After the Execution​

"Standing defiant before overwhelming power"
~What Hans Scholl Wrote on His Prison Cell Wall
 "How can we expect righteousness to prevail when there is hardly anyone willing to give himself up individually to a righteous cause? Such a fine, sunny day, and I have to go, but what does my death matter, if through us, thousands of people are awakened and stirred to action?" 
~Sophie Scholl's final words
The White Rose showed definite resistance towards Hitler eventually leading to their arrest when a janitor saw Sophie and Hans Scholl distributing leaflets at the University of Munich. They were interrogated and held in jail cells awaiting their trial. On February 22, 1943, Hans Scholl, Sophie Scholl and Christoph Probst were tried by Roland Freisler...a ruthless Nazi judge. They were found guilty of high treason and executed. After the execution, the sixth leaflet was smuggled out of Germany, copied, and then brought back into Germany and distributed in place of bombs, representing peace. Two groups that were inspired by the White Rose included the Solfe Circle, founded with a similar anti-Nazi mission to bring Hitler down, and the Kreisau Circle, held meetings discussing ways to improve Germany and its future. These groups peacefully protested clearly influenced by The White Rose. 
"Es lebe die Freiheit!" ie "Long live freedom!" ​
~Hans Scholl's Final Words

The Trial

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Roland Freisler, President of Nazi Germany's "Peoples Court", 1843- 1945. photograph. History Guru
“The Scholls and Christoph received court appointed lawyers. The trial set for the following Monday, February 22. For the trial, the notoriously harsh Nazi judge Roland Freisler, president of the peoples court, came to Munich from Berlin. This was meant to send a message to the public-even though Germany was already being bombed by Allies, it was still urgent to stifle opposition to the war.”
~Frank McDonough​
"The usual period before execution- even in the Nazi era- was ninety-nine days. But this was not a normal case.. It had already been decided Sophie, Hans, and Christoph would die before the sun set."
~Frank McDonough
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The Execution

"He stood beside the guillotine, a tall wooden frame from which a razor sharp blade was suspended. Two guards on either side of Sophie held her in place."
~Long Live Freedom, page 77
Johann Reichart Guillotine, 1924. photograph. Alchetron
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Guillotine that beheaded Sophie and Hans Scholl, 2014. photograph. Getty Images
"She went without the flicker of an eyelash. None of us understood how this was possible. The executioner said he had never seen anyone meet his end as she did"
~One of Sophie Scholl's Prison Guards

The Scholl family

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The Scholl family, 1930. photograph. Sophie Scholl and the White Rose
The Scholl family from left: Robert, Inge, Hans, Elisabeth, Sophie and Werner Scholl
Q: "What happened to the Scholl family after Hans and Sophie were executed"?
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A: " The Scholl family were arrested too.  The Nazis had a concept called "Sippenhaft," or clan arrest.  The racist idea was that if you were a criminal, your family too was suspect.  Eventually the family was released. When the Allies defeated the Nazis, they made Robert Scholl (the father) mayor of Ulm, the city in which the family lived." 
~From interview with Dr. Jud Newborn, White Rose Expert
Q: Did Hans and Sophie's parents know that they were involved in an organization like that White Rose?

A: "Their parents had no idea. Neither did their other siblings.  Hans and Sophie would have wanted to protect their family by keeping their actions secret, so the family would not be incriminated. However, their parents obviously were happy when Hans and Sophie rejected Nazism. Sophie once showed her father a leaflet, saying "this is being passed around Munich."  Her father said sharply, "I hope you're not involved in this!" and she said no, she wasn't.  He obviously did not want his children to risk their lives."

​~From Interview with Dr. Jud Newborn, White Rose Expert.
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