It is heartening to read the story of one German Christian who did not go along. Helmuth James Von Moltke was a young lawyer on the staff of the German high command. He worked behind the scenes to blunt the Nazi plans and to prepare for a postwar Germany. I am reading Letters to Freya, which is composed of letters that Von Moltke wrote to his wife during the war. I am up to October 1939. I am struck by two passages which I read which describe his use of bureacratic infighting to try to thwart bad laws.
Berlin, 30 October 1939
The calm day I expected became a stormy one. At 10 in the morning the draft of a new law landed on my desk and had to be dealt with today. I found myself in total disagreement. I had to obstruct it massively, and the result so far is a meeting tomorrow of all the ministries concerned, at which your husband must play the leading role. I wonder how it will end. . . .
Berlin, 31 October 1939
. . . I spent the major part of the morning doing battle in various ministries. I was horrified by the irresponsibility and sloppiness with which laws are being made these days. It is really shattering. It doesn't matter much, because nobody ever calls an official to account. . . .
While the end of the story is sad (Von Moltke was hanged by the Nazis), I have to smile at the young lawyer "doing battle in various ministries" and working to "obstruct it massively." This is a voice of idealism in a state gone mad. This was a decent man who did what he could to stand up for his beliefs, including both Christianity and the rule of law. I will be posting more excerpts from this book as I continue to read.
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