Attention was also given to the building of Kingdom Halls. These had not been allowed in the German Democratic Republic, but now they were needed in order to care for the more than 20,000 Witnesses in that area. The way that the building work was done made others stare in amazement.

About the construction of a Kingdom Hall in Stavenhagen, a newspaper wrote: “The way and the speed at which the structure is being erected has already left numerous curious onlookers amazed. . . . The building was put up by some 240 trained builders from 35 trades, all of them volunteers and all of them Jehovah’s Witnesses. All on a weekend without pay.”

Another newspaper wrote about a hall built on the Baltic Sea island of Rügen, in Sagard: “Some 50 women and men, as busy as bees, are preparing the building’s foundation. But things are not hectic. The atmosphere is strangely relaxed and friendly. Despite the obvious speed at which they work, no one seems nervous and no one snaps at fellow workers as happens on most construction sites.”

By the end of 1992, seven Kingdom Halls had been constructed and were being used by 16 congregations. Some 30 others were in the planning stage. By 1998, more than 70 percent of the congregations in what was formerly East Germany were already meeting in their own Kingdom Halls.

[Pictures on page 124]

First Kingdom Hall built in former East Germany