August 1 - August 3, 1942.
Summary:
Two different (German) perspectives on the war in Russia. Peter Hirzel says that as his tank division travels south through the Caucasus Mountains to the oilfield wars, Georgian soldiers defect to their side, saying, “Stalin no good, Hitler no good, you and me home to Mama.”
Otl Aicher on the other hand, whose company is also headed to the oilfield wars, says that the countryside is bereft of young people, as men had been drafted with their wives following them. He is upset to see baroque churches bearing remnants of anti-religious placards.
Alexander Schmorell, Hans Scholl, Willi Graf, Hubert Furtwängler, and Raimund Samüller arrive in Vyaz’ma on August 1, 1942. Their contemplations about the beauty of the Russian countryside suddenly end as they are faced with the filth and povery of that city.
On Sunday August 2, the five friends attend a church service at a Russian Orthodox church. Willi Graf is initially put off by the Matutin (morning prayers), but they are all “transfixed” once Mass begins. Hans Scholl tells his diary, “I wanted to love and laugh because I could see that hovering above these defeated people was an angel stronger than the powers of nothingness.”
The five friends learn they will be staying together, assigned to Willi Graf’s old unit, the 252nd Division. They kill time before scheduled departure time of 5:20 p.m., shopping at the local market. Again, they are hit by the poverty, with Willi saying that “bread breaks down barriers.”
They arrive in Gzhatsk around 10 p.m. Initially the friends are not frightened by the nearness of the war. They can see the gun flash from the front lines and the parachute flares, but enjoy a momentary sense of false security. When Russian artillery targets Gzhatsk, they seek shelter in bombed-out houses. Somehow they sleep soundly.
Their Commanding Officer tells them they are assigned to HVP Plankenhorn, a field dressing station closer to the front. When they reach that station, they are disappointed to find that, although it is “safely” hidden by a forest, it’s also a bit claustrophobic. This dashes their high spirits.
Why this matters:
If you’ve read White Rose History, Volume I, you know how despondent Willi Graf was during his previous tour of duty in Russia. The difference between Willi then, and Willi with his new “White Rose” friends, is a lesson in the importance of friendship.
If you must stand alone, stand alone and hold your head high. But if friends join you in your battle for justice, you will survive with a healthier outlook.As is clear from primary source documents, of the five soldier students now on the Russian front together, only Willi Graf and Alexander Schmorell regularly attended church back “home” in Munich. Yet the unfamiliar Mass touched all of them.
Sometimes, even if you are of a different faith, or of no faith, a “worship service” can be meaningful when shared with people who are near and dear to you. Especially if the service is inclusive and does not seek to proselytize.
Community is important.
White Rose History, Volume II, pages 147-149.
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