Dear Bahá'í Friends:
Your letter to our beloved Guardian, dated Sept. 25th, 1946, was received, as well as the minutes of your meeting of Nov. 2nd and 3rd., and he has instructed me to answer you on his behalf.
Regarding the question of Herr Jorn: Smoking is not forbidden by `Abdu'l-Bahá; He advises against it for reasons of health, but we have no right to prevent anyone from smoking. But drinking and the use of drugs are strictly forbidden and the Bahá'ís should obey this command.
The Guardian has received a number of letters from the Bahá'ís of ..., and in the interest of promoting unity among the friends in Germany he is going to write them instructing them to cooperate with and obey your Assembly; he feels that you should send capable Bahá'ís there to teach them and strengthen them in the Faith, and to make sure no political elements are allowed to enter into their discussions or be a part of their group.
He has recently had fifteen hundred dollars sent from the Relief Fund in Tihrán to America for the immediate purchase of food parcels for the German and Austrian Bahá'ís, and hopes these will soon reach them. It is very distressing that so much money over ten thousand pounds (£10.000) should be held in the name of the German friends, and yet no way of sending it be found. He hopes your Assembly will make every effort to arrange for this money to be received in Germany.
He is also very anxious to receive news of exactly what is happening about the National Bahá'í Headquarters in Frankfurt; he gathers from your minutes that negotiations are in progress for a building in that city? He attaches great importance to this undertaking, and urges you to press the matter constantly.
The reports he received of the young peoples' Summer School and the Summer School at Esslingen were most encouraging, and he is delighted to see that in spite of so many handicaps the friends are so devoted and active! He was also very happy to note that new spiritual assemblies are in the process of formation, and hopes you will concentrate on their establishment and the formation of many new groups. In spite of the conditions in Germany it is of the utmost importance to teach the Cause as widely as possible, especially to the youth, now that through suffering and disillusionment the hearts of the people are more receptive.
You may be sure that his ardent and loving prayers are offered for each and every one of you, and for the success of your devoted labours for the Cause of God....
In the Guardian's own handwriting:
Dearly-beloved friends:
The revival and rapid consolidation of the German Bahá'í community after the prolonged and terrible ordeals to which it has been subjected is a striking evidence of the irresistible power of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh, as well as a magnificent testimony to the vitality of the faith of the German believers. I feel proud and profoundly thankful for the loyalty, the perseverance, the resolution, the unity, the zeal and the devotion which characterize their collective efforts and corporate life in the service of this glorious Cause. The prompt establishment of the national Haziratu'l-Quds in the city of Frankfurt; the rapid translation, publication and dissemination of Bahá'í literature; the multiplication of Bahá'í centers, whether groups or assemblies; the consolidation of the institution of the Summer School; the initiation of effective measures aimed at a close collaboration with the American European Teaching committee; the proclamation of the teachings of the Faith to the spiritually famished, the disillusioned and longsuffering masses--these stand out as the primary and urgent tasks that demand the immediate, the earnest and undivided attention of your assembly. I will pray for your success from the depths of my heart and feel confident that the dearly-beloved heroic German believers will arise, as one man and despite the obstacles confronting them, to achieve these immediate tasks that constitute only a prelude to the tremendous enterprises which it is their destiny to accomplish in the years to come.
Your true brother,
Shoghi 4 June 1947 (Convention) Dear Bahá'í Friends:
It was with great joy that our beloved Guardian received your loving message dated April 26th, and signed by so many of the dear believers. He has instructed me to answer you on his behalf.
The re-florescence of the Holy and beloved Faith in Germany, after so many bitter years of suppression and suffering, has brought great happiness to not only his heart but to the hearts of the Bahá'ís all over the world.
That you should be able, in relatively so short a period of time, and in the face of so many obstacles, to reconstitute your assemblies and National Assembly, be in a position to elect new assemblies, and to hold your Summer School and various conferences, all point the way to a brilliant future for the German followers of the Cause of God.
He urges you individually and collectively to teach the Faith constantly to your spiritually starved countrymen, to support and assist your National Assembly in carrying out its heavy responsibilities and to do all in your power to hasten the day when a befitting National Headquarters, situated in Frankfurt a.M., will have been purchased and established, one that will be commensurate with the importance of the German Bahá'í Community, the strongest and largest on the Continent of Europe.
You may rest assured that his loving and ardent prayers are offered for your progress and success in the Holy Shrines....
In the Guardian's own handwriting:
Dearly beloved friends and co-workers:
I was deeply touched by your message, and I greatly value the sentiments you have expressed, the zeal and unity you demonstrate, the deeds you accomplish, the plans you have conceived, and above all the spirit you so powerfully manifest in your diligent labours for the spread and consolidation of our beloved Faith in your promising country. The German Bahá'í community, emerging triumphantly from one of the severest ordeals that have afflicted any of its sister-communities in East or West, now stands on the threshold of a new era in its development. Great tasks confront it. The establishment of a befitting administrative centre in the heart of that country, the multiplication of groups and assemblies, the dissemination of Bahá'í literature and the proclamation of the Faith to the masses are among the most urgent, the most vital and outstanding of these tasks. The entire community, however difficult the present circumstances, must arise and carry them out. Its future as prophecied by `Abdu'l-Bahá is glorious. Its spirit is magnificent. Its members are distinguished among the followers of the Faith throughout the world by their tenacity, their thoroughness, their great capacity and resourcefulness. Our beloved Master, who watches over them, has greatly praised them, loves them dearly, is ready to bless their labours and reinforce their exertions. Its members must rise to the height of their present and priceless opportunity. They will, I feel confident, prove themselves worthy of the great blessings showered upon them in the past by their Lord and Master.
Affectionately,
Shoghi