“Admired His Incredible Determination”

Günter Grass,German author and winner of the Nobel Prize for

Literature, tells of a man who stood up for his faith under
persecution.
Appeared in The Watchtower October 15, 2007
 GÜNTER GRASS,
published his
autobiography in 2006. In it
he describes the time when
he was drafted into the
German civil defense.

In the same book, he tells

of a man who made such
an impression on him that it
has stayed with him for over
60 years.
That was a solitary figure
who stood up for his faith
under persecution.

Concentration Camp, Dachau, Munich-Germany Photo Credit: http://flickr.com/photos/ivanbustamante/338925182/

Concentration Camp-Dachau, Munich, Germany Photo Credit: http://flickr.com/photos/ivanbustamante
/338902137/

Researchers of Jehovah’s Witnesses identify the man as Joachim Alfermann. He was

repeatedly beaten and humiliated, and then he was placed in solitary confinement.
But Alfermann remained steadfast and refused to bear arms.
“I admired his incredible determination,” Grass noted. “I asked myself: How can he put up with
it all? How does he do it?”
After enduring prolonged efforts to break his integrity to God, Alfermann was finally sent to the
Stutthof concentration camp in February 1944. Liberated in April 1945, he survived the war
and remained a loyal Witness of Jehovah until his death in 1998.
 Alfermann was one of some
13,400 Witnesses—in Germany
and in countries occupied by the
Nazis—who suffered reprisals
because of their faith.

They followed the direction of the

Bible, remaining politically neutral
and refusing to take up arms.
(Matthew 26:52; John 18:36)
(Photo: Auschwitz, Concentration
Camp, Toilet)

Photo Credit: http://flickr.com/photos/orangeacid/542191373/

Some 4,200 Witnesses were interned
in concentration camps, and 1,490 lost
their lives. Even today, the stand they
took impresses many who do not
share their faith but admire their
steadfastness.
Concentration Camp Auschwitz, Poland Photo Credit: http://flickr.com/photos/soylentgreen23/279675470/
Photo Credit: http://flickr.com/photos/15002904@N02/2073401606/ Guardtower at Birkenau, Poland