‘I Wanted to Learn More About My Religion’

FOR a history project at school, 12-year-old Ciara, from Florida, U.S.A., chose an intriguing subject​—the persecution of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Nazi Germany. “I chose this topic because I wanted to learn more about the history of my religion,” she says. “I hoped to learn exactly what Jehovah’s Witnesses went through during the Holocaust.”

After doing considerable research, Ciara had a wooden purple pyramid constructed, representative of the purple triangle that was sewn onto the uniforms of Jehovah’s Witnesses for identification in the camps. Ciara attached pictures with captions to the sides of the pyramid. Also included was the heartrending, yet faith-strengthening, letter written by Wolfgang Kusserow, one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, just before his execution.​—See The Watchtower of September 1, 1985, page 14.

Ciara’s display made clear that, unlike other prisoners, the Witnesses had a choice: If they signed a document renouncing their faith, they would be released. The fact that the overwhelming majority did not sign is testimony to the integrity of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Ciara says that she benefited from choosing this topic for her project. It certainly helped her to learn more about her religion. “Despite being a small group in Germany at the time,” she says, “Jehovah’s Witnesses had strong faith, which helped them overcome the persecution they encountered.”

If you are a young Witness of Jehovah in school, are there ways that you too can speak about the history of your faith?