The youngest person to be executed by the Nazis was a Mormon kid named Helmuth Hübener.
He was killed 78 years ago today.
His crime? "Treason" — for listening to the BBC radio, writing down what he heard, and producing pamphlets that criticized Hitler and his tyrannical regime.
For his bravery, his local religious leader tried to excommunicate him — ostensibly to protect the rest of the congregation against the Gestapo's inquisition.
Do what is right, let the consequence follow. So goes the tune, anyway…
At his sentencing, Helmuth turned to the judges and said: "Now I must die, even though I have committed no crime. So now it's my turn, but your turn will come."
It's easy to look back and praise such bravery, but at the time, this was deemed unpatriotic; conformity was the patriotic position. Patriotism meant waving the flag and praising what was inculcated from the state.
But that's pseudo-patriotism — the counterfeit.
True patriotism at the time looked like dissent — like Helmuth's speaking the truth, as opposed to the Hitler Youth's comparative submission, along with that of most of the rest of German society.
Just as truth is treason in an empire of lies, so too is true patriotism — exposing corruption, renouncing war, and calling out the atrocities of the state — considered treason by those in power.
It wasn't just the case in Nazi Germany.
It remains the case today.
Thanks for your example, Helmuth.
I wish you lived even longer to share your sharp mind with the world.
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