Sophie Scholl
Sophie Scholl (1921-1943)
Sophie Scholl. along with her older brother and his friend produced
an anti-Nazi pamphlet (The White Rose) which they circulated around universities
during WW2.
They were discovered, arrested, interrogated by the German secret
police.
They were tried on february 22nd 1943, found guilty and executed
within hours that same day.
Sophie Scholl, a 22 year old philosophy student, was executed first,
being strapped to a guillotine and beheaded.
Sophie Scholl (1921-1943)
[Extract] "It is unknown exactly what date Sophie began helping
with the White Rose activities, but we do know that
in the early summer of 1942 she participated in the distribution
of the leaflets. She was one of the couriers
for the Ulm and Stuttgart routes. On the morning of February 18,
1943 she and her brother Hans went to
the University of Munich carrying a vlaise filled with the sixth
leaflet. They scattered the leaflets on the
window seats, stairswells and hallways of the main building while
the students were in class. They finished
scattering the leaflets and realized that they still had a few
left. They both felt they should finish the job so
they went back into the building and Sophie threw the remaining
leaflets from the balcony. Seconds latter
the hallways were filled with students emerging from their classrooms.
Sophie and Hans headed down the
stairs, but were stopped by the janitor, Jakob Schmidt, who grabbed
their arms and yelled that they were
under arrest.
Sophie and Hans were taken to Wittelsbach Palais, where they were
interrogated for 4 days by they
Gestapo. They were taken to the People's Court on February 22,
1943, which was presided over by Judge
Roland Freisler. They were sentenced to death by the guillotine.
In Sophie's last minutes she was able to see her parents. Her mother
gave her some candy and said,
"Remember, Sophie: Jesus". Sophie told her mother to do the same.
The prison guards were so impressed
with Sophie's demeanor that they allowed her to see her brother
and Christoph one last time before the
execution. The three were each given a cigarette and a couple of
minutes in the courtyard together. Sophie
was taken to the guillotine first and she walked "without batting
an eyelash". She is buried in the Perlach
Cemetery next to Stadelheim Prison where the executions took place."
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