The White Rose is a movement that originated in Germany as a movement of resistance and protest for students in 1942 against the Nazi regimes oppression and brutality. ‘Weisse Rose’ was a non-violent, intellectual resistance group lead by brother and sister Hans and Sofie Scholl.
In 1942 the lives of average civilians were monitored for any deviation from absolute loyalty to the state. Even a casual remark critical of Hitler or the Nazis could result in arrest by the Gestapo. The young people were motivated purely by idealism, the highest moral and ethical principles, and sympathy for their Jewish neighbors and friends.
During the summer of 1942, Scholl and a friend composed four leaflets, which exposed and denounced Nazi and SS atrocities, including the extermination of Jews and Polish nobility, and called for resistance to the regime.
The leaders of the group were denounced and arrested by the Gestapo for opposing the Nazi regime. They were tried and subsequently executed as ‘political traitors’ on 23 February 1942.
In 2021 White Rose activities began again – undertaken in good conscience in the modern context but with same brave spirit by souls across the world. Click here to find out more and join this guerilla movement >>