White Rose: Germans Who Resisted Against Nazi Germany

Lee 2 Table of Contents Background Information ....................................................................................................4 Members ...............................................................................................................................5 Purpose..................................................................................................................................5 Activities................................................................................................................................6 White Roses End.................................................................................................................7 The Legacy of White Rose...................................................................................................8

Lee 3 Outline I. Introduction A. Background Information II. White Rose A. Members B. Purpose C. Activities III. Conclusion A. Ending B. Legacy

Lee 4 Joseph Lee Ms. Murphy English Period 7 10 June 2013 White Rose: Germans Who Resisted Against Germany Background Information After World War I, Germany had accepted defeat and was economically unsound because of paying for repairs (Axelrod 9-10). Then came Hitler, who had promised to provide better jobs and motivated the people (Axelrod 15) to believe that Germany was the best (Axelrod 10) after their humiliation. As a result, people had faith in Hitler that he was making better decisions, resulting in creating the better times for Germany. Soon, Hitler became the leader of Germany and made Germany into a dictatorship. Everything from the education, media, military, communications, travel, and culture was controlled (Wittenstein). But to the Germans, because they still kept their belief that Hitler would bring hope into their lives, they were, in a sense, brainwashed (Wittenstein). Any sort of idea that something was wrong with Hitler was immediately countered with assurances from government leaders that Hitler was making the right decisions (Scholl and Slle). If people made derogatory remarks about Hitler, they were immediately arrested by the Gestapo, the German police (Wittenstein). As a result, organized resistance was almost impossible because of fear of Nazi spies (Wittenstein). However, the members of White Rose showed great courage to resist the Nazi regime, even though they were just medical students of the University of Munich and their professor (Gill 23-24). Members
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Lee 5 The members included Hans Scholl, Sophie Scholl, who was not initially part of it, Willi Graf, Cristoph Probst, Alexander Schmorell, Jurgen Wittenstein, and Kurt Huber (Gill 24). The Scholls were considered the leaders of the movement (The White Rose). The Scholls were a special case as they were both taught to question and question developments when they were young (Kile). They used to be leaders of Hitler Youth (Byers and Shannon 33) but after they had heard the bishop talk about the crimes the German had committed towards the Jews and how the Germans thought the Jews were mentally deficient, their thoughts on Hitler changed completely (Byers and Shannon 33). The Scholls eventually witnessed the cruelty to the Jews themselves (Byers and Shannon 33) and decided to resist. The similarity that connected the members of White Rose together was that they were more concerned with individual and creative thinking. Probst, for example, was interested in literature and philosophy while Schmorell was a sculptor (Wittenstein). Another similarity that connected them was their similar opinions of Hitler. They believed that Hitler was destroying Germanys good and saw through Germanys hatred (Axelrod 15). Seeing that they had similar perspectives on Hitler, they eventually formed the resistance group White Rose (Byers and Shannon 33), in which white meant broad humanism and the rose meant secrecy (Gill 26). Purpose When the word resistance comes to mind, most people may think of rebellions. Although White Rose was a resistance group, they werent your typical rebels. Instead of leading revolts, their purpose was to encourage passive resistance to the regime (Gill 24) and influence the people to go against Nazism and militarism (Gill 25). Their idea of

Lee 6 non-violent resistance came from India (Kile) and from US students fighting against racism (Heroine). Activities In order to do this, they distributed a total of 6 leaflets from 1942 to 1943 (Byers and Shannon 38), which were written periodically (Hornberger). In their leaflets, they would add quotations by Goethe, Schiller, Lao Tse, Novalis, Aristotle, and others (Wittenstein), criticize the anti-Christian and anti-social nature of the war (Gill 28), criticize Hitlers regime and the government, and point out what happened to the Jews because of Hitler (Byers and Shannon 35). They worked day and night to produce many leaflets with a typewriter and a duplicating machine. (Burns). The first leaflet was titled White Rose (Byers and Shannon 33) and was distributed in Munich (Heroine) while it and the other first four leaflets, which were also titled White Rose (Hornberger), were written by Hans Scholl, Alexander Schmorell, and Cristoph Probst (Gill 27) from June 27-July 12 of 1942 (Wittenstein). They even made copies of the bishops sermon (Byers and Shannon 33). The last two leaflets were titled Leaflets of the Resistance (Hornberger). In all these leaflets, there were requests asking the readers to help distribute the leaflets all over Germany (Hornberger). In order to keep their secrecy, they would also mail the leaflets to other destinations from undetectable locations and Sophie would even use stamps and papers at different places, to divert attention from their activities (Burns), while mailing them to professors, students, and other universities (Wittenstein). They wouldnt even tell their parents what they were doing because of the risks (Axelrod 7). They would also distribute them anonymously (Hornberger) by leaving them in telephone booths (Wittenstein) and would only keep a

Lee 7 certain amount of members (The White Rose Movement). They would even risk getting caught in order to send leaflets to Berlin by train, even though the military police were patrolling (Burns). As a result, could be found all over Germany and Austria (Byers and Shannon 38). Each leaflet was more critical of Hitlers actions than the last (Burns). They would even paint phrases that were derogatory against Hitler on the walls (Byers and Shannon 38) such as Down with Hitler! all over Germany (Scholl and Slle), support the sabotage of military equipment of the Nazis (Holocaust History), read banned publications, and refuse to pay donations (Heroine). Although it was illegal, they still resisted passively (Byers and Shannon 38). Ever since the first leaflet had been distributed, the Gestapo was making their best efforts to find the people responsible. Of the 100 copies of the four leaflets, 35 of them were in the custody of the Gestapo (The White Rose). As the actions of White Rose got more insulting, they would even arrest people that were suspicious in any way (Burns). White Roses End However, although the actions of the White Rose were done in secret, they were eventually caught (Hornberger). On February 18, 1943, the last day White Rose would ever resist, Sophie and Hans Scholl were distributing the remaining copies of the sixth leaflet in the University of Munich. Sophie was caught letting the leaflets flutter down the atrium of the university (Keeler). The university janitor caught them (Byers and Shannon 38 and reported them to the Gestapo (Heroine). During their interrogation, Sophie and Hans Scholl tried their best to take full responsibility on themselves in order to keep the other members from being punished by the government (The White Rose Movement). Despite their efforts, the Gestapo didnt believe in them and tried to find where the other

Lee 8 members were. Eventually, they were sent to the Peoples Court and were tried on February 21 (Seeger). Before the trial, they were interrogated harshly to the point the people could see that Sophie Scholl had a broken leg as she appeared in court (Burns). They and Cristoph Probst were found convicted of treason and their punishment was execution (Byers and Shannon 38). Despite their circumstances, they showed no fear or regret, which impressed the prison guard. Although it was a violation against the rules, he eventually permitted the Scholls to meet their parents one last time, (Hornberger). The next day, February 22, 1943, Sophie, Hans Scholl, and Cristoph Probst were led to the guillotine at 5 pm (Heroine) and the execution was public in order to calm the people down (Scholl and Slle). Soon, more and more White Rose members were caught and were eventually executed as well, while some were led to the concentration camps. However, soon, the Allied Forces had smuggled the final leaflet, copied it, and air dropped it back into Germany (Kile). The Legacy of White Rose As time passed by, the White Rose was recognized as heroes of freedom (Axelrod 7). Their defiance earned them the admiration of many people during the war (Seeger) and they won the respect of many people even after the war. In 1991, there was a commemorative stamp created in Germany in memory of Sophie and the White Rose (Seeger). Today, two hundred schools are named after the Scholls (Burns), a plaza in Munich is also named after them (Heroine), and streets and squares are named after the members (Hornberger). The atrium where the last pamphlets were distributed served as a memorial for White Rose (Keeler). The story of White Rose also became the basis of a

Lee 9 German movie called The White Rose. The courageous acts of White Rose are those that are unforgettable and should be in the future.

Lee 10 Bibliography

Axelrod, Toby. Hans and Sophie Scholl: German Resisters of the White Rose. New York: Rosen Pub. Group, 2001. Google Books. Burns, Margie. "Sophie Scholl and the White Rose." Funkascript ATOM. The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation, n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2013. Byers, Ann, and Margaret Shannon. True Stories of Teens in the Holocaust: Courageous Teen Resisters:. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow, 2010. Print. Gill, Anton. An Honourable Defeat: A History of German Resistance to Hitler, 1933-1945. New York: H. Holt, 1994. Print. "Heroine Who Paid The Ultimate Price." The Daily Telegraph [Sydney] 9 May 2011: 29. Student Research Center. Web. 16 Mar. 2013 <http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nfh&AN=201109 1029006017&site=src-live>. "Holocaust History." White Rose. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, 11 May 2012. Web. 02 Apr. 2013. Hornberger, Jacob G. "The White Rose: A Lesson in Dissent." The Future of Freedom Foundation. The Future Of Freedom Foundation, 1 Jan. 1996. Web. 16 Mar. 2013. Keeler, Bob. "Germans Who Stood Up For The Jews." Student Research Center. EBSCOhost, 17 Apr. 2012. Web. 16 Mar. 2013. <http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nfh&AN=2W633 1925001&site=src-live>. Kile, J. "Hans Scholl." Moral Heroes RSS. Moral Heroes, 26 Sept. 2011. Web. 31 Mar. 2013. Seeger, Pete. "Die Gedanken Sind Frei: REAL Wellness, Liberty And The White Rose Society." Student Research Center. EBSCOhost, 23 Oct. 2009. Web. 16 Mar. 2013. <http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ulh&AN=448727 9&site=src-live>.

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Scholl, Inge, and Dorothee Slle. The White Rose: Munich, 1942-1943. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan UP, 1983. Google Books. "White Rose, The." THHP Short Essay: The White Rose. The Holocaust History Project, 16 May 1999. Web. 02 Apr. 2013. "White Rose Movement, The." The White Rose Movement. History Learning Site, Dec. 2011. Web. 31 Mar. 2013. Wittenstein, George J. "The White Rose." Www.historyplace.com. The History Place, n.d. Web. 02 Apr. 2013.

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