Coach J's Class



5476875-571500Valkyrie Discussion QuestionsSummaryValkyrie tells the story of Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg (portrayed by Tom Cruise), as he becomes involved in the plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler. He believes that ‘the outrages committed by Hitler’s SS are a stain on the honour of the German Army.’ His loyalty to his country supercedes his loyalty to Hitler, and he joins other like-minded people who seek to show the world that not all the Germans were like Hitler. They stand up for what they know to be right, and though the attempt ultimately fails, they are successful in sowing a seed of redemption for Germany. At the time they were deemed traitors and executed, but following the war, they were elevated to the status of patriots.Read the following information about Bonhoeffer. He appears in a small role in the film even though he had a major role in the attempted assassinations. ?Dietrich Bonhoeffer 1906 - 1945right0When Germany invaded Poland in 1939, igniting the Second World War, a group of German conspirators were already plotting a coup d'état; over the next six years, there were as many as fifteen assassination attempts against Hitler. One of the co-conspirators, a double-agent who smuggled information about the plots to the Allies, was the young German pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer. In the late 1930s he wrote about the necessity of "risking" peace and "daring" a loving presence to others – words which seem to fly in the face of his later justification of assassination. But Bonhoeffer formulated his theology and ethics in the crucible of a long and ultimately fatal struggle with the Nazi regime in Germany. His story is a fascinating window onto the dilemmas of twentieth-century ethics and spirituality.left0Bonhoeffer's work came to full fruition only after his death. His efforts and his writings on behalf of the international ecumenical movement laid the groundwork for post-war inter-faith dialogue. His insistence on the importance of an active response to Christ's Sermon on the Mount – a call to social justice – inspired many of the world's great civil rights leaders, including Martin Luther King, Jr., Vaclav Havel and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. And finally, his brave and revolutionary concept of a "religionless Christianity" has helped Christian theology turn toward uncertain vistas of the future. It is an idea which exposes the vitality and relevance of faith in a world, as Bonhoeffer put it, "come of age." Stauffenberg perceived patriotism as being different from loyalty to the country’s leader. Do you agree with him? Why or why not? Can you think of any examples in the present where this might be important?Do you think it was worth the risk to the conspirators’ families in order to kill a tyrant such as Hitler? Explain. Would you be willing to risk your life and family in order to join an assassination attempt? Do you think ordinary citizens might have had any chance in a rebellion against Hitler and the Nazi party?General Friedrich Olbricht (Bill Nighy) was hesitant about issuing an order to rally the reserve army. Why, after his vital position in the plot, was he now hesitating to carry out his task? (2 marks) Major-General Henning von Tresckow (Kenneth Branagh) believed that it was more important that the conspirators try to overthrow Hitler’s regime than for the plot to actually succeed. Why did he think this? Do you agree with him?Stauffenberg, on the other hand, demanded that there be a chance of success in order for him to join the plotters. Is his concern for his family impeding him from taking action for the greater good? (2 marks) It has been said that all that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing. Do you think, in this case, that murder is justifiable? How evil does someone have to be in order to justify killing them? (4 marks) Stauffenberg believed that Hitler was ‘evil personified,’ and this belief led him to join the discontents. What makes him think this? Is he right?Why is it wrong to kill millions of people? Where does this idea come from? Does anyone have the right to determine my actions? Isn't telling Hitler he is wrong just being intolerant?Where do we get our sense of right and wrong? Jean-Paul Sartre quotes Fyodor Dostoevsky as saying, ‘If there is no God then everything is permissible.’ How do you respond to the idea that right and wrong can only be objective if there is a God? What justification is there to say one thing is right and another is wrong?Though we may not act on it, we still feel a compulsion, no matter how deeply buried, not to go against our moral code. Why does moral law overrule all our other concerns? ................
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