August 24 - August 28, 1942.
Summary:
Robert Scholl’s prison term begins on August 24, 1942 at precisely 4 p.m. He is prisoner 147/42.
Hans writes his mother a “comforting” letter, reminding her of his own incarceration. He tells Magdalena Scholl that his father is strong and will emerge from prison stronger. Hans also refuses - for now - to submit a clemency petition on his father’s behalf.
Hans Scholl and Alexander Schmorell bury a Russian who has been lying within about 100 yards of their bunker for weeks. Alex writes Lilo that they have buried many “Russian skulls,” usually at night to escape detection. Lilo understands that Alex is torn between Russia and Germany, one foot in each country.
Willi Graf struggles with his emotions, especially towards the other four soldier students with whom he is serving on the Russian front. He needs them and recognizes that being with them means much to him. Yet he withdraws from them. “What kind of person am I?”
They enjoy a brief cessation in bombing raids, which enables mail delivery. The letters Willi receives from his mother and older sister Mathilde remind him that he still does not know what younger sister Anneliese plans for the winter semester.
Hans thinks about his father, wondering if his father is thinking about him at the same time. His long diary entry is dark. Hans contemplates death, his own imprisonment, Lisa Remppis, the vagabond life, and another teenage girl who was off limits due to her age. The lengthy paragraph about death is concerning in retrospect.
The friends from Munich debate the function of art. Hubert Furtwängler says the function of art was to make the world a more cheerful place. Hans Scholl is in a dismal mood. Alex likely agrees with Hubert, because that day, he is seeing the world in all its glory. He’s making friends with local peasants, pleased that Bolshevism has not made them forget how to sing and dance.
Why this matters:
The simple act of burying dead Russian soldiers could have had serious repercussions for Hans Scholl and Alexander Schmorell. We often look for the Big Important Things to do to bring about social justice. When sometimes all that’s required is doing the small, but right, things. Like burying ‘the enemy.’
It seems almost funny that the friends would debate the function of art while on the front lines. That as they are concerned with right versus wrong, they would think about art’s meaning.
Sometimes, when we are in the middle of a fight for justice and rightness, it’s worthwhile to take a step back and think about less consequential matters. It can serve as a palate cleanser.
White Rose History, Volume II, pages 173-175.
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