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.
This photo was taken in the Watchtower building 25 Columbia Heights in Brooklyn, NY. This was in a display called “A People for Jehovah’s Name: Archives.” This is a special display that tells the history of Jehovah’s Witnesses from the late 1800’s to the present.
This is commemorating the Jehovah’s Witnesses that were imprisoned in Nazi Germany. This was the clothes that the Witnesses would wear in the camps and you can see the little purple triangle. The purple triangle identified these people as Jehovah’s Witnesses as the yellow star identified other prisoners as Jewish. This group of people are being commemorated because of the sacrifice and time spent in the concentration camps. This group was imprisoned because they refused to swear allegiance to Adolf Hitler and fight for him because of their stance they were impressed. After the Jewish group Jehovah’s witnesses were the second largest group of people imprisoned in these camps. They are being commemorated for their brave stance not to give into Hitler’s evil regime.
This truly moved me when I saw it. In addition to having the uniform in the Archives, there were also personal stories of real survivors and a life sized remake of what the cells they were locked in looked like. It really made me put myself in these people’s shoes and realized the amazing faith that they displayed (a lot of them relayed that it was their faith in their God, Jehovah that kept them going their time in the camps). It is wonderful that they were able to tell their story because of the bravery that they and faith they showed, and it strengthened my own faith when I saw it.
Where: I took this photo at the Franklin institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Who and Why: Benjamin Franklin, one of the signers of the US constitution and a scientist is being honored here. He is being honored because he lived in Philadelphia and was a representative of Pennsylvania when he was part of the Constitutional Convention. This statue is in the Franklin Institute, a science museum in Philadelphia to honor Franklin for all the scientific advancements he made and for his general love of science and gaining knowledge.
Reflection: It reminded me a lot of the Lincoln memorial in Washington, D.C., just a smaller version and of course it honors someone else. It’s the first thing you see when you enter the museum and is the only thing in this room. I was there with some friends and when we walked in and saw it at first I said “Remember on the show The Office they had a guy dressed as Ben Franklin came in, and they brought up how he cheated on his wife a lot?” I don’t know why this was my first thought what it was. But it was true fact that he did cheat on his wife Deborah Read, and side fact they were married by common-law marriage not a ceremony. Anyway thinking about how he was in his family made me wonder if someone really deserves a commemoration like this. However, Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers and deserves the honor that comes with that. If it wasn’t for him and his philosophies we wouldn’t have the freedoms we get here. This was pretty much the conversation I had with my friends at the Institute. By the way we enjoyed the Franklin Institute and recommend you take a trip as well, if you go to Philadelphia.
