October 18 - October 19, 1942.
Storybook:
The soldier students in Sosnovka are treated to a corny, slapstick movie starring Marte Harell. The movie — Opernball, or Opera Ball — attracts the town’s young people. Willi Graf is puzzled by the comment of one young man, who says he wants to see the war. Willi later reasons that that fascination with war is likely owing to the fact that Russians have known nothing but war. (Goebbels’ propaganda has been effective.)
Hans Scholl receives a letter from Josef Söhngen and immediately replies. He tells Söhngen that they are leaving “day after tomorrow,” so he will see him soon and they can talk. Hans repeats his earlier comments about his love for Russia and knows that he will be drawn back to that country.
Sophie and Inge Scholl put together a Christmas wreath for Fritz Hartnagel. Sophie complains that the wreath did not turn out very well, because Inge laughed too much and Waldemar “just sat there like a spectator.”
Carl Muth writes a letter to Otl Aicher, reminding him to love “Fatherland and Volk,” while simultaneously looking forward to a quick end to the war. He tells him as well about Robert Scholl’s soon release.
Muth then turns his attention to Hans Scholl, penning a fatherly letter to Hans. He reminds Hans that nothing is more powerful than a man who prays (St. Chrysostom).
Winter arrives in Sosnovka. The soldier students shiver in houses where snow and rain drips from the ceiling. Despite a good punch drink — assuredly spiked with rum — they are lethargic. Hubert Furtwängler is still ill. They need him!
2007 update, Fritz Hartnagel and Sophie Scholl
Fritz expresses his concern over the approaching winter. He is staying busy, preparing for that season. He is losing control of his company, since German brass has decreed that individual mess halls be shut down. All companies in the area share the same “casino” or mess hall, which hampers Fritz’s ability to lead his unit.
He tells Sophie about a debate he had with his Commanding Office and lieutenants from a nearby company. They argued that Nature is good. Fritz says that the primary law of Nature is self-preservation. In war, he writes Sophie, the strong win and the weak are eliminated. He finds that good.
But: Fritz is staring down two issues. First, his most intelligent officer is going on leave to study, leaving Fritz shorthanded. Second, it has started to snow.
Why this matters:
Willi Graf was certainly not a weak human being, certainly he was far more intelligent than the average German. Yet even he bought into Goebbels’ propaganda about Russians, failing to recognize the warlike tendencies of his own country.
In 2024 and in our own country — whether that is the USA, UK, Australia, Canada, Germany, wherever you may live — it is far easier to recognize “warlike tendencies” of other nations, than it is to confront our own.When I first worked through the 2005 edition of letters (Fritz Hartnagel and Sophie Scholl), the letter where Fritz argues a Darwinian view of Nature surprised me. It’s a shame Sophie’s letter in response did not survive, since she always argued an idealistic, naive view of Nature.
Which side of that debate would you come down on? Why?
White Rose History, Volume II, pages 224-227.
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