3 July 1949 (First Pioneer School)
Dear Bahá’í Friends:
Your message, sent from your school session to our beloved Guardian, reached him, and he has instructed me to answer it on his behalf, and to assure you he was delighted to see that such a school for pioneering had been held.
He was also very glad to see that the believers are studying the Covenant of the Master. For in the Master’s Will and Testament are enshrined the principles underlying the World Order, and unless the believers fully grasp the greatness, functions, and purpose of the institutions outlined in that Testament (and elaborated by the Guardian in his book “The Dispensation of Bahá’u’lláh”) they will not be able to properly function as Bahá’ís individually or collectively. The German friends need to acquire a profound understanding of the Bahá’í Administrative Order to enable them to function as a Community, according to Bahá’í laws, and to protect them from tests and the attacks of the enemies of the Faith....
[From the Guardian:]
Dear co-workers:
I was so pleased and encouraged to receive your message and to learn of the activity you have initiated. I will pray for its success and extension from the depths of my heart. Persevere in your labours, and rest assured that you will be guided, sustained and fully rewarded for your meritorious and timely accomplishments,
Your true brother,
Shoghi
4 September 1949 (Summer School)
Dear Bahá’í Friends:
Your letter reached our beloved Guardian, and he was delighted to see so many believers and friends were present at the July session of the School, and also to note the excellent courses you were given by the teachers and visitors present at the School.
He was also very pleased to see the program for the Youth Week being held in the Schwarzwald, and the emphasis which is being placed on teaching the Covenant in both Esslingen and this Youth week he considers very important.
The German Bahá’ís, like all the believers everywhere, will be strong, united and protected to the degree to which they are firm in the Covenants of both Bahá’u’lláh and the Master.
He hopes the teaching work in Germany will make great progress, and he urges you all to devote yourselves to this mighty task, and to promoting love and unity amongst the Bahá’ís and a better understanding of the administrative order of our Faith....
[From the Guardian:]
Dear co-workers:
Your joint message brought joy and gladness to my heart and was a powerful reminder of the staunchness of the faith of the dearly-beloved German believers, their constancy and determination, their thoroughness and diligency in the study of the Faith and of its teachings, and their devotion to the interests of its institutions. I will supplicate the Beloved on your behalf to enable you to acquire a still deeper understanding of the essentials of His Revelation, and to promote, with increasing effectiveness, the best interests of His Cause,
Your true and grateful brother,
Shoghi
23 December 1949
CONVEY GERMAN YOUTH COMMITTEE ASSURANCE PRAYERS LOVING APPRECIATION.
SHOGHI RABBANI
6 March 1950
INFORM GERMAN ASSEMBLY MORTGAGE HAZIRA INADVISABLE RELIEF FUND EXHAUSTED. APPROVE RENTING ROOMS.
SHOGHI
13 April 1950
INFORM GERMAN ASSEMBLY PREPARE PROMPTLY MAP GERMANY AUSTRIA SHOWING ASSEMBLIES GROUPS AND ISOLATED CENTRES AIRMAIL HAIFA.
SHOGHI
28 June 1950
Dear Bahá’í Friends:
Your letters addressed to our beloved Guardian and dated May 26, June 29, August 30 from Mr. Gollmer, November 19, December 7, of 1949, and January 15, February 15, and April 18, of 1950, have been received, as well as their enclosures and other material and photographs sent, and he has instructed me to answer them on his behalf.
The past winter and spring have been very difficult for our beloved Guardian, and this is why he has not been able to reply to you, (or to any other National Assembly), for so long. As you know, he has been carrying on the construction of the first stage, the arcade, of the Báb’s Shrine in anticipation of having it finished for the July 9 Centenary Celebrations of His Martyrdom. This necessitated a great deal of excavation of the solid rock behind the Shrine in order to enable the arcade to be built. The Guardian himself supervised this work in order to see it was done the most economical way and as quickly as possible; this took up a great deal of his time and energy.
At the beginning of April, just when he was planning to devote himself to the correspondence of the various N.S.A.’s, Mr. Maxwell, the architect of the Shrine, became very dangerously ill, and until the present time is in Hospital with special nurses day and night. His condition is now very much better, but the constant worry, and the problems arising daily, have hitherto prevented our Guardian and his secretary from answering any mail. He wishes you to know that these are the reasons you have not heard from him for so long.
In regard to certain matters you raised in your letters: he does not consider it necessary to publish at present “This Earth One Country”; there are other books more urgently needed by the German friends such as “Some Answered Questions” and the “Paris Talks” of the Master.
He sees no objection to your Assembly’s renting to suitable tenants some of the rooms in the Hazírá of Frankfurt in order to assist you in financing its construction. Also he feels you are free to rent the Bahá’í Hall in that building to groups, who have similar aims to ours, or to the University.
As to purchasing the property next door: although this would be desirable, he feels at present it is out of the question, as you have not got sufficient funds to do so, and are already having difficulty meeting the heavy expenses involved in building the Hazírá itself.
The Guardian has already had a sum transferred to Mr. Hofman to meet the expenses of publishing “God Passes By”. He trusts this important work will soon be in your hands, as it will be of great educational value to the German believers. They are, he feels, just the people to appreciate such a weighty history and review of the Faith.
The whole-hearted response made by the German Bahá’ís to his appeal last year to become united and to deepen their understanding of the Covenant pleases him greatly. He feels this has demonstrated anew the loyalty and faith of this Community, and justifies his hopes for the brilliant future he is convinced lies ahead of them.
The entire Community of friends in Austria and Germany should now concentrate on fulfilling their Plan. The success of the American friends, the remarkable victory of the British Bahá’ís and the Persian believers, the progress being made by the distant communities in Australia and New Zealand, as well as India, Pakistan and Burma, should encourage them to gird up their loins and crown their own efforts with victory.
The Guardian feels sure that, now that a greater degree of unity has been achieved by the German believers, they will find that God gives them far greater strength to carry out their work for His Faith. He assures you he will pray for all the friends to become increasingly as one soul labouring in many bodies.
He will also pray for all the members of your Assembly to be strengthened to perform your historic work successfully....
P.S. He thanks you for the map showing Bahá’í distribution in Germany and Austria, and will publish it in the next edition of “Bahá’í World”.
[From the Guardian:]
Dear and valued co-workers:
The progress achieved by the German Bahá’í community in recent months, under the able direction, and through the constant vigilance and loving care of its elected national representatives, is highly gratifying and fills me with hope, gratitude and admiration for the sterling qualities that distinguish its members in their steadfast service to the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh. The restoration of harmony and cooperation among the dearly loved, high-minded, great-hearted German believers, the vigorous prosecution of their newly-adopted Plan, the gradual restoration of their newly purchased Hazíratu’l-Quds, the steady extension in the range of their publications, and the notable multiplication and consolidation of their rehabilitated institutions, are the latest evidences of the unconquerable spirit and indomitable faith which have consistently animated them in the past, and which have enabled them to weather, in the course of the last world conflict, the severest storm that has afflicted them since the inception of the Faith in their land.
The process of harmonious cooperation and the spirit of mutual understanding, remarkably evident in the life of a newly resuscitated, highly promising, spiritually enriched community must, particularly in its relation with the local communities in Hamburg and Vienna, be steadily fostered, however great the obstacles that may be encountered. The education of the members of the community in the principles and essential verities underlying the Covenants of Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá as well as the Administrative Order of the Faith—the twin pillars sustaining the spiritual life and the institutions of every organized Bahá’í community—must, at all costs, be vigorously pursued and systematically intensified. The multiplication and consolidation of Bahá’í administrative institutions, in both zones under the jurisdiction of the elected representatives of the community, and in the neighbouring territory of Austria, must be given a fresh impetus through repeated exertions and carefully devised measures. The initial steps, aiming at the incorporation of the National Assembly and of every soundly grounded properly functioning local assembly, should be promptly taken, as a prelude to the establishment of the national and local Bahá’í endowments for the benefit of the entire community. The utmost effort should be exerted to hasten, on the one hand, the completion of the restoration of the national administrative Headquarters, and centralize, on the other, the national activities and manifold agencies of the Faith in that newly-appointed centre established in the heart of that country. Particular attention should, moreover, be given to the vital city of Berlin, its needs, its interests and future prospects. The teaching work, the cornerstone of the Bahá’í Edifice and the primary purpose of every Bahá’í institution, so emphatically stressed by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in His Will, should, above all, be reinvigorated and relentlessly expanded. A closer association through correspondence, attendance at Summer Schools, participation at Teaching Conferences and collaboration in publications should be carefully fostered with the sister communities now rapidly emerging on the European continent, in the British Isles, in the North and South American continents, in Asia, Africa and Australasia.
To these immediate tasks, so vital, so sacred, a community, purged in the fires of suffering, revitalized and functioning with unity, zeal, fidelity and enthusiasm, must address itself without delay, with complete dedication and renewed and undefected resolve, as a prelude to the future unfoldment of its mission, beyond the confines of its homeland. For a national community so vibrant with life, so painstaking in its labours, so efficient in its methods, so impervious to the slings and arrows of affliction, occupying so central a position in a continent, so politically confused, so spiritually starved, so socially agitated, and the recipient of such favours and promises, from the lips and pen of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, cannot, if faithful to its destiny, remain confined in its future activities, to the narrow compass of its homeland, and fall behind its sister communities in East and West, which are forging ahead and are in addition to their tasks at home, carrying forward the banner of the Faith in both distant lands and neighbouring territories, such as Latin America, the Goal countries of Europe, the Dependencies in the Far North, the Territories of the Arabian Peninsula, Central, East and West Africa, the Islands of the Pacific and South East Asia.
Already this community has, in the years preceding the great ordeal to which it has been subjected, initiated in however tentative a manner, its teaching enterprises beyond the confines of its homeland in one of the neighbouring Balkan Territories, and laid to rest, as an everlasting memorial to its pioneering spirit, the remains of its first martyr in the soil of that Territory.
No more adequate and better field can be imagined, as an outlet for the long-hemmed in energies of a spiritually virile, highly developed outstandingly loyal branch of the family of Bahá’í national communities, than the neighbouring territories situated in the Balkan Peninsula, the Baltic States, and further afield the vast stretches now enveloped in darkness, and whose teeming millions hunger for the Light of God’s saving grace and redemptive power.
For so glorious and mighty a mission, this community, however limited its present resources, however circumscribed in its numbers, however formidable the various obstacles that now stand in its path, must, by applying itself assiduously to the tasks of the present hour, prepare itself and acquire the necessary spiritual capacity to launch, in the years that lie ahead and possibly on the morrow of the celebrations of the centenary of the birth of Bahá’u’lláh’s prophetic Mission, the first stage in its historic Mission destined to embrace so vital a section of the European, and so colossal an area in the Asiatic, continents. May this community prove itself worthy of its high destiny.
Shoghi
30 December 1950
NONATTENDANCE FEAST DOES NOT JUSTIFY SUSPENSION VOTING RIGHTS.
SHOGHI
2 March 1951
Dear Bahá’í Friends:
Your letters dated June 12th, October 23rd and December 14th, 1950, and February 12th and 13th, 1951, as well as your latest dated 2.3.51, together with their enclosures, have been received, and our beloved Guardian has instructed me to answer you on his behalf. The material sent under separate cover has also been received.
In regard to the various questions you have raised in your letters, the Guardian does not feel that we are justified in removing a Bahá’í from the voting list just because they resign from the Spiritual Assembly. Although it is considered a moral responsibility on the part of the believers to serve on Spiritual Assemblies if they are elected, if for some reason, they feel they must resign from that body—in other words for some really weighty reason—it certainly does not mean that they have lost their Bahá’í voting rights. The friends should be encouraged to shoulder the burdens of the administrative work—on the other hand, they cannot be forced to do so if they have any valid reason to support their refusal.
The Guardian was pleased to note that the Bahá’ís figured on the census for the first time. He hopes that, in the future, your Assembly will be able to establish itself legally in such a manner as to be the absolute owner and the administrator of Bahá’í endowments. If you already have this status, he would like to be informed of it.
A Bahá’í can certainly be an Esperantist. The Guardian does not think that in the case you mention, it is right to ask this old man to resign from his Masonic Lodge. Generally speaking, the friends should not enter secret societies. It is certainly much better for the believers to dissociate themselves from such organizations; but as I said, it would seem unnecessary, in this particular case, to ask a very old man to break this connection at the end of his life.
...It is most unfortunate that just as the believers in the eastern zone were beginning to be more active and able to keep in contact with your Assembly and with the Bahá’í in other parts of the world, they should now be suddenly entirely cut off and their activities banned. He feels, however, that your Assembly has taken the wise decision in regard to connection with them. If, through any personal letters, it is possible to assure them of his prayers, he would like you to please do so.
He is very glad to hear that the National Headquarters is now practically finished; and assures your Assembly that he approves of your raising a first mortgage on it, provided this is absolutely necessary, and you are sure that you can handle the repayment of it in the future. He would prefer, naturally, that this building which is of such importance to your national activities, and of which the believers are all so proud, should be free of any incumbency.
The desire of the German believers to participate in the construction of the Holy Tomb of the Báb touches him very much; and he would suggest that, as it is not feasible at present for any funds to be sent out of that country, you accept contributions for this Fund and spend them at present in Germany, until such future time as it will be possible to remit the sum to Haifa.
Naw-Rúz and Ridván are celebrated all over the Bahá’í world according to the solar calendar—there is no difference in the dates in the east or the west.
In regard to your publishing work: It is most unfortunate that, through the delay in printing “God Passes By”, you now require such an exorbitant sum to be expended on it, if it is gotten out in England. The Guardian has explained to Mr. Hofman that he feels that unless some arrangement can be made with your Assembly to get out this book with the sum already forwarded by him for this purpose, that it is not possible to go on with the publication at this time, as the funds of the Cause, limited as they are, must now be concentrated on building the upper parts of the Shrine of the Báb. If there is any way that your Assembly can arrange with Mr. Hofman to receive a certain number of copies—perhaps unbound—at this time, and have them bound in Germany, he would approve of this, and suggests you look into the matter. Of course, if there was any way Mr. Hofman could transmit to you the money he has received, and you could publish the book in Germany, the Guardian would approve of this.
He thinks that “Some Answered Questions” is more important in the teaching work than “Paris Talks”, and recommends to get “Some Answered Questions” out first.
The Guardian has already written to ..., asking him to reconcile himself with your Assembly and to entirely forget this episode, which he considers to have been due to a misunderstanding, and certainly not worth the amount of feeling that was expended upon it on all sides. He hopes that your Assembly will accept any overtures he and his dear Father may make, and assist them to put the whole thing behind them, and go on with their active service in the Cause to which we know they are both so attached at heart.
In this connection, the Guardian would like to point out to your Assembly that, although it is sometimes necessary to take away the voting rights of a believer for purposes of discipline, that this prerogative of the National Assembly should be used only in extreme cases. It is very bad for the believers to have the feeling that their Assembly will deal too harshly with them, and the net result can only be that a feeling of fear or alienation or resentment may grow up in their hearts towards the body that they should look to as being, not only their elected representatives, but their helper,—one might almost say their father—and the one to whom they can confidently take their problem, and whose wishes and decrees they will respect and obey unhesitatingly.
The Guardian has never heard of any ruling by which a believer who does not attend three consecutive 19 Day Feasts can be deprived of his voting rights. He does not consider that such action is justifiable at all. The whole question is whether a person considers himself a Bahá’í or not, and is willing to adhere to the principles of the Faith and accept the authority of the Guardian and the Administration,—whether that individual is able, or always in a condition psychologically to attend Feasts and Bahá’í meetings is an entirely different subject. If a person makes it quite clear that they do not wish to be considered an active member of the Bahá’í Community and be affiliated with it and exert their voting right, then their name should be removed from the voting list; but if a person considers himself or herself a Bahá’í, and for various reasons is not able to be active in the affairs of the Community, then they should certainly not be removed from our voting list, least of all at present, when the number of the Bahá’í Community is so small.
Our beloved Guardian regrets extremely the delay in answering many of these questions. This has been, and still is, an extremely difficult period for him. He has so much work to do—there are so many things to be attended to here in Haifa—with the construction of the Shrine and the administration of the many Bahá’í properties here, and also through the formation of this first International Bahá’í Council, that he is finding it extremely difficult to attend to his correspondence—even such important letters as those he receives from the national bodies.
We are all hoping that this is merely a transitional and difficult phase, and that soon he will be able to find some respite from his heavy duties, and devote more time to taking care of his precious health. If he were not so overburdened with details which, alas, are often very insignificant, he would be able to give out so much more to the believers all over the world. The friends should pray that God will lift some of these burdens from their Guardian, and enable them to receive the full bounties of his mind and spirit, which he could pour forth into the body of the Faith if he were only not so exhausted and preoccupied.
The increased activity of your Assembly, the increased unity amongst the believers and their evident sense of growing responsibilities, the work already achieved in constructing the national Hazírat—all these things augur well for the expansion of our glorious Faith in Germany and Austria, and undoubtedly are hastening the day when this Community will play a more important role in the international affairs of the Faith, and be able to carry out its own final duties in neighbouring countries, and thus enrich the record of its services to the Cause of God.
He assures you, one and all, of his loving prayers for the success of your work; and deeply appreciates the spirit of dedication which animates your Body....
Post Script (March 8)
In regard to the matter you raised in your latest letter, the Guardian does not see how, under present circumstances, he can arrange to transfer any more funds to Germany. He regrets this very much; but, as you know, nothing can be sent out of this country, and the International Fund cannot support any additional work on this national headquarters at the present time. He will pray that this obstacle may be swiftly removed from your path.
[From the Guardian:]
Dear and valued co-workers:
The progress achieved in recent months, in both the teaching field and the consolidation of national and local administrative institutions, by the German Bahá’í community is highly exhilarating and has served to deepen my feelings of admiration for its members who have so faithfully arisen to compensate for the years of enforced inactivity resulting from the repressive policy followed during the last world conflict. The one dark cloud on an otherwise bright horizon has been the disabilities suffered by their brethren and compatriots in the Eastern zone of their divided land and their virtual separation from them at a time when their close association and collaboration would have greatly reinforced the foundations of their common Faith and redounded to its fame and glory.
The field now stretching before the believers constituting the major part of a sundered community is, however, still so vast, its needs so great and its spiritual receptivity so pronounced that they cannot afford to either relax for a moment in their efforts or hesitate in the prosecution of their sacred task. To publicize the Faith and disseminate its literature; to lend an ever-increasing impetus to the multiplication and consolidation of its nascent institutions; to accelerate the incorporations of firmly established assemblies; to overcome by any means in their power the obstacles obstructing the completion of their national administrative headquarters; to persevere in their efforts to guide, encourage and strengthen the community of their brethren in Austria; to prosecute with diligence and determination the Plan they have initiated; to remove, once and for all, every trace of inharmony and of misunderstanding which may linger among some of the members of the community; to forge fresh links with the newly fledged assemblies in the goal countries of the European continent and their subsidiary institutions; to reinforce the ties binding them in particular, to their sole sister national assembly in Europe and other Bahá’í national assemblies in general—these may be regarded as the outstanding and immediate obligations devolving upon the national elected representatives of a community which in the concluding period of the Heroic Age of the Faith has been made the recipient of such marked blessings and favours from the Center of Bahá’u’lláh’s Covenant, which on the morrow of His ascension played so notable a part in preserving the integrity of the Cause of God and in establishing the agencies of its rising Administrative Order, which demonstrated in the course of the prolonged ordeal it subsequently experienced, its tenacity, fidelity and exemplary devotion, and which is now preparing itself for the gigantic tasks that await to be accomplished by its valiant members in so large a section of the European and Asiatic continents.
The record of service stretching behind them is indeed highly inspiring. The vision of future victories at home and in distant fields now unfolding before them is even more glorious and highly challenging. The more they consecrate themselves to their present tasks, the more faithfully and promptly they fulfil the requirements of the Plan to which they stand committed, the sooner will they acquire the spiritual potentialities that will empower them to qualify for the successful conduct and the ultimate consummation of so colossal an enterprise destined to shed so great and imperishable a lustre on both their community and nation.
That they may be vouchsafed by Providence all the strength and guidance they require for the attainment of their immediate goal, that they may prove themselves worthy of receiving a still greater measure of celestial strength and Divine sustenance for the achievement of their ultimate objective is the dearest wish of my heart and constant prayer.
Shoghi
30 April 1951 (Convention)
ASSURE ASSEMBLED DELEGATES LOVING FERVENT PRAYERS OFFERED SHRINES CONSOLIDATION EXPANSION MANIFOLD MERITORIOUS ACTIVITIES DEARLY LOVED VALIANT PERSEVERING GERMAN BAHAI COMMUNITY. SUPPLICATING BLESSINGS DELIBERATIONS. URGE REDOUBLE EFFORTS TO FULFIL OBJECTIVES PLAN AND PAVE WAY STILL GREATER MORE GLORIOUS ENTERPRISES.
SHOGHI
26 July 1951
INFORM GERMAN ASSEMBLY TRANSMITTING FURTHER CONTRIBUTION NATIONAL FUND.
SHOGHI
9 August 1951
Dear Bahá’í Friends:
Our Guardian was very pleased to see the Post card of the new German National Bahá’í Headquarters, and also to note the official cancellation mentioning the Bahá’í annual Convention.
He feels sure the Faith in Germany, through means such as these, will attract an ever wider interest in the public at large.
He wishes all of you every success in your devoted services to the Cause of God....
[From the Guardian:]
May the Almighty abundantly reward you for your labours, guide every step you take in the path of service, and aid you to extend continually the range of your accomplishments, and contribute effectively to the consolidation of the nascent institutions of our beloved Faith,
Your true brother,
Shoghi
27 August 1951 (Summer School)
Dear Bahá’í Friends:
Your letter of July 22 reached our beloved Guardian, and he has instructed me to answer it on his behalf.
He was very happy to see the friends are now regularly enjoying the use of the National Headquarters which they constructed through so much effort and sacrifice. This marks a great step forward in the progress of the Faith in Germany, and will ever-increasingly lead to bounties and blessings.
He assures you one and all of his most loving prayers for the success of your devoted services to the Cause of God....
[From the Guardian:]
May the Almighty reward you abundantly for your steadfast and meritorious labours, aid you to acquire a fuller understanding of the essentials of His Faith, and contribute effectively to the consolidation of its nascent institutions,
Your true and grateful brother,
Shoghi
28 September 1951 (Summer School)
Dear Bahá’í Friends:
Your loving message was received by our beloved Guardian, and he has instructed me to answer you on his behalf.
He was particularly pleased to hear the sessions of the School were carried forward in an atmosphere of love and harmony, as this is the very essence of Bahá’í living.
He urges you all to redouble your teaching efforts in your local Communities, and he will pray for you all....
[From the Guardian:]
May the Spirit of Bahá’u’lláh sustain and guide you in your meritorious activities, bless your high endeavours, and enable you to lend a great impetus to the consolidation of the institutions of His glorious Faith,
Your true brother,
Shoghi
30 October 1951 (Summer School)
Dear Bahá’í Friends:
Your greeting reached our beloved Guardian, and he was very happy to see your school had been so successful and well attended.
Hamburg is a very important Center, one of the oldest Bahá’í Centers in Germany, and situated in a position where it can favour the spread of the Faith. It is, therefore, essential for the believers there to be firm and united in serving the Cause, for them to keep in close contact with the National institutions of the Faith in Germany, and to be active in teaching, and also in associating with travelling Bahá’ís who pass through their city.
He will pray for the success of your Bahá’í work....
P.S. He was very interested to see the “Rundbrief” you enclosed.
[From the Guardian:]
May the Almighty bless your high endeavours, guide and sustain you in your meritorious activities, and enable you to promote the best interests of the institutions of His Faith,
Your true brother,
Shoghi
30 October 1951
Dear Bahá’í Friends:
Your letters dated May 31, August 14, and two of September 16, have been received, as well as other material sent the Guardian by you under separate cover, and he has instructed me to answer you on his behalf.
Please note that on behalf of the beloved Guardian I have written direct to ... assuring her of his prayers and his sympathy for her sufferings. Cancer is a most terrible affliction, and has taken its toll of some very fine Bahá’ís, alas!
The Guardian was particularly pleased to hear so many of the German friends could be present at the E.T. Conference in Holland. This association of the friends is a great stimulus to the work, and he hopes will increase in scale as the situation in Europe improves.
He was also very glad to know your Assembly met with ... and ... as Berlin and Vienna are important centers, and the work needs to be stimulated and fostered in both places, especially Vienna.
The Guardian feels that the financing of the Hazírá—so that debts may not pile up too much—and the teaching work are very important.
To concentrate on achieving the goals of your Plan you should, if necessary, make economies in other directions. In America, for years, the publication of “World Order Magazine” was given up, as it was not essential, and the money in the Fund was more urgently needed elsewhere. He feels that, if necessary, “Sonne der Wahrheit” and the Youth Bulletin can be given up. The Youth can have a place in your regular “Bahá’í News” for themselves. However, these are matters for your assembly to weigh and decide upon.
The most important thing of all, now that greater unity has been established in the German Community, is to make the friends pioneerconscious; they must learn to venture forth, putting their trust in God, and go to new cities and towns to establish the Cause. This will mark an entirely new phase in the history of the Cause in Germany, and will give the Bahá’ís a sense of victory and importance they have never had before. When they see how, after years of persecution, of war, occupation, financial chaos and instability, they have built their Hazírá, and moved their National Headquarters to it, they must feel both astonished at their victory and immensely proud. Did they ever believe such a thing could happen? Let them, then, with the same faith and determination, arise and build up new assemblies and groups. They will find that they succeed as they succeeded with their Hazírá.
The Guardian remembers you all in his prayers, and is very pleased with the progress so far made by the German friends. But he hopes they will now accomplish still greater feats!...
[From the Guardian:]
Dear and valued co-workers:
The Plan now being prosecuted with such diligence, fidelity, unity and enthusiasm by the long oppressed, greathearted, indefatigable, much admired German Bahá’í community, despite the exhaustion following a prolonged ordeal, is entering upon its concluding phase. This first collective enterprise, embarked upon by a community which, by virtue of its size, its experience, its past achievements, occupies a preeminent position in the European continent, and is destined, in view of its capacity, its fortitude, its resilience and tenacity of purpose, to play an outstanding role in both contemporary and future Bahá’í history, must, through a concerted and supreme effort on the part of its members, be brought to a triumphant conclusion.
Its successful termination will be but a signal for a series of enterprises, each more glorious than the one preceding it, which will carry the fame of this community, already tested in the crucible of afflictive trials, and richly endowed by the tender favours of its Founder, Who blessed with His Presence its leading center, to regions far beyond the confines of its homeland and as far as the Eastern fringes of the Asiatic continent.
In such a glorious venture, and in the course of so vast, so momentous and sacred an enterprise, it will, if it discharges manfully its present task, be seconded in its noble exertions by the concerted efforts of all the budding communities in the European continent, and will play a notable role, in collaboration with the trustees of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Divine Plan labouring throughout the American continents, and with its sister communities toiling in Africa, South East Asia, and Australasia, in achieving the spiritual conquest of the entire planet.
Much depends, however, on the manner in which it discharges the responsibilities of the present hour. The administrative base from which it must spread out into Eastern and Southern Europe, and beyond these spheres into the heart of Northern Asia, as far as the China Sea, must first be thoroughly consolidated. The valiant battalions that are to carry the banner of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh to distant climes, amidst alien races, and throughout the length and breadth of immense territories and in inhospitable surroundings, must, to begin with, increase in number, acquire added experience, and deepen in their faith and understanding. The literature with which the bearers of God’s redeeming Message must be equipped when launching out beyond the frontiers of their native land must, preparatory to their arduous crusade, be multiplied and adapted to the mentality of those diversified peoples and races inhabiting so vast a section of the globe.
The Bahá’í Administrative headquarters now being completed in the heart and center of this community’s homeland must be speedily consolidated and further extended. The assemblies and groups which, as a result of the operation of the present Plan, must be brought into being, must be safeguarded and strengthened. The spiritual life of its participating members must, while this process of administrative consolidation is being accelerated, be continually enriched, their vision broadened, their understanding deepened, their unity reinforced, their enthusiasm enkindled through the institutions of summer-schools, conventions, regional conferences, youth rallies and study classes. The unity and solidarity of the members of this community must be vigilantly safeguarded and constantly reinforced. The ties binding it to its neighbouring sister-community in Austria must be greatly strengthened, and the administrative agencies operating in both communities must be closely correlated and the cooperation between them continually fostered.
Then and only then, will this community be empowered to launch befittingly its first campaign across the borders of its native land, and manifest, as it projects itself beyond its national frontiers and diffuses over regions, both far and near, the illuminating radiance of Bahá’u’lláh’s redemptive Revelation, the potencies with which its Divine Founder, the Center of the Covenant, endowed it in the course of the last decade of His Ministry.
As the centenary of the birth of Bahá’u’lláh’s Mission approaches, as the Plan formulated by this Community draws to a close, a supreme effort, unprecedented in its scope and intensity, must be exerted collectively by its members, young and old, an effort that will arouse the admiration of the entire world, that will proclaim its worthiness and capacity to shoulder so immense a task in the future, and which will carry to a triumphant conclusion this initial undertaking, embarked upon by the German and Austrian followers of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh in the heart of the European continent.
Shoghi