Sophie Scholl, Treason
After watching Sophie Scholl: The Final Days (and having also seen Die Weiße Rose) I am so amazed at how Sophie handled everything. She took the risks knowing fully well she could be arrested at any moment, but she believed the cause was greater than her. For example, when she offers to take the suitcase of leaflets through Schwabing because it’s easier for girls to pass by without notice, or when she takes the entire blame for passing out the leaflets[1]. In The White Rose, too, she steals paper so they can print their leaflets and almost gets caught, but repeatedly risks it[2]. Unfortunately, she does get caught and is beheaded by the Nazi Party. It is tragic she was never able to see her actions come to fruition, but all of these years later her family can see the monument in her name and her brother’s. At only 21 years old, younger than I am, I cannot imagine how she must have felt knowing she was going to be killed. The scene of her crying into the mirror in the bathroom after she confesses to the actions gives a glimpse at what she was thinking and feeling, but one can only imagine. When I think of how this could relate to us today, I think of Edward Snowden. Not in the sense that our governments are the same, but that he released that information because he believed the government was doing something wrong by withholding that information from us and by spying on the other countries. I wonder if, 30 years from now, people will be looking at him in a similar way (though not nearly as gloriously as the Scholls), but that they will think his acts of treason were not that. When I think of being loyal to one’s country, I don’t think of being loyal to the government, but rather loyal to its people. Thankfully, our country is not like Hitler was during this time, but it makes you wonder what you might have done if it was…
[1] Sophie Scholl: The Final Days. Directed by Marc Rothemund. Performed by Julia Jentsch, Fabian Hinrichs. Germany: Zeitgeist Films (USA), 13. Film.
[2] Die Weiße Rose (The White Rose). Directed by Michael Verhoeven. Performed by Lena Stolze, Wulf Kessler. West Germany: TeleCulture (USA), 24. VHS.
Media Source:
Zirbas, Michael J. Own Work. Walhalla Halle 4. July 2009. Wikimedia Commons.
I agree with everything you’ve stated about Sophie, I honestly think that in a way she accomplished her goal. She now is viewed as a hero from this time who was brave enough to stand up for what she knew was right even though getting caught would mean her death. More than that though even after she was caught she refused to admit that anyone else had been involved, she could’ve easily lied and said she was just following her brother and she would’ve probably lived. However she was brave enough to stand up for what she knew was right, I think most people would like to imagine that if they were in her position they would do the same thing she did but think of all the people who lived in Germany at the time and probably didn’t agree with what Hitler was doing but they didn’t stand up because they were simply too afraid.
I am 21, and I found myself wondering what I would have done in Sophie’s situation if I had been in it. I do not know if I would have had the courage to speak out at all against the Nazis as she and her friends did. I talked about free speech in my blog post and how the fear of the Nazis kept people from speaking out. I think Sophie knew all along that her actions could lead to her death if she was caught. I think this is also why she was proud of what she did even after confessing to it. Her belief in her ideas were strong enough to overcome the fear of death. She of course was probably thinking she made a horrible choice when she was finally sentenced to death, but she did not let that show in front of the Nazis who judged her.