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Anneliese Knoop-Graf (January 30 1921 – August 27 2009) was the youngest sister of
Anneliese Knoop-Graf (January 30 1921 – August 27 2009) was the youngest sister of Willi Graf
Wilhelm Graf (better known as Willi Graf) (2 January 1918 – 12 October 1943) was a member of the White Rose (Weiße Rose) resistance group in Nazi Germany. The Catholic Church in Germany included Graf in their list of martyrs of the 20th centu ...
, who was one of the main members of the White Rose
The White Rose (german: Weiße Rose, ) was a Nonviolence, non-violent, intellectual German resistance to Nazism, resistance group in Nazi Germany which was led by five students (and one professor) at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, ...
resistance group. In his last letter to her he tasked her to “keep a good memory of me.” ''(“Behaltet mich in guter Errinerung”)'' After his death Anneliese worked tirelessly to keep Willi’s story (and the stories of the other White Rose members) alive.
White Rose
On February 18, 1943, Willi and Anneliese Graf were captured by the Gestapo. Both were accused of being members of the White Rose. Willi was a core member, but he had never told Anneliese about the activities of the White Rose. Anneliese was released about four months after her arrest, while Willi was sentenced to death. In his last letter to Anneliese and his family, Willi asked them to, “Keep a good memory of me” and to “continue what we have started.”Life and post-war work
After the war Anneliese honored her brothers last wishes, becoming a speaker about the White Rose. She helped write multiple publications about the White Rose, including helping Inge Jens and Walter Jens publish a book of Willi Graf’s letters and diary titled, “Willi Graf: Briefe und Aufzeichnungen.” In 1987, Anneliese became the vice chairman of the White Rose foundation in Munich. Anneliese Knoop-Graf died on August 27, 2009. She was 88 years old.References