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New online lesson: “Prisoners with the Purple Triangle. The Fate of Jehovah’s Witnesses and Bible Students in Auschwitz"
A new online lesson dedicated to the prisoners who were Jehovah’s Witnesses and Bible Students in the German Nazi camp Auschwitz has been prepared by the International Centre for Education about Auschwitz and the Holocaust. Its author is Dr. Teresa Wontor-Cichy from the Museum Research Centre. The lesson is available in English and Polish.
“In the marking system for the concentration camps’ prisoners, the purple triangle was used for prisoners distinguished with the symbol IBV. This abbreviation stands for the name of the organization Internationaler Bibelforscher Vereinigung – International Association of Bible Students, with followers in many countries. In Nazi Germany, their activities were seen as a threat to the development of the army and to the restoration of the glory of the German armed forces. This is because its members refused to work in the armaments industry and to participate in any events of a military nature, in addition, their children did not perform the Nazi salute during school hours. However, the most severe punishments fell on men who refused to serve in the army” – reads the lesson’s introduction.
“The lesson is divided into twenty-five chapters, in which the author describes the history of Jehovah’s Witnesses and Bible Students during the war, separately of men and women, the reasons for their arrest, details of their deportation to Auschwitz, and their fates,” said Monika Pastuszka-Nędza from E-learning at ICEAH, who coordinated the creation of the lesson. “Using numerous photos and documents, we can see the history of individuals whose faith led them to the camp,” she added.
During the nearly five years of the camp’s existence, at least 387 people (219 women and 168 men) were imprisoned there, at least 138 of whom were classified as IBV and indicated with the purple triangle. Furthermore, not less than 108 people were included in other prisoner categories (most often in the category of political prisoners and marked with the red triangle). As for the remaining 141 people imprisoned in the camp, it is known from the collected sources that they were Jehovah’s Witnesses or Bible Students, but it was not possible to determine which category they formally belonged to.
“In the literature on the history of concentration camps, the interested reader will find information about the prisoners with the purple triangle – Jehovah’s Witnesses and Bible Students. They generally constituted a very small group in the prisoner community but were particularly remembered by others. They tried to keep their spirits high, did their work diligently, and – as far as the situation in the camp allowed – took care of their camp clothes. They cared for their fellow believers, they also supported other prisoners who found themselves in their environment and needed help, and their refusal to sign a statement and thus obtain release from the camp aroused respect and recognition among many,” summarizes Dr. Wontor-Cichy in the lesson.
Based on incomplete data, historians assume that at least 1,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses from Germany and at least 400 from other countries (Austrians, Poles, Dutch) died in concentration camps and prisons. Proportionately, more non-German IBV prisoners died in prisons and camps.