Świadkowie Jehowy w Wielkopolsce – część II ( lata 1950 – 2018 ) 147
Jan M i ł o s z
Jehovah ’ s Witnesses in Greater Poland — part II ( years 1951 – 2018 )
Abstract
Jehovah ’ s Witnesses have been active in Greater Poland for over a hundred years . Each sub-period of the last century was full of events affecting both the whole community and its individual members . The second part of the article presents the history of Jehovah ’ s Witnesses in Greater Poland during the years of the Polish People ’ s Republic ( 1950 – 1989 ): in the period of illegal operation and Stalinist persecution in the years 1950 – 1956 , underground operation in the 1960s and 1970s , and in their pursuit of legalization in the 1980s . The article also discusses Jehovah ’ s Witnesses in independent Poland , when their operation was again legal , i . e . from 1989 until now . All these periods in the history of Jehovah ’ s Witnesses are intertwined and affect how they are now perceived in Greater Poland in the Third Polish Republic .
Keywords : religious minorities , Jehovah ’ s Witnesses , Third Polish Republic , Polish People ’ s Republic , ban , National Committee , Charles Taze Russell , Bible Students , Free Bible Students , Epiphany , Office for Denominational Affairs , Security Office , Security Service , district servant , assembly servant , Watchtower .