Literary Hill by Karen Lyon

the LITERARY HILL

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by Karen Lyon

Capitol Hill journalist Tom Dunkel tells the story of a group of Germans who defied the Nazi regime in “White Knights in the Black Orchestra.”

Costly Grace

Germany in the 1930s was a terrifying place to be. After Hitler assumed power, Jews were indiscriminately beaten, books banned, journalists expelled, and even the mild act of telling a joke could result in harsh imprisonment. And, as we all know, much worse was to come.

In his new book, “White Knights in the Black Orchestra,” Tom Dunkel writes that “Hitler’s Germany could be viewed as a battle for the soul of a nation.” But while “millions of Christians had convinced themselves it was possible to be a God-fearing, Biblebelieving Nazi,” there was one group of people who decried the injustices and rose up to defy Hitler. The Gestapo dubbed them the “Black Orchestra.”

Hans von Dohnanyi was a staff attorney in the Ministry of Justice who “began secretly compiling a running list of Nazi transgressions, which he referred to as the ‘Chronicle of Shame.’” If his treasonous act ever came to light, he would be summarily executed. His hope was that his documentation would help to prosecute Nazis for their atrocities once Germany returned to a more stable political climate.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a Lutheran pastor and theologian who denounced Hitler’s perse-cution of the Jews and reminded Christians of their moral imperative to oppose injustice. He prac-ticed what he called “costly grace.” Eschewing the “casual piety of casual Christians,” he sought to live his faith every day without compromise. “It is costly because it costs a man his life,” he wrote, “and it is grace because it gives a man his only true life.” Dohnanyi and Bonhoeffer, along with a cadre of like-minded military officers, diplomats, politicians and others both within and outside the German government, were part of the “Black Or-chestra” conspiracy. Their goal was to bring down the Third Reich and put an end to what was quickly becoming a bloodbath. With little support from the allies and at great risk to themselves, they plotted bombings and assassination attempts—which Hitler somehow escaped, but which sig-naled to the world that not all Germans embraced Nazism.

In 70 fast-paced chapters, Dunkel’s seamless narrative gives these brave men and women their overdue eulogy. In the end, about 200 people directly involved in the conspiracy were execut-ed, and of the additional 7,000 suspects snared in Hitler’s wide-ranging investigation, nearly 5,000 were put to death. While Dohnanyi and Bonhoeffer were among the casualties, Dohnanyi’s “Chronicle of Shame” survived, as did Bonhoeffer’s posthumous letters and papers, which became an international bestseller.

Now “White Knights in the Black Orchestra” can be added to their legacy, along with a line that could well serve as an epitaph: “In darkest days,” writes Dunkel, “righteous souls must let instinct light their path and follow it come what may.” With threats arising from various fronts these days, we can only hope that our times will produce our own share of righteous souls.

Hill journalist and author Tom Dunkel has been a long-time freelancer for publications such as The Washington Post Magazine, The New York Times Magazine, Sports Illustrated, and Smithsonian. He is the author of “Colorblind: The Forgotten Team That Broke Baseball’s Color Line.” www.tomdunkel.com

Baseball Trilogy

When you combine a national treasure with the national pastime, you can’t lose. E. Ethel-bert Miller is a literary activist and award-winning poet whose honors and prizes could paper a dugout. Now, with his third book of baseball poetry, “How I Found Love Behind the Catcher’s Mask,” he once again justifies his many accolades.

As author Merrill Leffler writes in the book’s introduction, Miller’s poems are “not about baseball in and of itself… These improvisational poems may start with baseball, but they move into explorations of subjects ranging widely and randomly from one to another.”

E. Ethelbert Miller completes a triple play with his third book of baseball poems, “How I Found Love Behind the Catcher’s Mask.”