Take a Stand Against Injustice Today
by Scott Horton
It was January 10, and it was a day like this one. Cold, damp, brisk. An attorney was sitting in court, but in an unusual situation: he was the accused. He had been subjected to “highly coercive interrogation” to try to pry from him details of a conspiracy.

 

 

 

 

He knew he was facing certain death, but he used his last public appearance as a moment to assail the deep-set evil of the Nazi regime. And he was before Roland Freisler, a judge who perfectly manifested the villainous temperament of the Nazis and their disrespect for any real notion of justice. Freisler believed that his function as a judge was simple—to do the will of the Leader, and to insure the perpetual rule of the party. That perpetual rule lasted approximately five more months.

The man was Helmuth James von Moltke. It’s a simple matter to describe his views: he was a devout, passionately believing Christian. He felt it was impossible to sit at his job in Berlin every day and observe the transportation of Jews to certain death in concentration camps in the East and do nothing, just looking the other way. His faith and his conscience commanded action, and he acted: intervening in dozens of cases and giving advice and instructions that ultimately saved thousands of lives. He also revealed himself quickly to be a confirmed enemy of the Nazi regime, and they acted to snuff out his life. Within two weeks, he would be executed.

Most people think that tales of martyrdom ended some hazy time in the Middle Ages. But that’s not true. They continued to periods still within the memory of those with us today. And they should provide us with some inspiration. Moltke was moved by a sense of justice.

 

It is impossible to see what is happening in our name and be silent, and refrain from action, he wrote. And he reminded his listeners that there was an entirely pragmatic aspect to this thought, for the indignities and abuses suffered by Jews would in due course be suffered by everyone else. A state that wields its powers in such a way will respect the rights of no person, be he citizen, aristocrat or member of a vilified minority.

 

In our life, many would claim the mantle of righteousness, and few earn it. Usually those who are truly righteous are unassuming. Helmuth von Moltke was a truly righteous person.

Today is January 10. Remember Helmuth von Moltke and his decision to take a brave stand for justice, a stand that cost him his life. America today is awash in injustices, and many of them stem from the misconduct of lawyers and judges who have sworn an oath to uphold the law and to do justice, but instead abuse their authority for brazenly political reasons.

 

Consider the plight of America’s most prominent political prisoner, former Alabama Governor Don E. Siegelman, and this appeal from his daughter, and see if you can’t find a smidgen of moral courage. Enough to act. Enough to pick up the phone or write a letter.