Sophie Scholl was a 21 year old German who opposed the Nazi party. Her brother Hans Scholl founded the group the White Rose after working as a medic in the German army. He witnessed soldiers shooting Jews in mass graves and was outraged. He wanted to raise awareness on the injustices of the Nazi party. At first he did not want to include his sister, Sophie, but she knew something was up and demanded to know. When she found out she wanted to be a part of it. They created their 6th and final leaflet urging Germans to leave the Nazi party and protest the war. They had skipped class to leave the leaflets in the halls and when class let out people picked them up. They noticed afterwards there were still several leaflets left and did not want to let them go to waste. So Sophie and Hans took them to the third floor of the main hallway and threw them over the railing. Unfortunately, a janitor witnessed them and turned them in. They were arrested by the Gestapo, tried and found guilty, and sentenced to death. A mere ten hours after being arrested they were executed by guillotine. Sophie's last words were, “God, you are my refuge into eternity.” Hans had to watch Sophie and a dear friend be executed before he was. His last words were, “Long live freedom!” There is a memorial for Sophie and the White Rose group in front of the Ludwig Maximillian University of Munich that resembles the leaflets tossed to the ground. I would love to see this in person one day.
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