The Boy Who Dared Quotes
"Soft gray light slips over the tall redbrick wall."
"Memories drift through Helmuth’s mind like clouds."
"Stay close, hold my hand. I don’t want to lose you."
"It’s cold. He rubs his arms beneath his drab gray prison smock."
"Moonlight floods the bedroom, shimmers the walls, opalescent."
"That’s what the guards say when they escort a prisoner to the low redbrick execution chamber in the courtyard, where the guillotine waits."
"For not one sparrow is forgotten before God."
"O my heavenly Father, if it be possible, open the minds and hearts of these people: nevertheless, not as I will, but as Thou wilt."
"Few men are born to lead. The rest are born to follow."
"He admires how smooth and unruffled they look, but beneath the water, they're paddling furiously."
"The thief twists the law, but he does so for honorable reasons, to bring dishonest men to justice. He robs the robbers!"
"You’d better watch your step, or you’ll find yourself in weekend detention and possibly even a fine."
"Do you really think I can refuse to serve my country?"
"Arresting people for their beliefs is a crime. Taking away our freedoms is a crime."
"Each one of you has a gift. Something you can offer the Fatherland."
"As different as each of your gifts is, together you form one body, an intricate part of one machine."
"A good Nazi works for the good of the Fatherland, not for self-interest and self-gain."
"Be careful of idealism, my boy, for idealism is the most dangerous doctrine of all."
"Why are the Nazis so afraid of words? What don’t they want him to know?"
"Think about it — if more Germans spoke out, leaders like Hitler wouldn’t be allowed to lie and say ‘I want peace’ and then start a war."
"We have no one to blame but ourselves. The Nazis tell us what to think, what to feel. They tell us to hate and we call it love."
"No one in history has ever conquered the Russians. Now how many more people will have to die?"
"Everyone craves security. But gaining freedom means losing security."
"God can bring good out of evil, but God can’t do it alone. God needs people. People who will stand up. People who will dare to speak out."
"For what has a man profited, if he has gained the whole world and lost his soul?"
"Helmuth grunts at the words. That's what the Gestapo call beatings and torture. Remonstrations and admonishments."
"Hot fear spreads through Helmuth. An adult conviction means much worse. A longer prison sentence or possibly the death sentence."
"To let the people know the truth," answers Helmuth in a loud, clear voice.
"All I did was tell the truth, and you have sentenced me to die, just for telling the truth."
"Because it's the truth," says Helmuth. "I did the right thing. I have no regrets."
"No," says Helmuth. "They will make an example out of me."
"I am very grateful to my Father in Heaven that this agonizing life will shortly come to end this evening. I could not stand it any longer."
"There are many reasons for a person to lie, but to have a reason to tell the truth, you must have a deep belief. And great courage."