6 thoughts on “Karl G. Maeser Anniversary Missionary Conference, 1928”

1. From the home towns, ten missionaries serving in the German-Austrian Mission in 1928 were locals – seven from the current German states of Berlin, Brandenburg, Saxony and Thuringia in the former East Germany, two from what is now Poland (Breslau, now Wroclaw, and the Prussian Danzig, now Gdansk), and one from what is now Russia (the Prussian Königsberg, now Kaliningrad). None were from the area of the former West Germany. I was told years ago by a missionary serving in Germany in the early 1950s that the strength of the Church was in the eastern part of the country. This information from 1928 supports his statement.

2. Thanks for pointing that out, Jim.

   This also speaks to the canard that by the end of World War II, German branches were engaging in all sorts of apostate practices. They were not — Elder Benson kept tracking down those rumors and never found anything solid anywhere; it was always the next branch up the road that reportedly did it, never any branch he actually visited. A region like the eastern part of Germany that could produce so many local missionaries 15 years earlier is a region that had a good base of long-time members who understood how things were done and who were unlikely to have abandoned ingrained practices and adopted alien ones so quickly.

3. Interesting to see someone I knew (many years later) personally pictured in the 1927 Holiday Greetings from the German-Austrian Mission Home and Mission Family. Any idea where that mission home was located?

4. JR, according to their letterhead, their address in Dresden was Konigsbruckerstrasse 62. (I knew my letterhead collection would come in useful some day!)

5. I don’t much like seeing half of the distinguished visitors and guests reduced to “and wife” but I’m particularly puzzled by
   “John A. Widtsoe and wife (expected).” If it means Leah was expected to become John’s wife, 1928 is too many years after the fact. If it means that both John and Leah were expected as guests, I’d imagine that all the distinguished guests were only “expected” at the time of printing.

6. I suppose they were less sure of the Widtsoes’ being able to attend, and didn’t want to raise hopes too high. But amen to the erasure behind “and wife”!

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