September 15 - September 22, 1942.
Storybook:
Otl Aicher is now entrusted with radio transmission duties on the Russian front. As German reconnaissance planes overfly Russian positions, they radio coordinates back to Otl, for him to pass on to artillery units.
Otl quickly discovers another use for the radios at his disposal. He finds he can listen to English-language news from Beirut and Tehran. He learns about the US’s “Lend-Lease” program, which is funneling weapons into Soviet hands. In addition to shipping US (and British) weapons to the USSR from Tehran via Baku, the Allies have also built factories in Iran.
This leads Otl to a decision: He will desert to the British! He intends to string rope between the axles of a German train headed to Baku, and from there make his way to Tehran. All he knows is that he cannot spend another minute supporting the German cause.
By September 16, 1942, Alex’s 25th birthday, he is deemed “well.” He is still weak and has to take it easy, but he survived diphtheria! Hans Scholl writes his family that he too had contracted diphtheria, although that is doubtful, since he was well within two days. Hans says that they were susceptible to the disease since they had been giving too much blood.
Willi Graf takes three days to pen a long, heartfelt letter to Marianne, the woman he intends to marry.
On Saturday, September 19, 1942, Sophie Scholl’s wartime auxiliary work in a munitions factory comes to an end. She is a free woman!
The night of September 19 into the morning of September 20, the RAF bombs two cities central to the White Rose circle: Saarbrücken, where again the British missed their targets completely, resulting in minor damage and “only” one civilian death. And Munich, where bombs fell very near Carl Muth’s home. Werner Bergengruen’s home is destroyed and he and his family leave Munich.
Later, Carl Muth would write Hans Scholl that more than 400 were killed in Munich during the air raid.
Sophie and Elisabeth Scholl modify their planned vacation together. They still intend to spend time in the mountains, but first they must check out Sophie’s room in Munich and help Dr. Muth put his house back together. Sophie’s September 22 letter to her father tells him about their change in plans and stresses that she needs time in the mountains. It “inspires another vision of humanity in me.” She tells her father she would gladly give up her vacation if only he were free.
Why this matters:
Until now, the RAF’s air raids have not directly impacted the White Rose circle of friends. Yes, the families of both Willi Graf and Traute Lafrenz lived in cities where bombings have been ongoing and where there has been great loss of human life - civilians. But their families have not been affected.
And no one in southern Germany has felt the full wrath of RAF bombs.
Until now. When Dr. Carl Muth’s home barely escapes the first major air assault on Munich, and the home of Werner Bergengruen - whom several of them know personally - is destroyed.
It’s often difficult for us to “process” violence that does not happen to us, or that does not touch those we love. 9/11/2001 and before it the 4/19/1995 bombing and before that, the 1993 detonation at the World Trade Center taught New York City and Oklahoma City about the horrors of a massive terrorist attack, something experienced by many across the globe but never in the USA.Sophie Scholl was right. Sometimes that evening sky above the mountains and the pleasant, distant tolling of bells can transform worry and despair.
If you start to feel overwhelmed in your work, consider “decompressing” in a beautiful spot - near the ocean, in the mountains, by a lake - where you can find peace, quiet, and calm.
Have you ever been ‘impacted’ by a terrorist attack or by violent crime? How did it affect you? Did it change your viewpoint on terrorism or crime? What takeaways can you share here that may help someone who has not known the horrors you faced?
White Rose History, Volume II, pages 196-198.
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