Great WWII Story, Great Food, Great Visiting, Great Friends, Sept 2005...

The semi-annual gathering of B’nai Shalom was held Thursday evening, September 29th, 2005 at a ward building in Salt Lake City. It was a memorable evening!

We began with a potluck dinner at 6:30 pm. Lots of good noshes: bagels, lox, gefilte fish, liver paté, and many more Jewish dishes. Members and guests partook heartily and kibitzed (chatted) happily.

At 7:30 we heard from the invited speaker, Karl-Heinz Schnibbe, a member of the Church and a survivor of Nazi terror during World War II. Following his fascinating and memorable story we returned to the cultural hall to enjoy Middle-Eastern music and feast on the luscious desserts.

Br. Schnibbe is the lone survivor of the Helmuth Hübener Group that comprised three LDS German teens who defied Hitler in 1941. Karl-Heinz was imprisoned several years in a concentration camp and four more years in a Soviet prison in Siberia. His amazing story of endurance and long suffering was inspiring.

Karl-Heinz spoke of the fear, torture and intimidation he and his friends endured, about the bravery of his friend Helmuth, his long time in prison or labor camps, and of his struggle to forgive. At the end when he was free (and very light) after seven years, he cried and cried; those around him wanted to help, but his mother said let it happen. He finally let it all out and felt even lighter; he had forgiven them. To this day he feels nothing but forgiveness.

Those boys are an example that we can follow: principled LDS, standing up for what is right regardless of consequences. And Karl is a wonderful example of endurance and forgiveness.

Br. Schnibbe’s riveting book The Price, no longer in print, can occasionally be found and purchased through internet bookstores. Authors Blair R. Holmes and Alan F. Keele wrote When Truth Was Treason, about Schnibbe’s experiences. Published through the University of Illinois, it is also out of print. However, a BYU video, Truth and Conviction is often shown on BYU-TV, and a full-length movie about the Group’s experiences with the German SS is in production.

He currently serves as an ordinance worker in the Salt Lake temple.

B’nai Shalom will hold its next meeting in the same location, on the Thursday before General Conference, March 30, 2006.
 
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