The Face Of Courage: The World Should Note The 75th Anniversary Of The Execution of Sophia and Hans Scholl

This week was the 75th anniversary of a sad but inspiring moment.  On this day, Sophia Magdalena Scholl and her brother Hans Scholl were executed by the Nazi regime on February 22, 1943.  These young people were part of the White Rose movement of Germans who resisted Adolph Hitler.  They put their lives at risk to oppose Hitler and, in giving their lives, stood for those Germans who refused to yield to madness of the Nazis.

They were the children of liberal Nazi critic Robert Scholl,  mayor of Forchtenberg am Kocher in northern Baden-Württemberg.  He was also arrested for his views but survived the war.

Sophia and Hans were arrested with Willi Graf, Christoph Probst and Alexander Schmorell.   Sophia’s brother tried to protect her from knowledge of the group’s activities but she found out and insisted on joining their struggle.  They passed out pamphlets to oppose Hitler at the University of Munich and were eventually convicted of high treason.   They were executed by guillotine.

She was 21 years old.

Her story has always moved me.  She would not be protected from the group’s activities and went to the guillotine as the face of those German who refused to yield to the hatred of the Nazis.  The bravery of her work and the others in the White Rose movement remains inspirational.