Jehovah’s Witnesses were the first religious denomination to be outlawed by the Nazis. Approximately 25,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses were living in Germany at the beginning of the Nazi regime, and as early as July 24, 1933, their primary organization – the International Association of Bible Students – was banned.

Jehovah’s Witnesses were targeted by the Nazis, not for perceived racial reasons (as the Jews and Roma were), but because they were a threat to the totalitarian state. One of the primary beliefs of the Jehovah’s Witnesses is there is no other authority in the universe than Jehovah; and thus, in accordance with their faith, they could not swear allegiance to any leader or state. Deemed a threat, they were persecuted for refusing to conform to Hitler’s Nazi regime.

Ernst Schwalm was one such Jehovah’s Witness targeted by the Nazis.

Schwalm was arrested in December 1936 for the possession of banned literature. And for the next eight-and-a-half years, he endured multiple prisons, seven concentration camps, and three death marches. In May 1945, he was liberated by American soldiers from Ebensee concentration camp.

The Florence and Laurence Spungen Family Foundation’s collection on Ernst Schwalm contains many multitudes of letters written by Schwalm, which were sent to his wife, Emmy, and their two children, Ernst-Daniel and Hanne-Ruth, during his time in the various prisons and concentration camps.

The following research article, written by Professor Kevin Ostoyich, tells part of Schwalm’s life story through an examination of some of these letters.

If you have any questions or comments regarding this article or the topic of Ernst Schwalm, or if you would like to request a PDF copy of the article, please send an email to Mikayla Hoppe: mikayla@spungenfoundation.org