Truth & Treason (2025)
Director: Matt Whitaker
Writers: Ethan Vincent, Matt Whitaker
Release date: October 17, 2025
Stars: Ewan Horrocks, Ferdinand McKay, Daf Thomas, Nye Occomore, Rupert Evans
Plot: Set in Hamburg, Germany, during the height of World War II, Truth & Treason recounts the true story of Helmuth Hübener, a bright 16-year-old aspiring writer and devout member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Initially a patriotic citizen serving in the Hitler Youth and working a prestigious internship at City Hall, Helmuth’s worldview is shattered when his older brother returns from the front lines with a smuggled shortwave radio. By secretly tuning into forbidden broadcasts from the BBC, Helmuth learns the devastating reality of the war and the extent of the Nazi regime’s propaganda, a realization that deepens when he witnesses the persecution of his Jewish friend, Salomon, who is barred from their church and eventually arrested.
Disillusioned by the cowardice of his local church leadership—who urge compliance with the Nazis to avoid persecution—Helmuth decides he can no longer remain silent. Utilizing his writing skills and access to a typewriter, he begins drafting and duplicating anti-Nazi leaflets on bright red paper to expose the government’s lies. He recruits his two close friends, Karl-Heinz Schnibbe and Rudi Wobbe, to help him distribute the pamphlets across Hamburg under the cover of darkness, an act of defiance that soon attracts the attention of the Gestapo and a relentless investigator named Erwin Mussener.
As the investigation closes in, Helmuth is arrested, imprisoned, and subjected to brutal interrogation. In a final act of sacrifice during his trial before the feared “People’s Court,” he boldly takes full responsibility for the conspiracy to shield his friends from the harshest penalties. While his friends are sentenced to prison, Helmuth is convicted of high treason and sentenced to death, ultimately facing the guillotine at age 17 as the youngest German resistance fighter executed by the Third Reich.
* * *
Truth & Treason (2025) | Transcript
[musical swirl]
[radio scanning static]
[speaking in German]
[troops marching]
[air raid alarm]
[gun fire and explosions]
[gentle music]
[laughter]
[Karl] Keep up, Salomon!
[Rudi] Where are we going anyways?
[Karl] Let’s race, boys.
Come on!
[Salomon] Oh, I know where we’re going.
[Karl] Go! Jump, you pansies.
We don’t have to do this.
This was your idea.
It was a great idea… from down there.
Helmuth’s worried he’s going to mess up his beautiful hair.
Easy!
All right. I’ll go if you do. On the count of three. One.
Woah, hang on, hang on!
You blokes are bloody cowards.
I don’t see you jumping.
Two!
Yes you do. Whoo! Haha!
[Karl] That was nothing! Jump, Rudi!
Oh, bother. Three!
Jump, pansies!
Let’s go!
Helmuth! Helmuth!
What was I thinking?
Helmuth! Helmuth!
Helmuth! Helmuth!
Helmuth!
One people! One Reich! One bridge–
Salomon! You coming with us to pick up Gerhard?
I don’t know, when does his train arrive?
Saturday, half six.
[Salomon] Ah, the big brother returns. I’ll have to see if I can make it.
Uh-oh.
[Rolf] You boys are more than late.
More than late? I knew we were late, but not more than late.
[Rolf] Where’s your uniform, Karl?
It’s at the cleaners, Rolf.
[Rolf] Like last week? Note that.
[stifles a laugh]
What are you laughing at?
Nothing.
Nothing? Well, then I think you need to tell me how sorry you are for laughing at me. For nothing.
Why don’t you talk to me, Rolfi?
Shut up.
Your girlfriend’s just about to tell me how sorry she is.
Sorry.
That’s right, you little pansy.
Nobody calls my friend a pansy. Move.
[Rolf] I’m gonna report you, Karl! You hear me?! You’ll regret this!
[Emma] Honey, it’s ready!
[Emma] You coming?
Morning. How was the night shift?
Oh, don’t you look handsome.
Mom, please, you’re spitting on me.
[Helmuth] Morning, Hugo.
Morning.
I’ll give it to you when I’m done.
[Emma] Big day today, eh? It’s Helmuth’s first day at his new job at City Hall. What did they say? The youngest intern they’ve ever hired. Are you nervous?
Not really. I mean, a bit, I suppose, but I feel ready.
[Hugo] Have you written your patriotic statement?
[Helmuth] Never before has Germany been more fatherland to us than it is now. In this Athenian age, the dawn of the national-socialistic millennium. Examine the unblemished faces you pass on the street, their strong builds. The industrious manner with which they carry themselves. Gone are the plutocrats. The wealth infested aristocracy. Gone the sprawling estates of the decadent bourgeoisie.
They’re ready for you.
Today, our nation stands strong and tall on the shoulders of our Führer, Adolf Hitler.
As we distill the essence of the previous statement, two questions arise. First, what lifts us above the other industrialized nations, and… second point… or… uh… or question. How did we arrive at this great juncture in history? The answer to both queries is one and the same. It’s nothing less than our German perseverance, our blood, our very nature.
That was very good. And you’re sixteen?
Yes, sir.
[Mohns] Very well done. We shall use your statement in the office newsletter. What do you think of that?
That would be–
[Mohns] Perfect! Just leave your notes with Fräulein Kluge here.
[Mohns] She’ll type them up.
Uh… or I could–
Welcome to Upper Administration.
[Elli] Your notes?
Right now?
[Werner] So you’re the gifted writer they’ve been talking about. The “youngest intern we’ve ever hired.”
[Helmuth] So I’ve heard.
Huh. Come on. This is your desk. But for today, all this needs to be filed and archived.
[Werner] We call this “the dungeon.” At least I do. Where we file everything into oblivion. That back there is for tenured public officials and civil servants. This here is for state employees and service workers. Chronological. That’s where we keep archived copies of banned literature. Locked for obvious reasons. And these are policy updates, both regional and national. It’s all alphabetical, basically. And all that is just other administrative things. You’ll figure it out. Welcome to Upper Administration.
[gentle music]
Heil Hitler.
Heil Hitler.
[man] Morning sir.
[phone ringing]
[man yelling in pain]
[Erwin] It’s come to this, has it?
[Julius] Still smoking?
I thought Anne made you quit.
[Erwin] She did. See, my wife’s trying to get me to quit. She’s a good German. The Führer doesn’t smoke, so she stops smoking. Are you married? I ask if you’re married, but I suppose I’m not being completely honest. We brought in your wife this morning. Hilde, right? And your daughter. They’re just down the hall. We’ll chat with them in a few minutes. But you knew that, right? That if we caught you, we’d have to bring in your family as well. Question them. Yeah, you thought this through before you planned your little coup, right? Oh, maybe not. How do they always forget that part? Well, let’s not drag this out, Albert. Who sold you the firearms?
I found them.
Hm.
[screaming in pain]
[casual chatter and laughing]
[Salomon] Gerhard!
Hey! Look who finally shows up!
[Gerhard] Why weren’t you at the train station?
How was France?
A joke. A walk in the park. Great food, though.
[Emma] Salomon, are you coming up for dessert?
Can’t pass up on that now, can I?
Of course he is.
So, what do you think of Hugo?
[short laugh] Yep, that’s what I thought. Mom sure seems happy though, huh? Still on the honeymoon, I guess. Can you keep a secret?
Where’d you get that?
It’s a short wave.
I know what it is. Where’d you get it?
Le Marché Noir. The French black market.
Shh. Turn it down!
The reception on this thing is incredible. You can get news from anywhere. Russia, Holland, the BBC.
Wait, wait. Go back.
Mendelssohn.
I’m surprised at you. Listening to a banned composer on an illegal wireless.
[clicks tongue]
[Gerhard] That is a capital offense. Now, this… this is more like it.
Yeah. Banned American music. Completely different.
Come on, up you get.
[Helmuth] I can’t…
[laughing] Come on, little brother!
[laughing and chattering]
I can’t.
Yes you can.
Move your feet.
I’m not like…
Yeah, you can, come on.
That’s it!
Shh!
What’s all the racket?
We were dancing.
What?
[Gerhard] You know, just fooling around.
Oh. Yeah, well, it’s getting late, and I’m sure your mother will be dragging both of you to church in the morning, so you should…
True. I’ll tuck him in.
[Hugo] And you. You need to go. It’s past curfew.
I’m glad you made it back in one piece.
Me too.
See you at church.
Yeah, I’ll be there.
Don’t have too much fun without me.
I’m done with this.
[Helmuth] Oh, thank you.
Night, boys.
Night.
[laughing] Relax.
[humming Mendelssohn tune]
[Guard] Heil Hitler.
Heil.
You’re out late. It’s past curfew. I live here.
[Guard] Papers, please.
[solemn music]
Where are you coming from?
Hammerbrook.
[Guard] Salomon Schwarz… Salomon? Religious affiliation… Mormon? What is that?
It’s a church.
Huh. There it is. Jew. See?
[Guard] His mother is a half Jew. Right there.
[BBC radio]…nearly impossible to discern the truth with Hitler’s Nazi propaganda machine twisting the truth beyond recognition. Thus prompting Winston Churchill to proclaim, “Our brave bomber crews will bring death and destruction over Nazi Germany. The blood of a Europe suppressed by Gestapo terror must not remain unatoned.” How many more of your neighbors will be arrested on the street in broad daylight without warrant, never to be seen again? How long will you tolerate the brazen disregard for the truth? How long will you…
[Mendelssohn tune]
[warm greetings]
Girls, nice to see you.
Elise, Anna.
[organ playing music]
[Arthur] Brothers and sisters, I welcome you here this beautiful Sabbath morning.
For those visiting today, my name is Bishop Arthur Zander, and I’ll be conducting this service.
Heil Hitler.
Heil Hitler.
Our opening hymn will be “Do What is Right, Let the Consequence Follow.”
After which Brother Lüdermann will give us our invocation.
♪ Do what is right,
the day-dawn is breaking,
♪ Hailing a future of
freedom and light…
What happened?
Nothing. I fell.
You fell? Off what, a building?
Later…
How’s it coming?
“Dear Private Orbach, I know I speak on behalf of the whole congregation when I tell you how proud we are of your service in the…
That’s good. That’s beautiful.
[Arthur] But that’s why you are doing this and not me.
Oh! What about City Hall?
How’s the new job?
It’s great! Great. Thank you for your recommendation.
Bishop, a word?
You’re on your way, young man.
You mark my words.
Yes, Otto?
[Otto] This is a church.
No place for salutes.
This is not a political rally.
[Arthur] I understand that.
He’s right.
[Arthur] You see, the thing is, I just think it’s important…
[trailing off]
[Anne] There you go.
Max. Max!
What’s for dinner?
Knödel.
Here you go.
[Max] Oh, can I go play football after school tomorrow?
Uh, ask your mama.
No, we spoke about this.
[Max] Please?
[Anne] No. No, no. You have to study. You’re lacking.
And what did you and mama do today?
We went to the zoo.
[Erwin] The zoo?
Mhmm.
And what did you see?
We saw a lion.
It had a huge mane.
And we even saw a wolf!
[Lisl] Which, I’m not sure was a wolf or a fox.
But instead of hunting or chasing after their food, they dig holes in the snow and then they jump into the holes [Lisl] to get the food.
And did you know that a group of lion is called a pride?
Wow.
[Lisl] And we saw tortoises.
We even saw
[air raid alarm]
[Anne] Come on. Max, grab your bag. Come on. Let’s go.
[Erwin] It’s alright.
[Hugo] You got everything?
Everything I need.
For the train ride.
Thanks, mama.
Bye. I love you.
[Hugo] We’re proud of you.
[Gerhard] You stay out of trouble, okay?
Look after these two lovebirds.
I’ll take that.
Let’s go.
Is this work work or church work?
It’s church.
[Charlotte] Come on, let’s get you to bed, big boy.
Say goodnight to papa.
Goodnight, papa.
Goodnight.
[laughing and chattering]
How are things at work?
Uh, good.
Looks like they’re going to publish my patriotic statement in the department newsletter.
Ah, you’re on your way, young man. Mark my words.
[organ playing music]
Ignore it. We go in.
What’s he going to do?
No, you go on.
Do you want to get turned in?!
Don’t be an idiot.
Salomon!
Go!
[solemn music]
[Arthur] Our 12th Article of Faith statesand you can turn there with me if you like”We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.”
[Arthur] Would not this include our Führer and the current laws of the Reich?
Each of us must ask ourselves, can we pick and choose which of God’s laws we’ll follow?
Only the commandments we find most convenient?
The ones we happen to agree with?
I don’t… I don’t understand.
“Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”
Yes.
[Otto] Your entire life you’ve come inside this chapel and learned of the peaceable things of the kingdom.
Of brotherhood, and kindness, and love.
We can’t allow a lifetime of what we’ve learned inside these doors to be lost because of what was outside them this morning.
[Otto] I love my country, but there are things more important than that.
But what do we do?
We do what we can.
[gentle music]
[gentle music]
What are you reading?
Thomas Mann.
They didn’t burn this one, did they?
I guess they missed it.
Everyone’s very upset.
Not everyone.
I think it’s just a matter of time now.
I could hide you.
[scoffs]
With Hugo in the house, that would be interesting.
Not there, somewhere else.
I don’t…
I’m German.
As much as you are.
As much as Karl or Rudi.
Or Bishop Zander.
I’m not going anywhere.
[gentle music plays]
[radio static as scanning]
[BBC radio] From London, this is the BBC. For our German listeners, the truth. Not the propaganda spoonfed to you by those sly foxes on the People’s Radio. And straight off the wire, we report of the latest unprovoked attack by Hitler’s troops, which took the lives of 17,000 innocent civ
[gentle music continues]
[din of police entering building]
[Mendelssohn tune]
[police ordering in German]
[arguing in German]
[crash]
[banging on door]
[knocking]
[greeting churchgoers]
[churchbells tolling]
We can’t always expect to understand why things happen the way they do.
Not yet, anyway.
[Arthur] People look at our little congregation and think wewe’re sympathetic to the enemy, which couldn’t be further from the truth.
That’s why we have to avoid even the appearance of evil.
[Arthur] Never let anything shake your faith.
Be true to your convictions and God will use you to further the work of His Reich.
[gentle music]
Am I making any sense here?
Yes.
Alright then. I’ll let you get back to your typing.
Bishop?
Hmm?
I have a lot of work to do.
Do you mind if I borrow the typewriter?
[foreboding music]
[Mendelssohn tune]
[dramatic music builds]
[man] Hey, whose down there?
[music peaks and fades out]
[dramatic music]
[Helmuth] Do you know the country without freedom? The country of terror and tyranny? Yes, you know it well, but are afraid to talk about it. It is Germany. Hitler Germany.
[air raid alarm]
Through their unscrupulous terror tactics, they are making you into spineless puppets to do their bidding. Do not let your free will, the most valuable thing you posess be taken away. Germans, arise! Make your decision before it’s too late! Well, who’s running your office down there?
I drove all over Hammerbrook last night.
Yes, during an air raid.
Didn’t see a single one of your men, which I’ve requested twice.
And now I’m looking at a little red leaflet which calls the Führer “the great deceiver of the people.”
Tonight then, good. Heil Hitler.
Julius!
Now, see how this S, the sharp S, it’s an uppercase B that’s been typed over with a P.
It’s an American typewriter, or British.
And here, look.
The lowercase T skips every time.
[Erwin] See how in “Hitler” it double hits.
It has the same thing down here and here.
It’s a fingerprint.
[dramatic music builds]
[BBC radio] …deceived by the platitudes of your authoritarian leader. A lie is a lie, no matter how many times he says it’s the truth. Will you stand up against a dictator who brutally invades his democratic neighbors? And this concludes our broadcast for this evening. Tune in for more of the truth tomorrow night at 10 p.m. And until then, V for victory. Can you keep a secret?
Where’d you get this?
Found it.
Presentation isn’t much, but…
I thought the writing was quite brilliant.
Found it where?
In my typewriter.
[Helmuth] Well, come on!
[gentle music plays]
You coming?
[Karl] Where are we going?
[Rudi] It is past curfew.
[Helmuth] Did you know Mendelssohn was 15 when he wrote his first symphony?
[Karl] Well that explains everything.
[Rudi] What are you doing with those leaflets?
[Helmuth] Getting rid of them.
In mailboxes, phone booths, party announcement boards.
Why?
Because I can’t write music.
[Karl] Again with the music.
[Helmuth] I went up there.
To his empty bedroom.
What was left of it.
Salomon wanted to be a teacher.
And those leaflets you found in your typewriter will change all that?
A man finds one in his mailbox.
Reads it. Can’t get it out of his head.
[Helmuth] Passes it to a friend at work who passes it to another, and another.
And?
And enough people find out what’s really going on and stand up.
Put an end to it.
I’m in.
We can change things.
Not with guns, but… with these.
You know what happens if they catch you.
[Helmuth] Do what is right, let the consequence follow.
Right. I love that song.
[scoffs]
For Salomon.
How many do you want?
I don’t know, 20.
We won’t get caught.
Give me 25.
Go.
[Karl] Wait, here. Right now?
Yeah, right now.
You thought punching Rolfi was fun.
Wait till you try this.
[intense music]
Elli!
Good morning!
Morning.
Careful.
You never know who’s watching.
Thanks, I…
Now, it’s official.
[scoffs]
Official…
So, what are you thinking?
[Helmuth] I think it’s quicker to get along there, to get these streets.
Do you want to hit Süder Street?
It’s on your way home.
Sure.
[quick, Mendelssohn tune]
Hello, Karl.
You’re home late.
You’re out past curfew.
Am I? Must have lost track of time.
What do you want, Rolfi?
[Rolf] I want you to tell me where you were.
[grunting and yelling]
Heil Hitler.
[determined music]
[Erwin] I’ll be right back.
Let’s go! Let’s go! Let’s go!
[Erwin] You go that way!
[determined, upbeat music continues] [Julius] Erwin!
[Julius] Erwin! This way!
“Brothers and sisters.
I’ve been asked to say a few words about finding peace through Jesus Christ.
So… um…
Jesus was a revolutionary.
[Helmuth] We like to think of Him as always being kind and 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 and 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.
And when the moment comes for us to stand up, may we stand.
In Jesus’ name, amen.”
Amen!
Can I borrow your keys again?
Woah!
[Werner] Let me help you.
Thank you!
[Elli] Helmuth.
Here, you missed one.
Thank you.
Better watch where you’re going.
Absolutely. Yes.
Woah, nice!
How was your day at the office?
Interesting.
So, where to tonight?
Ah, change of plan.
I’ve got some more typing to do.
Goodbye, Helmuth.
See you tomorrow.
Right. I’ll see you.
Who was that?
Just a girl… uh… colleague.
Just a girl?
What girl?
[Rudi] She’s your colleague?
[Karl] What’s a colleague?
[Rudi] Seriously?
[in background radio plays] …only one small ray of light suffices to prove their deceitfulness. To prove that, though Nazi propaganda is often crafted right down to the last detail, it seldom coincides even in one point with the facts. In conclusion, the former deputy Führer… Where’d it come from?
I asked, where did the wireless come from!
Are you trying to get us all killed? Is that it?
[Hugo] Put your mother in a prison camp? Get up.
I said stand up!
I don’t know what you’re trying to do, you stupid boy!
I want you out of the house.
You can go to your grandmother’s.
I really don’t care.
And not a word to your mother.
Is that clear?
[BBC radio continues] …he will not rest in turning his plans for imperialistic world conquest into actions. This is the BBC, with our V for victory programming. For our German listeners, the truth. not the propaganda fed to you by Hitler and his.. [Emma] What happened?
He won’t tell me.
Look at me.
It’ll sting for a bit.
Looks a lot worse than it is.
[Gestapo Secretary]
Yes, I’m calling to see if you still own the Remington we serviced for you…
[intense music]
Our records say last November the 15th…
[Elli] Helmuth.
You alright?
Yes.
I saw what was on that paper.
The red one.
Do you have more?
No.
Good.
[gentle music]
[shouts and intense stinger]
[Helmuth] Hitler knows we’re beginning to see through him. The suppressor of free nations, the murderer of millions. The Europe suppressed by Gestapo terror must not remain unatoned. A determined deed can still rescue you and your country from the abyss to which Hitler has led you with his lies. Do you want to tolerate having the happiness of your lives taken from you, and your children cheated out of the most beautiful years of their lives? Do you want to tolerate this?
You know what I like about you?
I like that you ate all your dinner tonight.
Even your green beans.
That makes mama happy.
Another one.
Another one? Alright.
You know what else I like about you? I like that
[airplane engines]
[air raid alarms]
Let’s go.
[explosion]
[explosion]
[explosion]
[explosion]
[explosion]
[highpitched ringing]
[Erwin muffled] Anne?
[Anne muffled] Max! …
[rumble]
Lisl!
[crying]
[Erwin] Lisl? Breathe!
Lisl…
[triumphant tones]
[explosion]
[explosion]
[knocking]
I’m sorry…
[Julius] Thank God Anne and Max are alright.
Yeah.
Yeah, thank God.
I’m so sorr… sorry.
[upbeat, tense music]
[Rudi] Hitler’s false halo has fallen.
His words are nothing more than acrid bubbles that dissipate into thin air.
See the little man for what he is: a murderous charlatan.
P.S. This is a chain letter.
Pass it on.
Helmuth, let’s go.
What?
If I were ever to get caught…
I would never give them your names.
Me either.
I’ll just blame it all on the bishop.
Did we ever talk about my university professor? Schultz?
[Anne] From your one year at university?
Yeah, before I dropped out.
Gottlieb Schultz.
Professor of World History.
He was…
Well, he opened my eyes, you know.
First time away from home and suddenly the world’s much bigger.
Had my first girlfriend.
[Anne] Clara?
Yes.
Yeah, Schultz didn’t just lecture about peoples and cultures.
He took you there with his words.
He sort of took us under his wing, Clara and me.
All of us, really.
And without even meaning to, I learned about life.
About loyalty and integrity… what it means to be a good man.
So I decided to study French literature. Become a poet.
And then a friend of mine informed me that Schultz, this whole time, had been sleeping with my girl.
[Anne] What did you do?
I… uh…
I took it out on the friend who told me.
Knocked him out cold.
For telling you the truth?
Yeah. For telling me the truth.
Do you wish you’d never known?
The truth?
[Helmuth] Dear Elli. I would love to invite you to accompany me to the opera this weekend. Franz Lehar’s operetta “Giuditta” is playing and always delights in its reach for the Italian flair. Please let me know if this proposal interests you. Your company would be most welcome. Cordially, Helmuth.
[background conversations]
[Elli] So you like opera?
I… love it.
Are you trying to ask me on a date?
[nervous laugh] Uh… Yeah.
I want you… to pick me up here Friday.
Seven sharp.
[opera singing]
[opera music continues]
[Elli] That was beautiful.
I genuinely think it’s one of Franz Lehar’s best operas.
Where are we going?
It’s just down here.
Technically it’s an operetta, but it’s reallyI especially liked that aria.
What was it called again?
“My Lips’ Fiery Kiss.”
Yes, that’s the one.
It was nice.
[Helmuth] Although Jenny Lind would have done it better had she been alive when it was written.
[Elli] Who’s Jenny Lind?
She was one of the most renowned sopranos of the 19th century, and a favorite of Felix Mendelssohn’s, and for whom he wrote some of his best arias.
Who’s Felix Mendelssohn?
Joking! I know who Mendelssohn was.
That’s good to know since we’re not allowed to listen to him anymore because he was Jewish.
[Helmuth] Anyway…
Do you know where he was born?
Lehar?
Mendelssohn.
No.
Right here.
In Hamburg?
No, right here.
[Helmuth] This is where we were going.
[Helmuth] Do you know who commissioned that plaque?
I’m sure you’re about to tell me.
None other than Jenny Lind.
The most renowned soprano of the 19th century.
[laughs] Yeah, and more than two decades after his death, sheStop talking.
[opera music swells]
You’d better get me home.
It’s starting to rain.
[Julius] [Clears throat] Hello?
They’re quoting from banned authors.
They’re quoting Thomas Mann.
Then it’s Schiller.
He’s even got a… oh where is it…
Yeah, here.
Quote: “And so the English soldier could never feel that he had been misled by his own countrymen, as was the case with the German soldier, who rejected everything coming from this source as swindles and bunk.”
You know where that’s from?
Mein Kampf.
[Julius] Ah, of course.
He’s weaving between Schiller, Thomas Mann, the Führer.
He’s even thrown in a little Shakespeare for good measure.
Hamlet.
It’s quite brilliant.
[Julius] So an intellectual, a university professor or something.
[thunder]
Or someone who has access to banned literature.
They keep an archive.
Copies of banned books. Where?
Uh, Berlin. Any in this region?
What about City Hall?
I’ll look into it first thing Monday.
And do you thinkGood, do it.
[gentle music]
[gentle music swells with ominous tones]
[door opening and closing]
[tense music]
[Helmuth] “‘Tis the times’ plague, when madmen lead the blind”
[tense music continues]
…oh, alright…
[clears throat] Ex… excuse me.
I’m… I’m…
Yes… we’ll need an update on the river dredging project…
[Julius] Heinrich Mohns?
Heil Hitler!
[Julius] I understand you archive banned books here.
Yes, yes we do.
Show me.
[ominous tones build]
[Gestapo Secretary]
Sir, can I help you?
Look what I found.
[fastpaced, suspenseful music]
Who else has keys to this room?
That is not what you just said.
[Werner] What I meant was, I’m not the only one that goes down there.
Into the archives.
Who goes in there?
The archives?
[Erwin] Where they keep the banned books. And these.
[tense music]
[fastpaced, dramatic music]
You’re dead.
[Erwin] Easy!
He’s working for someone.
He’s going to tell us who it is.
[Erwin] Profile.
Now look at me.
[dramatic stinger]
He’s a stubborn one.
Take it off.
[dramatic music]
[Hugo] I’m sorry.
Who’s the book for?
Me.
What, you like Shakespeare?
Get up.
Now why should you take all the blame? You just the paperboy.
Who’s writing these?
[Helmuth] I am.
“Indeed the nefarious plan of the Führer to attack the Soviet Union, contrary to all agreements and in spite of the nonaggression pact…”
You wrote this?
[grunts and coughing]
[knocking]
Here. Let me hear you read this.
I wanna hear you read it.
…if you can.
“Just as tendentious and illusionary is the Hitler propaganda campaign”
Speak up.
“…But Hitler and his accomplices know they must deprive you of your free will, in order to make submissive, spineless creatures out of you…”
“…For Hitler knows that we are beginning to see through him.”
“…the suppressor of free nations. The murderer of millions.”
They found this at his grandmother’s house.
Where he was living.
It’s a halffinished leaflet.
[solemn music]
[Karl] What?
[Rudi] He’s been arrested.
I knew this would happen.
I… I… I have a cousin, Basel, we could leave now, we could go to Switzerland.
And then what?
We run… you know what they’ll do to our parents?
To everyone?
What are they doing to Helmuth?
He’ll outsmart them.
You know Helmuth.
He’ll keep his promise.
What do I tell my parents?
We lie.
Don’t tell them anything.
It’s gonna be alright.
We were rough on you. Well, we don’t need that anymore, do we?
Alright. [sighs] We’ll talk tomorrow.
Try and get some rest.
[dramatic music swells]
[Julius] Get up!
[hits and grunts]
[background yelling]
Please Father, give me strength…
The Führer wants peace…
A piece of Poland.
A piece of Czechoslovakia.
A piece of France.
No?
[laughs to himself]
A friend of mine suffers from schizophrenia.
Has delusions that he’s either Adolf Hitler or Winston Churchill.
He’s his own worst enemy.
[subdued laughter]
Yeah…
You know, my colleauges think that you had help putting out these leaflets.
Did you?
There is no one else.
[door opens and closes]
You know, I’m not sure there were others.
There’s always others.
Why don’t you hold off for today.
And let me keep working on him.
You keep working your way, I’ll keep working my way.
We’ll see who wins.
I mean it, let’s just hold off for a bit.
Nah, this’ll be quick.
I said hold off!
Fine.
[door closes]
[gentle music]
I need you to do something for me.
[door opens and closes]
Why?
Why?
Because… because they took my friend.
Salomon. Salomon Schwarz.
Because of a Jew?
Yes… and the truth.
The truth…
Then explain this truth to me: How does one person cover all of Hamburg in a single night?
[Edwin] How do I post these in Hammerbrook, and in Altona, and up in Eilbeck… all in a single night.
How do I do that?
I can’t be two places at the same time, now, can I?
I know someone’s been helping you.
Who were they?
No one.
[Helmuth] There’s noNo, no, mhmmmm.
The Truth.
The truth?
If we don’t stop Hitler, he will destroy Germany.
No one is safe.
Not you. Not your family…
No one.
[suspenseful music]
[ominous music]
Who was with you?
No one.
[grunts]
Who was with you?
No one.
[grunts]
Who was with you?
No one.
[grunts]
[Edwin] Your mother, your stepfather.
We met with them…
Now he’s a good Party member and your mother, she’s supportive, doubt she’d be involved in any of this…
But you never know.
May have to bring her back in, just to be sure.
Still no one?
[ominous tones]
She doesn’t know anything!
[yells]
[Elli screams]
[Edwin] I wouldn’t have suspected her but then we found this in her things.
You like opera?
It’s typed on your typewriter.
With your signature.
She doesn’t know anything.
Oh you’re probably right…
But Julius is going to find out, I can promise you that.
You don’t have to tell me who’s been helping you.
Just write down their names.
It’s alright.
[Edwin] Doesn’t have to be perfect.
[solemn music]
[grunting and crying]
It’s devastating, isn’t it?
So committed to a cause, only to realize you’ve hurt those you love the most…
You were right.
No one is safe.
But you knew that.
And did it anyway.
[door opens and closes]
Send the girl home.
[dramatic music]
What are you looking at?
[door unlocks and opens]
[gentle music]
What happened there?
[Guard] Don’t touch him.
We got a letter from Gerhard.
Is he alright?
He’s fine.
He says he should be home by summer..
and, you know, that’s what the papers say too.
Things are going well in Russia.
Karl and Rudi?
Not good.
[gentle music continues]
[solemn music]
[Hans Knie] Sit up. Sit him up!
In court tomorrow, you’ll be in a suit and tie.
Hair combed back, looking presentable. And… you’ll read this.
Out loud. Let’s hear it.
I, Helmuth Hübener express my deepest regrets for the malicious acts of treason I have comYou’ll have to be more convincing than that if you want any leniency in Hitler’s highest court.
Little secret.
I’ve had a nice chat with the judge.
He doesn’t want to see this come to the worst any more than I do as your attorney.
This is your life we’re talking about.
This is treason.
You’re barely seventeen.
Now, Karl on the other hand, Herr Schnibbe, he’s eighteen.
An adult.
[Hans Knie] And a known troublemaker, assaulting Hitler Youth leaders and what not.
You read this statement in court.
Put your heart into it.
Save your skin and let KarlHeinz take what’s coming.
Now let’s try it again, shall we?
Hmm? From the top.
[solemn music]
[background conversations]
[suspenseful music]
[Judge Fikeis] All rise.
The Honorable Head Judge Karl Engert, Chairman of the Second Senate of the People’s Court, representing our Führer, Adolf Hitler, in the case against Helmuth Hübener, KarlHeinz Schnibbe and Rudolf Wobbe.
Heil Hitler.
[crowd] Heil Hitler.
[Judge Fikeis] The accusations laid before the court are:
preparation to high treason, aiding and abetting the enemy in time of war, listening to illegal foreign broadcasts, and the publishing and distribution of seditious material.
The accused stand before you now, on this day, the eleventh of August, 1942.
[Judge Engert] Sit down.
Read it with feeling.
[Judge Engert] These are leaflets that were written and distributed by the defendants.
On a typewriter stolen from their church, the… hmm, Mormons.
That’s interesting.
So religious… and yet, here you are, accused of committing high treason.
I find that ironic.
Well.
My intent is to determine who actually instigated this group, and whether the ring leader wasn’t indeed the adult of the group, Herr Schnibbe.
[Judge Fikeis] We now call to the stand Criminal Secretary Erwin Müssener with the Secret State Police, Hamburg.
[Judge Engert] How many of these leaflets were distributed?
There were twentynine separate leaflets that either we found or were turned in.
Multiple copies of many of them.
But we don’t know exactly how many others remain uncollected.
You believe there were more?
[Edwin] Yes.
A number?
We don’t know.
Possibly many more.
I will say that the content of these leaflets was extremely well written.
Very persuasive.
None of us were expecting to find a sixteen year old.
[Judge Engert] Persuasive?
You’re saying that the words of a 16yearold boy could sway the German people?
I’m saying, they were well written.
I was looking for a university professor, someone older.
But we have someone older right here: Herr Schnibbe. KarlHeinz.
KarlHeinz Schnibbe was not the author of the leaflets.
We found the typewriter, we know it was used byBut isn’t it likely that this young man was influenced, perhaps persuaded by his older friend?
Herr Schnibbe, a known troublemaker?
Isn’t that possible?
[Judge Engert] Kommissar?
I don’t know.
[Judge Engert] Excuse me?
I don’t know.
[Judge Engert] You don’t know?
I asked if it’s possibleOf course it’s possible.
That will be all.
[Hans Knie] Your honor.
My client has prepared a written confession which demonstrates very clearly that he was bullied into this “resistance group” by his older friend, here, Herr Schnibbe Bring him forward.
I, Helmuth Hübener, express my deepest regrets…
[inspirational music]
…I express my deepest regrets… that Germany has followed a lunatic into a war she cannot win.
[Judge Engert] No, no, no, no.
This is a court of law.
The accused is free to speak.
[Judge Engert] Ah, that’s quite the statement.
Do you really believe that Germany will lose this war?
Absolutely.
Don’t you?
And yet, it was only a year ago when you wrote, “Never before has Germany been more homeland to us than it is now, in this Athenian age, the dawn of the NationalSocialistic millennium.
And how did we arrive at this great juncture in history?”
On the backs of the conquered.
That’s how we arrived here.
The power of this Reich is mired in the blood of the innocent.
In Poland, in France.
Germany’s future lies frozen and dead on the steppes of Russia so Hitler can have his living space.
Ah yes, the Allies are up in arms about our living space, aren’t they?
Have you never heard of British ‘Imperialism’, or what the Americans call their ‘Manifest Destiny’?
Hmm?
They’re hypocrites!
It’s exactly the same expansionism that our Führer has achieved!
What did you think, boy?
You would write some little leaflet and overthrow the Reich?
I thought…
I would write the Truth… and let it overthrow the Reich.
The Reich doesn’t fear your little papers.
Then why are we here?
[Judge Engert] It has become so convenient to accuse the victor.
It’s the very reason Aristotle said that in the time of war, truth is the first to go.
[Helmuth] You mean Aeschylus.
“In war, truth is the first casualty.”
He was right.
Hitler says whatever he can to cover the truth: That his thirst for power has cost millions of lives!
Millions of lives.
Every German knows that we’re winning this war.
You only know what Goebbels wants you to know!
I know that in my court you will address me with respect!
Your court? Or Hitler’s court?
My court! The Führer’s court!
The German people’s court!
The people deserve the truth!
Hitler will stop at nothing!
Truth is loyalty to the Führer— He will send Germany into the fires Shut your mouth!
Sit him down!
[Helmuth] …in order to finish the crimes he has started!
The people deserve the tru…
[Judge Engert] Not his face!
Expose him for what he is: Shut him up! Shut up!
…a reckless mass murderagh!
[music swells]
This court is in recess.
Sentencing will follow.
[gentle music]
[Judge Fikeis] All rise.
In the case against Helmuth Hübener, KarlHeinz Schnibbe and Rudolf Wobbe, the court pronounces all three guilty of high treason, and of aiding and abetting the enemy in time of war.
[Judge Engert] Rudolf Wobbe.
You are hereby sentenced to five years imprisonment.
KarlHeinz Schnibbe.
You are hereby sentenced to ten years imprisonment.
Helmuth Hübener.
For your crimes against the Reich… the sentence is death… by beheading.
Any final words from the defendants?
Yes…
[inspirational music]
I am guilty of no crime at all.
I will die, having done nothing wrong…
But your time will come.
The judge will be judged and truth will prevail.
[inspirational music swells]
[Guard] Rudolf Wobbe.
KarlHeinz Schnibbe.
Come.
You stay.
One moment. Please.
One day,… this will end.
You will live… to have a better life… in a better Germany.
[gentle music]
We did what we could.
Remember me.
[gentle music]
[door unlocks and opens]
[Edwin] You should know, this was filed on your behalf.
Clemency?
It was denied.
[solemn music]
Thank you.
Will you deliver this for me?
Please?
[Helmuth] Mother, By the time you read this, I will be gone. I’m not afraid to die. Father in Heaven knows I have done nothing wrong. He will be the proper judge of this matter…
[low rumbles]
[gentle music]
My deepest regret is the pain I have brought to those I love. I pray God will protect them and bring them home. Please remember me kindly. And that I love you. And that we’ll see each other again… in that better world.
On 12 February 1943, Salomon Schwarz was transported to Auschwitz where he suffered the fate of millions of others who were murdered in the Holocaust.
Rudi Wobbe spent the remainder of the war in labor camps in Germany and Poland.
On 2 June 1945, he returned to Hamburg and was reunited with his family.
Two weeks before the war ended, Karl-Heinz Schnibbe was pulled from prison and forced into the German army.
He was captured and spent the next four years as a prisoner of war in Russia.
Karl and Rudi remained close for the rest of their lives.
Helmuth Hübener is the youngest resistance fighter in Nazi Germany to be sentenced to death for taking a stand against Hitler.
He was 17.
“Sometimes the greatest act of rebellion is to simply speak the truth.”
—Alexei Navalny
[“Poor Wayfaring Stranger” by The Lower Lights, plays]
