Sophia Magdalena Scholl:Facing evil with courage

This is a report I had to do for School, and I thought I would post it. Sophie Scholl was an amazing person! I cried a little as I wrote this.  I was  really inspired and it  blessed my heart as I learned and wrote  about her. I hope you are are encouraged and blessed as you read too.

  Would you have the courage to stand up against evil when everyone else was afraid to?
Sophia Scholl did.
Born May 9, 1921, she was the fourth child of five.
In school, she studied art, reading and music. While she studied, Hitler was rising to power, to take over her country.
Sophie seemed to have little interest in polotics, but when she was twelve, she joined the League of German Girls. As she attended the meetings, she relized, the organization went against her Christian beliefs. The League was about the "Fuherer". God was de-emphisized, and Hitler was idolized (Collins 183) She also saw that Hitler was slowly doing away with her country and her Christian Faith.
  Sophie's older brother, Hans, joined the German Youth movement, a group that Hitler didn't like, and that he saw as a rival to his Hitler Youth. (Collins 183) Hans and some of his friends were arrested for voicing their views at the meetings, that went against those of the governments. Her brother was not held for long, but they were questioned and then told to pledge to live and die for Hitler. The boys were then released, but Sophie did not release what had just happened, it stayed in her heart and mind and made her think. She began to look around her, and as she read newspapers, listened to the radio, she realized her freedoms were being taken away.
Books she had once read were burned, her father was told not to speak in public meetings; free speech was only for those who agreed with the government.
The man who owned Sophie's familys property, was Jewish. Because of what the Nazis said, he was forced to give up his property and was quietly removed from the city.
 Hitler was praised everywhere. In the newspaper, the streets and even in pulpits. In some churches, Hitlers name was spoken more than God's. Sophie realized Hitler was replacing God with himself.
  Sophie was required to do war service for a short time, and during her war service, she heard horrible stories of war, stories ignored by most people in her country.
She learned of ones who were mentally retarted being taken from their families. Their families were told that the government was removing them and taking them to a better school where they would learn to live happy productive lives. That was a lie. the people who thought they were going to a better life, were headed to death by the gas chamber. The same happened to the insane and elderly.
  Sophie's boyfriend, Fritz, who was in the service, told her of all the horrors of war and how the people were treated. In one town they had taken over, the Jews and ethnic people were told to dig pits. When they were done, they were tossed into the pits like trash and shot.
Fritz also confirmed the rumors of death camps were true too. (Collins 186)
All of this information built up in Sophies mind and heart. her heart ached for the people who were being treated wrongly, and she became angry at what was going on. She was also maddened that the behavior was justified. She saw what Hitler was doing as sinful, and wondered where the men of God were who should be standing up to the evil? Why weren't people seeing it? Why wouldn't they speak out?
  She beagn to pray asking God for a way she could help end the maddness, or at leats get people to think and begin standing up. She read her Bible and tried to rationalize her hatred of Hitler with Biblical love and forgivness. (Collins 186) Sophie realized she couldn't do much alone, and she began to share her beliefs with her brother Hans as she prepared to go to the University of Munich that Fall.
Hans was attending the University too,and he came up with a plan to put together a non-violent resistence movement. He believed that if they could get the word out about Hitlers evils, and beg them to see the wrong that was being done, people would band together and take a stand.
Hans thought they  could print a phamphlet to accomplish it. He shared his idea with some of his college friends and Sophie who had been praying for a way she could fight for change and reason, liked the idea.
   In secret, with young vigor, they got together and pickeed out a name for their group and paper. They decided on the name: The White Rose after a spanish novel Hans had read about the struggle of the lower class against the ruling class. The rose also symbolized purity and beauty, and to Sophie it represented Jesus. (Wiki)
   In June 1942, they published and distributed their first paper that begged their nations people to see the satanic ways of their nations leaders, Hitler and the Third Reich. They encouraged Christians esspecially, to stand up together in large numbers so their voices would not be silenced. The White Rose also used the Bible to outline the evils done by hitler. (Collins 188)
  Copies of the paper appeared all across Germany. Papers were sent through corior through different places so as to detract attention from one place. They also discreetly dropped them in high traffic areas.
The reader was encouraged to 'support the resistance movement!" in the struggle for freedom of speech, religion and the protection of the indivdual citizen from the arbituary action of criminal dictator states." (H.E.A.R.T.)
  The group also painted on the sides of Nazi buildings. They wrote things like:"Down with Hitler!" and "Freedom!" When they wrote, they wrote with tar so their work was hard to remove.
The White Rose was amazingly kept from being found for 8 months even though the gestapo was deperetly searching trying to find the ones speaking the truth. During the eight months, they were able to print 6 papers. (Wiki)
  On Febuary 18, before school, Hans and Sophieworked quietly and quickly to drop stacks of papers around their school. Throwing the last few from a balcony,Sophie was seen by the janitor and he reported them. (H.E.A.R.T.)
  Brother and sister were seperated for questioning. Sophie was questioned by a man named Robert Mohr. He found her to be "wise beyond her years" (Collins 189).
When she said she stood for decency, morality and God, he yelled at her:"God does not exist!" He told her it was her duty to support the government at all times.
She told the investigator that a patriot speaks for good not evil, and Hitler was evil. She also told him she believed what she had done was good for her countryand that she would do it again and exept the consequences.
The exasperated man sighed and said: "Do you know what will happen to you? You will be found guilty of treason and executed!"
Sophie nodded that she understood and asked: "Will I be hanged or beheaded?" (Collins 189)
The investigator washed his hands of it and gave her a confession to sign her name and date.
She was taken to a cell where she told her guards and Russian cell mate that she belived God was with her.
  The show trial that was put on for Sophie, her brother and some of their other friends who had been discovered was on Febuary 22. The lawers they had, worked for the state and did little to defend them. Sophie remained calm when the judge yelled at her:"Look at what the state has done for you!" "Look at what the Fuherer has done for you!"
When asked why she participated in the White Rose, she proclaimed in a strong voice: "Somebody after all had to make a start. What we wrote and said is believed by many others, they just don't dare express themselves as we did. The German people want God, not Hitler." (Collins 189, H.E.A.R.T.)
They were found guilty of high treason, and over the noise of everyone who agreed with their execution, Sophie said:"You will be standing where we are standing now!"
  Taken back to her cell where she was supposed to live the customary 99 days before execution, she found out she only had three hours.
  Later, she was taken to aroom where her parents came to see her for the last time. Her father told her he was proud of her. "You will never come through our door again." cried her mother.
"But we will meet in eternity." Sophie reminded her.
After they embraced, her mother reminded her to look to Jesus, and as the gaurds came to take her away, she called back to her mother to do the same.
Back in her cell, she wrote leters to her family and friends, and prayed with a minister. She prayed others would seek God, and she asked God to bless those around her including the gaurds. (Collins 191)
She believed her trial and execution would cause others to see the evil of the Nazis, and she believed God had allowed it to happen for a reason, and she was going to use it.
”How can we expect righteousness to prevail when there is hardly anyone willing to give himself up individually to a righteous cause,” Sophie said. ”Such a fine, sunny day, and I have to go,” she continued, ”but what does my death matter, if through us thousands of people are awakened and stirred to action?” (I.R.W.F.)
Her gaurd remembers her looking up at the window while she was writing her letter and seeing the sun shining outside. God was with her even in the shadow of death.
She was calm and at peace as she went to be executed, and as she took her final steps she said:"The sun tis still shining." The gaurds and executioners knew that it was her statement of faith, and that God was with her.
  One copy of the last paper that the White Rose printed was smuggled to England and reprinted by the Americans and British and dropped on German territory by palne.
  Sophia Magdalena Scholl dared to take a stand against the evil surrounding her, and speak the truth. She loved God, and her country so much, she died for it.
God's love and peace shone through her even as she went to her death.
Because of her and her friends, many people came to see the truth. Her life made an impact on many people, including those who killed her.

Bibliography:

Collins, Ace Women of Extrodinary Faith.Michigan, Zondervan press, 2008

Wikipedia, online encyclopedia. Sophie Scholl 2011

The International Raoul  Wallenburg Foundation website http://www.raoulwallenberg.net/holocaust/articles-20/sophie-scholl-white-rose/

Holocust Education and Archive Reasearch Team.http://www.holocaustresearchproject.org/revolt/scholl.html