Heartbeat Press - September 2023 Edition

Sophie Scholl - The Power and Cost of Truth

On February 18, 1943, the quiet studious halls of Maximillian University in Munich were pierced by the delicate sound of fluttering as dozens of papers suddenly fell through the air. Gauzy and weightless as birds on the wing, the pamphlets tumbled from the second floor mezzanine and hung in the air for a moment, catching the late afternoon light before gracefully landing on the polished floors below...and Sophie Scholl scurried out the back door. Having just committed an act of treason against the state, Sophie knew she was risking her life distributing those pages, but in her line of work it was a risk worth taking.

    Sophie was a member of the anti-Nazi student organization known as the White Rose, which worked in secret from 1942-43 to write, print, and distribute political pamphlets that challenged Hitler and the Nazis. Having grown up in Germany during the regime's rise to power and subject to its every whim, Sophie and the other members of the White Rose (Hans Scholl, Willi Graf, Alexander Schmorell, Christoph Probst, and Kurt Wagner) knew what oppression and the destruction of free thinking looked like all too well. Sophie had seen individuality fade from her friends one goose step at a time within the ranks of The League of German Girls. Her brother Hans witnessed justified homicide firsthand on the Russian Front.  Every day, Sophie saw more atrocities going unchallenged by the public in the name of compliance and self-preservation. But, unwilling to be swept along with the masses and knowing that there was power in one person maintaining his or her convictions, Sophie and the White Rose determined to do everything it could to combat the oppressive regime. 

    Speaking in simple but powerful language, the group's pamphlets asked the German people to think critically. The Nazis only retained their power because the vast majority of the public refused to stand up to them (due to willful ignorance and fear of persecution), but what would it take for the people to finally fight back? Were the people really willing to let the whims of a few dictate the many? Would they continue to stand by as their friends and neighbors were massacred for the "crime" of their race? Did the public know how many crimes Hitler had truly committed? What would they risk to be free again? Who would stand up? What would happen if everyone stood up?

    Leaving pamphlets everywhere, the group worked tirelessly to make the truth accessible to everyone. The six leaflets that they completed were left in phone booths and at train stations. They were mailed to nearby cities, where they were recopied for distribution, and on that fateful day in February, Sophie left dozens of copies at her school.

    Recognized by a university maintenance man and betrayed to the Gestapo, Sophie, her brother Hans, and Christoph Probst, were found guilty of treason and sentenced to death by guillotine in the Nazis' political court. But, even facing death itself, Sophie did not regret what she had done. On the contrary, she bravely faced her captors in one final act of defiance, saying of her crimes, "Somebody, after all, had to make a start. What we wrote and said is also believed by many others. They just don't dare express themselves as we did." At the age of 21, Sophie Scholl met her death with boldness and grace. Her last words, spoken with a smile, were, "The sun still shines." And indeed it did. Even after her death, Sophie's words lived on. Her sixth pamphlet was smuggled out of Germany and mass-produced for airdrop in July of 1943, and, just as they once had at Maximillian University, the pages blanketed the sky with bright filtered sunlight as they drifted downwards, proclaiming freedom to everyone below. 

    For those of us in the Pro-Life movement, Sophie can be a powerful inspiration for our own work, not only because she risked so much at such a young age to defend the truth but also because she never wavered in that defense. Regardless of what everyone around her was doing, Sophie knew the difference between right and wrong and would not let anything change her beliefs, not even death itself. Sophie Scholl was all-in for truth. Are we willing to do the same? 

    Finally, in a way, Sophie is also our direct predecessor in the fight for life. Her enemies, the Nazis, violated every human right during their reign and were huge proponents of abortion. Margaret Sanger (the founder of Planned Parenthood) was highly praised by many of the Nazis' top brass, and the Nazis used abortion to realize their plans of "racial purity." 

    Though it operates under different names today, the Nazi ideology of death is still thriving. Are we willing to respond to Sophie's request for boldness in this fight, or did she die in vain? 

Photo Credit: Groundbreaking Girls.com

Sources: World History, Empowered by Catherine Parks, Wikipedia, Google