to Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses Persecuted and Murdered under National Socialism, a press conference was held on June 18, 2026 at the Information Centre of the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin. The digital knowledge portal on the persecution and resistance of Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses, created to accompany the memorial, was also presented and launched at biographien-verfolgter-zeugen-jehovas.de<\/a>. The Arnold-Liebster-Stiftung initiated the project and funded its preparatory phase. Created in 2025\/26, the portal is run by the Foundation Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. It received funding from the Foundation Remembrance, Responsibility and Future (EVZ Foundation) and the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM) as part of the \u201cJUGEND erinnert vor Ort & engagiert\u201d program. Its cooperation partners are the German Resistance Memorial Center in Berlin and Verein Lila Winkel in Austria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The portal already contains hundreds of biographies of Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses who were persecuted under National Socialism. Many of them were murdered. It also includes biographies of members of the religious community who were persecuted in the GDR after 1945. The portal\u2019s content goes far beyond a collection of biographies. At its heart is an interactive map of Europe<\/a>. It enables users to explore residential, persecution, resistance and remembrance sites connected with the people featured. The portal now lists more than 800 locations of various kinds: homes outside which Stolpersteine have been laid; secret literature depots used by the religious community; courthouses and prisons; concentration camps; streets named after Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses; and monuments and other commemorative markers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Map<\/a>
Section of the interactive map showing sites of the persecution and resistance of Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses under National Socialism. Screenshot from the online exhibition \u201cBiographies of Persecuted Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses\u201d. Map display: Leaflet; map data: \u00a9 OpenStreetMap contributors. Source: Foundation Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, accessed August 3, 2026.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In addition to pages about biographies and locations, the portal offers a list of abbreviations<\/a>, an extensive bibliography<\/a> and an encyclopedia<\/a>. The encyclopedia explains key terms relating to the history of Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses. It will be expanded gradually, as will the section containing country chronologies. Chronologies of the history of Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses in Germany<\/a> and Poland<\/a> are currently available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The digital knowledge portal is aimed at descendants of persecuted Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses, people interested in history, local history societies, Stolperstein initiatives, memorial institutions, schools and history clubs. It can be used to trace the regional history of Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses. Interested users can conduct their own research and\u2014especially in schools\u2014develop their own contributions in consultation with the project team. The information already available can also support preparations for future Stolperstein laying ceremonies and themed city tours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Historians and volunteer researchers contributed to the development of the portal, drawing on their extensive knowledge of regional history (citizen science). Six youth project groups also took part: three from eastern Germany and three from western Germany. Three groups were based at schools: the Tisa-Projektgruppe at the verbundene Regionale Schule und Gymnasium \u201cTisa von der Schulenburg\u201d in Dorf Mecklenburg, a history class at the Elsa-Br\u00e4ndstr\u00f6m-Gymnasium in Oberhausen and the AG \u201cKriegsgr\u00e4ber\u201d at the Europaschule R\u00f6vershagen. The three other groups consisted of young people from local congregations of Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses. They researched the history of local persecution in Upper Lusatia, the Kassel area and Hamburg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/a>
Meeting of all six project groups in Berlin on June 24, 2026 on the occasion of the official dedication ceremony for the Memorial to Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses Persecuted and Murdered under National Socialism (photo: Friederike Pescheck).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The young people conducted research in archives, contacted descendants of people persecuted under National Socialism, and carried out eyewitness interviews and conversations with historians and politicians. They visited the former places of imprisonment of the people they were researching, made films and produced video podcasts. They also initiated and supported Stolperstein laying ceremonies. They published the results of their research in contributions to the portal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The highlight of the project was the official dedication ceremony for the memorial in Berlin\u2019s Gro\u00dfer Tiergarten on June 24, 2026<\/a>. More than 40 young people from all six project groups traveled to attend. Afterwards, a team from the Foundation took them on a dialogue-based city walk to the memorials overseen by the Foundation. This gave the participants an opportunity to get to know one another and discuss their work.
Although the portal already offers a wealth of material, it is designed as a growing project. Numerous additional biographies and locations from all over Europe will be added in the coming years. A particular focus will be the persecution of Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses under communist regimes in Eastern Europe after 1945.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Further information:<\/p>\n\n\n\n