From the Hofbräuhaus Beer Hall in Munich, Germany we drove to the Dachau concentration camp in 1975 (30 years after its liberation day). The 13-mile separation contained a chasm of context. The Dachau gate that past prisoners and current visitors enter reads “Arbeit Macht Frei” (work will set you free). In German, Arbeit (work) is a 3-letter distance from Wharheit (truth) but a chasm of context from Jesus saying “Wahrheit Macht Frei” (the truth will set you free) in John 8:32.

The lie that work will liberate you conned prisoners into hoping harsh labor would buy their freedom. Hope allowed the advanced German civilization to squeeze the last drop of profit from those deemed less than human — immigrants, priests, homosexuals, dissidents, social democrats, and Jews. As Red told Andy in the prison yard of Shawshank, “Hope is a dangerous thing.”

I recall “standing cells” where retributive vengeance forced many to stand for days as punishment. Standing cells were a cost cutting measure where space could be limited and cruelty was the point. (Imagine the opposite: volunteering to stand for days for restorative justice and against retributive vengeance).

Confidence men (conmen for short) rely on the confidence and hope other people place in them to have the secrets to solve their problems. It is the lie of false hope and the threat of deprivation that squeeze the last drop in exchange for freedom from fear or promised riches. Six years after building Dachau, the same words “Arbeit macht Frei” were placed over the Auschwitz camp entrance in Poland. By then the goal was no longer economic exploitation, but a system of extermination.

When has hope been a dangerous thing for you? Where do you find hope that does not disappoint? In what ways do you agree with Jesus — the truth will set you free?