Hans Fritz Scholl (; 22 September 1918 – 22 February 1943) was, along with
Alexander Schmorell, one of the two founding 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 movement in
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
.
The principal author of the resistance movement's literature, he was found guilty of high treason for distributing anti-Nazi material and was executed by the Nazi regime in 1943 during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
.
Early life
Scholl was born in Ingersheim on September 22, 1918. (Ingersheim is now a part of
Crailsheim
Crailsheim is a town in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. Incorporated in 1338, it lies east of Schwäbisch Hall and southwest of Ansbach in the Schwäbisch Hall district. The city's main attractions include two Evangelical churches, ...
,
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...
). His father,
Robert
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...
, later became the mayor of
Forchtenberg am Kocher. Hans was the second of six children:
#
Inge Aicher-Scholl (1917–1998)
[
. 6 September 1998. Archived fro]
the original
on 31 December 2007.
[
]
# Hans Scholl (1918–1943)
#
Elisabeth Scholl Hartnagel (1920–2020), married Sophie's long-term boyfriend,
Fritz Hartnagel
#
Sophie Scholl
Sophia Magdalena Scholl (9 May 1921 – 22 February 1943) was a German student and anti-Nazi political activist, active within the White Rose non-violent resistance group in Nazi Germany.
She was convicted of high treason after having bee ...
(1921–1943)
#
Werner Scholl (1922–1944)
missing in action
Missing in action (MIA) is a casualty classification assigned to combatants, military chaplains, combat medics, and prisoners of war who are reported missing during wartime or ceasefire. They may have been killed, wounded, captured, ex ...
and presumed dead in June 1944
# Thilde Scholl (1925–1926)
Scholl was raised as a
Lutheran
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...
, although he did at one point consider converting to Catholicism.
Against the declared will of his father, he became an enthusiastic member of the
Hitler Youth
The Hitler Youth (german: Hitlerjugend , often abbreviated as HJ, ) was the youth organisation of the Nazi Party in Germany. Its origins date back to 1922 and it received the name ("Hitler Youth, League of German Worker Youth") in July 1926. ...
on April 15, 1933 and initially held leadership positions in the
Deutsches Jungvolk
The ''Deutsches Jungvolk in der Hitlerjugend'' (; DJ, also DJV; German for "German Youngsters in the Hitler Youth") was the separate section for boys aged 10 to 13 of the Hitler Youth organisation in Nazi Germany. Through a programme of outdoor a ...
, but quickly became disillusioned with the group when he realised its true principles. In 1935, he was one of three standard-bearers from Ulm who took part in the NSDAP's "Reich Party Rally for Freedom" from September 10 to 16 in Nuremberg. During this time, his attitude towards the Nazi regime gradually began to change.
One reason was that the fanaticism promoted in the Hitler Youth and the unconditional subordination to the power structures ruling there became more and more repugnant.
1937–1938 trial
Scholl was arrested in 1937–38 because of his membership in a forbidden Youth Movement organisation. Hans Scholl had joined the Deutsche Jungenschaft 1. 11. (d.j.1.11) in 1934, when he and other Hitler Youth members in Ulm considered membership in this group and the Hitler Youth to be compatible.
During the trial, Hans was also charged under “Paragraph 175”, the paragraph in Nazi law that criminalized homosexual behavior. Under questioning, he admitted to having had two separate relationships, one with Rolf Futterknecht, and one with Ernest Reden, who had also made advances on his brother Werner.
Futterknecht had been the one to inform on Hans.
Hans made a positive impact on the judge, who dismissed the choice to join the youth groups as the “youthful exuberance” and “obstinate personality” of a “headstrong young man.” The judge then dismissed the homosexual allegations as a “youthful failing.” Hans was allowed to leave the trial with a clean slate.
Ernest Reden, on the other hand, was sentenced to three months prison and three months in a concentration camp for the relationship.
After Hans’ trial, no one spoke of the allegations against him. The only people who knew were his parents and his older sister, Inge, who never spoke about the allegations.
Medical studies and Wehrmacht
In spring of 1937, he joined the
Reich Labour Service
The Reich Labour Service (''Reichsarbeitsdienst''; RAD) was a major organisation established in Nazi Germany as an agency to help mitigate the effects of unemployment on the German economy, militarise the workforce and indoctrinate it with Naz ...
, having volunteered for duty. He was discharged in March 1939
to attend medical school at the
Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. At the university he came into contact with professors, teachers, and students who represented positions that were clearly Christian-ethical and critical of the regime. Therefore, Hans began to question his own ideological position more critically.
During the semester break, he was drafted as a medic for front service and took the rank of medical sergeant in the French campaign. What he experienced during direct frontline operations reinforced his personal stance against the rulers and the war in particular. Hans was again enrolled in the military service in the spring of 1941 as a medic in the
Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...
.
Origins of the White Rose
Between 1940 and 1941, Scholl, a former member of the Hitler Youth, began questioning the principles and policies of the Nazi regime.
As a student at the University of Munich, Scholl met two Roman Catholic men of letters who redirected his life, inspiring him to turn from studying medicine and pursue religion, philosophy, and the arts.
After their experiences at the
Eastern Front, having learned about mass murder in Poland and the Soviet Union, Scholl and
Alexander Schmorell felt compelled to take action. From the end of June until mid-July 1942, they wrote the first four leaflets. Quoting extensively from the
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...
,
Aristotle
Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ph ...
and
Novalis
Georg Philipp Friedrich Freiherr von Hardenberg (2 May 1772 – 25 March 1801), pen name Novalis (), was a German polymath who was a writer, philosopher, poet, aristocrat and mystic. He is regarded as an idiosyncratic and influential figure of ...
, as well as
Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tr ...
and
Schiller, the German poets, they appealed to what they considered the German
intelligentsia, believing that these people would be easily convinced by the same arguments that also motivated the authors themselves. These
leaflets were left in telephone books in public phone booths, mailed to professors and students, and taken by courier to other universities for distribution.
[Wittenstein, George J., M.D., ''"Memories of the White Rose" (Part 1, Introduction and Background)'', 1979](_blank)
From 23 July to 30 October 1942,
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 ...
, Scholl and Schmorell served again at the Soviet front, and activities ceased until their return. After their return, Willi Graf became one of the core members of the White Rose. Sophie was the second to last member to join. By the end of December 1942,
Kurt Huber
Kurt Huber (24 October 1893 – 13 July 1943) was a university professor and resistance fighter with the anti-Nazi group White Rose. For his involvement he was imprisoned and guillotined.
Early life
Huber was born in Chur, Switzerland, to G ...
became the last main member of the White Rose.
[ Inge Scholl: ''The White Rose: Munich, 1942–1943''. 2nd ed., originally published as "Students Against Tyranny". Transl. from the German Edition by Arthur R. Schulz. , p. 6]
With six core members, two more White Rose pamphlets were created and circulated over the summer of 1942.
The leaflets were distributed around the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich,
where many of the group members studied. Leaflets were distributed at the
University of Hamburg
The University of Hamburg (german: link=no, Universität Hamburg, also referred to as UHH) is a public research university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by combining the previous General Lecture System ('' Allgemeines Vo ...
and in the city of
Ulm
Ulm () is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Danube on the border with Bavaria. The city, which has an estimated population of more than 126,000 (2018), forms an urban district of its own (german: link=no, ...
as well. Additionally, leaflets were also mailed to doctors, scholars, and pub owners throughout Germany.
Capture and execution
On 18 February 1943, while Hans and Sophie were distributing leaflets at Ludwig Maximilian University, Sophie flung the last remaining leaflets from the top floor down into the atrium. This spontaneous action was observed by the university maintenance man,
Jakob Schmid
Jakob Schmid (25 July 1886, in Traunstein Sönke Zankel''Vom Helden zum Hauptschuldigen – Der Mann, der die Geschwister Scholl festnahm.''(PDF-Datei; 372 kB) (''tr. "From hero to main culprit - the man who arrested the Scholl siblings"'') ...
. Schmid reported the offense and the Scholls were arrested by the
Gestapo
The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe.
The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one orga ...
. Along with
Christoph Probst, the two siblings were tried for treason by Judge
Roland Freisler
Roland Freisler (30 October 1893 – 3 February 1945), a German Nazi jurist, judge, and politician, served as the State Secretary of the Reich Ministry of Justice from 1934 to 1942 and as President of the People's Court from 1942 to 1945.
As ...
. They were found guilty and condemned to death on 22 February.
During his interrogation, Hans tried to protect his sister by claiming to have thrown the leaflets himself, but his testimony was contradicted by the custodian's. He further tried to hide the role played by other members of the White Rose. Hans was well aware of the likely consequence of his actions.
At the trial, Hans, Sophie, and Christoph were sentenced to death. They were originally scheduled to be hanged in public (work had already begun on the scaffolds) but the officials feared they would be immortalized as martyrs if they were killed in public. As such, a last minute decision was made to switch the execution method to the guillotine.
After the trial, Hans, Christoph, and Sophie were brought to Stadelheim Prison. While there, they were told that they would be executed the same day. This came as a shock to them, as prisoners were supposed to have at least a 99-day respite before execution.
Left in separate cells, they began to write their last letters.
While in their cells, Hans, Sophie, and Christoph each saw a priest to give them the last rites of the Catholic Church. Christoph, who was not part of any denomination, asked to be baptized into the Catholic Church.
Hans and Sophie each also asked individually to be allowed into the Catholic Church, but their Lutheran priest advised against it, on the basis that it would upset their mother, who was a devout Lutheran.
At around 4-5 pm, Robert and Magdalena Scholl, the parents of Sophie and Hans, went to the prison and demanded to see their children. To their surprise, the request was granted.
Robert and Magdalena were led to a room. In a few minutes Hans entered. Dressed in prison uniform, he stood tall as he walked to his parents and grabbed their hands through the barrier separating them. “I have no hatred. I have put everything behind me.”
His father replied, “You will go down in history -- there is such a thing as justice.”
After Hans was led out, Sophie was brought in. Dressed in normal clothes, she smiled happily, pleased to see her parents. After speaking for a few minutes, her mother grasped her hands. “You know, Sophie -- Jesus.” “Yes, but you too.” Sophie replied. She walked out of the room, head held high.
A few minutes before the execution, the three of them were allowed to be together for a short while. While there, they were given a cigarette to share. Christoph is credited with remarking, “I didn’t know dying could be so easy.”
At around 5 pm, the executioners came for Sophie. After a few minutes, a dull thump was heard.
The executioner came for Hans next. Unlike Sophie, who had gone to her death silently, Hans yelled “Es lebe die Freiheit!” as the blade came down.
Christoph was the last to be executed. He was unable to see any of his family before he died.
After the trial of Hans, Sophie, and Christoph, three more trials of the White Rose members took place.
In the end, 29 people were accused of being members of the White Rose. 16 were executed, and 13 were given prison sentences ranging from 6 months to 10 years.
Legacy
Following the deaths, a copy of the sixth leaflet was smuggled out of Germany through Scandinavia to the UK by German jurist
Helmuth James Graf von Moltke
Helmuth James Graf von Moltke (11 March 1907 – 23 January 1945) was a German jurist who, as a draftee in the German Abwehr, acted to subvert German human-rights abuses of people in territories occupied by Germany during World War II. He w ...
, where it was used by the Allied Forces. In July 1943, they dropped millions of copies of the tract, retitled
The Manifesto of the Students of Munich, over Germany.
The White Rose's legacy has been considered significant by many historical commentators, both as a demonstration of exemplary spiritual courage, and as a well-documented case of social
dissent
Dissent is an opinion, philosophy or sentiment of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or policy enforced under the authority of a government, political party or other entity or individual. A dissenting person may be referred to as ...
in a time of violent repression, censorship and
pressure to conform.
Playwright
Lillian Garrett-Groag
Lillian Groag (born Liliana C. Groag) is an Argentine-American playwright, theater director, and actress. Her plays include ''The Ladies of the Camellias'', ''The Magic Fire'', and '' The White Rose''.
Early life and career
Lillian Groag was b ...
stated in ''
Newsday'' (22 February 1993):
It is possibly the most spectacular moment of resistance that I can think of in the twentieth century... The fact that five little kids, in the mouth of the wolf, where it really counted, had the tremendous courage to do what they did, is spectacular to me. I know that the world is better for them having been there, but I do not know why.
In the same issue of ''Newsday'',
Holocaust
The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...
historian
Jud Newborn noted:
You cannot really measure the effect of this kind of resistance in whether or not X number of bridges were blown up or a regime fell... The White Rose really has a more symbolic value, but that's a very important value.
It was not until the 1998 law to abolish Nazi judgments of injustice in the administration of criminal justice that the sentences against Hans Scholl and other members of the White Rose became void in Germany.
In 2003, Germans were invited by television broadcaster
ZDF to participate in ''
Unsere Besten
' ("Our Best") is a television series shown in German public television ( ZDF) in November 2003, similar to the BBC series ''100 Greatest Britons'' and that program's spin-offs.
In subsequent years, a dozen similar rankings were compiled, mostly ...
'' (Our Best), a nationwide competition to choose the top ten most important Germans of all time. Voters under the age of 40 helped Scholl and his sisters to finish in fourth place, above
Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wor ...
,
Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tr ...
,
Gutenberg
Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg (; – 3 February 1468) was a German inventor and craftsman who introduced letterpress printing to Europe with his movable-type printing press. Though not the first of its kind, earlier designs w ...
,
Bismarck,
Willy Brandt
Willy Brandt (; born Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm; 18 December 1913 – 8 October 1992) was a German politician and statesman who was leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) from 1964 to 1987 and served as the chancellor of West Ge ...
, and
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory ...
. If the votes of young viewers alone had been counted, Sophie and Hans Scholl would have been ranked first.
The Audimax of the
Bundeswehr Medical Academy
The Bundeswehr Medical Academy (german: Sanitätsakademie der Bundeswehr), (short SanAkBw) is a part of the '' Joint Medical Service'' of the Bundeswehr and is subordinate of the Bundeswehr Joint Medical Service Headquarters in Koblenz.
It is ...
in Munich was named after Hans Scholl in 2012.
In film
Three films have been produced about the White Rose:
*Hans was portrayed by Michael Cornelius in the film ''
Fünf Letze Tage (1982)''
*Hans was portrayed by Wulf Kessler in the film ''
Die Weisse Rose (1982)''
*Hans was portrayed by
Fabian Hinrichs in the film ''
Sophie Scholl – The Final Days
''Sophie Scholl – The Final Days'' (german: Sophie Scholl – Die letzten Tage) is a 2005 German historical drama film directed by Marc Rothemund and written by Fred Breinersdorfer. It is about the last days in the life of Sophie Scholl, a 21-y ...
'' (2005).
See also
*
Geschwister-Scholl-Preis
The Geschwister-Scholl-Preis is a literary prize which is awarded annually by the Bavarian chapter of the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels and the city of Munich. Every year, a book is honoured, which "shows intellectual independence and ...
a literary prize in honour of the Scholls
*
Unsere Besten
' ("Our Best") is a television series shown in German public television ( ZDF) in November 2003, similar to the BBC series ''100 Greatest Britons'' and that program's spin-offs.
In subsequent years, a dozen similar rankings were compiled, mostly ...
("Our Best")a listing of 100+ great Germans
References
External links
The White Rose: A Lesson in Dissent by Jacob G. HornbergerA collaborative, student-led translation of the six printed leaflets by students at the University of Oxford
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scholl, Hans
1918 births
1943 deaths
People from Crailsheim
People from the Kingdom of Württemberg
*
German Lutherans
Hitler Youth members
Protestants in the German Resistance
Lutheran pacifists
German Christian pacifists
German revolutionaries
White Rose members
Nonviolence advocates
German Army soldiers of World War II
Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
People condemned by Nazi courts
Executed activists
Executed revolutionaries
Executed students
Executed German Resistance members
German civilians killed in World War II
People executed by Nazi Germany by guillotine
People executed for treason against Germany
People from Baden-Württemberg executed by Nazi Germany
Resistance members killed by Nazi Germany
Reich Labour Service members
LGBT people from Germany