Hermann Warszawiak

During his studies he became aware of the Christian worship of Jesus and in 1889 he attended a sermon in Breslau given by the Scottish missionary, Daniel Edwards.

Funding came from supporters in America and Scotland including a lady called Miss Catherine Douglas[Note 1] who sponsored an early biography of Warszawiak titled The Little Messianic Prophet, published in 1892.

[2] One of his largest creditors, Anninka Nicolas, lost about $26,000 and refused to release him from his bankruptcy; she was still pursuing him through the courts up till her death in 1913.

A committee appointed to review his application rejected his request, saying that he recognised no authority but that of God, and that there were questions over his honesty and financial probity.

To back up their case, a senior member of the church employed a private detective who stated that Warszawiak had attended a gambling establishment.

[3] The church focussed on these accusations and Warszawiak was put on trial; the case initially went against him, but on appeal, the General Assembly refused to uphold the verdict.

In about 1910 he was associated with a broker called William T. Wintemute, who was selling fraudulent gold mine shares, but it was not clear if Warszawiak was aware of the criminal aspect of this business.