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Hubener vs. Hitler: A Biography of Helmuth Hubener, Mormon Teenage Resistance Leader

Richard Lloyd Dewey, Provo, Utah: Academic Research Foundation, 2003, Volume 1 in the Faith in Conflict Series, 6.5x9" hardbound, 594 pages. ISBN: 0-929753-13-5

This is the definitive biography of Helmuth Hubener, the astounding Mormon teenager who daringly took on the Third Reich in the midst of World War II. Hubener is the lad who formed the youngest resistance group in Nazi Germany against Adoph Hitler's mad drive for conquest. While other books have told the story of the group Hubener founded, this is the first to tell the story of Hubener himself.

Review Excerpt:

"Before commenting on the content of this massive volume, I'd like to offer a road map to the various sections:

The text of the book ends on page 330. The balance of the book consists of photos, appendices (some quite helpful), and massive footnoting. And I do mean massive. In other words, if you don't read the footnotes, the book isn't nearly as lengthy as it might seem at first.

The story of Helmuth Hubener is not as well known in LDS circles as it clearly merits. Hubener, a young German, member of the LDS church, grew up under the oppressive, and frightening, Nazi regime. Although at first disinterested in the events accompanying Hitler's takeover of the European nation, he began to see the evil of Nazism on the infamous "Krystallnacht," when Jewish shops were destroyed and Jews beaten. He determined he
would do what he could to expose the brutality and lies of the Nazis. All of this, of course, comes with a cost.

Beginning with a small publishing work -- brief tracts and leaflets describing what he saw as the "truth" about the war and about the regime -- Helmuth, with the help of several friends, created a stir in his community. Always risking exposure and arrest, they nonetheless pursued their work with energy and enthusiasm.

But when Helmuth becomes sloppy, perhaps a little arrogant and careless, the fearful Gestapo arrests Helmuth, along with his friends, and so begins weeks of torture, interrogation, and in Helmuth's case, death by beheading.

At times this book can be tedious. Dewey has at his disposal a massive number of source documents, as well as interviews with some of the participants. We sometimes learn more about the daily lives of these people than we might have needed. The reader, however, is encouraged to plow through the detail to see the story in toto.

Dewey closes the book with some interesting thoughts on the role of courage in the context of repressive governments. He at least implies that Helmuth became careless toward the end. He also suggests that it might have been proper for Helmuth to simply stay quiet and wait for God to sort it all out. These are interesting moral questions that deserve wide discussion.

Hubener vs. Hitler recounts the life of a young person who rose up against Hitler and his regime, but who ultimately became comfortable with his role as rebel and, eventually, a bit sloppy, leading to his arrest and death. Readers will be riveted as they read Hubener's defense at his trial. In the end, the boy became a man, one who stands on principle and goes to his death in the hope of the resurrection." --Jeffrey Needle, The Association for Mormon Letters

Title: Hubener vs. Hitler: A Biography of Helmuth Hubener, Mormon Teenage Resistance Leader

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