Reflections on "Valkyrie"

Yesterday my wife, son, and I saw "Valkyrie." Released on Christmas Day, "Valkyrie" is the story of a plot to kill Adolf Hitler shortly after the Allied invasion of Europe in 1944. It's a very good movie, I thought, though very dark, due to the subject matter.

The film reminded me of something. As a child in the shadow of the Second World War, I grew up believing that all Germans were vanquished Nazis. This was the heyday of the Cold War, and generalizations ran rampant amongst us...all Communists are evil, all Asian people are a threat, etc., etc. "Valkyrie" notes a historic truth. Not all Germans were National Socialists, and not all Germans supported Hitler. Many opposed Hitler, silently or overtly, as loyal patriots of Germany. Some, such a Dietrich Bonhoeffer, defied the Third Reich out of total and sole allegiance to the crucified and risen Jesus. In spite of the unspeakable destruction that came out of official Germany, not all Germans were a part of it.

Generalizing people in such a way is a logical fallacy, much less a moral flaw. For those who claim to be followers of Jesus, avoiding generalization is a non-negotiable. That's not always easy. For example, in spite of the horror of 9/11/01, not all people of Islamic faith or background are violent Christian-haters. For Jesus-followers to make generalized negative assessments of any group, nationality, ethnicity, or whatever is to say that those people are not worth the life, death, resurrection, and promised return of God's own Son.

Do any of us really want to make a statement or inference like that where God can hear us?

I'll see you around the next bend in the river...last few days on this year's float!