white rose

about Sophie:
.....

Miss Scholl was born in Forchtenberg,

Germany on May 9, 1921. Her father was

mayor of the town and a critic of the

Nazi regime. In 1932, her family moved

to Ulm, where her father had a

consulting business. It was there that

she enrolled in a secondary school for

girls and, like most every girl in that

era, joined the League of German Girls,

the �female division� of Hitler Youth.

Her enthusiasm, however, was quickly

consumed by her criticism and distrust

of the Nazi government.

After a brief stint as a kindergarten

teacher and fulfilling a six-month

requirement in the National Labor

Service, she enrolled in the University

of Munich in 1942. Her older brother,

Hans, was already enrolled there, and

introduced Sophie to his friends. They

enlightened her with many subjects

including art, music, philosophy, and

theology. Above all, however, all were

opposed to the Nazis and the war.

Around the time that Sophie enrolled at

the university, Hans, along with

Christoph Probst and others formed the

non-violent resistance group, the White

Rose. The purpose of the group was to

secretly distribute leaflets

encouraging German citizens to

passively resist the Nazis.

On February 18, 1943 the group

distributed its sixth leaflet at the

university. A member of the Nazi Party

saw them throwing the leaflets into the

courtyard from above, however, and

Sophie, Hans, and Probst were arrested.

The mockery of a trial took place in

Hitler�s notorious �People�s Court,� a

court that had very broad jurisdiction

over all �political offenses.� As was

all too common in Hitler�s reign, the

three defendants stood no chance of

mounting a defense, and all were

sentenced to death.

On February 22, at only 21 years old,

Sophie Scholl was strapped to the

guillotine and executed. Her legacy,

however, has lived on in the form of

numerous honors, books, and films.

There are many others throughout

history just like Sophie Scholl who

stood up in the face of terroristic

regimes and spoke out against what they

knew was wrong. What sets Scholl apart,

however, is her youth and bravery, and

the courage to resist one of the most

oppressive and frightful governments in

history. Her story is an inspiration to

all who see something wrong with the

world and seek change, whether it is on

a grand scale or a small scale.

Just as Edmund Burke�s quote has lived

on, so will the final words of Sophie

Scholl, uttered seconds before her

execution: "How can we expect

righteousness to prevail when there is

hardly anyone willing to give himself

up individually to a righteous cause?

Such a fine, sunny day, and I have to

go. But what does my death matter, if

through us thousands of people are

awakened and stirred to action?"