My very dear co-worker:

I am so glad to receive such a splendid message from the Convention. To you, no doubt, must, in a very great measure, be attributed the success that has been achieved. The days of your pilgrimage will long be remembered, and I trust and pray that both you and your dear wife will as a result be a.s.sisted to lend a fresh impetus to the onward march of the Cause in Germany. Upon you rests a high responsibility, and I am sure you will rise to the height of the occasion.

Affectionately, Shoghi

LETTER OF 10 MAY 1936 (CONVENTION)

10 May 1936 (Convention)

Dear Friends and co-workers,

Dr. Muhlschlegel has kindly transmitted to the Guardian your very warm message, and he has read it with greatest pleasure and satisfaction, and felt deeply touched at the a.s.surances of devotion and loyalty which you have been moved in conveying to him. He highly appreciates the sentiments you have expressed, and fully reciprocates your greetings and good wishes.

He has been very much impressed indeed at the large number of the attendants of this year's Convention, and hopes that in the years to come that number will continue increasing.

The Annual Convention is indeed a very important gathering at which both delegates and visitors should try their very best to be present. It is a splendid and unique opportunity for the believers to come together and deliberate on the vital and pressing issues facing the Cause. It is for this reason, and also because the Convention is the sole body entrusted with the election of the N.S.A., that the friends, and particularly the delegates, should make every effort to take part in the deliberations and discussions of that annual gathering.

With most loving greetings, and sincere good wishes from the Guardian to you all....

[From the Guardian:]

Dearly beloved friends:

The Convention of the German believers marks another milestone in the notable progress achieved in recent years by the German Baha'i Community.

My heart is filled with grat.i.tude for the manifold evidences of the tenacity of faith, the collective efforts, the consolidated unity, the administrative accomplishments and the spiritual fervour so strikingly displayed by its members. 'Abdu'l-Baha, whose special care, love and solicitude for the followers of Baha'u'llah in that promising country, most of you have recognized and no doubt still remember, is truly proud of your accomplishments and is well-pleased with the spirit that so powerfully animates you in His service. His spirit will continue to overshadow you in your labours and to sustain and guide you in your exertions. Persevere and be confident.

Affectionately Shoghi

LETTER OF 10 SEPTEMBER 1936 (SUMMER SCHOOL)

10 September 1936 (Summer School)

Beloved Baha'i Friends,

Our dear friend Miss Kostlin has kindly transmitted to the Guardian the beautiful message which you have addressed to him on the occasion of the holding of the fifth German Baha'i Summer School at Esslingen, and I wish to hasten in thanking you on his behalf for the expressions of loving devotion and the a.s.surances of loyalty which you have been moved in conveying to him. He profoundly values the warm sentiments you have expressed, and fully reciprocates your greetings and good wishes.

What has particularly rejoiced and cheered his heart is the realisation that the Esslingen Summer School is steadily developing and is speedily attaining the character of an international meeting place for all Baha'i residents as well as travellers throughout Europe. The success that has attended your school this year, as evidenced by both the wide range and number of the attendants, is truly encouraging and augurs well for the future of that inst.i.tution which, we have every reason to hope, is destined to develop into a leading Baha'i University throughout the West.

The Guardian's hope is that the German N.S.A. will, as in the last few years, continue extending to that school the moral as well as the financial a.s.sistance which it needs for its further expansion, and for a still wider and more effective penetration of its influence in every Baha'i center throughout Europe.

He also hopes, and indeed would urge each and every one of the believers in Germany to extend full and continued support to the N.S.A. in its highly-meritorious efforts for the extension and development of the Summer School at Esslingen. He is confident that through such a close and whole-hearted collaboration between the individual believers and the N.S.A. that school will succeed in gradually fulfilling its unique and truly n.o.ble mission, both with regard to Germany and to Europe as a whole.

With the loving greetings and best wishes of the Guardian to you all,...

[From the Guardian:]

Dear and valued friends:

I am thrilled by the tone and character of the joint message you sent me.

The splendid achievements that have signalized the proceedings of this year's summer school are a source of abiding inspiration to me in my work, and will as a powerful magnet attract future blessings upon the great and n.o.ble work which its organizers are labouring to promote. I will continue to pray for you and for your work in such a promising field and for so meritorious a purpose.

Gratefully and affectionately, Shoghi

LETTER OF 9 DECEMBER 1936

9 December 1936

Beloved Baha'i Brothers and Sisters,

Shoghi Effendi is just in receipt of the message you have written him through ... dated November 28th. How kind of you to address to him such touching and a.s.suring words on the occasion of the anniversary of the pa.s.sing of our beloved Master 'Abdu'l-Baha. Your words have sunk deeply into his heart, and have imparted to it fresh encouragement and deep comfort. What a greater satisfaction is there for him indeed than to see the friends, and particularly his well-beloved co-workers in Germany, unitedly and harmoniously striving to spread the glad-tidings of this New Day of G.o.d? It is his most fervent hope and the object of his continued supplications at the threshold of Baha'u'llah that your community which is already functioning with such a remarkable vigour, unity and efficiency may rapidly gain in numbers and in strength, and become a beacon of light, the radiance of which shall gradually penetrate and envelop all the neighbouring centers and regions.

Esslingen is not only one of the oldest centers of the Cause in Germany, but it is actually one of its most active, prosperous and promising communities. Your center has indeed a glorious tradition behind it, and it is high time that you all, whether young or old, rich or poor, and no matter how limited your resources and numbers, should unitedly endeavour to extend and further consolidate the basis of your teaching as well as administrative activities.

The Guardian wishes you, in particular, to make a supreme effort to widen the scope of your teaching work, but would urge you to proceed in this, as well as in all other fields of Baha'i service, with the utmost caution and wisdom, so that you may not run the danger of antagonizing or even displeasing the authorities. With this important consideration in mind, exert all your efforts and all your resources for promoting this sacred Cause of teaching in Esslingen and in the surrounding communities.

With warmest greetings and hearty good wishes from the Guardian,...

[From the Guardian:]

Dearly-loved friends:

I am profoundly touched by your message. I thank you from the depths of my heart. I feel proud of you, of your perseverance, your devotion and your loyalty. Persevere and rest a.s.sured. The Beloved is watching over you and will continue to bless your meritorious endeavours.

Your true brother, Shoghi

LETTER OF 17 MARCH 1937

17 March 1937