Sophie SchollOn the final day of her life, she was reportedly extremely calm. Before being beheaded, she said, "Die Sonne scheint noch"—"The sun still shines."
EARLY LIFE BRAVERY Sophie was born on May 9, 1921, in Forchtenberg, Germany. She was the fourth child out of six. When Hitler came to power in 1933, Sophie's father, Robert Scholl, and brothers became opposed to the Nazi Regime. He would do small things that were technically illegal like watch channels they weren't allowed to watch. She joined the girls equivalent of the Hitler Youth Group at age twelve. A law in 1935 increased Jewish discrimination. Literature and music that were written by Jewish people were unlawful to read or listen to as a result. She didn't understand why she couldn't read some of her favorite literature or music just because of who wrote the pieces. She became an avid Christian and began studying theology and philosophy. SOURCE OF AMBITION To choose a career that can be seen an alternate to National Labor Service and fulfill Sophie's passions led her to become a kindergartener teacher, a prerequisite to the University. She still served as a nursery teacher for six months for her required war service. Ultimately she attended the University of Munich along with her brother. HER INSPIRATION After this, Sophie found the infamous leaflet by the White Rose and it inspired her. She joined the group some time later. Her whole family was under watch because Sophia's father made an anti-Hitler remark. Because Sophie was a woman, it was easier for her to travel without being stopped by the SS and made her one of the leading distributors. With her philosophic mind and theologic mentality, she was critical in writing the leaflets. |
Hans SchollEARLY LIFE
Hans Scholl was born September 22, 1918, in Forchtenberg, Germany. 1918 was the same year that Germany had to face their embarrassing defeat. He was the second child of eight. Hans also grew up with his father telling him to question the new, supposedly great government system that would benefit the Germans. JOINING HITLER At age fifteen he joined the Hitler Youth Group, a military like a club where total obedience is an emphasis. Joining the club devastated his father, but Hans didn't quite understand why. Sometime during 1937, Han's and his Youth Group troop had to create a flag for a Nazism rally. Their flag contained no Nazi emblems; therefor Hans was arrested and incarcerated for three months. CALL TO MEDICINE Just two years later, he enrolled at Munich University, studying medicine. He serves in WWII. However, he got an exemption because he was studying at the college. Hans became friends with very forward-thinking individuals at the school. They often had philosophical talks. Hans was the creator of the White Rose, and his friends were more than willing to join. Soon after, Hans introduced the group to his sister and they all became close. DEATH FOR MORALES On February 22, 1943, Hans was convicted of, undermining military morale, aiding the enemy, and “conspiracy to commit high treason.” He too was sentenced to death by guillotine. Moments before the blade fell, Scholl cried out: "Long live freedom." |
Alexander SchmorellA DANGEROUS ROLE
Alexander Schmorell was a lead role in the White Rose group discussions. He also brought other members into the group, which this was an incredibly dangerous position. Alexander's father gave him money that he spent on another printing machine for the leaflets, special printing paper, and stencils used for the leaflet. Alexander wanted people to take action. Alexander said, "What are we waiting for? Until the war is over and everybody points to us and says we tolerated such a regime without protest?" Together Sophie, Hans Scholl, and Alexander Schmorell wrote and published the first draft of the fifth leaflet.
DEATH FOR IDEALISM When caught by the police he admitted to it. Along with Hans and Sophie, he was convicted of high treason on 22nd February 1943. They were all found guilty. Executed July 13, 1943, and his lawyer stated, "On the one side was idealism and the moral stature of a young man prepared to die for it. On the other side were those subhuman types with their obscene fixation on death and how to inflict it." |
Roland FreislerHIS RISE TO POWER
Roland was a judge for Hitler’s People’s Court. He gained a reputation for humiliating those on trial in his court and it seemed that Freisler had no boundaries when it came to accomplishing this objective. Fresher continued to climb the social ladder until he became the Reich Ministry of Justice. Freisler was one of the few people selected who attended the notorious Wannsee Conference on January 20th, 1942 where the ‘Final Solution’ of the Jews was discussed. BULLY TACTICS Freisler combined his vocal skills with his bullying manner as a judge, which involved shouting over a defendant and verbally abusing them, someone on trial for their life had little chance. 90% of the people he judged, he sentenced to death. In total, he sentenced 2,600 people to death, including Sophie and Hans Scholl and other members of the White Rose movement. DEATH During one of his trials, there was an allied bombing. No one is quite sure how he died. Some witnesses claim that he was crushed to death by falling masonry while others claim that he bled to death outside of the bombed court house. |
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Elisabeth Hartnagel-SchollDISCOVERY
Elisabeth Hartnagel-Scholl, the last living sibling of Hans and Sophie Scholl, discussed the day of February 22, 1943 once again for Daily Mail UK. She explained that the day that they died will forever be ingrained in her mind. Four days before her 23 birthday, she picked up the daily newspaper and read that her brother and sister had been beheaded because they were guilty of treason. In regards to the family joining the Hitler Youth Group, she said, "They liked the feeling of belonging, but our father disapproved. We just dismissed it: he's too old for this stuff, he doesn't understand... 'We weren't fascinated by Hitler. It was a non-political thing for us - we girls hung out together, took trips, did tests of courage or arranged evenings at home." It took time for them to see Nazism for what it truly was. There was no one thing that made them realize what was going on was wrong. She called it a "mosaic" of things.
SOPHIE BEHIND THE SCENES Elisabeth talked about one night during 1943, when Sophie stopped the two of them from their night walk to write, "freedom," on the wall with a pencil. She told Sophie that it would cost them their head, but Sophie replied with, "the night is our friend." Along with that, Sophie asked Elisabeth's husband to loan her 1000 marks. She refused to tell them what it was for, but eventually Elisabeth figured out it was to buy an illegal printing press to publish the leaflets. She knew this of her sister, that Sophie was up for going against anything if it was wrong, even against the law. |