The faithful do not yield: Jehovah's witnesses in nazi camps

Abstract

Jehovah's Witnesses in countries under Nazi rule refused to participate in war-related activities in any way. Consequently, unless they abjured their religion, they were subject to severe penalties. Between 6,700 and 7,000 were sent to concentration camps. In contrast to Jewish Holocaust survivors, not much research has been conducted on this group. The present study used thematic content analysis to assess patterns of universal values, coping strategies, and resolutions of psychosocial crises as these were manifested in the memoirs and interviews of 62 Jehovah's Witness survivors of the camps, and compared those with the counterpart results of interviews with 58 Jewish survivors recorded in 1946. The results show differences tentatively attributable to the relative status of the Witnesses and Jews in Nazi ideology and in the lifestyles and religious beliefs of the two groups. Further research, with larger sample sizes, is needed for definitive conclusions to be drawn.