APRIL 28, 2022
ISRAEL
Exhibition on Nazi Persecution of Jehovah’s Witnesses Opens in Israel
A new exhibition highlighting the courageous stand of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the face of Nazi persecution opened in Israel on March 7, 2022. The exhibition is being held in the Center for Humanistic Education at the Ghetto Fighters’ House Museum in Western Galilee and is presented in Arabic, English, and Hebrew. It will remain open until March 2023. In collaboration with museum staff, more than 50 brothers and sisters from around the world contributed their expertise in fields such as historical research, graphic design, and translation to develop the exhibition.
The interactive exhibition is entitled “Wedontdothat,” inspired by a nickname given by a member of the German civil defense to Brother Joachim Alfermann, one of Jehovah’s Witnesses persecuted by the Nazis. a Despite intense pressure, beatings, and solitary confinement, Joachim refused to be trained for the German military, saying: “We don’t do that.” He was later sent to a concentration camp for his refusal to bear arms. The exhibition’s curator, Mrs. Yaara Galor, noted: “Alongside the Jews who were murdered for various reasons were millions of other people. . . . Each such group has its own unique story.”
Dr. Gideon Greif, a Holocaust expert and Auschwitz historian, spoke at the exhibition’s opening program and reflected on the refusal of Jehovah’s Witnesses to sign a declaration renouncing their faith. He said: “[Jehovah’s Witnesses] could easily go free—the signing process lasted a minute. It shows that even in the darkest periods in human history in the world, there are groups that manage to maintain a high moral standard, purity of heart, and purity of word. Therefore, Jehovah’s Witnesses deserve to be talked about, to be remembered, to be learned about, and also to be taught about.”
A sister who serves at the branch in Israel and who attended the exhibition’s opening said: “I had tears in my eyes thinking that we have such an exhibition here in Israel in a museum open to the general public . . . Hearing the members of the museum staff saying ‘Jehovah’s Witnesses’ in Hebrew from the platform was unforgettable. Definitely, Jehovah’s name was glorified by this event.”
We are confident that those who see this exhibition will be helped to appreciate the courage and faith of our brothers and sisters in Nazi Germany. Their faithful example can motivate Jehovah’s modern-day servants to continue ‘running the race with endurance.’—Hebrews 12:1.