Sophie Scholl: The Woman Who Defied Hitler With A White Rose

Difficulties shape brave people. So today we want to give you a story about a young woman with courage – Sophie Scholl. To get to know her, we will travel to Hitler’s Germany. The place and time in which a girl chose to feel fear and confront it, rather than ignoring the cruel and unjustified persecution of residents like herself.

In February 1943, Sophie, along with a group of young people who formed the resistance movement “The White Rose”, was accused of treason and beheaded in the guillotine. Interestingly , the guillotine – a construction designed during the French Revolution to destroy the enemies of freedom – was used to end the life of one of freedom’s greatest advocates.

“What does my death matter if thousands of people wake up and start acting through us?” So said Sophie Scholl a few hours before she was killed. She was only 21 years old.

Despite the control and deterrence that the Nazi regime threatened anyone who opposed their way of thinking, there were small groups in Germany who did not hesitate to confront them. They had few resources and even less support.

They decided that even if the regime could control justice, education, health and the army, it would never crush their will. They knew the risk and the price of discovery: their own lives.

In 1937, the danger of the regime became all too obvious when some of her brothers and friends were illegally arrested for being members of German youth. At this time, Sophie realized that her calling was to teach, even though she had started at the University of Munich to study biology and philosophy.

All resistance movements have a name and The White Rose was the one our protagonist joined. After attending meetings of various National Socialist groups at her university, she was drawn to this group because of its boldness. The white rose did not hesitate to spread its message through brochures and graffiti on the walls.

They did not limit themselves to discussing during intellectual gatherings, but also went underground to spread the word that Germany’s silence was part of the horrific things committed by the party led by Hitler.

Thanks to her brother, who already belonged to the group, Sophie began as a carrier of propaganda for The White Rose. A very risky job because you could not escape the accusations of treason if you were caught with it.

On February 18, 1943, Sophie decided to climb to the roof of her school to drop brochures. Nothing would have happened if it were not for the fact that a doorman, who was a member of the Nazi party, saw and reported her.

Arrested and imprisoned , the Gestapo put one of its own as her cellmate. The purpose was nothing more than to get information to dissolve the group. However, the Gestapo woman was not only impressed by Sophie’s strength, but was also converted by her message.

Neither Sophie nor any of her arrested comrades betrayed anyone, despite being tortured. The white rose is the symbol of freedom, and several schools, streets, parks and squares are named after the Scholl siblings.