HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM IN U.S.A. WARNS OF DANGER OF NEW GENOCIDE IN CONNECTION WITH BAN OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES IN RUSSIA
Portal-Credo.Ru, 29 April 2017
The Holocaust Memorial Museum (U.S.A.) expressed in a special declaration its profound concern in connection with recent reports about oppression of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia and attempts of the Russian Ministry of Justice to prohibit this religion because of "extremist activity" of its members, a Portal-Credo.Ru correspondent reports.
"The Holocaust warns us of the dangers of state prosecution of whatever group," noted the director of the museum, Sarah Blumfield. "Of course, what is happening in Russia is not comparable with the events in nazi Germany, but it is important to recall that the National Socialist Party considered Jehovah's Witnesses to be a threat for the state and it subjected them to harsh persecutions."
"The nazis oppressed Jehovah's Witnesses for the reason that because of their religious beliefs the Jehovah's Witnesses did not conform with the requirements of the nazi state," the website of the museum recalls. "They do not pledge allegiance to any state and they do not serve in the army. Such convictions and also the international connections of believers (the headquarters are located in the U.S.A. and some Witnesses have had to go abroad) very much displeased the nazis. Of 25 to 30 thousand active Jehovah's Witnesses in Germany in the period of nazi rule, about half were convicted and from 2,000 to 2,500 persons wound up in concentration camps, not counting another 700-800 Witnesses who were citizens of other countries. Around 1,000 German Jehovah's Witnesses and 400 from other countries perished in these camps."
The Holocaust Memorial Museum is a living memorial of an historical tragedy. "We call citizens of all countries and their leaders to oppose together hatred and to prevent another genocide," the museum's statement says. "For this it is necessary to support human dignity. Our sponsors actively finance a network of educational programs and other international projects. You will find more information about our activity at ushmm.org." (tr. by PDS, posted 29 April 2017)
Editorial disclaimer: RRN does
not intend to certify the accuracy of information
presented in articles. RRN simply intends to certify the
accuracy of the English translation of the contents of the
articles as they appeared in news media of countries of
the former USSR.
If material is quoted, please give credit to the
publication from which it came. It is not necessary to credit
this Web page. If material is transmitted electronically, please
include reference to the URL,
http://www.stetson.edu/~psteeves/relnews/.