The Jehovah's Witness movement was founded in the United States in the late nineteenth century. From there the movement spread to Europe, and in Germany it came face to face with the demands of the Third Reich for total allegiance to National Socialism. The result was a bitter and heroic conflict as Witnesses refused to yield to a regime they perceived as evil.

Jehovah's Witnesses believe that humans are living in the last days of a world where Satan rules, and that at the end they will join with the forces of good to defeat Satan and his troops. God, whom the Witnesses address as Jehovah, will then establish his kingdom of peace and plenty on earth. In the meantime, Jehovah's Witnesses spread knowledge of Jehovah and his plans through door-to-door missionary work.

With a strong belief in family and personal ethics, Witnesses see themselves as citizen of God's kingdom and soldiers in his army. Thus, they will not bear arms,...