After the First World War, the Ruhr area was occupied by the French and the Belgians. On the one hand, this was a difficult and turbulent time, but on the other it served the spiritual progress of God’s cause. Many people put up passive resistance. People went to work, but they did not work, and still received their wages from the authorities.
At the time, it was thought that this situation could lead to war and that I could therefore be interned. I was advised to leave Essen. For weeks I prayed for clarity and divine guidance in this matter. Then, while I was traveling in East Prussia, the Lord spoke clearly to me through Hebrews 11:24-26. For the sake of the work, we should not leave but stay in Essen.
Further developments have shown how right this instruction was. If I had only thought of my own advantage and the preservation of my family, I would have had to turn to earthly work, and the development of the Ruhr region would have been prevented. Many things that were already there would have declined again.
The poet C. W. Naylor wrote in a song:
Had I the choosing of my pathway,
In blindness I should go astray,
And wander far away in darkness,
Nor reach that land of endless day.
There was no uprising and no war. The occupying powers withdrew voluntarily. A different agreement had been reached. It is good to be guided by God and to always seek first the kingdom of God.
It happened again later in a similar way. When I had to give up my public ministry as a preacher, I had the choice of going to Poland or Brazil. In Poland, there were large congregations and only a few preachers. In human terms, the need seemed greater there. Going to Brazil was the more difficult path for me. Brazil in 1936 was not what it is today. There was also no mission and no church to support us financially. But it was clear to us that we had to go to Brazil, and we were not going to be stopped.
Call and trip to Brazil
Because of my Jewish ancestry, it became impossible to work in Germany under the Nazi regime. When Brother Waurich took over the leadership of the congregation in Essen, it was still possible for a while. But the pressure on the “non-Aryans” grew stronger and stronger, and I gave up the ministry of the Word in Germany altogether. Most of our brothers and sisters in the Essen congregation didn’t see the danger as that great and were determined to keep me on as a preacher. It took three church meetings before I was able to break away from the congregation. The brothers and sisters then accepted Brother August Borbe as my successor.
The hardest thing for me was to part from my coworkers and fellow pastors. I was so connected to them that it was difficult for me to part with them. The years of working together had bound us together. I was very worried about the future of the work. Then the Lord met me and said to me: “If the work is built on you, it may perish. But if it is built on the Lord, it will stand.” So I was able to let go inwardly and put myself, my family, and the Lord’s work in God’s hands.
At that time, the congregation no longer dared to continue supporting me. As a result, my financial support was suddenly cut off. As we had no savings, we were suddenly destitute. But the Lord took care of us in His own way and didn’t let us down.
At the same time, a request came from Brazil to send a pastor. The letter went to Brother Brose, who was head of the mission headquarters at the time. Brother Brose passed the letter on to me, and after many prayers we clearly saw our way to Brazil.
At the time, Brother Zuber advised me to go to Poland because the need there was so great. However, when I asked at the Polish consulate, I didn’t get an entry permit. But what would have happened to us if we had gone to Poland? I would probably have been killed, along with the many other Israelites. As you know, 6 million Jews were murdered in cold blood under Hitler. My two sons, who were left behind, also suffered and only miraculously escaped with their lives.
I will never forget that Brother and Sister Grannas had the courage to take us into their home for a few days until our emigration papers were in order. When the time came to leave, some of our brothers and sisters from the congregation out of love accompanied us to the train station and said goodbye to us, despite the great danger.
As I write down these memories, 31 years have passed since we last saw our children and grandchildren and the churches. Many a call came from over there during this time, also to help. When Brother Zuber was still alive, he wrote, among other things: “I still think with tears of the time when you were in Germany. With what love and unity we worked together!” And he asked me to come back and work with him in the ministry.
The human desire to see our children, grandchildren, and the ministry again was sometimes very strong, especially when my wife was still alive. But so far, the Lord has not allowed me to do so. We are in a holy battle. If God has placed us in a location, we have no right to leave it, even when danger or death threatens – unless we receive a new command from above.
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