Bruno Groening - A Revolution in Medicine

Chapter 2

An exceptional child

Bruno Groening, the fourth of seven children, was born in Danzig-Oliva on May 30, 1906.

In an autobiographical statement he wrote about his childhood:

"Throughout my childhood and youth I became more and more aware of special powers that flowed from me and which had a calming or healing effect on both humans and animals. Even when I was a small child my presence was sufficient to heal sick people, and both children and adults who were excited or arguing calmed down after a few words from me. As a child I also established that animals, known to be shy or vicious, were good-natured or tame with me. Due to this, the situation in my home was strange and tense. I soon strove to become fully independent so that I could escape the lack of understanding in my family."1

The exceptional qualities of the child Bruno were already evident at his birth. His mother had always had difficult confinements, but Bruno came into the world in a remarkably easy fashion. Soon after he was born she went into the forest to tell the amazed father about the arrival of his son.2, 3

His parents were staunch Catholics. They never missed a church service, and no matter how tired they were after a day's work they never forgot to kneel in evening prayer with their children before their beds. Bruno Groening's father was depicted by E. A. Schmidt as a rough, unassuming man. As a bricklayer he was respected and in demand, for he was a good worker.4

Bruno's brother, Kurt, recalled an extraordinary incident when Bruno was small. Kurt should have set the table for breakfast but chose to play instead. Without saying anything or being asked to do so, Bruno set the table and was praised by his parents.

Kurt Groening states:

"Bruno was always being praised and I got so furious that I could not contain myself. I grabbed the coffee pot and emptied the boiling contents over Bruno's head. Everybody was horrified but he remained calm. And again, something amazing happened. Neither Bruno's face nor body showed any signs of scalding."5

The magazine, Revue, wrote about his childhood on September 4, 1949:

"As a young child, who could barely speak, he knew the meaning of loneliness. He would run away from home and play with the neighbourhood pets, which seemed closer to him than his brothers and sisters. When he learned to walk properly, he discovered the big forest near the barracks. In this huge, secret world he went into hiding. One lesson he had learnt from his mother was how to pray. And he took his simple, childlike faith in the Holy Mother of God and Creation into the forest, which became his world. In comparison with the working class children in Ludolfinger Street the little boy was an eccentric. He disappeared for days at a time. Nobody knew how he existed. It was a rule in his home that whoever came late for a meal received either nothing to eat or only what was left over. So Bruno went without food for days on end. Sometimes his friends would see him lying under a bush, carefully studying grasses and leaves. Occasionally they also noticed that he had developed a special relationship with squirrels and other animals. At times he was found quite alone in the cemetery. Sometimes he was seen praying there. [...] Once a man watched him lost in thought as he followed a lame dog. He played with the animal. He stroked it. [...] This went on for several days and finally the dog was no longer lame. [...] Many animals followed him. If they lay sick, they would stand up and walk into the forest with him."6

People often found him in the forest and brought him home to his parents. They usually gave him a hiding and locked him in a room.

Once he wrote about this:

"I could never cry when I was beaten, because I never found it painful, even though my body was sometimes black and blue.

Anyway, I was never imprisoned for long at home, because I quickly freed myself. My feelings for the forest and my friends, the animals, were so strong that they always drew me back."7

When young Bruno predicted the First World War his father boxed his ears. But he was right.

On June 26, 1949 in Löhne, Westphalia, his father made the following statement under oath:

"As the father of Bruno Groening, I declare under oath, that even at birth this child showed signs of becoming a person with special qualities. These became apparent in later years. Many friends and relatives will confirm this exceptional situation. Even as a child there were extraordinary occurrences when he directed his unusual abilities towards animals. Once, when the watchmaker could not repair a watch, he cradled it in his hands, and it worked again. He could even predict special events such as the beginning of the Second World War, and said that after the capitulation, his father, brothers and sisters would have to leave their house and homeland. He even indicated where they would eventually settle after moving around for a long time. He saw and predicted everything. He had one more quality, which enabled him to cure people from illness and suffering."8

Ernst Kohn, a neighbour of Bruno Groening in Danzig, also reported under oath:

"At the beginning of the Second World War Bruno Groening stated [...] in my home, at 77 Magdeburger Street, Danzig-Langfuhr: `Ernst, the war will last a long time. Poland will fall, and just as quickly so will France. But Germany's conquests will not make it bigger. On the contrary, it will be smaller. Germany will be divided.' He then showed me the boundaries of the two zones and they were just as they were before the reunification of Germany. [...] As to Bruno Groening's healing powers, I was able to observe them during the years that we were neighbours. He often freed me from pain. My wife, Frieda Kohn, née Pettke, met Bruno Groening after our marriage in 1940, and can also testify to this."9

It was characteristic that from his early youth young Bruno always felt attracted to people who were ill. When he was only two-and-a-half, this trait became noticeable.

Later, when he recalled his childhood, he wrote about it as follows:

"The sickness actually left the bodies of some animals when I said to them: `Dear little creature, you will soon have a healthy body again.' That was what happened. It is really no different with humans. [...] So I was continually drawn towards sick people [...] to whom I always said: `But you are no longer sick.' Or, if anybody commented about a third person: `He will die,' I replied: `No, he won't die for a long time; he will be healed.'"10

Later he realised that he was capable of helping not just one sick person at a time, but several. Surprisingly enough, this was not difficult for him and usually he was successful. But due to the turmoil of the war, his work was limited to a small circle of people. 11

His playmates were surprised that no matter how often he was set upon, he never hit back. Sometimes, his elder siblings did not know how to handle his strange behaviour and became angry because he did not retaliate when they punished him. One of his two older brothers actually broke his nose. They continued to act in this way until something unusual happened.

His brother, Kurt, reported the following incident:

"The boys were scrapping outside and when they saw Bruno, as usual standing by and not participating, one of them got so mad that he boxed Bruno's ears, simply because he never joined in but behaved like an outsider. As usual, Bruno did not retaliate. He stood there quite quietly and waited. Although he did not have to, for some reason the boy went home. Once there, he began to box his own ears. He just couldn't stop. All the boys had followed him and stood watching this strange behaviour. The boy began to cry, `Bruno, please help me!' Bruno came in and the boy calmed down. The beatings stopped."12

After this his siblings and the neighbourhood boys left him alone and did not hit him again.

His brother also recalled another incident which highlighted Bruno's character very clearly. He told how, during the First World War, supplies in the Groening household ran out and nobody knew where to turn for food. Little Bruno set off on his bicycle and in some miraculous way arranged with some farmers to obtain a supply of their best potatoes, which his brothers carried home. During this period, at meal times, he would only eat when the others had had their fill. Although this often meant that he ate little or nothing he was amazingly fit.13

He attended primary school and was not a bad student, but also not an outstanding one. He often baffled his teachers. For example, he would read out a whole sentence when the teacher had just begun to write the first words on the blackboard. After school he would often make his way again to the forest, where he would while away the hours until nightfall. Here he was able to be near God. He explained that he experienced God in every tree, every animal and even in the stones. He could sit for hours and meditate and he felt his life extending into eternity.

Once Bruno Groening related that, as a child, he often ran away from people because he found life terribly gloomy and loveless. In his misery he often prayed to God to take him away again from the dark earth. It was in the forest, he said, that through fervent prayer he came to know why he had been sent into this world and what his life-task was. It was only then that he came to accept his life.

Everyone who follows a spiritual path and seeks God wholeheartedly can understand how this child obeyed the deep yearning of his soul, and sought God there where He was at His purest: in the solitude and peace of Nature.

Such an early, conscious desire for a Higher Spirit, God, is the sign of a mature soul. People like this have often to live in an environment marked by a lack of understanding and contempt, generated by a total absence of need for such an advanced perception and longing. Like a special examination, an inner schooling, the life of these people is subject to a certain amount of tempering to prepare the soul for a future task.

In 1915, at the age of nine, Bruno Groening fell critically ill with dysentery. He lay in a fever for weeks and lost an enormous amount of weight. Obstinately he refused to stay in bed, and in the end lay naked on the floor for months. Dr Klinge, who visited the family, did not think he would survive and he was even given the Last Sacraments because nobody believed that this emaciated, feverish child would live. But, as if by a miracle, he pulled through and regained his health.14

An extensive range of employment

When his schooling was over he opted for commercial training. His father, a labourer, was immediately mistrustful of his son's decision, opposed it from the start and finally put his foot down.

Bruno Groening commented on this in his life story:

"I had to give up my studies because it was my father's wish that I learn a building trade. I followed my father's wishes and became a carpenter. However, due to the high unemployment in Danzig at that time, I did not take the final examination. Three months before it was due, the firm that was training me closed down through lack of contracts."15

In 1925, the nineteen-year-old opened a building joinery and cabinet maker's workshop to establish his independence. He was able to hold his head above water for two years but then the bad economic situation in Danzig forced him to take a variety of temporary work: on a building site, in woodworking, in a varnishing factory, in crate manufacturing and various other areas. Obviously hard work and know-how were necessary for a young man to build up his own business during the difficult times between the two World Wars, even if he had to expand his sources of income after two years. Lack of work resulted in short-term contracts and quick dismissals. This was how he lost his job in a varnishing factory after a year when production was curtailed. He had been one of the last to be engaged.

He recalled how the situation worsened after 1933 because the economy of Danzig was even less favourable than in Germany. Most of the firms were owned by Poles and it was difficult for Germans to find work. (After the First World War, Danzig was cut off from Germany and it could only be reached through Polish territory). Bruno Groening found temporary work in a chocolate factory, in the harbour, and with the local post office. For several years prior to being called up, he worked as a low voltage fitter with Siemens and Halske.

His colleagues noticed that he was very adept in all that he did and often possessed more knowledge than trained workers. Many of his colleagues testified that in some inexplicable manner whatever he touched was a success, whether it was repairing watches and radios, or working as a fitter. He was particularly skilful with technical appliances. He said that he took great pride in doing all his tasks with love and understanding. He considered the experience gleaned from his many and varied jobs as practical training for life, and a schooling and preparation for his later work. He stressed that it was important for him to get to know people from all walks of life.

An unhappy marriage

He married at the age of 21. But his wife, Gertrud, could not provide the type of home and the understanding that he had yearned for in vain in his parents' house. He and his wife were two different types. At the beginning of his working life the seclusion of his childhood yielded more and more to the strong pressure of wanting to help people. Those who knew him at that time relate that Bruno Groening was a generous and helpful host, who often invited many friends to his home while his wife, had she had her way, would not have opened the door to anyone. If a colleague or an acquaintance with an emotional or physical problem came to him, he often forgot his own concerns. He would sit talking to such people into the early hours of the morning, trying with them to find ways out of their difficult situations. He did not enjoy the usual social pursuits such as visiting cinemas or taverns or playing cards.

Someone who knew him at this period of his life declared:

"I would like to state the following in writing. It concerns Bruno Groening. He came from my home town, Danzig, and I have known him since 1928. Already then he was interested in spiritual matters and helped and healed people. I know about 20 cases which were successful. [...] I can also testify as to the many instances of help he gave children; for example children who were lame, and those who could not see or hear. He healed all these cases. We, and the people he helped, are still puzzled today. We used to rack our brains as to

how what he did was possible. Mr Groening also involved himself in other matters which, perhaps, are not relevant here. But I would like to mention them anyway. For example, he could repair radios and cars. He would not touch a radio, but it turned off at his command. And he made radio valves, that were really broken, work again."16

E. A. Schmidt writes about a statement made under oath in 1931 concerning a healing of a woman, gravely ill with diphtheria. The doctors had given her up, but Bruno Groening healed her. Schmidt writes: "When he (Bruno Groening) talks about this case, which he remembers well, he beams with joy when he says: `I brought this woman back from death!' And he takes a picture of the young woman from his wallet and shows it with great satisfaction."17

Max Bruhn, from Danzig, repeated a story which Bruno's sister, Maria, had told him.

"I knew Bruno Groening's sister. She was due to be admitted to hospital. She had cancer and a breast was to be removed. The day before going to hospital, she came to see Bruno and asked him to help her. He was astonished that his own sister trusted and believed in him. He looked at her for a while and then said, `Go to the hospital. I no longer find anything evil in you!' She went and the doctors, who examined her, could find no sign of cancer. An operation was superfluous."18

His wife considered that his abilities were merely conceit. She was incapable of understanding the basic motive of his life, which was to help and to heal people. What she feared most was to attract attention to herself and be exposed to ridicule. She found it extremely unpleasant that her husband devoted his time to so many other people. She wanted him for herself. One of the hardest tests of his life was that she denied their own children, whom he loved dearly, his healing power. She did not want them exposed to his `magic'.19 She went to extreme measures to shield them from him and had them admitted to hospital without his knowledge. His elder son, Harald, died in Danzig from a heart valve defect in 1939 at the age of nine. His younger son, Günther, died in 1949 at the Marburg University Clinic from purulent pleurisy. He was also nine.

Grete Häusler, from Hennef/Sieg who knew Bruno Groening from 1950, said that it was not until 1955 that he could bring himself to talk about the fate of his children. As he confided in close friends, the tears streamed down his face.

When his work became public knowledge in 1949, he had to leave his wife because she did not change her negative attitude towards it and even wanted to forbid him to heal. They were divorced in May 1955.

War and prison camp

In 1943, at the age of 37, Bruno Groening was called up into the army. Due to his attitude never to hit or kill a person, which was rooted in his profound religious conviction, there was friction and he was even threatened with a court martial. But eventually, he was sent to the Front. One can well imagine that as far as World War Two was concerned, he foresaw his own destiny quite accurately.20

He was sent to the middle and north-eastern flank of the Eastern Front and in December 1943 he was wounded. A grenade splinter passed through his left thigh leaving superficial injuries. In February 1944 he was wounded a second time in his right thigh. Once this had healed, he was again sent back to his unit at the Front. At Hammerstein, in Pomerania, he was taken prisoner by the Russians on March 5, 1945. In May he was transported to a camp at Petrozawodsk. In some mysterious way he healed many of his fellow prisoners from dropsy. Here too his overwhelming need to help people led to repeated conflicts. The Russians considered him rebellious, because he was very outspoken with the camp authorities about providing better living conditions. Once again he narrowly escaped death, but only because a few Russian officers stood by him and prevented him from being shot. He was released at the end of 1945.

The return transport in over-filled cattle trucks exacted the last remaining shreds of endurance from the soldiers. One of them said later that all ties of humanity were ruptured and comradely behaviour between the men became a brutal fight for survival. He met Bruno Groening on this journey and spent some time with him. He noticed Bruno Groening immediately, because he behaved quite differently from the other soldiers. In the midst of this debacle and misery, he maintained an inexplicable calm and composure, and in spite of everything, remained human. Because of this, he offered to take him back to his home in Bavaria but Bruno Groening wanted to look for his family in the north-west first. He must have known that his healing powers would soon be public knowledge because, when he parted from his comrade in 1945, he asked him to look him up in the years to come when he would read a lot about him in the newspapers.

The difficult post-war period began. Bruno Groening arrived at Haigerselbach, in the district of Dill, with a fellow prisoner. With the help of the mayor, he and his friend managed to find accommodation, and he then set about doing whatever work he could among the local farmers and residents of the community to make a living. Due to his unassuming manner, never asking for anything but being content with whatever he was given, and his considerable working skills, he was soon well liked in the area. His activities brought him into contact with many people. In an effort to ease the hardship, he and his fellow refugees set up the "Relief Organisation for Refugees". Single-mindedly, he worked to establish this and, in conjunction with others, created local agencies. This work often brought him to Dillenburg. Here, after a short while, he was given another task in the area housing committee and he tried to help wherever he could. Soon afterwards he found his wife again and both of them moved into the Dill district camp. Later he moved into refugee accom-modation, a makeshift converted loft, in Dillenburg.

Erich K., today an alternative medical practitioner in S., became acquainted with Bruno Groening at this time. He reminisces:

"The man simply fascinated me. One could discuss things with him that one couldn't discuss with anybody else. There was always something special about him. Although nobody had food, everyone who visited him was offered a bowl of soup. It was very simple and made of one or other grain, for we had nothing - we hardly had enough bread to eat - and the going was really rough. But this was typical of him, everyone who came received a bowl of soup."21

Through his work, Bruno Groening came into contact with many refugees and again the healings occurred. The sick always called on him. He was invited from one house to another, until on March 14, 1949 the Hülsmann family begged him to come to Herford. He healed the Hülsmann son, Dieter, who was confined to bed with muscular atrophy, and his father talked about this so much that more and more suffering people arrived outside the house at Wilhelm Square no. 7. Bruno Groening spoke to the masses about God, and his words worked wonders. Pains disappeared, the blind regained their sight, the lame arose from their wheelchairs or threw away their crutches and walked light-heartedly. Soon it was not just people from close by who came; they journeyed from all over Germany and from abroad, hoping that this man could restore their health.

I am only God's humble servant

Bruno Groening was a person who was totally motivated from within. He had not read books and his knowledge came from a higher source. His guideline was his intuition. During the war an instantaneous apprehension would often cause him to move from wherever he was, and a short while later a grenade would hit that spot. This mentality shaped his whole life. He did not follow human orders, but subordinated himself unconditionally to higher guidance which was immediately accessible to him, either because of his deeply religious feelings or because of inspiration. The healings which occurred through him are inseparably bound to a renewed return to belief in God and an inner re-orientation of the recipient. (see chapter 3) He did not consider himself primarily a healer, but wanted to clarify the higher laws of life and guide the sick back to God by re-establishing their belief in the Supreme Physician for all mankind. The will to change their ways, the determination to do good and the desire to regain faith in God were his basic requirements for a healing. At the same time he rejected any imposition on personal free will:

"I am permitted to help a person find the path to righteousness but I may not make this decision for him or force him towards it. Everyone must find the way alone."22

Due to this, he was absolutely opposed to the techniques of hypnosis and suggestion.

His talks were characterised by the simplicity of his nature. In a few words he could impress upon his listeners the fundamental spiritual correlations with health and with sickness. His words were free of rhetoric. They had a powerful effect on people. This is confirmed in a great number of healing reports. As he spoke he generated the feeling that he had personally undergone everything he talked about. When, at the age of 43, he captured the attention of the public at Herford, he could call upon the experience of an inner struggle which had already begun as an insatiable yearning for God in his childhood. He spoke as a non-academic but, nevertheless, as a man of great knowledge.

The press presented a very contradictory picture of Bruno Groening during the years that he worked in public. Some saw him as a man of God, others as a charlatan. E. A. Schmidt, who wanted to meet him in order to formulate a clear picture of him, visited him at no. 7 Wilhelm Square in Herford just after he became well-known.

He described his first meeting as follows:

"We fought our way through the masses to a back door, which was not locked. We stood in front of the door. Doors were banging inside as people hurried from room to room. We rang three times before the door was opened. Bruno Groening himself stood before me. He was of robust, somewhat stocky build, barely 1.70 meters tall, and simply dressed in a dark blue shirt and trousers without a jacket. He had a darkly tanned, rough-hewn face and long, naturally wavy hair. In this face the runes of fate were starkly etched. This man must have had many depressing experiences. This was obvious. He had no beard, no strange, mystical appearance as the newspaper reports had stated. His eyes looked straight at me. They sparkled with kindness and deep, human understanding."23

Similar motives attracted Dr Kaul to Wilhelm Square no. 7. His interest was awakened by the many press reports and he wanted to be on the spot to convince himself.

In "The Man Bruno Groening" he wrote:

"Whoever meets this man for the first time does not feel he is meeting a stranger. On the contrary, there is instant contact with this unusual person. [...] Despite the deeply etched lines around his mouth, the narrow, tanned face radiates kindness, although there is also a restrained look of sadness about him. I have often watched him talk to the sick and had the impression that the human misery and affliction that he saw around him made him cry inwardly. Bruno Groening is a man of the people. He knows neither vanity nor pretence. His fame, which has made his name a household word throughout Germany and far beyond its borders in a very short time, has not induced him to assume the role of a star or prominent figure. I was given the rare opportunity of spending several hours with him and learning something about the life of this very quiet person. He doesn't like to be asked endless questions; he has to speak in his own time. It often seems that he can read the thoughts of whoever he is talking to and suddenly he steers the conversation around to pick up the threads of these thoughts. Then he speaks to himself again and appears to have forgotten the other person. His eyes look into the distance. He has no needs other than his pronounced love for cigarettes and strong coffee. His clothing is simple. He lives in the home of grateful parents whose incurably sick child now plays happily in the garden after being healed by him. They look after him too, and Mrs Hülsmann has to apply convincing arguments to urge him to eat: `He eats almost nothing and for more than three months has practically gone without sleep.' [...] The whole house confirmed this fact. I am able to state that Bruno Groening does not ask for, nor will he accept money for his healing. Each day the post delivers over 2000 letters, several hundred registered letters, over 300 telegrams and mountains of packets and parcels. He has given strict instructions to his fellow workers to return the money in the letters and the parcels, unopened, to the senders."24

Those who knew him at this time state quite clearly that even in the limelight Bruno Groening remained himself. On no account did he wish to appear as a miracle doctor or any such similar figure. He totally opposed this superficial characterisation in the popular press.

"I cannot dramatise myself," he always said, "but I have to follow wherever my destiny leads."25

The urge to help others kept him working day and night while he was in Herford. He considered himself `God's humble servant' and through his words wanted people to access to the Divine, healing energy. He felt himself a mediator or channel for these powers. He kept repeating that not he, but "It", the Divine energy, brought about the healing. The bigger the circle of people seeking assistance and the more of this healing power he could pass on, the happier and more at ease he was. He said that if he could heal without hindrance, this power filled him to such an extent that he did not feel hunger or the lack of sleep. Time and again I had this statement confirmed from various sides.

His basic religious attitude did not permit him to accept any material remuneration for his healing. He said that if he misused his powers, that is, if he used them for his own advantage, he would lose them. He considered healing a gift from God, a Divine grace, the prerequisite for which was an inner change to faith and love. His few needs were provided by his friends and half of what he received, he gave away again. Wherever he went, doors opened for Bruno Groening; people competed with one another to lodge him.

Dr D. Kunst, the superintendent of the Herford church community, stated his point of view after several meetings with him in answer to numerous enquiries from his parishioners.

Here an extract:

"In consideration of the efforts made by doctors, I do not wish to express a conclusive opinion but would only report on my questions to him about the Holy Scriptures. I spoke to Mr Groening about St. John, Chapter 4, verses 1-6. He gave me a clear answer to the question about Christ. Almost more important to me was that in a meeting with the press, he unselfconsciously quoted the children's prayer: `I am small ...', and spoke to all present about the Lord Jesus. [...] I have no reason to believe that Mr Groening earns money from his gift from God. He often assured me that he wishes to remain a poor man. I have been reliably informed that considerable sums of money have been offered to him by rich people in payment for healings. I know he has declined such offers."26

Despite, or perhaps due to the response Bruno Groening received when his work was made public, the opposition from certain quarters grew. His emergence in Herford set hundreds of thousands of people into motion and over a million letters reached him during the first years of his work in public.27 The misery of those days revealed itself in devastating proportions.

Many people tried to get close to him so that they could profit financially from the situation. Often those who had forced themselves into his close circle of followers misused his name for their personal gain. The deep-rooted misunderstanding and prejudiced rejection of spiritual healing by many academics, especially in influential medical circles, played a considerable role in hindering his work. They began to oppose him energetically, which resulted in tendentious press reports and numerous court cases. They used all possible means to discredit this man and his healing in public. At first they were content to disparage his work as a form of suggestion, although this was clearly untrue when the healing was organic, as was the case with men disabled on active duty. Later came ever-increasing personal denunciations to which many newspapers gave wide coverage. These articles were designed to undermine confidence in his integrity, and were aimed at those who sought his help but did not know him personally.

It is really incredible how much power the media has, and how it can determine the weal and woe of an individual. The coverage, which did not limit itself to disparaging remarks and derisive opinions, was an indication of the prevailing spirit of the age. Humanity, bowing to the false vision of godless, banal materialism, had been cut off from the healing link to its inner lifespring. Bruno Groening's convincing words that God was the Supreme Physician for all mankind, proven by the act of healing, touched the sensitive spot of this erroneous concept of the world.

The multitude of sufferers

Whoever examines Bruno Groening's public progress more closely becomes aware of the impressive determination that marked his actions. Imperturbably and despite every opposition, this man strove to build a firm basis for his well-ordered work. He considered his task was to create a solid foundation, which would enable people to access and receive the healing power of God beyond his lifetime. But a sensation-seeking press and the inflexible administrative machinery of the authorities made the attainment of his goal during his years of work very difficult.

He had to deal with the overwhelming public response without any proper official help. In Herford, between March and June 1949, up to 5000 people hoping to receive his assistance found their way to no. 7 Wilhelm Square every day. Later, from the end of August until the middle of September 1949, six times this number came to Traberhof, a former stud farm near Rosenheim, which the owner made available to him.

This was not all. In Herford he received many calls for help from the Rheinland and surrounding districts. He spoke several times to big gatherings at Viersen. He also made visits to individuals who had called him in their despair, pleading for a helping word. It was no different at Traberhof, from where he even journeyed to North Germany at the request of those seeking help.

Eyewitnesses were always deeply moved by the way Bruno Groening rekindled an inner expression of faith in God in the thousands of people seeking help. Many of them began to pray for the first time in years, and often this newly aroused revival of faith would sweep through the crowds, and spontaneously they would even begin to sing hymns.

This was in stark contrast to the reaction of prominent public health officers and many authorities.

From the outset, Bruno Groening made every effort to work with the responsible authorities. But despite some talks in Herford, no agreement was reached. At the beginning of May 1949, they forbade him to continue working.

Superintendent Dr Kunst, who has already been mentioned, talked about the situation in Herford at this time:

"When Mr Groening came to Herford in 1949, the whole town and surrounding area was soon full of rumours about his successful healings. The local newspapers [...] published detailed articles. The reporters arranged a meeting between Mr Groening and myself. I was the superintendent of the church community at the time. He came to my house for talks several times. The circumstances became more chaotic as each week passed. Thousands of people came from throughout Germany, and abroad, to ask Mr Groening for help. When the mayor's commercial director wanted to stop Mr Groening's work there was the danger that several thousand angry people would storm the Town Hall. An examining board was set up.

It comprised the mayor's commercial director, Professor Schorsch from Bethel, and the relevant medical advisers to the authorities in Detmold. I chaired this board for some time. The examining body went to work in earnest. It invited Mr Groening to hearings and called people, who had been healed, to meetings. The hearings with Mr Groening were completely unproductive because the doctors insisted on treating him as one of them and kept addressing him in medical jargon. It was established that Mr Groening did not examine anybody who came to him. I am not aware of any case where Mr Groening touched the body of a patient. I am also not aware of any attempt on his part to dissuade the sick from seeking orthodox medical help. He also never prescribed medications."28

Bruno Groening's struggle for the right to heal had not ceased when he died almost ten years later.

His work was closer to that of a priest than a doctor or alternative medical practitioner, and he used every possible means to help people without being disturbed by the police or the courts.

He made himself available to a medical examining body in Heidelberg which, after testing his healings, came to a positive conclusion but nevertheless did not ease the way for him. For years he tried to establish sanatoriums where, in cooperation with doctors, authorised, scientific examinations for healings could be made by monitoring people before and after his work. This did not materialise because it was opposed by the authorities and went against the business interests of the doctors. Although he was convinced that his work had nothing in common with that of an alternative medical practitioner, he was prepared to comply with the legal requirements for this profession and write the necessary examinations. This course of action was denied him.

He required exceptional will power at this stage, in order not to give in to despair.

He rarely found any support in the press. On the contrary, in view of the critical reports generated by the leading publications and the negative attitude of the professional medical organisations and other church circles, there were few journalists who were prepared to write an objective report on Bruno Groening for their readers, based on personal investigation. In most cases they simply reprinted negative reports. In this way they avoided any conflict with influential social circles. But it is interesting to note that those few journalists who made personal contact with him came to a completely different point of view. An example is a report in the magazine The Open Word, an independent publication for topics of the day and tolerance, published by PAD in Munich at the beginning of the 1950's. The journalist entitled his article:

"Groening [...] how he really is!"

He acknowledged the efforts and problems encountered by Bruno Groening in his desire to work freely, and gave him full credit for his steadfast rejection of lucrative offers made to him from abroad. Despite the many problems he encountered in Germany, he had decided to remain in the country because the people, who had suffered immensely during the war, were in great need of help. The author considered him a personality to be respected for his straight-forwardness and determination to follow his inner instructions, even though the press published harmful and calculatedly destructive articles and he was hindered by "governmental restraints and prohibitions." He described him as "a man of great human kindness, dedicated to his calling to heal people." He considered that Bruno Groening's abilities exceeded the boundaries of human knowledge. His objective was to "help people and lead them onto a path of inner revival." His summing up was that from time immemorial a theory was first of all derided, then resisted, and finally taken for granted. In conclusion he wrote: "Experience teaches us that this is so and we humans continue to be intolerant and never learn!"

Despite all the difficulties, Bruno Groening refused to take any money for his healing. On the other hand, because he devoted all his time to helping those who sought aid throughout Germany and Austria, he could not take on any normal employment. He was dependent on the hospitality and voluntary assistance of others. For these reasons the court cases brought him great financial problems. His purely intuitive way of behaving could not be explained to an intellect that functioned according to the laws of logic. Occasionally he would allow people to get really close to him. They professed wanting to help him but in reality they wanted to use him for their personal financial gain. Sometimes he would put himself in their hands up to a certain point and let them have their way. But if they did not change internally, or voluntarily desist from their selfish plans when faced with the deeply moving happenings around him, he exposed their schemes and then protracted court cases began. Former associates became bitter enemies, who knew how to blacken his public image through supposed "revelations." Even though some selfish helper had caused him great difficulties, he would never utter a derogatory word about him. On the contrary, some of them who had harmed him immeasurably pleaded for a second chance to work at his side, and he gave it to them. (see chapter 5).

This very unusual behaviour, which the human mind cannot really comprehend, becomes understandable when one realises that spiritual healing is a highly sensitive process, which is easily disrupted by opposing spiritual forces. So a person who is attuned to negative thinking can, only through this unexpressed attitude - or even worse, through loud interruptions and heckling - considerably obstruct the beneficial effects of the healing powers. Bruno Groening was practically always surrounded by crowds of strangers. His reaction was purely the result of his unusually intensified sensitivity.

He also uncompromisingly rejected any offer of money when people seeking healing tried to express their thanks through payment.

In his book, E. A. Schmidt mentions such incidents:

"On many occasions a wealthy person approached him, pleading for help and stipulating that he was prepared to give 5000 Marks and more in return. Instantly Groening, palpably offended as was apparent not only to his co-workers but also to the strangers standing around him, broke off contact with a gesture of refusal and the terse comment: `I do not sell health!' He turned away, and we who worked with him had the unpleasant task of bowing out such people. On an other occasion I experienced the following: Groening sat opposite the individual and said something like: `I know you are a rich man. But I also know you did not amass your wealth in a laudable manner. You exploited your staff and workers to accumulate your money and property. You have no good deeds to your credit and your wealth was not earned honestly.' The man he was speaking to became uneasy and moved nervously back and forth on his chair. He flushed, either through shame or anger, did not reply, and left the room in silence."29

Dr Kurt Trampler made a similar observation:

"On more than one occasion, I saw him brusquely rebuff people seeking help because they wanted to offer him money."30

Despite all the above-mentioned opposition, Bruno Groening managed to achieve the goal he was working towards. In 1953 he founded the Groening Union in order to be able to address those seeking help in various towns under the umbrella of an association. Groups were established, where, in his absence, those who had been healed gratefully volunteered to attend to those seeking help.

He had often said that he did not need to be present for a healing to take place:

"Every healed person can pass on the healing," he said, and the large number of cures reported in the groups in his absence are an impressive confirmation of this statement.

In 1955, when despite every effort he had made to re-establish his relationship with his wife had failed, he remarried. His second wife, Josette, was French and she did her utmost to help him establish new groups.

Soon after establishing the Groening Union, the so-called "big lawsuit" began. The objective of this case was to put an ultimate end to his work. It ushered in the worst time of his life. The press attacks reached a climax. Many people who had offered to look after those seeking help in the groups in Germany and Austria were subjected to police interrogation. Attempts were made to intimidate them by threats that they too could face trial for "healing without permission." This never occurred, but many people were badly affected by this demoralisation process.

During these years Bruno Groening worked tirelessly on the extensive preparations for the lawsuit as well as consolidating the publicly threatened fledgling groups. But his work was severely hampered by financial restrictions. An eyewitness at that time was very impressed that even when he was in such immense demand, he was unchanged; he maintained an inexplicable, quiet composure and his typical sense of humour. She also observed this during the judicial hearings for the last court case, distressing as they were for him. She went up to him in a recess. He smiled at her in a meaningful way and remarked that soup was never eaten as hot as it was cooked.31

In January 1959 Bruno Groening died. The court case was accordingly squashed without final judgement. In retrospect one can see how right he was in his efforts to build a solid foundation which - after his earthly existence - would give those seeking help the possibility of being healed. The healings continue after his death exactly as before.

"He truly loved God"

Over the decades that preceded his work in public, Bruno Groening's inner struggle had developed a quality in him which is not found in most people today.

Katharina Dichtl, aged 82, an alternative medical practitioner from M., was in a position to observe him closely during the early months of his work. She summed up this characteristic as follows:

"... he truly loved God."32

Out of his love for God there grew in him an exceptional love for people, a rare attribute in today's insensitive and callous world. Mrs Dichtl repeatedly observed how kind he was to those seeking help, and this was particularly noticeable with children. He was very fond of them and she was able to witness spontaneous healings.

Inge Thiede, from F., spoke to me in similar vein about him. She maintained contact with Bruno Groening for years and said he radiated something that she has never again experienced in people. It was difficult to explain exactly what it was; it could be described as enormous love and a profound sympathy, especially towards the sick. This love he radiated was involuntarily absorbed and reciprocated by those around him.

"But," she explained, "this was not the love that exists between a man and a woman. You could call it a spiritual love. It was a feeling that penetrated the innermost soul and conveyed an immense happiness and a deep peace that cannot be described in words. This sensation of love was not just noticed by me but by many people, whether man or woman, in the presence of Bruno Groening."33

Christa and Werner Hasse, from S., spoke in the same way about him. They also mentioned a strong feeling of love, peace and strength that filled them whenever Bruno Groening visited them, which he did frequently. Something seemed to shine forth from him. They also noticed that when he was with them for several days they were not tired, although there was little opportunity for sleep, and surprisingly, they were not hungry either.34

Christa Pohl, aged 55, from G., also described the love that she and others felt in his presence as spiritual love. In the talks in the Springe group, which she often visited, Bruno Groening very frequently spoke of love for people, plants and animals. She was under the impression that love was of paramount importance to him. During his talks she had a peaceful, quiet and pleasurable feeling which she could not express in words:

"One has to have experienced these sensations oneself in order to understand something so indescribable," she said.35

Whether in Husum, Hameln or Herford, at Lake Constance, in Munich or some other place in Germany or Austria, wherever people had the opportunity in Bruno Groening's lifetime to make contact with him for a longer period of time and get to know him as a person, they speak of him with unconcealed respect, as I have heard for myself. In testimonies they kept stating that there was something very special about him, without being able to be more specific. In addition they speak of a feeling of light or a strong power, which some of them felt emanating from him; others mentioned an indefinable sense of well-being and experienced an unusual lightness and happiness when they were with him.

"I am simply a person who has remained close to Nature"

Bruno Groening maintained his childhood affinity to Nature throughout his life. He felt himself powerfully drawn to the mountains and the sea, and would often sit there motionless for a long time, absorbing his impressions. He bestowed loving care on animals and plants, and could not bring himself to pick a flower. Many witnesses from that time confirmed the impression that he revered every form of life, because he felt the presence of God in everything. This was no prescribed ceremonial procedure. His attitude did not appear to be studied. One could feel that his behaviour was quite natural.

As a grown man he retained several childhood characteristics that were particularly evident in his uncomplicated and very open manner, and his marked tendency to trust people.

In this regard Bruno Groening once said:

"I am, and remain, a child. [...] I will not change. No, you can all believe whatever you wish. I am and remain a child. A child of God, nothing more. I do not delude myself. No, and I am not afraid to say it, because I know I am only a child. But many people are no longer children because they have grown up."36

Like a child he could also enjoy the simple things in life. For instance, he loved potato soup, which he ate with great pleasure. Those with him never had the impression that he was detached from this world. On the contrary, they talked to him in the same way as to anybody else. Although he tended to be a quiet, serious person he really enjoyed a good joke and could laugh heartily.

When he had finished addressing the public he would often sit with a trusted circle of friends. In the course of conversation those present learned much about the other world and many a silent question concerning God or the secrets of life was answered. Often these meetings would go on into the morning.

Christa Pohl was often at such a meeting in Springe, and spoke about a special experience at the end of an evening:

The group sat together until 6 o'clock in the morning and then she drove to work in Hanover. As they parted, Bruno Groening told her not to worry as she would get through the day. This was the case until 3 p.m. Then suddenly she became very tired. In thought she turned to Bruno Groening and reminded him of his promise. At that very moment, she was wide awake again. After work she returned to Springe and he met her there. Before she could say anything, he jokingly commented: "Well, how was it at three o'clock this afternoon?" He obviously knew what she had thought about at this point of time in distant Hanover.37

Another eyewitness, who had contact with Bruno Groening for several years told me about another experience with him:

"During a meeting with Mr Groening at the house of Alexander Loy in Klagenfurt in Austria, we were joined by Mr and Mrs S. Mr Groening knew the woman but not her husband. A little while later I saw Mr Groening wander across to the man and start talking to him about ships. The discussion became more and more detailed. Bruno Groening spoke to the man as if he knew everything there was to know on the subject. After a while Mr S., looking rather stunned, said: `Mr Groening, those are details that you just cannot know!' Mr Groening smiled and said, jokingly: `Yes, after all I am an old sea dog!' Mr S. told me later that this knowledge must have come from a higher source. Mr Groening could not have known that Mr S. was a specialist in ship building who had held high office during the war. Mr S. was amazed that Bruno Groening even knew things that he had only learned about secretly on account of his war-time position."38

There was a similar occurrence at the Weber family residence in Essen. Suddenly Bruno Groening started to discuss aircraft construction with a reporter who was present. After a while the amazed reporter asked him how he knew all this. Nobody knew that the reporter had held a high position during the war in the airforce and knew all about aircraft construction. 39

Käthe Tams from B. reported a most unusual occurrence that she learned about from Alexander Loy. The latter had gone for a walk with Bruno Groening and while they were talking, Bruno Groening suddenly disappeared. Alexander Loy simply could not find him. Five minutes later he was there again and simply said: "Oh, were you afraid that I had run off?" Alexander Loy had little to say because he simply could not understand how a person could suddenly become invisible. 40

She recalled another incident. Bruno Groening was a close friend of Mr Preuel. One day they went on an outing together. During the journey, Bruno Groening rested his head on the steering wheel, as if he was asleep. This went on for over five minutes. The car carried on without leaving the road. But then Mr Preuel became uneasy. When Bruno Groening noticed this, he turned and asked him if he thought they would collide with something. Mr Preuel admitted that he did. Bruno Groening replied, "No, I can drive!"41

Grete Häusler from Hennef/Sieg, who knew Bruno Groening since he healed her in 1950, told me the following story: She and Erich Petz and Else Bavay from Rosenheim travelled to Mr Groening who was in Augsburg. Late at night, as they were about to return, they discovered that the car's rear lights were not working. Erich Petz checked everything but could find nothing wrong. He then asked Bruno Groening to help. Instead of checking the rear lights, Bruno Groening stood in front of the car with his arms folded behind his back and peered into the open bonnet. At that moment the lights went on again.42

In her book Das Heil erfahren, das ist Wahrheit Grete Häusler recounted another incident. On May 25, 1952 Bruno Groening addressed some people who were seeking help in her home. Amongst them was 73 year-old Mrs Kulle, who had severe heart problems. She was healed that evening. She began to do exercises, which previously were impossible due to her complaint.

Grete Häusler described the occurrence as follows: "She repeated the exercises and was overcome with joy because she would never have believed that she would ever do them again in her life. She beamed with happiness. Mr Groening said affectionately to her: `Your son is happy about this.' She made a gesture of refusal and said: `Mr Groening, I don't have a son!' Straightaway I thought to myself: `You see, he doesn't know everything after all. This is embarrassing.' But Mr Groening was firm and asked: `Did you not have a son?' `Yes, thirty years ago. He died as an infant' she replied. `So, a son after all,' said Mr Groening smiling contentedly. `He sees this and shares your happiness. He just wears a different garment now.'"43

All this happened without any mystery mongering. Bruno Groening was quite at home with his unbelievable abilities, which were beyond the understanding of ordinary people. For him they were, like the healings and other extraordinary happenings, not miracles, but simply an expression of a profoundly Nature-bound, in the sense of bound-to-God, condition.

From this point of view it is understandable that he should say of himself, "I am simply a person who has remained close to Nature."44

This sincere, unconstrained aspect of his character was clearly apparent in his addresses. He prepared himself to speak by withdrawing, going within and composing himself. He never made notes. He spoke freely. His way of speaking was very unusual. He often stopped and asked somebody a question and sometimes began a conversation with the person. Or he would insert an apparently unconnected theme into his talk, but many people in his audience would find that it had answered their unspoken question. The eyewitness, Christa Pohl, could confirm this. She recalled how she or others, would often think about something and almost immediately, in what for the audience was an unconnected aside, Bruno Groening would give them the answer in his talk. In the middle of one address she suddenly realised who he was. She had hardly had the thought when he stopped, turned towards her and said: "What you have just thought, please keep to yourself."45

He avoided every form of dogma. He considered his task was to pass on advice, which he sometimes called his worldly wisdom. He never gave instructions and he never forbade anything. Christa and Werner Hasse experienced this when they were invited by him one Christmas. Some of the guests drank punch. Bruno Groening was firmly against alcohol, but never forbade it and not on this occasion either.46

The opinion of medical experts

How did doctors, who were able to look beyond the restrictions of orthodox medicine and believed in the influence of a higher power which worked through this man, judge Bruno Groening? What was he for those who, free from the prejudices of a materialistic age, considered his work objectively?

Hella Emrich, doctor and co-editor of the magazine, Neues Europa and her husband, Louis, were in contact with Bruno Groening for several years. He often visited them at their home in Baden, and they became good friends. In conversation with her, she described him as a simple but very intelligent man.

"He radiated great warmth," she told me. "Being near him gave one a feeling of great satisfaction. Often, when he visited us with his wife, we just sat together in silence. One didn't have to say much to him, just being with him gave one enormous strength."47

In her book, Geheimnisse der Wunderheilungen. Versuch einer objektiven Darstellung umstrittener Probleme der Heilkunst, she writes about her findings after many years of investigating numerous healers.

In a chapter she describes "The Phenomenon Bruno Groening":

"When it became known that Bruno Groening had successfully implemented a great many healings at mass meetings in Herford, sick people converged on him from every country in the world. [...] The result was that soon the medical profession paid him keen attention, not in a friendly and investigative manner but with indignation and resentment. They tried everything to eliminate this opposition. [...] Hot-headed pro and contra groups were formed. A Groening commotion ensued and resulted in the appearance of smart business managers whose wheeling and dealing was unbeknown to Groening. [...]

"Although difficult to believe if one read the press reports, money, title or rank meant nothing to Groening.

"`I want to lead people back to a belief in God. He will heal them" was the main tenor of his teachings. [...]

"If certain circles spurned and slandered Bruno Groening, it was not least because his contemporaries kept harping on the fact that he was a miracle healer. His genuine love for humanity was overtly stressed, and cloaked his true and many facets: the Christian, the messenger and the prophet. The essence of his purpose in life and his aims and aspirations were known to all too few."48

At the time of the big lawsuit (1955-59), Dr Beyer, who had studied the phenomenon of spiritual healing for decades gave the Court an expert's evaluation of Bruno Groening's ability to perform spiritual healing. In his report, which was based on many exchanges of view with Bruno Groening, he compared the task of a spiritual healer to a transit station, a conduit, an intermediary for the "great, the all-pervading power of the Creator." He then gave his impression of Bruno Groening:

"This is the way Bruno Groening sees his work, when he states quite clearly and unmistakably:

`I do not heal, it heals through me.'

"This awareness of not using his own power but being a tool of a higher energy is sincere religion. Such exceptional emphasis on this talent, which has unexpectedly revealed itself in Bruno Groening, has understandably caused a great sensation as events have more than proved. The pressure of those seeking help was so immense that one person alone could not deal with such an overwhelming number of requests. And the authorities, who had been asked to help, were also ill-prepared to deal with such an elemental onslaught. The resultant confusion not only caused a public outcry due to untenable exterior conditions, but dishonest people close to Groening were tempted to pursue and realise selfish ends, so that eventually the odium of dishonesty cloaked the entire operation. Groening himself cannot be blamed for these unfortunate events. [...]

"I have 35 years of personal experience in the field of spiritual healing. I am therefore far more free of prejudice in my assessment of Bruno Groening as a personality than any other person, particularly if he has no experience in this sphere and is ignorant, or at least uncertain. My opinion is not just based on the many contradictory press reports, but I have met with him several times. I know him as a man of goodwill and thoroughly honourable intentions. [...] From a professional point of view I can see absolutely no reason why he should not be allowed to use his ability to the benefit of the many sick people, because he really can help them."49

On April 17, 1955 Dr Gemassmer, another doctor with many years of experience in the field of spiritual healing gave evidence in Court as follows:

"I met Bruno Groening early in January 1954 and visited him in his apartment near Munich. In the course of conversation I asked him to demonstrate a healing. He said to me, `Tell me what you feel.' He remained in conversation with another man some four meters away and appeared to pay no attention to me.

"After a few minutes, I felt a strong current which began in the soles of my feet and rose from my calves. This current caused a tremendous pain in one foot, which disappeared again after a few minutes. I was increasingly filled with a pleasant feeling of peace. [...] A strong sense of well-being swept over me. [...] The feeling of peace grew into a feeling of great strength, so much so that I broke off the treatment and thanked Groening. [...] I felt unusually well. Due to my journey, this was the second day that I had gone without my afternoon rest. I become very touchy when I don't have it. It was past midnight when I left Mr Groening and I didn't get to bed until 2 am. I felt so wonderfully fresh that I couldn't imagine that I would fall asleep. But I was asleep within minutes and the next morning, after just four hours in bed, I got up feeling totally relaxed. I lived in Starnberg, 25 minutes from the railway station. I was unable to find a taxi so, in order not to miss the train, I had to jog to the station. This is something that I could normally not do. This experience made it clear to me that the healing power came from the phenomenon, Groening."50

Dr Gemassmer stressed that such a power, which was clearly evident in Bruno Groening, obliged him to use it. He saw it as conforming to the ethics of civil order that: "if a phenomenon generates such power, he should be given the opportunity to put it to good effect. However, despite the evident willingness of Bruno Groening, this orderly work is prevented by the health authorities."

Dr Gemassmer wrote:

"As the doctors have had moral pressure brought to bear by their professional organisation not to work with Groening, and because he has not been permitted to work as an alternative medical practitioner, the legislation governing health itself prevents Groening from practising this orderly work."51

According to Dr Gemassmer, inner powers had broken open in Bruno Groening which not only beamed a great deal of energy towards sick people, but also had an effect on him. These powers, which were given to him by a higher authority, would destroy him internally if he did not follow his inner assignment to heal.

He continued:

"Not to allow a person to find a way to use his elemental force in a harmonious manner, when its healing potential has been proven a thousand times, is a responsibility that the law of the spirit will judge."52

Bruno Groening: a testimonial

In conclusion I would like to submit a document that I found in the files. In it Erich Pelz, a business economist from R., summarises his impressions of Bruno Groening based on an eight-year friendship. He wrote it in the form of a personal letter just after the hearing of the appeal had ended in January 1958:

"The struggle and fight that went on around your person, during the case which has just ended, and the revision which can certainly be expected, comes at an important stage.

"As I followed this last court case and the previous one in every detail, I feel moved to make the following declaration to you. I do this of my own free will and it is irrevocable.

"My first contact with you was at Traberhof near Rosenheim, in 1949 [...]. For approximately 40 years I have studied the wisdom of India, China and Tibet and after the events at Herford catapulted you into the limelight, it became clear to me that you are [...] a type of person who is well-known in the East but still unknown in the West: an extremely rare and unusually advanced spirit in human form, whose powers from the Creator all the present means of so-called `exact science' just cannot explain. These Divine energies nevertheless exist and cannot be argued away. This is why, for thousands of years, we persecuted and stoned such people. It was clear to me that you too [...] would have to follow this same path. Unfortunately, the events to date prove me right. The so-called opinion of people is also divided about you. [...] Few have convinced themselves about you and your work. Because this was clear to me, I have attentively followed you from the start and tried to make closer contact with you. In the first place, this began at Traberhof with a miracle. Since 1939 I have suffered from the after-effects of hemiplegia [...]. Despite intensive care in a special clinic in Kiel for eight months I still had a handicap in the right shoulder which, in the course of the next ten years, I gradually got used to. Although I was far away from you at Traberhof, behind about 20.000 people, I was spontaneously healed from this condition. And I have never had a relapse."53

To justify his ability to make this judgement, Erich Pelz explained that he had, over the years, had the opportunity to visit various groups, both in Germany and Austria, with Bruno Groening. Also he had often stayed with him in Plochingen, so he had been able to form an opinion of his private life. He continued:

"I can also say that I have had many and sufficient opportunities to observe you personally, your work and the occurrences around you. I wish to explain the following:

- "I am convinced that you are a messenger who lives as a simple man in Germany and that you have to fulfil a higher task....

- "In my presence you have never said anything which was not true.

- "You do nothing that resembles treatment given by a doctor or an alternative medical practitioner. Basically you do not permit people to detail their illnesses. This I have observed from 1949 until today. But I have also seen that, despite your request, they continuously bother you with precisely this information. [...]

- "You do not touch people, you do not examine them or persuade them not to visit doctors. In fact you always refer them to their doctors. [...]

- "You do not say anything against doctors, and in your talks you say nothing against a particular faith. [...]

- "I have experienced the healing which emanates from you on my own body and so has my wife. I have seen countless people being healed in your presence. I have also seen them being healed in your absence in the groups and I have read about their healings in sworn statements. I have spoken to a man from South America, who has told me about his fantastic experiences and because of this I am convinced that the power that works within you knows no boundaries.

- "In particular I must state that your talks are of a purely religious [...] nature. In no way do they resemble medical science. [...]. The fact that your words stimulate your listeners to re-orientate themselves spiritually and a subsequent physiological re-orien-tation of the body follows, is a truism which academic medicine is only just beginning to unearth from thousands of years of scholarly rubble.

"This is why I find it understandable that you are being so unfairly persecuted by people who do not even bother to convince themselves of the efficacy of your work."54

The aim of this chapter is to give the reader an idea of the nature and character of this unusual man, based on the experiences and opinions of eyewitnesses. The fact that from his childhood to his death numerous people independently came to a similar conclusion is an impressive testimony as to the veracity of their statements.