This is a uniform of Jehovah’s Witnesses who spent time in a Soviet Union labor camp. This was found in the Watchtower building 25 Columbia Heights in Brooklyn, NY, in the display “A People for Jehovah’s Name: Archives.)
This was to commemorate Jehovah’s witnesses who were imprisoned in Soviet labor camps during the Cold War. They are being honored because of how brave they were to stand up to men like Stalin who said he would “Stamp out Jehovah’s Witness name from all of Russia.” Even though their preaching work was under ban during the Soviet rule they continued to so by any means they could. They would write and publish literature in their own homes and had portable printing presses that they would have to hide in their homes in order to protect themselves from Soviet Officers. Sometimes though they would be caught and sentenced to Russian labor camps. Many times after they finished serving their sentence they would resume the work they did before. They are honored because many died in the labor camps, some lived to their old age but have died recently and they showed great faith and showed devotion to their cause.
Again this was a faith strengthening commemoration to me. Not a lot of people would go to the lengths that these men and women did in order to fulfill what they believed was the duty they owed to their God. They did this fully knowing that they could be thrown in jail, some risked, therefore, time away from their families. Yet, when you read their personal experiences, all say that they regret nothing and it strengthened their relationship with their God. They all went through really hard times and yet they stayed positive and strong. It was very moving to read their experiences and I was amazed by what they did.
