Declaration of Facts
Controversial public document issued by Jehovah's Witnesses / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Declaration of Facts was a widely distributed public statement issued by Jehovah's Witnesses during the period of persecution of the group in Nazi Germany. The document asserted the denomination's political neutrality, appealed for the right to publicly preach, and claimed the Witnesses were the victims of a misinformation campaign by other churches. It was prepared by Watch Tower Society president Joseph F. Rutherford and released at a convention in Berlin on June 25, 1933. More than 2.1 million copies of the statement were distributed throughout Germany, with copies also mailed to senior government officials including German Chancellor Adolf Hitler.[1] Its distribution prompted a new wave of persecution against German Witnesses.[2]
The declaration is controversial among Jehovah's Witnesses and historians. It stated that Jehovah's Witnesses shared the same ethical goals as the Nazi party, and it attacked Hitler's enemies: Jews, Catholics, the United States, Britain and France. The declaration was first read at the 1933 District Convention of Jehovah's Witnesses in Berlin and was later distributed to the public as a pamphlet. The convention opened with a hymn that shared the same melody as the German national anthem, an action otherwise anathema for Jehovah's Witnesses due to their political neutrality.[3]