July 11 - July 15, 1942.
Summary:
Hans and Sophie Scholl spend the weekend in Ulm. Inge queries them about the leaflets. Sophie laughs off the question, saying all students had received the leaflets. Inge joins her siblings in Munich for a few days.
Lisa Grote - a nanny and a dissident in Munich who had been receiving the leaflets - notices that the leaflets suddenly stop. She and her small circle of friends had gained great hope from the leaflets and mark their disappearance with concern. This circle actively protests by painting graffiti on walls in Munich and by distributing anti-Nazi materials.
Sophie hears rumors that whoever is responsible for White Rose leaflets has been caught, sentenced, and executed.
Willi Graf visits the mother of Georg Thurmair, who had been responsible for the publication of several Catholic bündische periodicals, including Junge Front, which Willi had avidly read. Although Thurmair is serving in the military, Willi hears that his mother lives in Munich. That conversation pleases him.
Willi pens “the” letter to Marianne Thoeren, likely his declaration of love.
The Second Student Company learns that their clinical rotation is to be served on the Russian Front. Willi panicks a little, as he has no place to store his possessions, since he is losing his room on Georgen Strasse on July 15.
Traute Lafrenz confronts Hans Scholl about White Rose leaflets. He says it is dangerous for her to know about the author. She understands that from that point on, she has been assigned her “role” as someone who can help with distribution, but not creation of the leaflets.
Transcription errata: Substack’s auto-transcription missed the following quote from Traute Lafrenz: “And that’s how it stayed. I had been shown my place, and I accepted it. I simply made sure that the leaflets were distributed.”
Sophie’s continuing battle with despondency (depression?) shows up in her July 15, 1942 diary entry. She does not believe that she can love or be loved, especially by God. She sees her soul as a barren desert.
Why This Matters:
Just as Hans and Sophie Scholl could not trust their own sister, Inge — although they would later fully trust Elisabeth with their secret work — so today, sometimes it’s our own family members who must be shut down as we work on behalf of social justice, on behalf of issues that matter. “Loss” of family is harder than loss of friends or acquaintances, but sometimes it is necessary when they consciously choose to promote conspiracy theories and seditious acts.
Lisa Grote’s story is one that should have been told a long time ago. She shared these memories with Inge Scholl after the war. Inge not only quashed the information; she also transcribed Lisa’s letter. Who knows what happened to the original, or what the original said? When someone [here, Inge Scholl] practices historical revisionism, there’s usually a reason for the deception. Too many people laud Inge Scholl, despite the fact that she was a Nazi and never recanted her political beliefs, and know nothing of Lisa’s heroism. That is not right.
Is there someone whose work is not recognized, perhaps a writer here on Substack with too few subscribers, or an independent journalist who labors unknown? Give them a shout-out and say why their work means something to you!
Is there a group that has worked hard on behalf of a cause you believe it, but they have worked in the shadow of a larger organization who has coopted their efforts? Mention them here!
If you are struggling to do what is right and good and just, and your own family is subscribing to Q-fraud or harmful rhetoric, speak up, so you can get support from your community.
White Rose History, Volume II, pages 114-117.
Notes and references available only to paid subscribers.
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