-by Patrick Toomey
Traute Lafrenz, the last known living member of the anti-Nazi German White Rose movement of 1942-43, recently died in South Carolina.
The White Rose was comprised mostly of students at the University of Munich. It was short-lived and never counted more than a few dozen members. The group conducted an anonymous leaflet and graffiti campaign that called for active opposition to the Nazi regime.
Its leaders, the siblings Hans and Sophie Scholl, were beheaded by the Gestapo in February 1943. Ms. Lafrenz was arrested in March 1943. In April 1945, she and others were set to go on trial in the prison at Bayreuth, in southern Germany when the United States Army liberated the prison.
It took incredible physical courage for White Rose members to oppose the Nazis. As per Wikipedia:
I knew what I took upon myself and I was prepared to lose my life by so doing.
— From the interrogation of Hans Scholl.
Further as per Wikipedia, their leaflets included the following excerpts:
Isn't it true that every honest German is ashamed of his government these days? Who among us has any conception of the dimensions of shame that will befall us and our children when one day the veil has fallen from our eyes and the most horrible of crimes— crimes that infinitely outdistance every human measure— reach the light of day?
— 1st leaflet of the White Rose
Since the conquest of Poland, 300,000 Jews have been murdered in this country in the most bestial way ... The German people slumber on in dull, stupid sleep and encourage the fascist criminals. Each wants to be exonerated of guilt, each one continues on his way with the most placid, calm conscience. But he cannot be exonerated; he is guilty, guilty, guilty!
— 2nd leaflet of the White Rose.
Why do you allow these men who are in power to rob you step by step, openly and in secret, of one domain of your rights after another, until one day nothing, nothing at all will be left but a mechanised state system presided over by criminals and drunks? Is your spirit already so crushed by abuse that you forget it is your right— or rather, your moral duty— to eliminate this system?
— 3rd leaflet of the White Rose
In addition to the incredible physical courage, White Rose members opposing their own government in wartime took incredible moral courage. As RFK famously said:
“Few men are willing to brave the disapproval of their peers, the censure of their colleagues, the wrath of their society. Moral courage is a rarer commodity than bravery in battle or great intelligence. Yet it is the one essential, vital quality for those who seek to change a world that yields most painfully to change.” ― Robert F. Kennedy
Besides (literally) risking their necks, White Rose members were more than willing to risk the disapproval of their peers, the censure of their colleagues, and the wrath of a society that had largely lost its collective mind. They did so on behalf of basic human decency and in opposition to a monstrous regime to which they could no longer offer allegiance. They did so without knowing whether many of their peers might be amenable to their message.
Eight decades later, the White Rose is not entirely lost to history. Our paper of record found it noteworthy that the (presumed) last living member had died. I picked up a copy of Hans Scholl’s letters and diaries, At the Heart of the White Rose, several years back, and it’s easily accessible from on-line vendors.
There is a memorial to its members in Munich:
Given, however, the risks that White Rose members consciously took on behalf of core principles of civilized behavior, I would’ve hoped that they would be better remembered when World War II is, by far, the most memorialized conflict in human history. I think that they offer a greater example to future generations than any general, admiral, or other military leader who is commemorated in print, on film, and/or by statue or other memorial can hope to offer. Unfortunately, we continue to live in a world that tends to extoll martial glory far more than it extolls moral courage.
At least they’re being commemorated on this site today. I’m glad to have had the opportunity to honor their legacy.
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