Annotated Bibliography
Primary Sources
- Graf, Wilhelm. "Continuation of the Interrogation of Wilhelm Graf." In White Rose Studies, edited by Ruth Hanna Sachs. N.p.: CENTER FOR WHITE ROSE STUDIES., 2005. Accessed October 6, 2016. http://white-rose-studies.org/The_Transcripts.html. This website has links to multiple primary sources including the gestapo interrogation transcripts.
- Hall, Allan. "Nazis slaughtered my brother and sister with a guillotine: German woman, 93, tells how her siblings defied Hitler and were put to death for treason in 1943." Daily Mail (United Kingdom), January 18, 2014. Accessed October 5, 2016. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2541753/Nazis-slaughtered-brother-sister-guillotine-German-woman-93-tells-siblings-defied-Hitler-death-treason-1943.html. This paper rehashes the end of Sophie Scholl's life. However, the most crucial part of it is the fact that her last living sibling, Elisabeth Hartnagel-Scholl, discussed the matter once again for Daily Mail UK. She talked about how the day that they died will forever be ingrained in her mind. How she picked up the news and saw that her brother and sister had been murdered because they were guilty of treason. 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." She adds a child-like, innocent element to the whole thing. She also talked about their mother, which very few papers I have found actually talked about her. She said that she was the only constant in their lives. It was gradual for them to see the Nazism for what it truly was. She calls it a "mosaic" of things. She brings up many stories that solidify the idea that Sophie was up for going against something if it was wrong, and even against the law.
- "Roland Freisler - President of the German Nazi Court (with subtitles)." Video file, 4:39. Youtube. Posted by World War Footage, March 3, 2014. Accessed October 7, 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nzz700H6T9M. This video shows just how ruthless the judge, Roland Freisler, was in real life. He was quoted as being, "Hitler's blood judge." He wanted to make his victims suffer. He brought out the guillotine when it hadn't been used since the medical times. He also hung someone by a thin rope from a butcher's hook. Hitler demanded a slow death and he was never afraid to come through for Hitler.
- Sachs, Ruth Hanna. White Rose History: Coming Together. Vol. 1. N.p.: Exclamation!, 2003. Accessed October 6, 2016. https://books.google.com/books?id=WOPfM0hz1AC&pg=PA89&lpg=PA89&dq=Frau+Braun,+“honorary+archive+employee!&source=bl&ots=4l7xrtZHer&sig=fi2EJoAIlv3sWOoLeifn0oRRen0&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjfgfLfxcbPAhVJ6GMKHQxtCL0Q6AEIHTAA#v=onepage&q=sophie&f=false. This book has actual quotes from Sophie's diary. God was very clearly important to her. She said she was tired and that God wasn't going to help her. Months later, she finally added back to her journal and quoted a verse in the bible about death. She wrote in her diary as if she knew she was going to die. Chapter 28, page 5-6
- Scholl, Sophie. Letter, "White Rose Leaflets," 1942. http://www.holocaustresearchproject.org/revolt/wrleaflets.html. These are the leaflets written by Hans Scholl and Sophie Scholl. It contains the translated versions, done by Hermann Feuer. The first one discusses the evil of Nazism and they bring up examples from the past on how government systems like this didn't work and only ended in eradication of everyone. Leaflet number two talks about Hitler and directly questions him. It also talks about how everyone knows this goes against humanity and how can anyone think that that was okay. Third leaflet talks about how a government can't be constructed purely on a theoretical basis. They start to talk about how this needs to come to an end. In leaflet number four they write that they were starting to question if Hitler was actually going to win this war. They even go as far to say, "Every word that comes from Hitler's mouth is a lie." Which could have easily gotten them killed. In this leaflet they even say that they are German, because people were thinking it was foreign parties trying to infiltrate the Nazism. I love this line, "We will not be silent. We are your bad conscience. The White Rose will not leave you in peace!" In the fifth leaflet, they say how the war is coming to an end. They say that Hitler can't win the war, only that he can prolong it. They talk of a new Europe, one without Hitler's obscene rules. In the sixth and final leaflet, they ask how are these people still blindly following Hitler, even though they know he is going to lose the war. They say things like, get out while you can, and find your freedom and honor. In all of their leaflets they state something that at the time was far fetched and could get them into huge trouble, and then go on to use evidence to prove their thoughts.
- Sophie Scholl Mug Shot. February 18, 1943. Photograph. http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7QBMkGm1DjE/UQLCvyq4QaI/AAAAAAAACPY/mubkTrOTVQU/s1600/9-Scholl-Gestapo.png. This is the actual mugshot of Sophie Scholl. The picture also contains a photo of her and her brothers gravestones.
- Unknown. Hans Scholl, Sophie Scholl and Christoph Probst. January 1943. Photograph. Accessed October 20, 2016. http://spartacus-educational.com/00schollS3.jpg. This is a photo of Hans Scholl, Sophie Scholl and Christoph Probst (January 1943). They were all members of the White Rose group. This is a very popular photo of the three.
- Roland Freisler. 1945. Photograph. Accessed October 7, 2016. https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/find-a-grave-prod/photos/2007/116/10712212_117766614555.jpg. This is a picture of the bloodthirsty judge that sentenced Sophie Scholl, Hans Scholl and Alexander Schmorell. He was quoted saying this about them, "The accused have by means of leaflets in a time of war 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 Führer, 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 honour and rights as citizens are forfeited for all time."
- Wittenstein, Jurgen. "Jurgen Wittgenstein: A View From Within The White Rose *." Interview. We Love Deutsch. Last modified May 31, 1997. Accessed October 20, 2016. http://www.welovedeutsch.com/uploads/2/8/9/2/2892062/_jurgen_wittenstein.pdf. This man was a member of the White Rose and he talks about how life was back then and how everyone was under a microscope. He said, "The White Rose delivered the leaflets from one city to another by train. This was dangerous because the trains were crawling with police and military police. Everyone had to have the correct papers with permission to travel." 50 years later the pain of what he saw still haunts him to this day.
Secondary Sources
- Burns, Margie. "Sophie Scholl and the White Rose." The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation. Last modified 2006. Accessed October 20, 2016 http://www.raoulwallenberg.net/holocaust/articles-20/sophie-scholl-white-rose/. This does discuss very similar things to along with my other sources obviously, however this one says that Sophie's interrogation was so brutal that she supposedly came to court the next day with a broken leg. This was also the only document I could find actually naming the janitor who gave the group up to the Gestapo. Jakob Schmidt, University handyman and Nazi party member, saw Hans and Sophie with the leaflets and reported them. I think this source is unique in that way.
- Devita, James. "Sophie Scholl." Holocaust Education & Archive Research Team. Last modified 2011. http://www.holocaustresearchproject.org/revolt/scholl.html. She wanted to become a kindergartener teacher because she thought that it would be seen as an alternate service to National Labor Service. which was a prerequisite to be admitted to the University. However, she actually had to become a nursery teacher for 6 months for war service. After these she began to question the regime even more so. She was a student at University of Munich along with her brother. They were passively going against the regime. Copies of their leaflets were everywhere it seemed. Sophia threw the final leaflets down the staircase, only to be caught by the custodian. Her last words were "Die Sonne scheint noch"—"The sun still shines."
- "Hans Scholl." In People of the Holocaust. Gale, 1998. World History in Context (accessed November 22, 2016). http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/whic/BiographiesDetailsPage/BiographiesDetailsWindowdisableHighlighting=false&displayGroupName=Biographies&currPage=&scanId=&query=&prodId=WHIC&search_within_results=&p=WHIC%3AUHIC&mode=view&catId=&limiter=&display-query=&displayGroups=&contentModules=&action=e&sortBy=&documentId=GALE%7CK2422000054&windowstate=normal&activityType=&failOverType=&commentary=&source=Bookmark&u=fair67600&jsid=e7e4fa9f90ef3c6fe025a3f9c40118e4. 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. 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. 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. 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."
- Henderson, Simon. "The White Rose and the definition of 'resistance: Simon Henderson explains the significance of Hans and Sophie Scholl in the history of Nazi Germany." History Review, no. 53 (2005): 42+. World History in Context (accessed October 3, 2016). http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/whic/AcademicJournalsDetailsPage/AcademicJournalsDetailsWindowdisableHighlighting=false&displayGroupName=Journals&currPage=&scanId=&query=&prodId=WHIC&search_within_results=&p=WHIC%3AUHIC&mode=view&catId=&limiter=&display-query=&displayGroups=&contentModules=&action=e&sortBy=&documentId=GALE%7CA141250635&windowstate=normal&activityType=&failOverType=&commentary=&source=Bookmark&u=fair67600&jsid=025b21c129151533253ea2af9f8f12e0. Since Hans and Sophia were born their father was against the Nazi Regime. At first, Nazism began as a movement to harness the restfulness of youth. The Hitler Youth Group had a sense of community which helped the children. However, when they got older they realized how evil it really was. Hans started the White Rose and believed it would only come down with force. After seeing mistreatment of the Jews and Russians first hand, it solidified what he was doing. Why they threw the leaflets at the University is unknown.
- Simkin, John. "Alexander Schmorell." Spartacus Educational. Accessed October 7, 2016. http://spartacus-educational.com/GERschmorell.htm. Alexander Schmorell was a lead role in the White Rose group discussions. He also brought other members into the group, which this was an extremely dangerous role. It was obvious how dedicated he was to the group. Alexander's father gave him a generous allowance that let him by the secondary printing machine for the leaflets. He also bought a typewriter and got special printing paper and stencils. It was said that he was constantly urging the group to make the transition from talk to action. "What are we waiting for? Until the war is over and everybody points to us and says we tolerated such a regime without protest?" The first draft of the fifth leaflet was written by Sophie and Hans Scholl and Alexander Schmorell. When caught by the police he admitted to it. Along with Hans and Sophie, he was tried for high treason on 22nd February, 1943. They were all found guilty. He was executed on 13th July, 1943. Schmorell's lawyer, commented, "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."
- "Sophia Scholl." In Encyclopedia of World Biography. Vol. 35. Detroit: Gale, 2015. World History in Context (accessed September 29, 2016). http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/whic/BiographiesDetailsPage/BiographiesDetailsWindowdisableHighlighting=false&displayGroupName=Biographies&currPage=&scanId=&query=&prodId=WHIC&search_within_results=&p=WHIC%3AUHIC&mode=view&catId=&limiter=&display-query=&displayGroups=&contentModules=&action=e&sortBy=&documentId=GALE%7CK1631010354&windowstate=normal&activityType=&failOverType=&commentary=&source=Bookmark&u=fair67600&jsid=9badec38d3ea1d911a8aff346186395e. Sophia and her brother, Hans, joined the Hitler Youth organization. Their father was secretly opposed to this and feared the Nazi's would abuse their newfound power. Barely passing secondary school, she slowly became to hate the Nazi regime and her father wasn't against it. He would do small things that were technically illegal like watch channels they weren't allowed to watch. She was forced to do 6 months at a Labor Service and this only furthered her hate for the regime. Sophia found a 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. They were caught by a custodian who found one of their leaflets and when they were questioned they refused. However, evidence was piling up against them, so they saw no way out and admitted guilt. Sophia was sent to the guillotine. A monument is placed where her and her brother took their last stand together.
- Trueman, Chris. "Roland Freisler." History Learning Cite. Last modified May 26, 2015. Accessed October 20, 2016. http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/nazi-germany/nazi-leaders/roland-freisler/. 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. 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. 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.
- "Sophie Scholl." In People of the Holocaust. Gale, 1998. World History in Context (accessed September 29, 2016). http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/whic/BiographiesDetailsPage/BiographiesDetailsWindow?disableHighlighting=false&displayGroupName=Biographies&currPage=&scanId=&query=&prodId=WHIC&search_within_results=&p=WHIC%3AUHIC&mode=view&catId=&limiter=&displayquery=&displayGroups=&contentModules=&action=e&sortBy=&documentId=GALE%7CK2422000055&windowstate=normal&activityType=&failOverType=&commentary=&source=Bookmark&u=fair67600&jsid=64a5de9728c06557e016a7442b4b7664. The two weren't Jewish themselves. After a week-long Nazi rally, Hans held many doubts about Hitler and his regime. This was probably where it started for him. Hans was a medical student. When Sophia joined the female equivalent of the Hitler Youth Group, she was taught that motherhood was her destiny, even though it was her lifelong dream to go to college and study philosophy and biology. After some of their favorite books and songs were banned by the Nazi's the two began questioning it. Both Hans and Sophia died from the guillotine and it had not been used since ancient times. Their whole family was placed under suspicion and their father was placed in jail. After the war was over he became Lord Mayor of Ulm.
- Simkin, John. "Alexander Schmorell." Spartacus Educational. Accessed October 7, 2016. http://spartacus-educational.com/GERschmorell.htm. Alexander Schmorell was a lead role in the White Rose group discussions. He also brought other members into the group, which this was an extremely dangerous role. It was obvious how dedicated he was to the group. Alexander's father gave him a generous allowance that let him by the secondary printing machine for the leaflets. He also bought a typewriter and got special printing paper and stencils. It was said that he was constantly urging the group to make the transition from talk to action. "What are we waiting for? Until the war is over and everybody points to us and says we tolerated such a regime without protest?" The first draft of the fifth leaflet was written by Sophie and Hans Scholl and Alexander Schmorell. When caught by the police he admitted to it. Along with Hans and Sophie, he was tried for high treason on 22nd February, 1943. They were all found guilty. He was executed on 13th July, 1943. Schmorell's lawyer, commented, "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."