{"id":38259,"date":"2024-12-16T20:53:40","date_gmt":"2024-12-17T04:53:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=38259"},"modified":"2024-12-16T20:53:40","modified_gmt":"2024-12-17T04:53:40","slug":"history-white-rose-society","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2024\/12\/16\/history-white-rose-society\/","title":{"rendered":"HISTORY: WHITE ROSE SOCIETY"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article is about the German resistance movement. For other uses, see White Rose (disambiguation)<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWei\u00dfe Rose\u201d redirects here. For the 1976 opera, see Wei\u00dfe Rose (opera)<\/a>. For the 1982 film, see Die Wei\u00dfe Rose (film)<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/a>Monument to the \u201cWei\u00dfe Rose\u201d in front of the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich<\/a><\/td><\/tr>
FOUNDED<\/th>27 June 1942; 82 years ago in Munich<\/a>, Nazi Germany<\/a><\/td><\/tr>
FOUNDER<\/th>Hans Scholl<\/a>
Alexander Schmorell<\/a><\/td><\/tr>
DEFUNCT<\/th>1943<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The White Rose<\/strong> (German: Wei\u00dfe Rose<\/strong><\/em>, pronounced [\u02c8va\u026as\u0259 \u02c8\u0281o\u02d0z\u0259]<\/a> <\/a>\u24d8<\/a><\/sup>) was a non-violent<\/a>, intellectual resistance<\/a> group in Nazi Germany<\/a> which was led by five students and one professor at the University of Munich<\/a>: Willi Graf<\/a>, Kurt Huber<\/a>, Christoph Probst<\/a>, Alexander Schmorell<\/a>, Hans Scholl<\/a> and Sophie Scholl<\/a>. The group conducted an anonymous leaflet and graffiti<\/a> campaign that called for active opposition to the Nazi regime. Their activities started in Munich<\/a> on 27 June 1942; they ended with the arrest of the core group by the Gestapo<\/a> on 18 February 1943.[1]<\/a><\/sup> They, as well as other members and supporters of the group who carried on distributing the pamphlets, faced show trials<\/a> by the Nazi People\u2019s Court<\/a> (Volksgerichtshof<\/em>); many of them were imprisoned and executed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hans and Sophie Scholl, as well as Christoph Probst<\/a> were executed by guillotine<\/a> four days after their arrest, on 22 February 1943. During the trial, Sophie interrupted the judge multiple times. No defendants were given any opportunity to speak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The group wrote, printed and initially distributed their pamphlets in the greater Munich region. Later on, secret carriers brought copies to other cities, mostly in the southern parts of Germany. In July 1943, Allied planes dropped their sixth and final leaflet over Germany with the headline The Manifesto of the Students of Munich.<\/em> In total, the White Rose authored six leaflets, which were multiplied and spread, in a total of about 15,000 copies. They denounced the Nazi regime\u2019s crimes and oppression, and called for resistance. In their second leaflet, they openly denounced the persecution<\/a> and mass murder of the Jews<\/a>.[2]<\/a><\/sup> By the time of their arrest, the members of the White Rose were just about to establish contacts with other German resistance groups like the Kreisau Circle<\/a> or the Schulze-Boysen\/Harnack group of the Red Orchestra<\/a>. Today, the White Rose is well known both within Germany and worldwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Members and supporters<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Huber<\/a>
Kurt Huber<\/a>, a core member of the White Rose Resistance Group<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Students from the University of Munich<\/a> comprised the core of the White Rose: Hans Scholl<\/a>, Alexander Schmorell<\/a>, Willi Graf<\/a>, Christoph Probst<\/a>, and Kurt Huber<\/a>, a professor of philosophy and musicology<\/a>. Hans\u2019s younger sister, Sophie<\/a> later came to be a core member of the White Rose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They were supported by other people, including: Otl Aicher<\/a>, Willi Habermann<\/a> [de<\/a>] (\u201cGrogo\u201d), Theodor Haecker<\/a>, Anneliese Graf<\/a>, Traute Lafrenz<\/a>, Katharina Sch\u00fcddekopf<\/a>, Lieselotte \u201cLilo\u201d Ramdohr<\/a>, J\u00fcrgen Wittenstein<\/a> [de<\/a>], Falk Harnack<\/a>, Marie-Luise Jahn<\/a>, Wilhelm Geyer<\/a> [de<\/a>], Manfred Eickemeyer, Josef S\u00f6hngen<\/a> [de<\/a>], Heinrich Guter<\/a> [de<\/a>], Heinrich Bollinger<\/a> [de<\/a>], Wilhelm Bollinger<\/a> [de<\/a>], Helmut Bauer, Harald Dohrn<\/a> [de<\/a>], Hans Conrad Leipelt<\/a>, Gisela Schertling<\/a>, Rudi Alt, Michael Brink, Lilo Dreyfeldt, Josef Furtmeier, G\u00fcnter Ammon, Fred Thieler and Wolfgang Jaeger.[3]<\/a><\/sup>[4]<\/a><\/sup> Most were in their early twenties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wilhelm Geyer taught Alexander Schmorell<\/a> how to make the tin templates used in the graffiti campaign. Eugen Grimminger<\/a> of Stuttgart<\/a> funded their operations. Grimminger was arrested on 2 March 1943, sentenced to ten years in a penal institution for high treason by the \u201cPeople\u2019s Court\u201d on 19 April 1943, and imprisoned in Ludwigsburg<\/a> penal institution until April 1945. His wife Jenny was murdered in the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp<\/a>, presumably on 2 December 1943. Grimminger\u2019s secretary Tilly Hahn contributed her own funds to the cause, and acted as go-between for Grimminger and the group in Munich. She frequently carried supplies such as envelopes, paper, and an additional duplicating machine from Stuttgart to Munich.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, a group of students in the city of Ulm<\/a> distributed a number of the group\u2019s leaflets and were arrested and tried with the group from Munich. Among this group were Sophie Scholl\u2019s childhood friend Susanne Hirzel<\/a> and her teenage brother Hans Hirzel<\/a> and Franz Josef M\u00fcller<\/a>.[5]<\/a><\/sup> In Hamburg<\/a>, a group of students including Reinhold Meyer<\/a> [de<\/a>], Albert Suhr<\/a> [de<\/a>], Heinz Kucharski<\/a> [de<\/a>], Margaretha Rothe<\/a> [de<\/a>], Bruno Himpkamp<\/a> [de<\/a>], Rudolf Degkwitz (junior)<\/a> [de<\/a>], Ursula de Boor<\/a> [de<\/a>], Hannelore Willbrandt<\/a> [de<\/a>], Karl Ludwig Schneider<\/a> [de<\/a>], Ilse Ledien, Eva von Dumreicher, Dorothea Zill, Apelles Sobeczko, and Maria Liepelt<\/a> [de<\/a>] formed the White Rose Hamburg<\/a> resistance group against the National Socialist regime and distributed the group\u2019s leaflets.[6]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Historical and intellectual background<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Germany in 1942<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

White Rose survivor J\u00fcrgen Wittenstein described what it was like for ordinary Germans to live in Nazi Germany<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

The government\u2014or rather, the party\u2014controlled everything: the news media, arms, police, the armed forces, the judiciary system, communications, travel, all levels of education from kindergarten to universities, all cultural and religious institutions. Political indoctrination started at a very early age, and continued by means of the Hitler Youth with the ultimate goal of complete mind control. Children were exhorted in school to denounce even their own parents for derogatory remarks about Hitler or Nazi ideology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014\u200aGeorge J. Wittenstein, M.D., \u201cMemories of the White Rose\u201d, 1997[7]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The activities of the White Rose started in the autumn of 1942. This was a time that was particularly critical for the Nazi regime; after initial victories<\/a> in World War II<\/a>, the German population became increasingly aware of the losses and damages of the war. In summer 1942, the German Army was preparing a new military campaign in the southern part of the Eastern front to regain the initiative after their earlier defeat close to Moscow. This German offensive was initially very successful, but it slowed in the autumn as Army Group South approached Stalingrad and the Caucasus region. During this time, the authors of the pamphlets could neither be discovered, nor could the campaign be stopped by the Nazi authorities. When Hans and Sophie Scholl were discovered and arrested whilst distributing leaflets at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich,[1]<\/a><\/sup> the regime reacted brutally. The \u201cVolksgerichtshof\u201d was not bound by law, but its decisions were guided by Nazi ideology. Thus, its actions were declared unlawful in post-war Germany. The execution of the White Rose group members, among many others, is considered judicial murder<\/a> today.[8]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Social background<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The members of the core group all shared an academic background as students at Munich University. The Scholl siblings, Christoph Probst, Willi Graf and Alexander Schmorell were all raised by independently thinking and wealthy parents. Alexander Schmorell was born in Russia, and his first language was Russian. After he and Hans Scholl had become friends at the university, Alexander invited Hans to his parents\u2019 home, where Hans also met Christoph Probst at the beginning of 1941. Alexander Schmorell<\/a> and Christoph Probst<\/a> had already been friends since their school days. As Christoph\u2019s father had been divorced and had married again to a Jewish wife, the effects of the Nazi Nuremberg Laws<\/a>, and Nazi racial ideology had impacts on both Christoph\u2019s and Alexander\u2019s lives from early on.[9]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The German Youth Movement and the Hitler Youth<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

[edit<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ideas and thoughts of the German Youth Movement<\/a>, founded in 1896, had a major impact on the German youth at the beginning of the twentieth century. The movement aimed at providing free space to develop a healthy life. A common trait of the various organizations was a romantic longing for a pristine state of things, and a return to older cultural traditions, with a strong emphasis on independent, non-conformist thinking. They propagated a return to nature, confraternity and shared adventures. The Deutsche Jungenschaft vom 1 November 1929<\/a> (abbreviated as \u201cd.j.1.11.\u201d) was part of this youth movement, founded by Eberhard Koebel<\/a> in 1929. Christoph Probst was a member of the German Youth Movement, and Willi Graf was a member of Neudeutschland<\/em> (\u201cNew Germany\u201d), and the Grauer Orden<\/a><\/em> (\u201cGrey Convent\u201d), which were illegal Catholic<\/a> youth organizations.[10]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Nazi Party\u2019s youth organizations took over some of the elements of the Youth Movement, and engaged their members in activities similar to the adventures of the Boy Scouts<\/a>, but also subjected them to ideological indoctrination. Some, but not all, of the White Rose members had enthusiastically joined the youth organizations of the Nazi party: Hans Scholl had joined the Hitler Youth<\/a>, and Sophie Scholl was a member of the Bund Deutscher M\u00e4del<\/a>. Membership in both party youth organizations was compulsory for young Germans, although a few\u2014such as Willi Graf, Otl Aicher<\/a>, and Heinz Brenner\u2014refused to join. Sophie and Hans\u2019 sister Inge Scholl<\/a> reported about the initial enthusiasm of the young people for the Nazi youth organization, to their parents\u2019 dismay:[9]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

But there was something else that drew us with mysterious power and swept us along: the closed ranks of marching youth with banners waving, eyes fixed straight ahead, keeping time to drumbeat and song. Was not this sense of fellowship overpowering? It is not surprising that all of us, Hans and Sophie and the others, joined the Hitler Youth? We entered into it with body and soul, and we could not understand why our father did not approve, why he was not happy and proud. On the contrary, he was quite displeased with us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014\u200aInge Scholl, The White Rose<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Youth organizations other than those led by the Nazi party were dissolved and officially forbidden in 1936. Both Hans Scholl and Willi Graf were arrested in 1937\u201338 because of their membership in forbidden Youth Movement organizations. Hans Scholl had joined the Deutsche Jungenschaft 1. 11. in 1934, when he and other Hitler Youth members in Ulm considered membership in this group and the Hitler Youth to be compatible. Hans Scholl was also accused of transgressing the German anti-homosexuality law, because of a same-sex teen relationship dating back to 1934\u20131935, when Hans was only 16 years old. The argument was built partially on the work of Eckard Holler<\/a>, a sociologist specializing in the German Youth Movement,[11]<\/a><\/sup> as well as on the Gestapo interrogation transcripts from the 1937\u201338 arrest, and with reference to historian George Mosse<\/a>\u2018s discussion of the homoerotic aspects of the German \u201cB\u00fcndische Jugend<\/a>\u201d Youth Movement.[12]<\/a><\/sup> As Mosse indicated, idealized romantic attachments among male youths were not uncommon in Germany, especially among members of the \u201cB\u00fcndische Jugend\u201d associations. It was argued that the experience of being persecuted may have led both Hans and Sophie to identify with the victims of the Nazi state, providing another explanation for why Hans and Sophie Scholl made their way from ardent \u201cHitler Youth\u201d leaders to passionate opponents of the Nazi regime.[13]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Religion<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The White Rose group was motivated by ethical, moral, and religious considerations. They supported and took in individuals of all backgrounds, and it did not depend on race, sex, religion, or age. They came from various religious backgrounds. Willi Graf and Katharina Sch\u00fcddekopf were devout Catholics. Alexander Schmorell was an Orthodox Christian<\/a>. Traute Lafrenz adhered to the concepts of anthroposophy<\/a>, while Eugen Grimminger considered himself a Buddhist<\/a>. Christoph Probst was baptized<\/a> a Catholic only shortly before his execution. His father Hermann was nominally a Catholic, but also a private scholar of Eastern thought and wisdom. In their diaries and letters to friends, both Scholl siblings wrote about their reading of Christian scholars including Augustine of Hippo<\/a>\u2018s Confessions<\/em>[14]<\/a><\/sup> and Etienne Gilson<\/a>, whose work on Medieval philosophy<\/a> they discussed amongst other philosophical works within their network of friends.[9]<\/a><\/sup> The Scholls read sermons by John Henry Newman<\/a>, and Sophie gave two volumes of Newman\u2019s sermons to her boyfriend, Fritz Hartnagel, when he was assigned to the Eastern Front; he wrote to her: \u201c[W]e know by whom we are created, and that we stand in a relationship of moral obligation to our creator. Conscience gives us the capacity to distinguish between good and evil.\u201d This is a paraphrase of Newman\u2019s sermon, \u201cThe Testimony of Conscience\u201d.[15]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mentors and role models<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"\"\/<\/a>
Clemens August Graf von Galen<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In 1941, Hans Scholl read a copy of a sermon by an outspoken critic of the Nazi regime, Catholic Bishop August von Galen<\/a>, decrying the euthanasia<\/a> policies expressed in Action T4<\/a> (and extended that same year to the Nazi concentration camps<\/a> by Action 14f13<\/a>)[16]<\/a><\/sup> which the Nazis maintained would protect the German gene pool.[17]<\/a><\/sup> Horrified by the Nazi policies, Sophie obtained permission to reprint the sermon and distribute it at the University of Munich.[17]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1940, Otl Aicher<\/a> had met Carl Muth<\/a>, the founder of the Catholic magazine Hochland<\/a><\/em>. Otl in turn introduced Hans Scholl to Muth in 1941.[18]<\/a><\/sup> In his letters to Muth, Hans wrote about his growing attraction to the Catholic Christian faith.[19]<\/a><\/sup> Both Hans and Sophie Scholl were influenced by Carl Muth whom they describe as deeply religious, and opposed to Nazism. He drew the Scholl siblings\u2019 attention to the persecution of the Jews, which he considered sinful and anti-Christian.[20]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both Sophie Scholl and Willi Graf attended some of Kurt Huber\u2019s lectures at the University of Munich. Kurt Huber was known amongst his students for the political innuendos which he used to include in his university lectures, by which he criticized Nazi ideology by talking about classical philosophers like Leibniz<\/a>. He met Hans Scholl for the first time in June 1942, was admitted to the activities of the White Rose on 17 December 1942,[21]<\/a><\/sup> and became their mentor and the main author of the sixth pamphlet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Experience on the World War II Eastern Front<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Hans Scholl<\/a>, Alexander Schmorell<\/a>, Christoph Probst<\/a>, and Willi Graf<\/a> were medical students. Their studies were regularly interrupted by terms of compulsory service as student soldiers in the Wehrmacht medical corps on the Eastern Front<\/a>. Their experience during this time had a major impact on their thinking, and it also motivated their resistance, because it led to their disillusionment with the Nazi regime.[22]<\/a><\/sup> Alexander Schmorell<\/a>, who was born in Orenburg<\/a> and raised by Russian nurses, spoke perfect Russian, which allowed him to have direct contact and communication with the local Russian population and their plight. This Russian insight proved invaluable during their time there, and he could convey to his fellow White Rose members what was not understood or even heard by other Germans coming from the Eastern front.[9]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In summer 1942, Hans, Alexander, and Willi had to serve for three months on the Russian front alongside many other male medical students from the University of Munich. There, they observed the horrors of war, saw beatings and other mistreatment of Jews by the Germans, and heard about the persecution of the Jews from reliable sources.[23]<\/a><\/sup> Some witnessed atrocities of the war on the battlefield and against civilian populations in the East. In a letter to his sister Anneliese, Willi Graf wrote: \u201cI wish I had been spared the view of all this which I had to witness.\u201d[24]<\/a><\/sup> Gradually, detachment gave way to the conviction that something had to be done. It was not enough to keep to oneself one\u2019s beliefs, and ethical standards, but the time had come to act.[7]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The members of the White Rose were fully aware of the risks they incurred by their acts of resistance:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

I knew what I took upon myself and I was prepared to lose my life by so doing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014\u200aFrom the interrogation of Hans Scholl.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Origin of the name<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Under Gestapo interrogation, Hans Scholl gave several explanations for the origin of the name \u201cThe White Rose\u201d, and suggested he may have chosen it while he was under the emotional influence of a 19th-century poem with the same name by German poet Clemens Brentano<\/a>. It has also been speculated that the name might have been taken from either the Cuban poet, Jose Marti\u2019s verse \u201cCultivo una rosa blanca\u201d or the novel Die Wei\u00dfe Rose<\/em> (The White Rose<\/a><\/em>) by B. Traven<\/a>, which Hans Scholl and Alex Schmorell had both read. They also wrote that the symbol of the white rose was intended to represent purity and innocence in the face of evil.[25]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the White Rose was indeed named after Traven\u2019s novel, Hans Scholl\u2019s interrogation testimony may have been intentionally vague in order to protect Josef S\u00f6hngen, the anti-Nazi bookseller who had supplied this banned book. S\u00f6hngen had provided the White Rose members with a safe meeting place for exchange of information, and receipt of occasional financial contributions. S\u00f6hngen kept a stash of banned books hidden in his store, and also hidden such books when being printed. [13]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Actions: The leaflets and graffiti<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

After their experiences at the Eastern Front<\/a>, having learned about mass murder in Poland and the Soviet Union, Hans Scholl and Alexander Schmorell felt compelled to take action. From late June until mid-July 1942, they wrote the first four leaflets. Quoting extensively from the Bible, Aristotle<\/a> and Novalis<\/a>, as well as Goethe<\/a> and Schiller<\/a>, the iconic poets of German bourgeoisie, they appealed to what they considered the German intelligentsia<\/a>, believing that these people would be easily convinced by the same arguments that also motivated the authors themselves. These leaflets were left in telephone books in public phone booths, mailed to professors and students, and taken by courier to other universities for distribution.[7]<\/a><\/sup> From 23 July to 30 October 1942, Graf, Scholl and Schmorell served again at the Soviet front, and activities ceased until their return. In autumn 1942, Sophie Scholl discovered that her brother Hans was one of the authors of the pamphlets, and joined the group. Shortly after, Willi Graf, and by the end of December 1942, Kurt Huber became members of the White Rose.[9]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In January 1943, the fifth leaflet, \u201cAufruf an alle Deutsche!\u201d<\/em> (\u201cAppeal to all Germans!\u201d) was produced in 6,000\u20139,000 copies, using a hand-operated duplicating machine<\/a>. It was carried to other German Cities between 27 and 29 January 1943 by the members and supporters of the group to many cities, and then mailed from there. Copies appeared in Saarbr\u00fccken<\/a>, Stuttgart<\/a>, Cologne<\/a>, Vienna, Freiburg<\/a>, Chemnitz<\/a>, Hamburg, Innsbruck<\/a> and Berlin<\/a>. Sophie Scholl stated during her Gestapo interrogation that from summer 1942 on, the aim of the White Rose was to address a broader range of the population. Consequently, in the fifth leaflet, the name of the group was changed from White Rose to \u201cGerman Resistance Movement\u201d, and also the style of writing became more polemic and less intellectual.[26]<\/a><\/sup> The students had become convinced during their military service that the war was lost: \u201cHitler kann den Krieg nicht gewinnen, nur noch verl\u00e4ngern.<\/em> \u2013 Hitler cannot win the war, he can only prolong it.\u201d They appealed to renounce \u201cnational socialist subhumanism\u201d, imperialism and Prussian militarism \u201cfor all time\u201d. The reader was urged to \u201cSupport the resistance movement!\u201d in the struggle for \u201cfreedom of speech, freedom of religion and protection of the individual citizen from the arbitrary action of criminal dictator-states\u201d. These were the principles that would form \u201cthe foundations of a new Europe\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the end of January 1943, the Battle of Stalingrad<\/a> ended with the capitulation and near-total loss of the Wehrmacht\u2019s Sixth Army. In Stalingrad<\/a>, World War II had taken a decisive turn, inspiring resistance movements throughout the European countries then occupied by Germany. It also had a devastating effect on German morale. On 13 January 1943, a student riot broke out at Munich University after a speech by Paul Giesler<\/a>, the Nazi Gauleiter<\/a> of Munich and Upper Bavaria<\/a>, in which he had denounced male students not serving in the army as skulkers and had also made obscene remarks to female students. These events encouraged the members of the White Rose. When the defeat at Stalingrad was officially announced, they sent out their sixth\u2014and last\u2014leaflet. The tone of this writing, authored by Kurt Huber and revised by Hans Scholl and Alexander Schmorell, was more patriotic. Headed \u201cFellow students!\u201d (the now-iconic Kommilitoninnen! Kommilitonen!<\/em>), it announced that the \u201cday of reckoning\u201d had come for \u201cthe most contemptible tyrant our people has ever endured.\u201d \u201cThe dead of Stalingrad adjure us!\u201d[27]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On 3, 8, and 15 February 1943, Alexander Schmorell, Hans Scholl, and Willi Graf used tin stencils to write slogans like \u201cDown with Hitler\u201d and \u201cFreedom\u201d on the walls of the university and other buildings in Munich.[9]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Isn\u2019t it true that every honest German is ashamed of his government these days? Who among us has any conception of the dimensions of shame that will befall us and our children when one day the veil has fallen from our eyes and the most horrible of crimes\u2014crimes that infinitely outdistance every human measure\u2014reach the light of day?\u2014\u200a1st leaflet of the White Rose<\/td>Since the conquest of Poland, 300,000 Jews have been murdered in this country in the most bestial way \u2026 The German people slumber on in dull, stupid sleep and encourage the fascist criminals. Each wants to be exonerated of guilt, each one continues on his way with the most placid, calm conscience. But he cannot be exonerated; he is guilty, guilty, guilty!\u2014\u200a2nd leaflet of the White Rose.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Why do you allow these men who are in power to rob you step by step, openly and in secret, of one domain of your rights after another, until one day nothing, nothing at all will be left but a mechanised state system presided over by criminals and drunks? Is your spirit already so crushed by abuse that you forget it is your right\u2014or rather, your moral duty<\/em>\u2014to eliminate this system?\u2014\u200a3rd leaflet of the White Rose<\/td>Es lebe die Freiheit!<\/em> (Let Freedom live!)\u2014\u200aHans Scholl\u2019s last words before his execution.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Capture, Gestapo interrogation and trial<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"\/<\/a>
Atrium of the Munich University main building, where Hans and Sophie Scholl were arrested on 18 February 1943<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"\/<\/a>
Jakob Schmid<\/a> in February 1947<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On 18 February 1943, the Scholls brought a suitcase full of leaflets to the university main building. They hurriedly dropped stacks of copies in the empty corridors for students to find when they left the lecture rooms. Leaving before the lectures had ended, the Scholls noticed that there were some left-over copies in the suitcase and decided to distribute them. Sophie flung the last remaining leaflets from the top floor down into the atrium. This spontaneous action was observed by the university maintenance man, Jakob Schmid<\/a>, who called the Gestapo<\/a>.[28]<\/a><\/sup> The university doors were locked, and the fate of brother and sister were sealed.[29]<\/a><\/sup> Hans and Sophie Scholl were taken into Gestapo custody. A draft of a seventh pamphlet, written by Christoph Probst, was found in the possession of Hans Scholl at the time of his arrest by the Gestapo. While Sophie Scholl got rid of incriminating evidence before being taken into custody, Hans did try to destroy the draft of the last leaflet by tearing it apart and trying to swallow it. However, the Gestapo recovered enough of it and were able to match the handwriting with other writings from Probst, which they found when they searched Hans\u2019s apartment.[30]<\/a><\/sup> Christoph was captured on 20 February. The main Gestapo interrogator was Robert Mohr<\/a>, who initially thought Sophie was innocent. However, after Hans had confessed, Sophie assumed full responsibility in an attempt to protect other members of the White Rose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/a>
White Rose memorial at Room 253 of the Munich Court of Justice, where the first trial was held<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Scholls and Probst were scheduled to stand trial before the Volksgerichtshof<\/a><\/em>\u2014the Nazi \u201cPeople\u2019s Court\u201d infamous for its unfair political trials, which more often than not ended with a death sentence\u2014on 22 February 1943. They were found guilty of treason<\/a>. Roland Freisler<\/a>, head judge of the court, sentenced them to death. The three were executed the same day by guillotine<\/a> at Stadelheim Prison<\/a>. Sophie went under the guillotine first, followed by Hans and then Christoph. While Sophie and Christoph were silent as they died, Hans yelled \u201ces lebe die Freiheit!\u201d (long live freedom) as the blade fell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n

IN THE NAME OF THE GERMAN PEOPLE
in the action against
1. Hans Fritz Scholl, Munich, born at Ingersheim, 22 September 1918,
2. Sophia Magdalena Scholl, Munich, born at Forchtenberg, 9 May 1921,
3. Christoph Hermann Probst, of Aldrans bei Innsbruck, born at Murnau, 6 November 1919,
now in investigative custody regarding treasonous assistance to the enemy, preparing to commit high treason, and weakening of the nation\u2019s armed security.
The People\u2019s Court first Senate, pursuant to the trial held on 22 February 1943, in which the officers were:
President of the People\u2019s Court Dr. Freisler, Presiding,
Director of the Regional Judiciary Stier,
SS Group Leader Breithaupt,
SA Group Leader Bunge,
State Secretary and SA Group Leader Koglmaier,
and representing the Attorney General to the Supreme Court of the Reich, Reich Attorney Weyersberg,
[We]find: That the accused have in time of war by means of leaflets called for the sabotage of the war effort and armaments and for the overthrow of the National Socialist way of life of our people, have propagated defeatist ideas, and have most vulgarly defamed the F\u00fchrer, thereby giving aid to the enemy of the Reich and weakening the armed security of the nation.
On this account they are to be punished by death.
Their honor and rights as citizens are forfeited for all time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014\u200aTranslation made by Berlin Documents Center HQ US Army Berlin Command of 1943 Decree against the \u201cWhite Rose\u201d group.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Willi Graf had already been arrested on 18 February 1943; in his interrogations, which continued until his execution in October 1943, he successfully covered other members of the group. Alexander Schmorell was recognized, denounced and arrested on 24 February 1943, after his return to Munich following an unsuccessful effort to travel to Switzerland. Kurt Huber was taken into custody on 26 February, and only then did the Gestapo learn about his role within the White Rose group.[9]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second White Rose trial took place on 19 April 1943. Among those on trial were Hans Hirzel, Susanne Hirzel, Franz Josef M\u00fcller, Heinrich Guter, Eugen Grimminger, Otto Aicher, Theodor Haecker, Willi Graf, Anneliese Graf, Heinrich Bollinger, Helmut Bauer and Falk Harnack. At the last minute, the prosecutor added Traute Lafrenz, Gisela Schertling and Katharina Sch\u00fcddekopf.[4]<\/a><\/sup> Willi Graf<\/a>, Kurt Huber<\/a>, and Alexander Schmorell were sentenced to death. Eleven others were sentenced to prison, and Falk Harnack was acquitted of the accusations, which was unexpected, given that his brother and sister had been killed by the Nazis for subversive activities.[29]<\/a><\/sup> Schmorell and Huber were executed on 13 July 1943. Willi Graf was kept in solitary confinement for about seven months. During that time, he was tortured in an attempt to make him give up other names of members of The White Rose. He never gave up any names, even when the Gestapo threatened to capture his family if he continued to withhold information. He was executed on 12 October 1943. On 29 January 1945, Hans Konrad Leipelt was executed. He had been sent down from Hamburg University in 1940 because of his Jewish ancestry, and had copied and further distributed the White Rose\u2019s pamphlets together with his girlfriend Marie-Luise Jahn. The pamphlets were now entitled \u201cAnd their spirit lives on.\u201d<\/em>[31]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The third White Rose trial was scheduled for 20 April 1943, Hitler\u2019s birthday, which was a public holiday in Nazi Germany. Judge Freisler had intended to issue death sentences against Wilhelm Geyer, Harald Dohrn, Josef S\u00f6hngen and Manfred Eickemeyer. Because he did not want to issue too many death sentences in a single trial, he therefore wanted to postpone his judgment against those four until the next day. However, the evidence against them was lost, and the trial finally took place on 13 July 1943. In that trial, Gisela Schertling\u2014who had betrayed most of the friends, even fringe members like Gerhard Feuerle\u2014changed her mind and recanted her testimony against all of them. Since Freisler did not preside over the third trial, the judge acquitted for lack of evidence all but S\u00f6hngen, who was sentenced to a six months\u2019 term in prison. After her acquittal on 19 April, Traute Lafrenz was placed under arrest again. She spent the last year of the war in prison. Trials kept being postponed and moved to different locations because of Allied air raids. Her trial was finally set for April 1945, after which she probably would have been executed. Three days before the trial, however, the Allies liberated the town where she was held prisoner, thereby saving her life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The student members of the White Rose make up a few of the nearly 70 juveniles that were indicted for high treason by the People\u2019s Court<\/a> from 1933 to 1945.[32]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

More at: https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/White_Rose<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia This article is about the German resistance movement. For other uses, see White Rose (disambiguation). \u201cWei\u00dfe Rose\u201d redirects here. For the 1976 opera, see Wei\u00dfe Rose (opera). For the 1982 film, see Die Wei\u00dfe Rose (film). Monument to the \u201cWei\u00dfe Rose\u201d in front of the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich FOUNDED… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38259"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38259"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38259\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38260,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38259\/revisions\/38260"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38259"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38259"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38259"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}