A Story of Unity in World War II

An intriguing letter appeared in the November 27, 1941, edition of Brunswick’s Blade Times newspaper. The letter was written by Himan Nathan Werntz, a prominent businessman in Brunswick who operated a combination clothing and grocery store along East Potomac Street. His letter appeared as work was nearing completion on an expansion project at Brunswick's First Methodist Church.

Himan Nathan Werntz (From the Brunswick History Commission)

"The new Methodist church structure is progressing rapidly. As we walk up and down S. Maryland Ave. we can notice how this great undertaking is being achieved and accomplished” wrote Werntz, going on to say “to me, though not a member of this great Church, the present accomplishment of this valuable structure not only for services and benefit of its members, but also for the benefit of the entire community, I am particularly gratified.”

The full letter submitted by Himan Werntz to the newspaper on November 27, 1941.

Earlier that year, First Methodist Church announced plans for a significant expansion of their building with the construction of a new educational annex and fellowship hall along with a complete renovation of the earlier 1907 sanctuary. Such an undertaking was a courageous effort in a small town like Brunswick, but even more so in consideration of events that were impacting the world in 1941. When the ​Blade Times announced the groundbreaking for the building project on May 15, 1941, the same issue carried full-page coverage of the war in Europe and speculation about the United States’ entry into the global conflict. Offerings were being collected at churches across the area to support victims of famine, soldiers in training, and aid organizations seeking to help those in war-torn Europe. By August, with excavation completed at the building site, the shortage of steel forced a halt in the building project that delayed further progress for several weeks. Ultimately, the building project stretched on for ten months, during which time the Methodists worshiped in Brunswick’s Imperial Theater on West Potomac Street.

First Methodist Church on Maryland Avenue in Brunswick, now known as New Hope United Methodist Church.

By the time Werntz’s letter appeared in the ​Blade Times, work was nearing completion on the exterior and interior finishing was underway. His words praise the benefits this project would bring to Brunswick, modern spaces for community organizations and social gatherings, but his letter also speaks to the symbolic importance of such a large undertaking. As one of the most influential members of Brunswick's small Jewish community, Werntz's remarks in support of his Christian neighbors were made in the context of growing dismay over Holocaust in Europe and the threat this posed to democratic societies across the world. 

Born in 1883 in the city of Utena, Lithuania (then a part of the Russian Empire), Himan Werntz immigrated to the United States in 1902 and became a naturalized citizen on January 8, 1909. He came to Brunswick in 1903 and initially worked for another Jewish businessman, Victor Kaplon, who operated a department store. Kaplon was also a refugee from Russia who came to the United States in 1885. In 1907, Werntz struck out on his own, opening his business with his brother-in-law. He became a Sochet, trained in preparing kosher foods for local Jewish families. In 1917, Werntz, along with Victor Kaplon, became a founding trustee of Brunswick’s Beth Israel Synagogue. 

The Beth Israel Synagogue on A Street in Brunswick, constructed in 1917. (From the Brunswick History Commission)

​Throughout the 1930s, residents of the Middletown Valley, like the rest of the United States, read the disturbing news of the actions of the Nazi regime in Germany. As early as 1934, the Blade Times was reporting on concentration camps and the arrests of Jewish peoples and others amid the growing horrors of the Holocaust. In his 1941 letter, Werntz spoke to this reality, declaring “the foundation of the world’s greatest democracy was laid by our forefathers on the principles of religious freedom and equal rights. They were persecuted in the old country, they were prohibited to worship God according to their tradition and wishes, and therefore have made great sacrifices by abandoning their homes and all they owned in order to find a free land where they could worship God according to their own desire and find freedom for the spirit also.” 

In response to Werntz’s letter, the Rev. Norman L. Trott of First Methodist Church submitted his own letter to the Blade Times which was published a week later on December 4, 1941. Rev. Trott wrote “a love for people, and the desire to live out the spirit of good-will toward all men, of every race and faith. This is essential to democracy and it is fundamental to our faith. The things your letter admirably states, and my people and myself are grateful for your encouragement in this our venture of faith.” The cost of defending these principles became evident just three days after Rev. Trott's letter was published when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, bringing the United States directly into World War II.

Rev. Trott's reply to Werntz's letter

800 people attended the dedication services for the newly expanded First Methodist Church on March 8, 1942. The ​Blade Times covered the dedication services, reporting “a high point in the afternoon service was the presentation of the pulpit Bible by the Kaplon family. Mr. Myer Kaplon, at the request of Rev. Trott, spoke to the congregation, expressing appreciation for the friendship that existed between the Church and his family, and further stating that we must look to men of religious faith to keep the lights of tolerance and good will and helpfulness from being extinguished by the forces of evil unleashed upon the world.”

World War II Memorial Chapel at New Hope United Methodist Church

​The Bible that was presented by the Kaplon family is still preserved at the church today. Within the church is also a small chapel that is dedicated the members of the First Methodist congregation that served in World War II and the seven members who lost their lives in the conflict. Beneath the list of names is the inscription “pray eternally that war, the tragedy of the ages, may vanish from the face of the earth forever.”