In Nazi Germany, the White Rose Group gave Their Lives to Speak for Liberty

From American Thinker.com (July 7):

Across the United States, people of all ages are organizing patriotic rallies, forming MAGA organizations, and creating conservative newsletters to keep the “America First” Trump base connected with those who share our conservative views about faith, family, and country. Most are not paid for their efforts and yet they devote hours each week to getting the word out about pending state and national legislation, woke companies’ insane actions, elected officials to contact regarding specific topics, and upcoming local issues and events.

Why do these patriotic Americans do this? Why do I do it for my weekly Trump Neighbors newsletter? The answer is “off-white rose.”

It’s humble gratitude to the group of young German Christians at the University of Munich that did the same but under life-threatening circumstances. Working secretly to avoid capture, torture, and death, the very small group known as Weisse Rose (White Rose) started distributing leaflets in 1942 decrying Nazi war crimes. Their articles talked about atrocities that many German citizens whispered about. They repeatedly begged their fellow citizens to join their non-violent resistance against the Nazi Party.

Weisse Rose primarily consisted of six people. Members were Sophie Scholl and her brother Hans, fellow students Alexander Schmorell, Willi Graf, and Christoph Probst, and Kurt Huber, a philosophy and musicology professor at the University of Munich.

During the one-and-a-half years they operated, Weisse Rose caused massive propaganda problems for the Nazi Party. For instance, to make it appear their network was much larger than its handful of courageous students, they distributed pamphlets and flyers as far north as Hamburg, and as far south as Vienna. The Nazis believed they were a much larger resistance group.

They worked 24/7 under unimaginable fear, as Gestapo agents could burst through the door at any second to arrest them along with family members and friends who were not involved with Weisse Rose – and perhaps did not even know the group existed.

In just one-and-a-half years, Weisse Rose published six pamphlets. In addition to working incognito when every movement might be their last, it was a laborious task. First, they had to type the pamphlet on a manual typewriter. They then had to mimeograph copies. They mailed out some issues, which meant searching through multiple phonebooks to find addresses. Rationing meant it was difficult for them to secure supplies such as paper, envelopes, and stamps. The group relied on an underground support system to obtain materials. [read more]