One Sunday morning, the Bishop of the church stands in front of the congregation and proclaims, “We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, magistrates and obeying, honoring and sustaining the law. Would not this include our Fuhrer; and the current laws of the Reich?” This is the sermon that changed everything for Helmuth, a 16 year boy living in Nazi Germany. His remarkable story is told in the feature film Truth & Treason.
The world around us has a significant influence on the person we become. Our church, family, friends, school, government all mold our character and help us understand our identity. Helmuth’s eyes are opened through one of his closest friends, a Jew. Ewan Horrocks, who plays Helmuth Hübener in Truth & Treason explains, “They’re on the rooftop, and at that point, he realizes that Germany is on the wrong side of the war. Which is a huge thing. I think it’s a massive gut punch for him.” After his Jewish friend is arrested and taken away, Helmuth secretly listens to banned radio broadcasts. Everything Helmuth knows and understands is unraveling right before his eyes.
Friends & Faith
The stability that Helmuth sees around him is based on a lie. Ewan explains that the radio broadcast is incredibly conflicting for Helmuth, “But he doesn’t suppress that information, he uses it as fuel to write these infamous leaflets.” Helmuth types the truth about Hitler on leaflets that he spreads throughout the area. During a conversation with two other friends, Helmuth explains, “A man finds one in his mailbox, reads it, can’t get it out of his head, passes it to a friend at work, who passes it to another, and another.” With the support of these two friends, Karl and Rudi, the three boys launch a resistance based on exposing the truth, rather than exacting violence.
Ferdinand McKay who plays Karl-Heinz Schnibbe says, “Helmuth had decided before he even handed out his first leaflet that he was going through with this no matter what the consequence. Helmuth wanted this and needed this. That was his calling.”
The impact that Helmuth, Karl and Rudi made at such a young age took a lot of courage. Daf Thomas, who plays Rudi Wobbe elaborates, “There was so much innocence and youth that they had that they lose and are forced to grow up quickly… It’s pretty unbelievable what they did and Rudi was 15 when he started doing it. I feel at my age now, I don’t know if I would have had the courage to do all that. For these young boys to actually do it and make a difference, and show the courage of growing up against this kind of embodiment of fear.”
Truth & Treason
Fear had consumed so many people during WWII, yet that fear didn’t waver these boy’s conviction to share the truth. Rupert Evans who plays Erwin Mussener proclaims, “Just having the courage to continue to do it even when you’re being pursued. I would love for all of us to feel empowered enough to have that kind of truth and conviction in what we do.”
Even though the truth seems hidden in current society, it is still very present. Speaking the truth is just as important as it was in Nazi Germany. Ewan expresses about Helmuth, “His story is more relevant than people think, especially with what’s going on right now. I think it’s something that’s really powerful to have an opinion and stand up for the truth. I hope people go away with a sense of inspiration and empathy because of these boys. What they did at their age and at that time was so powerful and brave but also incredibly stupidly dangerous. But they did it anyway because they believed in what they were doing and they stood up and did it. It’s so moving to see.”
The boys knew that there would be consequences for what they were doing, but that didn’t stop them, they took a stand that we can all hold onto. “Nowadays, more than ever it’s important to stand up for what you think is right. I think there’s so much going on in the world at the moment. This story will inspire a lot of people. It’s very important for the youth of today to see it, to feel like they actually can make a difference because it feels impossible to do. I think this story really emphasizes, it doesn’t matter how old you are, doing the right thing is what’s important,” says Daf.
God gives all His people the capacity to share the truth. Helmuth was a quiet introvert as a child and young man. Ewan describes Helmuth as an awkward boy who comes to his own by the end of the movie. “Toward the end, he completely changes and grows into himself,” says Ewan. On the surface, it’s easy to describe this film as a coming-of-age film, but it’s so much more than that. Ewan elaborates, “It’s more than a story. It’s boy to man. It goes from follower to leader.”
The height of Helmuth’s journey is a speech he delivers where he looks to Jesus as the essence of truth, “Jesus was a revolutionary. We like to think of Him as always being kind, loving and filled with grace, and he was. But, the scriptures say He was full of grace and truth. He said what needed to be said. He stood up, but he did it peacefully. Where Barabbas fought with swords, He fought with words. He was rejected by the Romans, the Rabbis, the Pharisees and Sadducees, even by most of those who knew Him. But he did what was right and let the consequence follow. May we be filled with grace and truth. When the moment comes for us to stand up, may we stand.”
