One of the most moving experiences for Billy and his team was their visit to the infamous concentration camp in Auschwitz (Oswiecim in Polish). As we toured the camp and the guide shared the chilling story of man’s brutality, the Polish Baptist leaders, who travelled with Billy, were busy correcting the speech written for him, a very important speech he was scheduled to read at the so-called “wall of death.”  It was clear that those who wrote the original speech did not know the full story of Auschwitz. 

While it is common to associate the concentration camp in Auschwitz with the genocide of Jews, the thirty-one national flags displayed in the camp are a reminder that citizens of thirty-one nations died at the hands of the Nazis in Auschwitz.  Billy, Ruth and their team were visibly shaken by what they saw. For me, personally, Auschwitz is a reminder of God’s great mercy toward our family. Because of our Russian background the Nazis planned to send our entire family to Auschwitz as well.  God saved us from probable death through the intervention of a German Christian friend.

One of Billy’s most interesting and important meetings was held in the Central Baptist Church of Warsaw where he met with seminary students from all Christian backgrounds studying in the Polish capitol.  Present were also many pastors, priests and nuns. The students asked Billy many questions. One student asked Billy if, given such an opportunity, he would change anything in his past. I thought to myself; with Billy’s great success as an evangelist, why change anything?  He surprised everyone by saying that he would have studied longer. Billy understood that knowledge brings greater certainty and makes us less dependent on others. 

The final meeting of the crusade was held in the Roman Catholic Cathedral in Cracow, the heart of Poland. This was the parish of Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, who is better known as Pope John Paul II, or “The Polish Pope.” During his days as Cardinal, Wojtyla attended the clergy meetings in Cracow and knew the Baptist leaders well. He took the initiative to invite Billy to preach in his cathedral, not knowing that he would have to leave for Rome the same day that Billy and his team arrived. Nor did he know that he would become Pope and would not be able to return to Poland for many years following his election.

My second encounter with Billy took place during a visit to his office in Montreat, North Carolina. I brought with me the Rev. Vasily Logvinenko, president of the Baptist Union of Russia and the Rev. Yakov Dukhonchenko, president of the Baptist Union of Ukraine. Billy invited them in order to plan his forthcoming crusades in Russia and Ukraine. They recommended me as Billy’s translator in Russia and Ukraine. However, this was not possible due to the political circumstances of that day.

I visited Russia shortly after Billy’s crusade in Moscow. In one of the hotels where I stayed, I found a note left by a person who came to the crusade from a distant city on a train chartered by the Billy Graham Association. Christians came to hear Billy preach. Others came out of curiosity. Still others came just to see Moscow. Yet, in one way or another, all were touched by the “Joyous News” Billy proclaimed. 

Only God knows the full effect of Billy’s crusade in Russia. The most important result, in my view, was the fact that at least some of the Russian people and Soviet leaders realized that Baptists and other evangelical Christians are not heretics, as they are often portrayed in Russia.     

Surrounded by people, some with rather large egos, Billy Graham remained a genuinely humble person and retained his innocence to the very end. He also had a very sensitive and caring heart. As a person of world renown, he found time to write me a personal letter of condolence when Stephanie Wills, Billy’s wonderful secretary who became a good friend, informed him that my first wife Helen who had met Billy in Washington had passed away. Who am I that a man of Billy’s stature and renown should have taken time to share my sorrow? 

It can be said of Billy, even as King David said of Abner, his beloved friend, that “a great prince and a great man has fallen… this day” (2 Samuel 3:38).The good news is that one day Billy will rise from the dead to receive the prize he so greatly deserves: the commendation of his Lord and Master Jesus Christ for a job well done. Thank you, Billy, for challenging us to serve God with all our might and to the very end!

     Dr. George Boltniew