“I love my country. But there are things more important than that.”
“What can we do?”
“What we can.”
I knew Truth and Treason was going to be intense. The suspenseful music, the gritty lighting, and wonderful cinematography add to it.
But that was window dressing for an amazing story. One of a brave young man who risked everything to bring the truth to his countrymen.
What’s the story?
It’s 1941 in Hitler’s Germany.
A young Morman, Helmuth Hübener, shows incredible talent as a writer. It lands an internship in the Upper Administration of the German government.
But his plans soon change when his Jewish friend, Salomon Schwarz, is taken one night. It forces his realization of the need to do the right thing: speak the truth.
So he uses what’s available to him.
His gift of words. A stack of red leaflets pilfered from the banned books section of the Upper Administration building in Hamburg. A typewriter and printing press from his church. A radio his brother brought from France to pick up banned broadcasts from other countries. And his closest friends who share in the loss of Salomon.
He feeds his first red leaflet anxiously into his typewriter. My mind transposes an image of Winston Smith from 1984, holding the creamy pages of his notebook before he started writing sedition. But Helmuth doesn’t have the benefit of Victory Gin to clear his nerves.
He types those first fateful words anyway: “Down with Hitler—“
What were my favorite parts?
Throughout the movie, well-meaning people want to do the right thing for their country. Then do nothing when faced with the truth.
The bishop at Helmuth’s church who posts “Jews Forbidden to Enter” on the doors while reminding his congregation about their duty to the Reich.
The Secret Police officer whose daughter dies in an air raid, yet still persecutes Helmuth out of duty to his station.
The Senate Judge who guides Helmuth to blame his friend in return for clemency before ordering him silenced in court when speaking the truth.
They all wrestle with the truth, knowing their actions affect so many others.
And while they do, the actors stare into the audience with expectation. That their lives and stories are worth fighting for. And that their story doesn’t end in the theater.
How does it mirror?
This movie leaves no room for those of us who write the truth. We are held to a high standard, up to the ultimate consequences of our words.
So what’s the truth we need to tell about our age?
Is it how we were led into war for 20 years? Giving up our liberties of travel and association to save us from terror? And surrendering my generation to profit the military industrial complex?
Is it the need to get everyone on a medical counter measure program? Hiding for two weeks to flatten the curve? To yell at our neighbors for jogging outdoors with an exposed face?
Or that all of the above has pushed us into Digital ID? So that we can’t speak out about anything anymore without losing our livelihoods? Solidifying control and the fruits of our labor to a select few?
Well, not all truths lead to despair.
None of those matter when our communities are strong. When innovation and healthy competition can bring all of us prosperity. When we each take the chance to tend to one another’s needs.
See Truth and Treason in theaters this week. Sit with the discomfort of knowing we’re silent about the important things in our time.
Because the end of our next step won’t be as comfortable.
After you watch Truth and Treason, you should look out for my next post. Subscribe today to be the first to know when it comes.
Read these related posts before you go:
Liberty Begins At Home 
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