“The Best Conclusion I Could Imagine”

A HIGH-SCHOOL teacher in Spain wrote: “For more than a hundred years, Jehovah’s Witnesses have demonstrated true solidarity, irreproachable honesty and, above all, indestructible faith.” What moved this teacher​—a self-styled atheist—​to make such a statement?

It all began when Noemí, a high school student and one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, was assigned to write an essay as part of the final examination of her school studies. She decided to develop the theme “The Purple Triangles Under Nazi Rule.”

Why did she choose that theme? Noemí explains: “Since a teacher would oversee my work, I thought I could take advantage of this opportunity to give him a witness. The story of how Jehovah’s Witnesses in Nazi Germany remained true to their principles had touched my heart. I believed that it would impress others as well.”

Noemí’s work had an impact on many more people than she could possibly have imagined. On October 5, 2002, her essay received a prize in a national competition for research on science and the humanities. The prizes for that competition are awarded by a jury made up of 20 academics from prominent Spanish universities.

Noemí received her award from Pilar del Castillo, the Spanish minister of education. Noemí seized the opportunity to give the minister a copy of the videocassette Jehovah’s Witnesses Stand Firm Against Nazi Assault. The minister readily accepted the gift.

Back in Noemí’s hometown of Manresa, the local newspaper highlighted her academic achievement and reviewed the content of her essay. Meanwhile, the headmaster of her school asked for a copy of her work in order to include it in a program to commemorate the high school’s 75th anniversary.

“This is the best conclusion I could imagine for my high school studies,” Noemí says. “I was overjoyed when I read the words that my teacher, Mr. Jorge Tomás Calot, wrote as part of his introduction to my report:

“‘I am an atheist, but I would like to be totally convinced of the existence of this Supreme Being, who inspires in his worshippers the most genuine “love of neighbor.”’”