What do you think?
Rate this book
When Truth Was Treason: German Youth against Hitler: The Story of the Helmuth Hübener Group Based on the Narrative of Karl-Heinz Schnibbe
A chilling, true story of four courageous teenagers who defied the Nazis. Based on a first-person account by one of the surviving conspirators, Karl-Heinz Schnibbe, a working-class son of the city of Hamburg, this book provides a vivid chronicle of the brave young men who faced the awful tyranny of a nation's darkest hour. 20 photos.
480 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1995
8 people are currently reading
298 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
December 11, 2022
Helmuth Hübener—a Mormon arrested at the age of sixteen and beheaded at seventeen in the Plötzensee prison—was the youngest victim in a place reserved for the execution of political enemies of the Nazi state. Hübener’s crimes were secretly listening to German BBC in the Hamburg home of his grandparents, writing cards and flyers summing up the broadcasts and, with the help of three friends, distributing them in telephone booths and mailboxes in various parts of the city.
When Truth Was Treason is divided into two parts; the first is an account of Karl-Heinz Schnibbe, one of Hübener’s accomplices, the second is a collection of 74 documents related to the case including Gestapo transcripts, the texts of 18 of Hübener’s leaflets and flyers, letters and statements. Together they provide a comprehensive picture of what happened, the consequences and the aftermath.
Hübener’s translations and summaries of the BBC broadcasts countered the Nazi propaganda of effortless victories on various fronts as well as other incidents like Rudolf Hess’s flight from Germany. Hübener initiated and led the conspiracy to spread the truth with fellow Mormons Schnibbe and Rudi Wobbe as well as his friend Gerhard Düwer. All three teenagers were tried with him and sentenced to prison.
His writings are filled with informed sarcasm and profound rhetoric that belied his age: “Certainty about Final Victory! Current military events speak a different language, and the irresponsible optimism of the Führer can scarcely change a thing about that.” “…Goebbels and [others] of the Berlin Wilhelmsplatz Hate Center are really fantastic liars, 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 point with the facts.” “Yes, good old fat Hermann: Reichsmarschall…Oh yes, he has something on the ball, this little rogue with saucer eyes. A dazzling career, a pretty actress and a very ample salary that is not to be sneezed at, but no brains. No, really not, as big as his head is.”
Indeed, his sharp language was used to justify his harsh sentence. The Nazi Court stated in its final verdict that an essay he completed in his final school exam was written in a style that “would never lead one to suspect that he was then only in his 15th and 16th years.” It also wrote that “our examination of his general knowledge, his political knowledge and his ability to make judgments, as well as his appearance before the court and his behavior, show without exception the picture of a precocious young man, intellectually long since having outgrown his youth.” In other words, the perverted justice of the court ruled he was guilty because he was so mature for his age; that alone justified his guilt and receiving the verdict of an adult.
The second half of the book is Schnibbe’s account detailing his life in prison, his journey from an East Prussian work prison repairing Messerschmidt fighter planes, his premature release in order to be enlisted into the Wehrmacht in the waning days of WWII, his capture by the Russians, spending four years in a Russian work camp, and his eventual release and return to Hamburg. The entire account is a mostly neglected and misunderstood part of German history. Schnibbe emigrated to Utah in 1952 and lived there until his death in 2010.
Now out of print, this book would be, for young readers, a wonderful episodic history of German resistance, the end of East Prussia, the chaotic end of WWII and the lives of Germans in post-WWII Russian prison camps—which, interestingly, left Schnibbe with a life-long affection and respect for the Russian people.
When Truth Was Treason is divided into two parts; the first is an account of Karl-Heinz Schnibbe, one of Hübener’s accomplices, the second is a collection of 74 documents related to the case including Gestapo transcripts, the texts of 18 of Hübener’s leaflets and flyers, letters and statements. Together they provide a comprehensive picture of what happened, the consequences and the aftermath.
Hübener’s translations and summaries of the BBC broadcasts countered the Nazi propaganda of effortless victories on various fronts as well as other incidents like Rudolf Hess’s flight from Germany. Hübener initiated and led the conspiracy to spread the truth with fellow Mormons Schnibbe and Rudi Wobbe as well as his friend Gerhard Düwer. All three teenagers were tried with him and sentenced to prison.
His writings are filled with informed sarcasm and profound rhetoric that belied his age: “Certainty about Final Victory! Current military events speak a different language, and the irresponsible optimism of the Führer can scarcely change a thing about that.” “…Goebbels and [others] of the Berlin Wilhelmsplatz Hate Center are really fantastic liars, 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 point with the facts.” “Yes, good old fat Hermann: Reichsmarschall…Oh yes, he has something on the ball, this little rogue with saucer eyes. A dazzling career, a pretty actress and a very ample salary that is not to be sneezed at, but no brains. No, really not, as big as his head is.”
Indeed, his sharp language was used to justify his harsh sentence. The Nazi Court stated in its final verdict that an essay he completed in his final school exam was written in a style that “would never lead one to suspect that he was then only in his 15th and 16th years.” It also wrote that “our examination of his general knowledge, his political knowledge and his ability to make judgments, as well as his appearance before the court and his behavior, show without exception the picture of a precocious young man, intellectually long since having outgrown his youth.” In other words, the perverted justice of the court ruled he was guilty because he was so mature for his age; that alone justified his guilt and receiving the verdict of an adult.
The second half of the book is Schnibbe’s account detailing his life in prison, his journey from an East Prussian work prison repairing Messerschmidt fighter planes, his premature release in order to be enlisted into the Wehrmacht in the waning days of WWII, his capture by the Russians, spending four years in a Russian work camp, and his eventual release and return to Hamburg. The entire account is a mostly neglected and misunderstood part of German history. Schnibbe emigrated to Utah in 1952 and lived there until his death in 2010.
Now out of print, this book would be, for young readers, a wonderful episodic history of German resistance, the end of East Prussia, the chaotic end of WWII and the lives of Germans in post-WWII Russian prison camps—which, interestingly, left Schnibbe with a life-long affection and respect for the Russian people.
June 10, 2018
Karl-Heinz Schnibbe was a boy when the Nazi party came into power. In his teens, Schnibbe and three friends wrote and distributed anti-Nazi/Resistance leaflets throughout Hamburg, by themselves. (No adults were involved.) Once discovered, they were arrested, interrogated, tortured, and then tried. The ring-leader (Helmuth Hubener) was sentenced to execution. Hubener, 16-years-old, was the youngest person to ever be executed. He was beheaded at the infamous Plotzensee prison. Schnibbe, 15-years-old, was tried for treason as well, but he was sentenced to hard labor and spent the rest of the war in German labor camps, as an enemy of the state. In a fit of brutal irony, when Russia invaded Germany, Schnibbe was captured by the Russians and sent to the Volga. The Russians didn't care that Schnibbe wasn't a Nazi, or a German soldier, and was imprisoned for standing up to Hitler. The Russians felt that their country had been decimated by the Germans and the Germans were going to help fix it. Schnibbe slaved in the frozen tundra for an additional FOUR YEARS after WWII ended. He was finally too emaciated and ill to be of any value and was released in 1949.
Even though Schnibbe had quite a few opportunities to escape in the chaos towards the end of WWII, he never did for fear that the Nazis would arrest and execute his parents. Because that's what they did - Hitler and his party ruled through fear. Through Schnibbe's recollections, it's easier for me to understand how so many orderly and law-abiding citizens allowed a madman to destroy their country.
Really, there's so many incredible accounts of actual courage and heroism I wonder why authors bother to write WWII fiction?
Even though Schnibbe had quite a few opportunities to escape in the chaos towards the end of WWII, he never did for fear that the Nazis would arrest and execute his parents. Because that's what they did - Hitler and his party ruled through fear. Through Schnibbe's recollections, it's easier for me to understand how so many orderly and law-abiding citizens allowed a madman to destroy their country.
Really, there's so many incredible accounts of actual courage and heroism I wonder why authors bother to write WWII fiction?
January 6, 2016
The translation is weak, sounding more like Victorian British English than its original German, but the story is still inspiring. And grim. Three German teenagers, led by the remarkably shrewd and prescient Helmuth Hübener, secretly listen to Allied radio broadcasts, write the truth about Hitler and the war, and post pamphlets all over town. For that, the Nazis behead Helmuth and send his friends to concentration camps. A sober but rousing story for an increasingly Orwellian America.
October 23, 2012
I'll just say, Helmuth Hubener is absolutely one of my heroes.
November 25, 2022
"We were not taught civics or government, subjects in which we were sorely lacking when it came time to vote for or against the Nazis..... When the Nazis came into power, everyone was indoctrinated in their version of civics." pg.5
"Those who did not want to go along were retired without a pension.... Their younger replacements were often Nazis." pg.6-7
"At the time, the majority of the population was swept along. By and large, we children were excited by the Nazis. They were excellent propagandists." pg.8
"They attempted in every way to convert the youth to their view, and they very often succeeded.... Everything was directed toward slowly but surely educating the youth politically." pg.18
"My father could see that Nazism, which relied on force instead of freedom, which enticed people to place their absolute faith in a man and in a political system created by men, was the opposite of the gospel of Jesus Christ. To him it was a competing religious system." pg.19
"The SA had stood in front of Jewish businesses with placards reading: "Germans protect yourselves, do not buy from Jews!" We thought it would pass, but now it had gotten much worse." pg.21
"We were always told, "The Jews are the cause of our misfortune."....
"They said, "They cannot do anything to us. We are German citizens. We were born here. This is our home. They cannot do such things." Oh yes, the Nazis could do it! They simply drove the poor Jewish citizens out of their apartments.....
Then the Nazis wasted no time settling down in the elegant apartments of rich Jews. How nice, these thugs must have thought, to sleep in a bed already made up!" pg.23
"Those who did not want to go along were retired without a pension.... Their younger replacements were often Nazis." pg.6-7
"At the time, the majority of the population was swept along. By and large, we children were excited by the Nazis. They were excellent propagandists." pg.8
"They attempted in every way to convert the youth to their view, and they very often succeeded.... Everything was directed toward slowly but surely educating the youth politically." pg.18
"My father could see that Nazism, which relied on force instead of freedom, which enticed people to place their absolute faith in a man and in a political system created by men, was the opposite of the gospel of Jesus Christ. To him it was a competing religious system." pg.19
"The SA had stood in front of Jewish businesses with placards reading: "Germans protect yourselves, do not buy from Jews!" We thought it would pass, but now it had gotten much worse." pg.21
"We were always told, "The Jews are the cause of our misfortune."....
"They said, "They cannot do anything to us. We are German citizens. We were born here. This is our home. They cannot do such things." Oh yes, the Nazis could do it! They simply drove the poor Jewish citizens out of their apartments.....
Then the Nazis wasted no time settling down in the elegant apartments of rich Jews. How nice, these thugs must have thought, to sleep in a bed already made up!" pg.23
November 14, 2025
Love this story. Tragic, but proud of people who stand up for their beliefs.
July 22, 2008
This book is about a group of young men who decided to rebel against Hitler by distributing anti-Nazi leaflets. Eventually they were caught and recieved varying degrees of puishment for their actions. It's a truly amazing story of courage and dignity in a time of chaos.
The book is basically an interview given by one of the men who participated in the the rebellion. While his story is incredible, I wish that the book had been written as a narrative instead. There were details that I wanted more of - especially about Helmuth himself. I did appreciate the documents printed in the back and the extensive notes.
The book is basically an interview given by one of the men who participated in the the rebellion. While his story is incredible, I wish that the book had been written as a narrative instead. There were details that I wanted more of - especially about Helmuth himself. I did appreciate the documents printed in the back and the extensive notes.
November 30, 2009
This book was difficult to read because of descriptions of what happened to prisoners. Karl-Heinz Schnibbe participated in resistance by handing out pamphlets typed by Helmuth Hubener. Helmuth got his information by listening to illegal bbc radio. Helmuth and three other boys including Karl were tried and Helmuth was condemned to die. The other three (because Helmuth took most of the blame) were given prison sentences. Karl had served the majority of his prison term when he was needed in the German army. He was later captured by the Russian army and lived in work camps for about four years. Luckily he met many wonderful caring people who helped spare his life many times.
August 5, 2009
I've read this twice, once as a college student and once as a mother of three sons - Amazing how that affects the emotions you have while reading a book like this. I appreciate how it depicted the life in the Third Reich in a real way. I didn't feel like the Narrator excused the evil done, yet still got across how the choices the Germans of that time faced weren't always as black and whitley simple as we'd like to portray them.
March 17, 2010
Though I find this book poorly translated (sometimes too literally, I think it interferes with the flow of the narration), the story is amazing and appalling. The fact that so many of the original documents are either photographed or transcribed into the appendix makes it a valuable resource of Nazi history. The trials people went through and the compulsion some felt to share the truth with those around them, even at the cost of their own lives, is inspiring.
September 30, 2008
Although this is a very interesting book, which has quite a lot of official documents and historical information about the boys' experience, I have to say I enjoyed Rudi Wobbe's account, Three Against Hitler, more. I think it has to do with the attitude of the writer. Karl-Heinz was much more cynical than Rudi, which made for a less inspiring read of the same events.
November 27, 2010
This was a great story about overcoming adversity. The things that happened to Schnibbe and his friends were truly horrible. I cried when Schnibbe described seeing his brother after so many years and his brother dropping everything to go and embrace his brother. Although the writing is somewhat repetitive at times, I just have to say that this story really amazes me.
August 27, 2015
I really like this story but I don't like the creative liberties that the author took. I feel like it doesn't represent the Karl-Heinz Schnibbe that I see in other narratives. I love the number of sources in the back and the fact that it allows you to do your own research. Actually, some of the most chilling aspects of this story came from those sources.
January 6, 2010
This is just ridiculously good. Not in a "hey, this story was fun!" way but in an inspiring and human way. Everyone should read it. Plus all the documentation at the end, which just goes to show that the Nazis loved their record-keeping a leetle too much.
November 28, 2016
I had the privilege of meeting Karl-Heinz Schnibbe and may not have married my wife without his encouragement. This is the best real example I've ever read about having the courage to do what you know is right.
August 27, 2015
Excellent book and interesting information.
May 8, 2018
There were repetitive parts (especially in the documents section), but overall this was an excellent history.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews