Truth & Treason Movie Review

 

Warning: this review contains spoilers!

Truth & Treason is based on the true story of a teenage boy in Nazi Germany who dared to write the truth–and paid the ultimate price for it.

I went to see this movie in the theater with my parents and younger siblings–something I’ve been looking forward to for months, ever since I first saw the movie teaser trailer back in the spring! Few things get me more excited than going to see a well-made World War II movie. Some movies you watch and you enjoy them, but then you forget about them. This is not one of those movies. This is a movie that will leave you with a lot to think about, which is just the kind of story I love most. It’s not all fun and enjoyable to watch, but it’s impactful.

It tells the story of Helmuth Hübener, a sixteen-year-old boy living in Hamburg, Germany, in 1941. After his Jewish friend is taken away, Helmuth begins listening to the real news on illegal radio broadcasts from England–and starts writing the truth. But telling the truth in Nazi Germany comes at a very high cost. And for Helmuth Hübener, it would cost his life.

While the Nazis murdered well over a million Jewish children and hundreds of thousands of other children, including those with disabilities and special needs, Helmuth Hübener was the youngest person to be officially tried and sentenced to death by the infamous People’s Court. He was barely seventeen when he was executed–simply for writing and distributing leaflets that told the truth about Hitler and the Nazis’ crimes.

Helmuth was part of the Mormon church (also called the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or LDS). I’m not, and I believe that the Mormon church teaches some very unbiblical doctrines. But one of the things that I loved about this movie was that Helmuth did what he believed was right, even when it went against what his bishop and church were teaching. (Although it’s not shown in the movie, Helmuth was actually excommunicated for his stand against the Nazis and only posthumously reinstated after the war.)

And when Helmuth speaks of Jesus, he shares what the Scriptures say about Him. “Jesus was a revolutionary,” Helmuth says in the movie. “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 Saducees, 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.”

As a writer, I loved the theme of “fighting with words,” and the reminder that words are powerful.

“The Reich doesn’t fear your little papers,” the judge tells Helmuth at his trial.

“Then why are we here?” Helmuth asks.

If words aren’t powerful, then why did the Nazis try so hard to silence them?

It brought to mind the story of Hans and Sophie Scholl, two other young Germans who were also executed by the Nazis for the words they wrote.

When the Nazis first arrested Helmuth, they couldn’t believe that he was the one who had written those leaflets. They were looking for a university professor, someone older, someone intellectual. They were shocked that a sixteen-year-old could have written those words.

You know, people can be quick to underestimate teenagers! I started writing seriously as a young teen and published my first book at the age of seventeen, back in 2017. It was nonfiction about issues such as modern-day slavery, abortion, and orphans. I, in my own way, tried to write the truth. Not that anything I have done has required anywhere near the amount of courage it took for Helmuth to do what he did! Here in America, we are so blessed. We have the First Amendment. We have freedom of speech. I think it’s important to be reminded of what a gift our freedoms are.

And I am so excited to see, over the past couple of years, and especially in the last couple of months, so many young people writing the truth. I truly believe there is revival happening in this country, and it makes me so excited! I don’t mean to say that I think every teenager needs to be publicly speaking or writing, or that those who don’t are less than those who do. God gives us all different gifts, different callings. Our job is simply to be faithful with what we are given. And Helmuth Hübener certainly had a gift with words, which we see him use in this movie.

It makes me furious when people here in America today compare a leader to Hitler or call their opponents Nazis. I think it’s extremely disrespectful to everyone who suffered under the Nazi regime and also shows a lot of ignorance as to just how evil Hitler and the Nazis truly were.

Which is why I believe the stories of World War II and the Holocaust must be told. And one reason why I think movies like this are important.

It won’t be for everyone to watch. It’s rated PG-13, mainly for violence, which there is a fair amount of. There are several scenes where people are beaten up, sometimes pretty badly. We see Helmuth and other prisoners being brutally interrogated. And the movie ends with Helmuth’s execution by beheading. Thankfully, the camera goes dark before the blade comes down, but we see the preparations being made. It’s disturbing, and I think it should be. There’s no foul language other than one use of “bloody.” There is a little romance; Helmuth goes on a date with a girl he works with, and they kiss a couple of times (if I were directing the movie, I’d have left out the kisses, of course😀). While it’s overall a very serious movie, there were parts that made me smile and even laugh, too. And the acting, the costumes, every aspect of the cinematography! It was excellently done.

As a side note: I thought it was neat that this movie is called Truth & Treason, and my new book is called Trains and Tulips! Very similar titles, but I did come up with mine several years ago, long before I heard of this movie! (In case you happen to be new here and don’t know about my book, it’s historical fiction set in the Netherlands during World War II, inspired by true stories of the Dutch Resistance. You can learn more about it here.)

While working on this review, I discovered that there is also an extended edition of the movie, which will be available to stream on the Angel app as a four-part series. So now I need to go watch that!

In summary, while I would never promote Mormon theology, the message of this movie, that truth is powerful and it’s worth fighting for, is a message I will wholeheartedly promote. Our greatest weapon against evil, darkness, and lies is the truth.

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“Speak each man the truth to his neighbor;”
Zechariah 8:16

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth… grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”
John 1:14, 17