Transcript Photo Album - David Silver's Web Site

2006 Special Convention Katowice, Poland
First, a day of sightseeing.
We toured the Old Town of Krakow.
A wonderful city…and our brothers and sisters made it
even more beautiful.
(Sukiennice)
Rynek-Market Square
Uliça Florianska (Florian Street)
Sisters we met while strolling the old town.
They were delegates from Finland,
scheduled for the convention at Poznan.
USA delegates on the right of our Kazakh
brothers.
Two brothers from Kazakhstan. Their warmth was
contagious and their greetings from their
respective congregations were moving.
Two sisters (one from Poland, one from
USA) as they rode their bikes through
the market.
“Deliverance At Hand!”
Special Convention
Slaski Stadium
August 4-6, 2006
Slaski Stadium was converted into
one huge Assembly Hall for the
duration. The convention departments
and facilities were efficiently and
thoughtfully appointed...of course!
Sunday attendance: 51,124
Trading convention badges was a
popular thing. Somewhere in the
Ukraine is a young sister with my
badge in English!
The convention city (Katowice) and venue (Stadion Slaski) was
conveniently located; about 45 minutes drive from our hotel in
Krakow. The map below also shows the town of Sosnowiec (center
right) where one of the larger assembly halls is located.
Day 1: 48,000 attendees endure a
chilly wet day.
In spite of the chill and rain, most
were glued to their seats for the
sessions.
Many were totally unprepared for the
inclement weather. Hotel blankets were
a blessing the next day.
Needless to say, fashion was not an
issue.
Number of Delegates from 15 countries in the eastern European region: Close to
10,000
Number of Delegates from the USA and parts otherwise: Over 5,000
1 Moving experience: Priceless
There was a bit of drama with reference to a group of Ukrainian friends who had their approval
for buses to transport them to the convention rescinded by their local authorities weeks b/4 their
scheduled date of departure.
They were told that they could walk if they wanted to go. So walk they did. Their trip to the
convention which should have taken all of three days stretched to 13 days(!) Of course, they
expended the funds and provisions they had intended for the shorter trip and by the time they
reached the convention it was the Friday evening of the convention.
They missed a day, but they were there the Saturday. After hearing the rumor among the USA
delegates I confirmed with someone in the information department that the ambulance sirens
that we heard during the first part of the Saturday program was in fact for some of those dear
friends who had made the long trip. (One could reasonably suppose that the cold and rainy
weather along with the exhaustion got to some of the more vulnerable ones.) This was in fact
the case.
When I asked what else could someone do aside from taking our lunches (which were provided
for us as part of the visiting delegation) back so it could be re-bagged for those Ukrainian
friends, the sister spoke to a brother in the department and she said, "Don't worry. If you meet
one of the friends who experience this problem, feel free to do what you want, but all of you are
our guests and they will be taken care of." What a beautiful attitude! And although we met tons
of friends from the Ukraine, there was no way to tell who had suffered any hardship in getting to
the convention…their smiles, laughter and generous hugs proved that there’s nothing lasting that
Satan can do to Jehovah’s people!
USA
delegate
with
delegate
from
Ukraine’s
mountain
region.
USA
delegates
displaying
their
cultural
heritage.
With our sister from Kazakhstan
Before
After
Baptism
574 were baptized at
Katowice.
The before and after
pictures above allowed
us to guess how many
new congregations that
number could possibly
represent.
Polish friends in traditional rural
garb
Two sisters
from Tatarstan
(east of
Moscow)
Polish brother in Coal Miner’s
dress uniform
With sisters from Ukraine (right)
and Poland (left)
With young sisters from Poland
With friends from Poland
With friends from Russia
With our sisters from St. Petersburg
(left) and Moldova (right)
Our
sister
from
Estonia
With our sister from Latvia
There were many banners such as
this one—too many for my camera’s
memory, in fact.
Two lifesavers: This Polish couple sitting
next to us gave me a rainslicker just when I
needed it!
The sun finally peeked out on Sunday for
the drama…and promptly went back in.
Auschwitz
The camp of Auschwitz/Birkenau was the only
Nazi camp dedicated to the extermination of
its prisoners.
All the other concentration
camps were labor camps in nature…Auschwitz
was the only death camp.
The tour guide pointed out the ‘evil convenience’
of using facilities that were already in
existence…the rails, the barracks, the grounds
had all belonged to Poland as a prison camp.
Prisoners’ first and last view…the chambers
were left of this view.
Where prisoners were first unloaded from
the trains.
Wood barracks for the prisoners destined
for the chambers.
Ruins of the gas showers
Entrance to Auschwitz
Memorial atop the chambers
Infamous archway:
‘Work means freedom’
An eerie feel permeated the entire visit…
A photo on display of one of our dear
sisters who was killed in the chambers
with her family…her husband refused
to join the army and as punishment his
family was executed.
The
grounds
were
deceptively
peaceful, almost idyllic. These were
originally barracks for Polish officers
which were converted into halls of
barbary by the Nazis. The look of a
university campus or somesuch
probably fooled many authorities
who came to inspect.
Behind the walls of these buildings and
down the alleys between them much
evil was perpetrated, such as….
Execution Wall
Dr. Mengele’s building for experiments
Electrified alley
Entrance to the crematorium
Happy End to a Sad Day
The assembly hall at
Sosnowiec, Poland
Friends visiting from Bulgaria
Outdoor portion of expandable auditorium.
Scale model of the complex
Very Nicely Appointed Grounds
Friends from Romania (on left) with
USA delegate
A satisfied visitor from
Brooklyn, USA