White Rose facts for kids
The White Rose was a German group that opposed the Nazis in World War II. From June 1942 until February 1943 they distributed pamphlets denouncing Adolf Hitler's regime which was based on the idea that some races were better than others. The Nazis thought the "Aryan race" (pure Germans) were the best race of all, and that they deserved power and respect, the "inferior" races - the Jews, Roma people, Slavs, and blacks - were classified as Untermenschen (sub-humans). The Nazis sent millions of Jews, Roma and other people to concentration camps and death camps, where they were killed. These killings are now called the Holocaust. In total, the White Rose authored six leaflets, which were multiplied and spread, in a total of about 15,000 copies.
The White Rose group consisted of students from the University of Munich along with a professor.
The members of the White Rose were caught due to an informant in 1943. They were then executed by the Nazi government. However, the Allied powers acquired one of their pamphlets. The pamphlet was copied and dropped over Germany by bombers, spreading the message of resistance. After World War II, Germany looked back on the White Rose as heroes who saw the crimes of the Nazis better than most.
Contents
Members
The core of the White Rose comprised five students: Sophie Scholl, her brother Hans Scholl, Alex Schmorell, Willi Graf, and Christoph Probst. All were slightly older than twenty years. Also members were Hans's and Sophie's sister Inge Scholl, and a professor of philosophy, Kurt Huber.
The members of the core group all shared an academic background as students at Munich University.
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.
Origin of the name
Under Gestapo interrogation, Hans Scholl gave several explanations for the origin of the name "The White Rose", 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. It has also been speculated that the name might have been taken from either the Cuban poet, Jose Marti's verse "Cultivo una rosa blanca" or the novel Die Weiße Rose (The White Rose) by B. Traven, 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.
Germany in 1942
White Rose survivor Jürgen Wittenstein described what it was like for ordinary Germans to live in Nazi Germany:
The government—or rather, the party—controlled 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.
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 in World War II, the German population became increasingly aware of the losses and damages of the war. In Summer 1942, the German Wehrmacht 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 came to a standstill in the autumn of 1942. In February 1943, the German army had faced a major defeat in the Battle of Stalingrad. During this time, the authors of the pamphlets could neither be discovered, nor could the campaign be stopped by the Nazi authorities.
Capture, Gestapo interrogation and trial
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, who called the Gestapo. The university doors were locked, and the fate of the brother and sister was sealed. 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's apartment. Christoph was captured on 20 February. The main Gestapo interrogator was Robert Mohr, 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.
The Scholls and Probst were scheduled to stand trial before the Volksgerichtshof—the Nazi "People's Court" infamous for its unfair political trials—on 22 February 1943. They were found guilty of treason. Roland Freisler, head judge of the court, sentenced them to death. The three were executed the same day by guillotine at Stadelheim Prison.
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.
The second White Rose trial took place on 19 April 1943. Among those on trial were Hans Hirzel, Susanne Hirzel, Franz Josef Müller, 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 Schüddekopf. Willi Graf, Kurt Huber, 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. Schmorell and Huber were executed on 13 July 1943. Willi Graf was kept in solitary confinement for about seven months. 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's pamphlets together with his girlfriend Marie-Luise Jahn. The pamphlets were now entitled "And their spirit lives on."
The third White Rose trial was scheduled for 20 April 1943, Hitler's birthday, which was a public holiday in Nazi Germany. Judge Freisler had intended to issue death sentences against Wilhelm Geyer, Harald Dohrn, Josef Söhngen 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—who had betrayed most of the friends, even fringe members like Gerhard Feuerle—changed 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 Söhngen, who was sentenced to a six months' 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.
Memorials and legacy
With the fall of Nazi Germany, the White Rose came to represent opposition to tyranny.
On 5 February 2012 Alexander Schmorell was canonized as a New Martyr by the Orthodox Church.
The square where the central hall of Munich University is located has been named "Geschwister-Scholl-Platz" after Hans and Sophie Scholl; the square opposite to it is "Professor-Huber-Platz". Two large fountains are in front of the university, one on either side of Ludwigstraße. The fountain in front of the university is dedicated to Hans and Sophie Scholl. The other, across the street, is dedicated to Professor Huber. Many schools, streets, and other places across Germany are named in memory of the members of the White Rose.
In Paris, a high school of the 17th arrondissement (collège La Rose Blanche), is named after the White Rose, and a public park pays homage to Hans and Sophie Scholl.
One of Germany's leading literary prizes is called the Geschwister-Scholl-Preis (the "Scholl Siblings" prize). Likewise, the asteroid 7571 Weisse Rose is named after the group.
The Audimax of the Bundeswehr Medical Academy in Munich was named after Hans Scholl in 2012. The Joint Medical Service of the Bundeswehr, named barracks north of Munich after Christoph Probst at his 100th birthday in 2019.
The last surviving member of the group was Traute Lafrenz. She turned 100 years old on 3 May 2019 and was awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany on that same date for her work as part of the White Rose. She died on 6 March 2023.
Images for kids
-
White Rose memorial at Room 253 of the Munich Court of Justice, where the first trial was held
-
1943 German High Court decree ( death sentence ) against Hans Fritz Scholl Sophia Magalena Scholl and Christoph Herman Probst
-
Clemens August Graf von Galen
-
White Rose memorial at Room 253 of the Munich Court of Justice, where the first trial was held
-
A black granite memorial to the White Rose Movement in the Hofgarten in Munich with the dome of the Bavarian State Chancellery in the background
-
"Geschwister-Scholl-Platz" - Scholl Siblings Square, outside the University main building, Munich, Germany
-
Lilo Ramdohr at the registry office with Carl G. Fürst in Munich, February 1944
_against_Hans_Fritz_Scholl_Sophia_Magalena_Scholl_and_Christoph_Herman_Probst.jpg)
See also
In Spanish: Rosa Blanca para niños
