The Blooming of the Rose

            Success is achieved through unwavering determination and a solid purpose. I believe we can prove this statement. Undertaking this challenge, we are fully aware of the dangers and risks of death that we face. The police are everywhere; they readily take in information from spies. Our work is incredibly dangerous and complicated. However, our shared goals and ambition are more powerful and outshine all our doubts. One such goal of ours is to show that everyone can have a part in overthrowing the system, as long as we unite and cooperate together. Thus, we, the White Rose, must continue despite all the opposition and despite this being a gamble with such high stakes.

             Our work is not easy. We have to secretly procure stamps and paper without catching the attention of the police. However, that is just the beginning. Aside from writing, editing, and printing the leaflets, we also have to carry out the most dangerous task of all: distributing the leaflets. Being discovered with the leaflets means death, thus we must be extremely careful. We circulate the documents through mail from different locations, to lessen the possibility of discovery. To spread our beliefs, we also paint anti-Nazi slogans such as “Down with Hitler” on the sides of houses. Lately, we have also started leaving leaflets at public places. I worry that we may eventually be discovered, but distributing leaflets this way guarantees a larger audience. I pray that luck will remain by our sides for a while longer, as every passing day is precious to the success of our movement.

 --Courageous members of the White Rose during WWII--

Sources: 

http://www.ppu.org.uk/learn/infodocs/nvww2/ww2_nonviolence_germany1.html

http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007188

http://www.articleonlinedirectory.com/Art/115134/536/the-flyers-of-the-white-rose-movement.html

Picture:

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0S2-7M7EiUov9zozyQOmTBvV1F6y2uOlAFx8hYOZHUKSAWmX2oUok3U7NKvHldYysbarBE3Iwb7juxPvIJM1xM_GxyuEfBhVy6GZwwQBrqTwRkOLzCGM_3JxK39EqEkFEOxydUfpB-Ig/s320/3317229494_4567c7fec5.jpg

The Beginning of the Road, 1942

               I abhor Hitler and the government he has set up to run Germany. The more stories I hear of what the Nazis are doing in this World War II, the more appalled, shocked, and outraged I become. How is it possible that one human can inflict such pain and torture on another human being? There should be an extent to the blood thirst of any human, especially when some of the victims are of one’s own nationality! Hitler’s regime. It is a quickly spreading wildfire that cannot be put out. It is inevitable, we must remove Hitler from power. Fortunately, the solution has come straight to me.

             I teach at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. My lectures attract even students who are not enrolled in my classes. I use sarcasm and say things many others dare not say. My spreading influence attracted my fate. In the year 1942, two students, Hans Scholl and Alexander Schmorell, approached me and revealed that they were the ones who wrote the White Rose leaflets. At first I was hesitant about the extent of the use and influence that these pamphlets could have on the people. Eventually, I decided to support them and provide them with active help, seeing as we shared similar ideals and despised the Nazis. The core members of the movement are all students, their names being: Sophie Scholl, Hans Scholl, Inge Scholl, Alexander Schmorell, Willi Graf, and Juergen Wittenstein. For carrying out such a dangerous task, these students have more courage than many experienced adults I am acquainted with. The courage of these brilliant, youthful minds supports me when my own falters.

 

--Main staircase of the University--

Sources: 
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/rose.html
http://www.learntoquestion.com/seevak/groups/2009/sites/WhiteRose/htmlsite.html

http://www.studentpulse.com/articles/282/the-white-rose-movement-conscience-in-silent-nazi-germany

Pictures:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/LMU_Stiege%2C_M%C3%BCnchen.jpg

Members of the White Rose

 

--A beautiful tribute to the members of the White Rose Movement--

Courtesy of youtube and uploader simplicit1

Important Members of the White Rose

 

--Taken in Munich in 1942--

From the left: Hans Scholl, Sophie Scholl, and Christoph Probst

My Secret Identity

              Good day to all my fellow readers. My name is Kurt Huber and I am a professor at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. Now my dear readers, as this is a private blog, you must all know then that I secretly play an active role in the anti-Nazi resistance group called the White Rose. If you are truly one of my loyal supporters and wish to liberate Germany from the tyranny of the Nazi regime, then you MUST NOT tell of my secret to anyone. The secret police, the Gestapo, are everywhere. No one is safe from them. Hence, we must unite as one force to overthrow the Nazi regime!

             Now that you know my secret, I shall tell you more about my origins and myself. I was born to German parents in Chur, Switzerland. By the age of four, my family moved to Stuttgart. When my father died while I was still attending the Gymnasium, a German college prepatory school, my mother moved my three siblings and I to Munich. During this time, I had rickets and diptheria, thus I walk about with a limp in my left foot and numbness in my right hand. It is due to these handicaps that I was excused from military service in WWI, and thus lost the chance to fight hard for and offer my life to my glorious country Germany. Continuing on, during my youth I was particularly interested in music, philosophy, and psychology. Interest in these subjects paved the road to my future, for I later obtained my doctorate and became a professor at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.

                                                    -This is a picture taken of myself-

            I married the lovely Clara Schlickenrider in 1929, and we had two children, Birgit and Wolfgang, as proof of our love. Eight years later, I was offered a position at the Institute of German Research but I quit after one year. The reason? They gave me the position to write and publicize songs for the Nazi regime! How could I carry out such a task? The answer, of course, was I couldn’t. Thus, I was forced to return to the University of Munich and resume my former position. However, this event did not put a damper on my passion for teaching. This passion eventually attracted members of the White Rose to me, who asked me to join them in their fight. I consented. From 1942 to 1943, our White Rose group wrote and distributed six leaflets anonymously. You may be wondering as to why we only lasted for about a year. It is not because of any loss of interest or a heightened fear of being discovered. No, these are reasons only a coward and one who doesn’t love their country enough would give. Our White Rose group fought to the very end, braving the fears of the police while others turned away, continuing on when others would have stopped, held on to a dream that others have already let go. We, the White Rose, did not stop until death met with us face to face.

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_Huber

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/GERhuberK.htm

http://www.katjasdacha.com/whiterose/biographies/huber.html 

Picture:
http://blogs.slane.k12.or.us/cwellsteach/files/2010/11/Kurt-Hubert.jpg