The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) will rule on Friday (9:00 a.m.) in the legal dispute over a family archive that extensively documents the persecution of a Jehovah’s Witness family during the Nazi era. From the Nazis’ rise to power until her own arrest in October 1944, Annemarie Kusserow chronicled the fate of her family from Bad Lippspringe in North Rhine-Westphalia through photographs, letters, and other documents. More than 1,000 documents were collected in the process.
After Kusserow’s death, her brother sold the archive to the German government. Today, it is on display at the Bundeswehr Military History Museum in Dresden. However, Kusserow had actually bequeathed her estate to the Jehovah’s Witnesses. They are now seeking the return of the archive in court. At the hearing in March, the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) panel had urged the parties to reach an amicable settlement. However, this does not appear to have happened yet.
During the Nazi era, Jehovah’s Witnesses refused to give the Nazi salute or send their children to the Hitler Youth. Many refused to perform military service. Beginning in 1933, they were persecuted by the Nazis. Thousands were deported, imprisoned, and tortured. At least 1,700 members of the community lost their lives. On Wednesday, a memorial was dedicated in Berlin to commemorate the persecution of and resistance by Jehovah’s Witnesses.
