Before the Blood Tribunal Author:Jerry Borrowman, Rudolf Gustav Wobbe "RUDI WOBBE: Charged with Preparation to High Treason and Aiding and Abetting the Enemy" — Thus began the trial of the Rudi Wobbe and three of his teenage friends as they stood before the justices of the dreaded Vokgerichtshof, the infamous "People's Court" of Nazi Germany. — Chief justice Fikeis wore the blood red robes that gave the court it's g... more »uesome nickname. The Blood Tribunal warned these boys that if found guilty, they faced imprisonment, loss of their civil rights, and even life itself. No one needed to remind them that this would be their first and only chance to defend themselves. The only appeal left to those convicted by the Blood Tribunal was to Adolf Hitler himself. All the power and indignation of the Third Reich now focused on these three young men, who dared to distribute information they extracted from transmissions of the British Brodcasting Corporation in leaflet form throughout the working-class neighborhoods of Hamburg.
Why would children, barely starting their passage in adulthood, choose to risk their lives to resist the Nazis? For Rudi, Helmuth, and Karl-Heinz, the answer was formed in their devotion to the teachings of their church and parents, who taught them to respect individual liberty and to rely upon their concience in choosing a moral code to live by. Witnessing atrocities committed against Jewish friends and others who raised their voices against the Nazis, they decided they must take a stand. Now, their naive confidence was shaken by the torture they'd endured and by the imposing judges of the Blood Tribunal. Yet, overcoming his fear, their brilliant leader, Helmuth, who's intelligence and conviction stood out like a beacon of truth in the oppressive courtroom, faced his accusers with confidence. It was his finest moment... would it be his last?« less