The White Rose: Munich, 1942–1943

Leaflets of the White Rose

Leaflets of the White Rose* 1 THE FIRST LEAFLET Nothing is so unworthy of a civilized nation as allowing itself to be "governed" without opposition by an irresponsible clique that has yielded to base instinct. It is certain that today every honest German is ashamed of his government . Who among us has any conception of the dimensions of shame that will befall us and our children when one day the veil has fallen from our eyes and the most horrible of crimes—crimes that infinitely outdistance every human measure—reach the light of day? If the German people are already so corrupted and spiritually crushed that they do not raise a hand, frivolously trusting in a questionable faith in lawful order in history; if they surrender man's highest principle, that which raises him above all other God's creatures, his free will; if they abandon the will to take *There were four leaflets in the series "Leaflets of the White Rose." The first of these was prepared in the summer or fall of 1942, and all were issued before the Allied landings in Morocco and Algeria, November 8, 1942. The series headed "Leaflets of the Resistance" was begun in 1943, and the Munich group had prepared only two of these before they were apprehended. Of these two "A Call to All Germans" was written before the defeat at Stalingrad (January 31, 1943), and the second, "Fellow Fighters in the Resistance!" came out after Stalingrad and at most a day or two before the Scholls were seized by the Gestapo on February 18. The last leaflet was variously headed "Fellow Fighters in the Resistance!" ("Kommilitonen! Kommilitoninnen!") and "German Students!" ("Deutsche Studenten!"). 73 ...