June 18 - June 28, 1942.
Summary:
Alexander Schmorell mails a copy of Leaflet I to his uncle in Aachen, Franz Monheim. Monheim owned the Trumpf Chocolate Factory in that city. [Yes, I recognize the current-day humor in the name of that chocolate factory.] The Gestapo believes Monheim was Jewish and tries to discredit his Aryan certification.
Christoph Probst explains his relationship to his former teacher, Heinrich Ellermann. Ellermann had been mentor, inspiration. Christl is now alienated from this teacher by Ellermann’s pro-Nazi views. Christl also explains why he dislikes the readings of Paul Claudel’s Satin Slipper. First, the readings center on Ellermann. Second, Christl dislikes the “eroticism interpreted as transcendentalism” of the book. He cannot see why Hans and Sophie like the readings.
Fritz Hartnagel writes Sophie about the unpleasant daily association with his brother-in-law, Dieter Daub. He had expected that Dieter would share the political sensibilities of his brother, Rudi Daub, who is firmly in the anti-Nazi camp. Instead, Dieter runs around with German officers. Fritz finds little in common with him.
Mail finally arrives on the Russian front and Fritz finds four letters from Sophie. Sophie has written him about their fun excursions. She does not mention the people in her life. But these will be the last letters that Sophie writes Fritz that describe happy times in Munich.
Fritz tells Sophie about a disturbing scene he witnessed. “It was alarming, the cynical coolness of my C.O. as he told of the slaughter of all the Jews of occupied Russia. At the same time, he is completely convinced of the justice of this course of action. I sat there, my heart beating wildly. Oh, how happy I was when I once again was lying on my tent bed and could escape to you and to prayer.”
[In the auto-generated transcription of this part of the narrative, Substack omits the first sentence about the slaughter of all the Jews of occupied Russia. I corrected, and that caused the transcript to crash. I regenerated the transcript and the same sentence was missing.]
Fritz describes a pleasant experience he’d had. He reviewed a five-month prison sentence for a member of his unit who had gone AWOL. Fritz believes the sentence is too harsh, asking, “Do we as humans even have the right to judge others?”
Why This Matters:
Our teachers and professors wield outsized influence on our intellectual and emotional growth, perhaps second only to parents and our circle of close friends. When a teacher or professor who has long stood for justice and doing what’s right suddenly abandons his or her position, it’s disconcerting at best, unsettling and disillusioning at worst.
This segment contains so many big ideas, life lessons, but one tiny detail strikes me: The candlestick holder that Fritz’s aide-de-camp makes for him, recognizing that Fritz Hartnagel is deemed “Other” by his own C.O. and unit. Sometimes in our quest for justice, we overlook the little things that can change a person’s life or outlook.
Have you experienced a professor, teacher, or mentor who has changed course? How did that affect you? If it was a negative change, how did you grow through it? And, what can you do today to positively impact someone’s life? Talk about it in the comments!
White Rose History, Volume II, pages 79-82.
Notes and references available only to paid subscribers.
Listen to this episode with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Why This Matters to listen to this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.
