The extraordinary true story of Helmuth Hübener, a teenage member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who dared to challenge Nazi Germany’s propaganda, comes to life in the new film Truth & Treason, released nationwide on Friday, Oct. 17 by Angel Studios.
Directed by Matt Whittaker, the film depicts how a 16-year-old boy’s quiet courage grew into one of the most remarkable youth resistance efforts of World War II — a story that has inspired generations but has rarely been told on screen.
A Teenager Against the Reich
In 1941, young Helmuth Hübener (played by Ewan Horrocks) began listening to banned shortwave radio broadcasts after his Jewish friend disappeared under the Nazi regime. Hearing reports that contradicted state propaganda, he realized that Germany was not winning the war — and that the Nazi government was deceiving its people.
Determined to spread the truth, Hübener used a borrowed typewriter from his workplace to compose and distribute leaflets exposing Nazi lies. Late at night, he and his friends — Karl-Heinz Schnibbe (Ferdinand McKay) and Rudolf Wobbe (Daf Thomas), both fellow Latter-day Saints — posted the red-papered flyers across Hamburg.
Their small act of defiance did not go unnoticed. When the Gestapo traced the leaflets back to Hübener’s typewriter, he and his companions were arrested and charged with treason in the People’s Court.
From Documentary to Feature Film
Whittaker’s connection to Hübener’s story began more than two decades ago. In 2001, he discovered that Karl-Heinz Schnibbe, one of Hübener’s surviving friends, was living in Salt Lake City. After calling him directly from a phone book, Whittaker was invited to hear Schnibbe’s firsthand account — a meeting that changed his life.
“I walked out of his house just thinking, ‘I have to tell this story,’” Whittaker said.
In 2002, Whittaker collaborated with Schnibbe on the PBS documentary Truth & Conviction, filming in Hamburg at the same sites where the young men were imprisoned and tried. That project laid the foundation for Truth & Treason, a 20-year passion project co-written with Ethan Vincent.
Balancing Fact and Film
While the new film dramatizes certain moments for pacing and structure, Whittaker emphasizes that it remains “almost completely based on fact.”
“To tell a story this large in two hours, you have to fill in some blanks,” he explained. “But the heart of it — the courage, the friendship, the faith — is exactly as it happened.”
The director said he wanted to avoid both excessive violence and oversimplified storytelling: “This isn’t a sanitized version of Nazi Germany. We wanted audiences to see the darkness so they could appreciate the light.”
Lessons in Courage and Conviction
Hübener’s story has profoundly shaped Whittaker’s life. Spending two decades researching his legacy — and forming a close friendship with Schnibbe — has influenced how the filmmaker views moral courage in modern times.
“We can learn from people who lived through darkness,” Whittaker said. “Helmuth’s story is about standing for truth, even when it’s dangerous — and doing it peacefully.”
He hopes audiences will find both inspiration and emotional connection in the film.
“I want people to laugh, cry, and be moved,” Whittaker said. “Maybe they’ll leave the theater asking, ‘What would I have done — and what will I do now?’”
Release Information
Truth & Treason opened in theaters nationwide on October 17, 2025, with a PG-13 rating for thematic material and mild violence. Produced by Angel Studios, the film stars Ewan Horrocks, Ferdinand McKay, and Daf Thomas, bringing to life one of history’s most powerful examples of youthful defiance and moral conviction.
