This year marked the 75th
anniversary of D-Day – the Liberation of Europe. The FDR Library in Hyde Park
has a special exhibit examining D-Day – and the relationship between President
Roosevelt and Winston Churchill.
The question was – What to do about Hitler and
the Nazi’s? Leaders before Churchill tried to negotiate with him. Churchill
famously said you don’t negotiate with the tiger when your head is in his
mouth! Churchill understood exactly right the threat of Hitler and that Britain
and the free world had to be defended at all costs. His challenge was to
convince FDR and the Americans of the threat.
But what about those who lived under Hitler’s
rule? That’s the subject of Terrence Malik’s new film – A Hidden Life. Based on
a true story, Franz Jagenstatter and his wife Fanny live in Austria in the Alps.
War has come, and Franz serves in the army until France is defeated. Farmers
are sent home until needed again. But now he learns that all soldiers must
swear an oath of allegiance to Hitler. Everyone in the village is prepared to
do so, but not Franz. He cannot, in conscience, swear an oath to a man who is
an invader of countries, who destroys life.
The film shows how this decision affects Franz,
his village and his family. He most certainly will die if he does not change
his decision. His sacrifice will change nothing. The war will go on. No one
will follow his example. His family will be without him.
And yet, he cannot change his decision. He is a
man of deep faith. He knows the truth. He must follow his conscience. Equally
heroic is his wife. She stands by her husband while knowing the cost to her. She
too understands that the hidden life, the moral life of a person, the inner
integrity of a person, the sacredness of free will, is everything.
It is a very disturbing film. After 3 hours, no
one moved at the end. It really made you think – about how Franz – a man who
has been declared Blessed by the Catholic Church - stood for the truth at great
cost. And what about me?
The church is in great need of cleansing and
renewal, and it must begin with me. Corners cannot be cut. Life must be lived
authentically. No one else may know – but God knows, and I know. I must strive
to be the priest God has called me to be.
The same is true with our families. We need to
become the best dads and best moms, the best husbands and the best wives possible.
To love our spouses completely and totally. To be faithful to the teachings of
Jesus. To live the hidden life in the light of God’s truth. St. Joseph knew
what must be done. He had to protect his family at all costs. And he did so
with great personal sacrifice. Mary and Joseph always asked – what does God
want of us? And they tried to do it – no compromise – just the Truth.
Franz is told if he just changes his mind and
swears loyalty to Hitler, he will be set free. He replies, “But I am free.” As
George Eliot wrote – “The growing good of the world is partly dependent on
unhistoric acts, and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might
have been, is half owing to the number of people who lived faithfully a hidden
life, and rest in unvisited tombs.” Have
faith – we will make a difference!
