Customer Reviews

The White Rose: Munich, 1942-1943

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For those unfamiliar with the story of The White Rose, it is a testament to the power and courage of those who are willing to stand up for freedom and independence in a world gone mad. Once again I find this book paticularly compelling today, for obvious reasons. The pamphlets the White Rose students distributed (that they subsequently paid the ultimate price for) are reprinted in their entirety in the book. They are well written, beautiful in spirit, and as compelling today as they were then.

The story is told with honor and reverence by the sister of Hans Scholl and Sophie Scholl, siblings and two of the students in Germany who brainstormed the pamphlets and were executed swiftly and denounced publicly for their trouble. In spite of that, or because of it, their efforts caused a ripple of resistance in the German republic that caused its fair share of trouble for the Nazi regime.

Calling for a policy of passive resistance -- the ability for each one, individually, to sabotage any efforts of the fascist regime in power -- was a brilliant move on their part. No fundraising, no unending meetings, no need for mailing lists or computer databases. Sabotage rallies, sabotage in all areas of science and scolarship which further the continuation of the war, sabotage in all branches of the arts, and a refusal to give a penny to any government organized charity...such was the call of these noble individuals who had no great army, but who understood the power of the individual.

I only learned of the White Rose within the past couple of years myself. Everyone should learn and understand what they did and why. It gives me hope.

In this slim book, Inge Scholl chronicles the heroism of her brother and sister, Hans and Sophie Scholl, and their friends in Germany during World War II. The Scholls were students at the University of Munich who had slowly become aware of the horrors their government was perpetrating. They decided that they had to do something, anything to stop the Nazis, and so they printed leaflets denouncing the government and providing information about atrocities. They distributed these leaflets throughout the University and the city, and created a network to distribute them even farther. They identified themselves only as The White Rose. The Nazis eventually tracked down the Scholls and their collaborators and executed them.

Inge Scholl tells the story beautifully, in spare and simple prose. She wrote the book originally for German youth after the war, so it is not a scholarly book, but it is even more affecting because of that. After Scholl's narrative are the texts of the six leaflets themselves, as well as a series of fascinating documents -- the Nazi indictments and sentences of the White Rose group, contemporary newspaper accounts ("Just Punishment of Traitors to the Nation at War"), and some deeply affecting testimonials, including a powerful letter written by a fellow prisoner of Sophie Scholl. There are also a number of photographs of the primary members of the White Rose group.

I bought this book wanting some background on the White Rose before going to see the German film on Sophie Scholl, and it was informative, if rather short - the actual story is less than 100 pages, as half the book represents documents. On the plus side, it is by the sister of Hans and Sophie Scholl, so though it isn't a great read, presumably it is an accurate account. However, I have since read some negative comments that the author used this book to place herself more centre stage, which put me off a bit as I like to think the books I read - at least those on historical events - are well-researched and unbiased.

For a more gripping account with a fast-paced narrative, I would recommend Dumbach and Newborn's Sophie Scholl and the White Rose, which I've just finished. It has some rave reviews, is a much more vivid account, and as well as all the photographs of the students also includes all the leaflets including the seventh, previously unpublished, leaflet of the White Rose group that was discovered in the Gestapo archives after the fall of the Berlin Wall. So if you want both a good read and some very interesting historical documents, this is by far the better book.

Would you be willing to join a cause, knowing that you could be killed for even associating with members of that cause? Would you be ready to leave family and friends for something that is almost impossible to achieve? The young people of the White Rose movement did just that.

Sophie and Hans Scholl lived in Germany during the reign of the cruel dictator Adolph Hitler. They and several other young people and their teacher stood up to Hitler's brutal rulership and tried to bring about peace and justice in a country devoid of almost everything but propaganda, hate, and bloodshed.

Exactly what steps these young people took is not as important as the great Idea they stood for, the vision of peace, love, and justice. Writing such things as "Freedom"and "Down with Hitler" on walls and streets took courage that only the most devout and focused person could have. These people, who were killed for their beliefs, should have more than just a book about them with the name of their group, The White Rose. They should be known and honored world-wide for their nonviolent stand against the most wicked and horrible dictatorship in modern history!

Please get this great little book, read it, and pass it on!
Kenneth Zimmerman

As a Jewish child growing up, I often heard the horror storiesof those who collaborated with Hitler and the National Socialistagenda. It wasn't until much later in life that I began to hear about those who resisted. This book, written by the surviving sister of two such resisters, gives us a compelling account of the stories of a small group calling itself the White Rose consisting of students, soldiers and teachers who examined their consciences and engaged in rebellious activity.

Included here are the texts of many of the leaflets distributed by the White Rose. One wonders how modern readers would relate to such eloquence that draws from the poetry of Goette and other sources utilizing vocabulary beyond what is common in our dumbed down institutions.

Ms. Solle's introduction to this book provides a context in which we might examine our own complicity with modern structures of annihilation.

I would highly recommend this book as text for classes in social or political history.

If the purpose of education is to encourage us to examine our contexts and choices, this book is an imperitive read.

Inge Scholl tells this story as an outsider, the sister of two members of the White Rose - NOT as an active participant. The reader must remember Inge Scholl told this story after-the-fact and had no knowledge of the events as they took place. Her memories which are told in this book are just that - her memories - and are not always 100% accurate. Several other books have been written which are far more in-depth and accurate, but this slim volume remains a favorite among teachers and students wishing to learn more. If you purchase this book - and you should - please follow up with additional resources. This shouldn't be the only source of facts regarding The White Rose.

In all my life I don't think I have read a book about such courageous people as Hans and Sophie Scholl. They are involved in an anti-fascist resistance movement and know they can be killed at any hour of the day. They are in constant fear of the people around them, wondering if they are Nazi spies, and yet they keep going.
This inspiring book, so full of tears, fearfulness, joy, anxiety, and love should be read by every young person.
Janice Wipf

In all my life I don't think I have read a book about such courageous people as Hans and Sophie Scholl. They are involved in an anti-fascist resistance movement and know they can be killed at any hour of the day. They are in constant fear of the people around them, wondering if they are Nazi spies, and yet they keep going. This inspiring book, so full of tears, fearfulness, joy, anxiety, and love should be read by every young person. Janice Wipf, ninth grade.

The Scholl siblings and their friends never imagined the far-reaching impact of their resistance work. On the other hand they knew the consequences of being caught were very real. It was not a case of youthfull idealism. They like many others at that time bought into the idealisms that were being put forth by the regieme. When they later realized the true nature of the Nazi state, they did what their consciences directed and ultimately payed for it with their lives. This is the difference between mere youthful idealism and responding to the dictates of one's conscience. It was a youthfull idealism that was sold them and when reality beckoned they responded. Everyone who reads this book must ask themselves it in the same situation would do the same thing. It is at this point that one can understand the magnitude of their doings.

It is good that books like this exist that tell a different side that it is uncommon to hear. There are probably hundreds of other stories that too are untold, as there are surely other holocaust stories. The difference is that these stories have never been "popular" to hear about. There were in fact moral Germans in that time and this story proves it.

A very easy read and I would strongly recommend this to young persons interested in the holocaust and its decanters. The fact that it was written by Sophie and Hans Scholl's sister Inge Scholl adds to its authenticity. We in the United States can learn a lot form the steadfast determination of the members of the White Rose's determination to speak out no mater what the consequences.
You and your kids need to read this story.