Photo by Austin Lindsay.
The film “Resistance Movement” tells the story of three young boys living in Nazi Germany who proved that one is never too young to stand up for the truth and be a hero.
Rudi Wobbe, Karl-Heinz Schnibbe and Helmuth Hübener were teenage friends in a small LDS branch in Hamburg, Germany. Hübener owned a short-wave radio that allowed him to hear broadcasts from BBC London. Listening to such broadcasts was considered to be treason in Nazi Germany, but Hübener was convinced that the BBC was telling the truth about the war and that Germany was lying about its successes.
The boys’ efforts to quell the Nazi propaganda and spread the truth put them in jail and placed them before the Blood Tribunal. Wobbe and Schnibbe were sentenced to more time in prison, but Hübener was sentenced to death. Hübener was only 17 years old when he was beheaded on Oct. 27, 71 years ago.
“When I first heard it, I was amazed,” said Kathryn Moss, who wrote and directed “Resistance Movement.”
The film screened at the Megaplex Theaters in Jordan Commons, Sandy, in order to honor the family members of the men who as boys defied Nazi suppression of truth in WWII. Governor Gary Herbert and the mayor of West Valley spoke at the event and presented awards.
“There are heroes all around us, sometimes just down the street,” Herbert said. After WWII, Wobbe and Schnibbe came to Utah and lived here for nearly 50 years until their deaths in 1992 and 2010.
Moss wrote and directed many plays previous to making “Resistance Movement.” All three boys who played the German teenagers are from Utah. The film is set in a sound stage and is based on the play of the same name, also directed by Moss.
“If you’re looking for ‘Avatar’ or ‘Gravity,’ you’re probably at the wrong film,” said Mike Winder, mayor of West Valley. “If you’re looking for a film with true heart and character, this is the right film.”
About 100 people came to see the film, many of them friends and family of cast members.
Werner Sommerfeld came to the screening for a different reason. Sommerfeld was a friend of the three young boys in Hamburg, who all came to his house because of Sommerfeld’s three older sisters. Sommerfeld, now 83 years old and living in Salt Lake City, recalled memories of the three young men and their brave actions.
“I could not have the guts and the courage like these young men have,” Sommerfeld said.
“Resistance Movement” is available on DVD through Amazon, Deseret Book, and Seagull Book.
