June 25, 1942.
Summary:
Heated discussion at the literary soiree held at Alexander Schmorell’s home. Hans Scholl took center stage, immediately steering the discussion to two topics:
Germany’s conduct in the war.
Sound forms of government.
This evening, essentially Kurt Huber and Heinrich Ellermann faced off against their students. Neither teacher disagreed with Hans Scholl’s assessment that Germany needed “peace at any price.” Both men, however, affirmed the NSDAP platform and grew uncomfortable, almost hostile, as the student-led conversation centered on the topic of resistance. Ellermann especially believed that resistance of any sort was inappropriate, since Germany was at war.
The students did not allow their respect for their teachers to diminish their political convictions. And for the first time, we get a hint of the political divisions among the students, divisions that at this time were swept under the carpet, but that would become irreparable in February 1943. Christoph Probst championed a return to the monarchy, while Traute Lafrenz argued that citizens had to earn their government’s support. Hans Scholl’s statements alternated between Communistic ideas and support for a non-Communist, socialist, religious form of government.
The soiree ended badly, with disagreements unresolved and harsh words spoken.
Willi Graf wrote his sister Anneliese later that evening, ideas from the evening still consuming him. He wished for “undisturbed peace,” but understood that if he genuinely wanted to do something to change his Germany, his path would be anything but peaceful.
Why This Matters:
All too often, we underestimate the critical thought processes of students and so-called Gen-Z. Give them credit! Just as Kurt Huber and Heinrich Ellermann clearly thought they could exert the prestige of academic rank to force their opinions on these students, only to be proven unmistakably wrong, so we too write off the opinions and input of our youngest voters, precisely when we should be listening to them.
Willi Graf’s struggle with wanting “undisturbed peace” and knowing he could not have that if he did something? That is a dilemma and choice we face in our era as well.
Has anyone tried to pull rank on you to discount your opinions? And, if you had to choose between undisturbed peace and changing our world, which would you choose? Discuss in the comments! Thanks!
White Rose History, Volume II, pages 74-77.
I figured out today (June 16, 2024) that I can correct the transcriptions you can read along with as you listen to the podcast. So I cleaned up this transcript and will also do so going forward.
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