He is very pleased to see that the work in Germany is really going forward at a visibly more rapid rate. The German friends, one of the oldest Communities in Europe, so devoted and loyal, and who have suffered so much during two wars, are beginning at last to see the institutions of their Faith emerging in their native land in a more concrete form than the realm of hope and dreams.
The national Hazíratu’l-Quds, which was purchased so shortly after the end of the last world conflagration, has now been followed by the plan for the first Bahá’í Temple on European soil, a truly noble and inspiring undertaking.
In this connection he wishes to say that he is very sorry he could not agree to the proposals you sent him so far. As your Assembly is aware, the Bahá’ís all over the world are building up national institutions and purchasing, in various areas, Temple sites, etc. It is only natural that each Assembly should feel justified in making an initial suitable investment for its Temple site or its national Hazíratu’l-Quds. However, the Guardian, to whom all the news comes from all over the world, is forced to face the fact that if your Assembly, the Canadian Assembly, the British Community, the Italian-Swiss Assembly etc. etc. each pays as heavy sums for its Bahá’í Temple site or national headquarters as they propose to in these reports, which they send him, the Bahá’í world would never be able to get out of debt. Desirable as each place is, when considered from a local standpoint, it becomes on an international scale, a program that is financially impossible. That is why he urged your Assembly to drastically curtail the area and the price. He has done the same thing in many other parts of the world. He hopes that you will shortly be able to purchase the land required.
There now remains the important consideration of a design for the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár. It does not matter whether it is executed by a Bahá’í or a non-Bahá’í architect, but the essential thing is that it must be beautiful and dignified. There must be none of this hideous, exaggerated, bizarre style, which one sees in many modern buildings. It is not befitting for our House of Worship. He thinks that you should impress this on any architects wishing to submit drawings. The essentials of the design, as stipulated by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá are that the building should be nine-sided, and circular in shape. Aside from this, the architect is not restricted in any way in choosing his style of design.
Whenever you have a sufficient collection of drawings, he would be pleased to receive them, and give you his advice.
A very large building at this time is not necessary, as the expense would overtax our resources too heavily; and the Persian Bahá’ís, who are so much more numerous, will have to, during the coming nine years, build a much larger and more pretentious structure in Ṭihrán, and consequently a more expensive one.
Regarding the matter of ...: individual Bahá’ís are always encouraged to travel and teach, and no doubt he has been of much assistance in Germany. The Guardian, however, feels your Assembly was quite right in considering that your limited financial resources should be spent supporting pioneers, rather than a travelling teacher in Germany.
The eagerness of the friends to serve, often carries them away, and they forget that a sound sense of business management is also much needed, if we are to harbour our resources and accomplish all our goals.
He was delighted to see that so many of the Bahá’ís from Germany were present at the Stockholm Conference, and that they were able to meet with their colleagues from Austria. He hopes that your teaching work in Austria will make marked progress during the present year. The Cause there has been too long neglected, and undoubtedly there is a very fertile field, waiting only to be cultivated, in order to yield a rich harvest.
It has indeed been a great blessing to the German Community to receive the visits of so many Hands of the Cause of God from abroad during the past year.