Rudolf Max Graichen

Rudolf Max Graichen German Holocaust Survivor 6/2/1925 – 1/31/17

Rudolf Graichen was preceded in death by his father Alfred Graichen who was clubbed repeatedly during 5 years of Nazi imprisonment, and unable to care for himself thereafter, mother Teresa Graichen who died of Typhus in Ravensbruck C.C., brother Werner, twin sister Ruth and wife Patsy. He is survived by his son Othniel and daughter-in-law Cathy, sisters-in-law Billie Downing, North Reading, MA, Camilla Hardmeyer, Oakland, CA and six nieces and nephews in the United States: David Carlson and Cathy Garcia of San Antonio, TX, Alice Carlson of Aurora, CO, Susie Carlson and Daniel Carlson of Boise, ID, Michael Moore of Portland, OR, a niece in East Germany, and many spiritual brothers and sisters both locally and worldwide.

Rudolf Graichen was a German Holocaust Survivor. His parents were German Jehovah's Witnesses living in a village near Altenburg. They taught Christian values and Bible truths to their children. Hitler came to power in 1933 and by 1937, in elementary school, 12-year-old Rudolf was pressured to wear a Nazi youth uniform and march with his class. However, he refused and began a life of standing up for Christian principles that brought persecution. He was sent to a reform school to correct his anti-Nazi views, then a foster home on a farm, and at age 17 to Schmolin where a Nazi block captain reported that Rudolf possessed a bible and would not Heil Hitler. Rudolf was arrested and jailed by the Gestapo on December 15th, 1942. On June 2nd, 1943 when he turned 18 years of age, he and his mother were tried together and both sentenced to prison. She was sentenced for one and a half years, after which she was taken to Ravensbruck C.C. where she died. Rudolf's sentence of four years began at Stollberg Prison. Unlike Jewish prisoners, either could have been released by simply recanting. Rudolf was liberated by the Allies in the spring of 1945. He walked 70 miles to his maternal grandmother's home where she cared for him. In February of 1947, Rudolf resumed the full-time ministry in Communist East Germany.

In August of 1950, Rudolf was arrested by the Communist Stasi Secret Police and imprisoned in Brandenburg's maximum security prison. He was kept awake in a dark cell by day, and interrogated under bright lights all night as a Jehovah's Witness suspected American spy. One week later he was transferred to an empty dungeon with foul water on the floor so he stood or sat on his shoes. After three additional days of interrogation, a high ranking Communist official arrived to ask questions. Rudolf stated that the Nazi Gestapo had not treated him as cruelly as the Stasi. It surprised the officer to hear that the Nazis had imprisoned Rudolf and he wanted to know why. When he heard that Jehovah's Witnesses were imprisoned by the Nazis for religious reasons, and were accused of being Communist Russian spies, the official's attitude changed. Rudolf asked the officer where he thought all of these German Communist officers were during the war, before they realized that they were really good Communists. The officer was taken aback by this pointed plea for justice. The officer had a blanket brought to Rudolf who was shivering and shaking uncontrollably. He put a stop to the interrogation and returned Rudolf to a regular cell. Two weeks later he was tried and returned to Brandenburg to serve a four-year sentence.

Later Rudolf was transferred to another prison where he was permitted to earn money sewing soccer balls. Compensation was progressive, and two balls a day earned less than a mark per ball. However, five per day earned one and a half marks per ball, and ten or more balls per day earned three marks per ball. Rudolf apprenticed as a harness maker and often sewed ten plus balls per day. This brought both praise and substantial accumulated earnings upon his release after serving four years. Rudolf fled to West Germany and resumed his full-time ministry (Mat. 28:19,20). He became a Circuit Minister visiting congregations in Munich and towns along the Alps. In late 1957, Rudolf was invited to attend the Bible School of Gilead in New York, so he decided to learn English.

Rudolf was one of two graduates to address some 253,922 attendees at the 1958 international convention of Jehovah's Witnesses held simultaneously in Yankee Stadium and the Polo Grounds. Rudolf received his missionary assignment to Punta Arenas and Puerto Natales, Chile. Now he had to learn Spanish, and over time Rudolf learned five languages. He liked to laugh, joking that just a little further south and he would have had to learn Penguin as well. After two and a half years Rudolf was again asked to care for a circuit of congregations, and during a circuit gathering, he and fellow missionary Patsy Beutnagel married. After a few years they were expecting a child, but Patsy became very ill and lost the baby. They came to Patsy's childhood city San Antonio with the assistance of a local congregation in May of 1963. Rudolf studied and became an accountant for a nationwide company. In 1980 Patsy died under tragic circumstances. When his employer relocated, Rudolf was able to retire in 1983 at age 58 and resume the full-time ministry.

Rudolf travelled widely as a speaker with the university sponsored program "Jehovah's Witnesses Stand Firm against Nazi Assault" sponsored in San Antonio, TX by Trinity University. His video-taped interview at the Holocaust Museum is among his numerous citations on the World Wide Web. His life story was published in 126 languages in The Watchtower magazine of August 1, 1997 (circulation of 20,980,000, also see JW.ORG). Rudolf was alert and sharing his Bible knowledge and experiences with assisted living visitors and medical personnel until the last week of January 2017, looking forward to the prospect of a new assignment. — Rev. 5:10.

Sincere thanks to Puente and Sons Funeral Home

A Memorial Service was held, February 11, 2017 at 6:00 p.m., Assembly Hall of Jehovah's Witnessess. 9750 Eagle Crest, San Antonio, Texas 78239