The movie that I ended up seeing back-to-back with Oppenheimer, was not the Barbie movie, but the 1975 film The Hiding Place. If you aren’t familiar, the story is about a Dutch watchmaker and her family that hide Jews during the German occupation. (There are some free streaming services that have it.)

Both films are based on true events that occurred during World War 2. The protagonists in both films have to make tough choices that affect the lives of their loved ones and strangers during a time of conflict.

Oppenheimer does not deny himself anything. He carries on affairs with students and married women. He protects his pride and makes decisions that feed his ego. He both uses and is used by others. He attributes to himself god-like characteristics. Later though, he regrets his technology that killed hundreds of thousands and helped launch the modern arms race.

Corrie Ten Boom, by comparison, is a humble woman who risks her own comfort and safety to help hide and protect a persecuted people group. She acts in a way she feels is honoring to both God and humanity. Despite her relatively weak position, she resists the occupation. Eventually betrayed, she and her family get caught and are sent to the concentration camps. She is not a perfect person, often wrestling feelings of hate and bitterness. In the end though, she is honored as being righteous among the nations.

While we can speculate about what we would have done if we lived during their time, we are only responsible for our own slice of history. Right now, we are either going along with injustices that are occurring around us or pushing back and resisting evil where we can. It may not seem important, but we all play a part.