The name “White Rose” represented the group’s beliefs and the idea that they were pure compared to the darkness of the Nazi government. Group members believed they could help change the course of the country and overthrow Adolf Hitler and the Nazi government through passive resistance. In the summer of 1942, to make people aware of what was happening in their country and encourage them to resist, they secretly started to co-author anti-Nazi leaflets. Sophie's contributions to the White Rose included printing leaflets and distributing them. Females typically distributed leaflets as they were less likely to be stopped for a random security check. Sophie traveled to several cities, including Augsburg and Stuttgart to distribute leaflets. Members also painted anti-Nazi slogans on the sides of houses. This included Down With Hitler, Hitler Mass Murderer, and Freedom. |
On February 18, 1943, during a lecture a the University of Munich, both Hans and Sophie distributed their sixth and final leaflets throughout the halls. To avoid suspicion, they concealed the leaflets in a suitcase. The leaflet, called "Fellow Fighters in the Resistance," stated: “The name of Germany is dishonored for all time if German youth does not finally rise, take revenge, smash its tormentors. Students! The German people look to us” (holocaustresearchproject.org). |
“The real damage is done by those millions who want to 'survive.' The honest men who just want to be left in peace. Those who don’t want their little lives disturbed by anything bigger than themselves.
-Sophie Scholl