1 00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:03,760 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff you missed in History class from how 2 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:14,600 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot Com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:14,760 --> 00:00:18,160 Speaker 1: I'm Katie Lambert and I'm their Downy. A few months 4 00:00:18,160 --> 00:00:22,040 Speaker 1: ago we talked about Hanna Snish, a Hungarian who opposed 5 00:00:22,079 --> 00:00:26,239 Speaker 1: the Nazis by parachuting into Yugoslavia and an attempt to 6 00:00:26,280 --> 00:00:31,560 Speaker 1: save fellow Jews. She was arrested, tortured, and executed, and 7 00:00:31,920 --> 00:00:35,240 Speaker 1: this heroic story left many of you wanting to hear 8 00:00:35,320 --> 00:00:38,840 Speaker 1: more about resistance to the Nazis during World War Two. 9 00:00:39,400 --> 00:00:42,599 Speaker 1: These stories are usually tragic, you know, how could they 10 00:00:42,720 --> 00:00:45,959 Speaker 1: end well, but they're also pretty inspirational. One of the 11 00:00:46,000 --> 00:00:48,919 Speaker 1: most surprising of these heroic stories comes out of Germany, 12 00:00:48,960 --> 00:00:52,120 Speaker 1: of all places, where the Gestapo in the SS that 13 00:00:52,360 --> 00:00:56,160 Speaker 1: kept such a close eye on the population listening in 14 00:00:56,200 --> 00:00:59,040 Speaker 1: to a broadcast of Radio London could be enough to 15 00:00:59,080 --> 00:01:03,320 Speaker 1: get you execute it. And it's in Germany, in Munich, actually, 16 00:01:03,520 --> 00:01:06,800 Speaker 1: that this group of students decide to protest the atrocities 17 00:01:06,840 --> 00:01:10,920 Speaker 1: of their government and stir up their apathetic countrymen at 18 00:01:10,959 --> 00:01:13,920 Speaker 1: a great risk to their own lives, and they call 19 00:01:14,000 --> 00:01:17,920 Speaker 1: themselves the White Rose. But before we get into the 20 00:01:18,080 --> 00:01:21,360 Speaker 1: student movement in Munich. We need to give some background 21 00:01:21,520 --> 00:01:24,479 Speaker 1: on what life was like for someone who was trying 22 00:01:24,520 --> 00:01:28,360 Speaker 1: to resist the Nazi government, And some sources that Sarah 23 00:01:28,480 --> 00:01:31,840 Speaker 1: was reading kept saying that you can't understand unless you've 24 00:01:31,840 --> 00:01:36,080 Speaker 1: lived under a totalitarian regime. But we hope this will 25 00:01:36,120 --> 00:01:38,839 Speaker 1: help a little bit. So this is what you're up against. 26 00:01:39,520 --> 00:01:44,520 Speaker 1: Nazi indoctrinations started in preschool. Children were encouraged to denounce 27 00:01:44,560 --> 00:01:48,120 Speaker 1: their parents for making derogatory comments about Hitler or about 28 00:01:48,120 --> 00:01:51,320 Speaker 1: the Reich, and at age ten, boys would register to 29 00:01:51,400 --> 00:01:55,440 Speaker 1: join the German Young People after being investigated for racial purity. 30 00:01:56,000 --> 00:01:58,760 Speaker 1: At thirteen they could join the Hitler Youth and at 31 00:01:58,800 --> 00:02:01,480 Speaker 1: eighteen they'd be a member of the Nazi Party. Uh. 32 00:02:01,760 --> 00:02:04,440 Speaker 1: It was mandatory to serve either in the armed forces 33 00:02:04,560 --> 00:02:08,639 Speaker 1: or in labor details until aged girls did the same thing, 34 00:02:08,800 --> 00:02:13,160 Speaker 1: participating in leagues that taught comradeship and motherhood. So that's 35 00:02:13,160 --> 00:02:16,160 Speaker 1: what you're up against in terms of this early indoctrination. 36 00:02:16,320 --> 00:02:19,799 Speaker 1: But in addition to the Gestapo, every block also has 37 00:02:19,880 --> 00:02:23,280 Speaker 1: a spy who would note down conversations going on, keep 38 00:02:23,320 --> 00:02:27,200 Speaker 1: track of who was saying what. So maybe you make 39 00:02:27,240 --> 00:02:29,360 Speaker 1: a joke to your wife about Hitler and your neighbor 40 00:02:29,400 --> 00:02:32,919 Speaker 1: overhears it. Uh next thing you know, you've got police 41 00:02:32,960 --> 00:02:37,079 Speaker 1: knocking on your door. So dangerous times. Consequently, it's pretty 42 00:02:37,120 --> 00:02:40,600 Speaker 1: difficult for all but the smallest groups to actually protest 43 00:02:40,639 --> 00:02:44,760 Speaker 1: the government because organized resistance usually involves a lot of 44 00:02:44,800 --> 00:02:50,280 Speaker 1: people socialists, communists, and trade unionists published underground literature. And 45 00:02:50,320 --> 00:02:54,480 Speaker 1: even though the Catholic Church is officially silent on what's happening, 46 00:02:54,680 --> 00:02:58,440 Speaker 1: some clergymen do work to protect Jews, and the church 47 00:02:58,520 --> 00:03:03,080 Speaker 1: denounces quote unquote to euthanasia of the handicapped. We also 48 00:03:03,120 --> 00:03:07,240 Speaker 1: have the occasional assassination attempt. After the defeat at Stalingrad, 49 00:03:07,440 --> 00:03:10,320 Speaker 1: German officers attempt to blow up Hitler with a bomb. 50 00:03:10,840 --> 00:03:14,360 Speaker 1: He was injured and they were immediately executed. But really 51 00:03:14,520 --> 00:03:17,320 Speaker 1: the military is about the only group that could be 52 00:03:17,360 --> 00:03:20,880 Speaker 1: so bold, because most people who protest against the government 53 00:03:20,919 --> 00:03:24,640 Speaker 1: have to do it passively, just small measures of non 54 00:03:24,680 --> 00:03:28,880 Speaker 1: compliance with Nazi rules. So it's pretty easy to imagine 55 00:03:28,880 --> 00:03:31,960 Speaker 1: that at least a few teenagers were ticked off by 56 00:03:31,960 --> 00:03:34,320 Speaker 1: the idea of having to enroll with the Nazi youth 57 00:03:34,680 --> 00:03:38,720 Speaker 1: in work to fight against that without getting themselves into 58 00:03:38,800 --> 00:03:43,080 Speaker 1: terrible trouble. The student heroes of our story grew up 59 00:03:43,160 --> 00:03:45,200 Speaker 1: in the world of the Reich. They were raised in 60 00:03:45,240 --> 00:03:48,960 Speaker 1: the thirties, so they're fully indoctrinated. Some were even leaders 61 00:03:49,000 --> 00:03:52,520 Speaker 1: of Hitler youth groups. So how did they turn against 62 00:03:52,520 --> 00:03:55,680 Speaker 1: the regime and more importantly, why did they decide to 63 00:03:55,840 --> 00:03:58,480 Speaker 1: risk their lives to denounce it. Well, a lot of 64 00:03:58,520 --> 00:04:01,240 Speaker 1: the eventual members of the White Rose meet in the 65 00:04:01,240 --> 00:04:04,920 Speaker 1: winter of nine thirty nine when they're all finishing up 66 00:04:04,960 --> 00:04:09,000 Speaker 1: their compulsory two years of army service as part of 67 00:04:09,040 --> 00:04:13,360 Speaker 1: this medic program. Basically, if you had intended to go 68 00:04:13,480 --> 00:04:15,839 Speaker 1: to medical school eventually, you could finish up your army 69 00:04:15,880 --> 00:04:18,560 Speaker 1: service training as a medic to get a little hands 70 00:04:18,600 --> 00:04:21,719 Speaker 1: on work before you start your studies. So most of 71 00:04:21,720 --> 00:04:24,320 Speaker 1: these kids end up enrolling at the University of Munich 72 00:04:24,360 --> 00:04:28,080 Speaker 1: the following spring. And we know that students are the 73 00:04:28,120 --> 00:04:33,279 Speaker 1: most protesting group of the population and well, and it's 74 00:04:33,279 --> 00:04:36,039 Speaker 1: no different at Munich too. Even though these students really 75 00:04:36,080 --> 00:04:37,960 Speaker 1: have to watch their backs, they have a lot more 76 00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:42,080 Speaker 1: pressure than most student protesters would have. Still though, when, 77 00:04:42,400 --> 00:04:44,960 Speaker 1: for instance, one of their Nazis student leaders tell them 78 00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:47,839 Speaker 1: that they'll have to spend their first summer break harvesting 79 00:04:47,880 --> 00:04:51,880 Speaker 1: the crops in Bavaria. They are very upset. Stink bombs 80 00:04:51,920 --> 00:04:54,360 Speaker 1: go off in the chemistry building, so you can imagine 81 00:04:54,400 --> 00:04:58,040 Speaker 1: just these acts of protests, still very dangerous in these times, 82 00:04:58,040 --> 00:05:02,039 Speaker 1: but trying to make their opinion. It's heard later in 83 00:05:02,200 --> 00:05:05,159 Speaker 1: nineteen thirty nine, when most of the mail Med students 84 00:05:05,200 --> 00:05:08,240 Speaker 1: are drafted into the army, they would steal as much 85 00:05:08,320 --> 00:05:11,160 Speaker 1: freedom as they could skipping out on roll call or 86 00:05:11,200 --> 00:05:15,400 Speaker 1: on drill, according to White Rose survivor George Bittenstein, And 87 00:05:15,480 --> 00:05:19,440 Speaker 1: by early nineteen forty two to Med students Alex Schmorell 88 00:05:19,520 --> 00:05:23,240 Speaker 1: and Hans Scholl have started writing leaflets, copying them on 89 00:05:23,279 --> 00:05:26,760 Speaker 1: a typewriter and distributing them. And Sarah's got the first 90 00:05:26,839 --> 00:05:30,520 Speaker 1: line from the first leaflet. Nothing is so unworthy of 91 00:05:30,560 --> 00:05:33,800 Speaker 1: a civilized nation as allowing itself to be governed without 92 00:05:33,880 --> 00:05:38,320 Speaker 1: opposition by an irresponsible clique that has yielded to base instinct. 93 00:05:38,720 --> 00:05:41,600 Speaker 1: It is certain that today every honest German is ashamed 94 00:05:41,600 --> 00:05:44,960 Speaker 1: of his government. So of the first one hundred of 95 00:05:45,000 --> 00:05:48,520 Speaker 1: these flyers that they distribute in mail, thirty five are 96 00:05:48,640 --> 00:05:52,680 Speaker 1: returned to the Gestapo. So this means two things. Spies 97 00:05:52,839 --> 00:05:55,720 Speaker 1: and people who get this very incriminating flyer in the mail, 98 00:05:56,320 --> 00:05:59,960 Speaker 1: get very nervous and send it right back to the Gestapo. 99 00:06:00,360 --> 00:06:04,200 Speaker 1: And writing leaflets and copying them might not sound like 100 00:06:04,240 --> 00:06:07,800 Speaker 1: a big deal, it is paper is in very short supply, 101 00:06:08,120 --> 00:06:12,000 Speaker 1: so buying huge packs of it is very suspicious, and 102 00:06:12,080 --> 00:06:14,960 Speaker 1: so is buying lots of postage. And think about how 103 00:06:15,080 --> 00:06:18,400 Speaker 1: dangerous it is to carry such a pamphlet around with you, 104 00:06:18,520 --> 00:06:22,400 Speaker 1: because if you're stopped and searched, you're done for. But 105 00:06:22,480 --> 00:06:26,760 Speaker 1: the students that Munich are amazed to see these pamphlets. 106 00:06:26,760 --> 00:06:30,480 Speaker 1: Who's doing this? They're wondering what's going on. The Gestapo 107 00:06:30,760 --> 00:06:34,119 Speaker 1: are not pleased, and so the White Rose membership starts 108 00:06:34,160 --> 00:06:37,520 Speaker 1: to grow. And it's interesting that the discipline and order 109 00:06:37,640 --> 00:06:39,640 Speaker 1: that some of the members might have picked up in 110 00:06:39,680 --> 00:06:43,479 Speaker 1: the Hitler youth serves to make them pretty disciplined and 111 00:06:43,640 --> 00:06:47,280 Speaker 1: ordered when they're fighting the German government. They would graffiti 112 00:06:47,320 --> 00:06:50,400 Speaker 1: the streets of Munich with slogans like down with Hitler, 113 00:06:50,520 --> 00:06:54,440 Speaker 1: Hitler the mass murderer, or freedom Freedom, and the initial 114 00:06:54,520 --> 00:06:59,599 Speaker 1: Munich group expands to students in Hamburg, Freiburg, Berlin and Vienna. 115 00:07:00,080 --> 00:07:03,800 Speaker 1: They would mail each other these mimeographed leaflets and sometimes 116 00:07:03,839 --> 00:07:06,760 Speaker 1: They would even carry them on trains, which was a 117 00:07:06,839 --> 00:07:08,920 Speaker 1: task usually left up to the girls. They were less 118 00:07:08,960 --> 00:07:11,640 Speaker 1: likely to be searched. But they could leave these suitcases 119 00:07:12,200 --> 00:07:14,800 Speaker 1: full of these pamphlets in different cars. Well, they'd carry 120 00:07:14,840 --> 00:07:17,480 Speaker 1: them in another compartment, because you didn't want to be found. 121 00:07:18,080 --> 00:07:20,720 Speaker 1: You wanted to be separate from the suitcase for as 122 00:07:20,800 --> 00:07:23,720 Speaker 1: much of the journey as possible. But of course we 123 00:07:23,800 --> 00:07:26,720 Speaker 1: also have to talk about what the White Rose movement 124 00:07:26,800 --> 00:07:30,480 Speaker 1: was even all about, and was it really true that 125 00:07:30,560 --> 00:07:33,800 Speaker 1: Germans didn't know what was going on, what atrocities were 126 00:07:33,800 --> 00:07:36,600 Speaker 1: being committed, As you so often here, that's usually the 127 00:07:36,720 --> 00:07:42,320 Speaker 1: excuse for such enormous inaction that happened. Well, these kids 128 00:07:42,440 --> 00:07:44,960 Speaker 1: know what's going on, and when a lot of the 129 00:07:45,000 --> 00:07:48,280 Speaker 1: male population of the White Rose movement goes to serve 130 00:07:48,320 --> 00:07:50,480 Speaker 1: on the Eastern Front as medical aids in the summer 131 00:07:50,520 --> 00:07:54,400 Speaker 1: of ninety two, they actually see some of the atrocities firsthand. 132 00:07:54,480 --> 00:08:00,200 Speaker 1: Hans Shoal sees Jewish labors being beaten, bound for death camps, mistreated, 133 00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:02,440 Speaker 1: and he hears about how the polls are being deported 134 00:08:02,440 --> 00:08:06,960 Speaker 1: into concentration camps and others like Hans's sister Sophie, here's 135 00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:11,120 Speaker 1: about some of the other policies at church in sermons. 136 00:08:11,200 --> 00:08:13,960 Speaker 1: So these kids know what's going on. We can assume 137 00:08:14,000 --> 00:08:15,840 Speaker 1: that a lot of other people knew. It must have 138 00:08:15,960 --> 00:08:20,840 Speaker 1: to exactly. Sophie gets permission to reprint a sermon against 139 00:08:20,920 --> 00:08:24,600 Speaker 1: these murders and distributes it to the students. She joins 140 00:08:24,640 --> 00:08:27,560 Speaker 1: the White Rose after enrolling at Munich and begging her 141 00:08:27,560 --> 00:08:30,960 Speaker 1: brother to let her in. And many of these members 142 00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:35,520 Speaker 1: also had Jewish friends who had since been deported. We 143 00:08:35,559 --> 00:08:37,680 Speaker 1: have to make it clear they thought that what was 144 00:08:37,720 --> 00:08:41,520 Speaker 1: happening was very wrong. This wasn't just a political protest. 145 00:08:41,600 --> 00:08:46,120 Speaker 1: This was a very personal thing, definitely. And so by 146 00:08:46,160 --> 00:08:49,360 Speaker 1: November nineteen forty two, the students who were on the 147 00:08:49,400 --> 00:08:53,480 Speaker 1: Eastern Front serving as medical aids are back, and the 148 00:08:53,520 --> 00:08:57,480 Speaker 1: White Rose members are more dedicated than ever to their cause, 149 00:08:57,559 --> 00:09:00,400 Speaker 1: and they bring in one of their professors, Kurt Huber, 150 00:09:00,679 --> 00:09:04,000 Speaker 1: who helps them edit the drafts, rejecting one is too communists. 151 00:09:04,040 --> 00:09:07,520 Speaker 1: I can sort of imagine this mentor relationship between these 152 00:09:07,559 --> 00:09:11,480 Speaker 1: students who are probably writing radical things like students do, 153 00:09:11,720 --> 00:09:15,199 Speaker 1: and this older fellow sort of toning it down, making 154 00:09:15,200 --> 00:09:18,680 Speaker 1: it more powerful, making it a better way to speak 155 00:09:18,679 --> 00:09:22,480 Speaker 1: to their audience, and they're not naive enough to think 156 00:09:22,559 --> 00:09:25,480 Speaker 1: that their pamphlets will help topple the government, and that's 157 00:09:25,520 --> 00:09:28,400 Speaker 1: not what they're trying to do. They understand that it's 158 00:09:28,440 --> 00:09:32,040 Speaker 1: only military action that will end the regime. Although they 159 00:09:32,040 --> 00:09:36,400 Speaker 1: do specifically distance themselves as independent thinkers fighting for Germany. 160 00:09:36,440 --> 00:09:38,800 Speaker 1: They they're very patriotic and they want to make it 161 00:09:38,840 --> 00:09:42,760 Speaker 1: clear that they're not puppets under Allied control. But while 162 00:09:42,800 --> 00:09:47,360 Speaker 1: they do advocate sabotage of the armaments industry, their goal 163 00:09:47,559 --> 00:09:52,040 Speaker 1: is to improve resistance morale and stir these apathetic Germans 164 00:09:52,080 --> 00:09:54,840 Speaker 1: into standing up for what is right, letting them know 165 00:09:54,920 --> 00:09:57,240 Speaker 1: that there are other people who think that way, yeah, 166 00:09:57,280 --> 00:10:01,959 Speaker 1: giving people encouragement, and ultimately they publish six leaflets between 167 00:10:02,040 --> 00:10:04,800 Speaker 1: nineteen two and three with that little break while a 168 00:10:04,800 --> 00:10:07,160 Speaker 1: lot of the guys are away on the Eastern Front. 169 00:10:07,760 --> 00:10:11,160 Speaker 1: Four published as the White Rose and two are published 170 00:10:11,200 --> 00:10:14,079 Speaker 1: under the name Leaflets of the Resistance. And it's that 171 00:10:14,280 --> 00:10:18,400 Speaker 1: sixth pamphlet that really destroys some of the major members 172 00:10:18,400 --> 00:10:22,400 Speaker 1: of the movement. It's just after the defeat at Stalingrad 173 00:10:22,520 --> 00:10:26,480 Speaker 1: when the White Rose publishes its sixth leaflet, and here's 174 00:10:26,480 --> 00:10:30,520 Speaker 1: an excerpt, Shaken and broken. Our people. Behold the loss 175 00:10:30,559 --> 00:10:33,800 Speaker 1: of the men of Stalingrad. Three hundred and thirty thousand 176 00:10:33,840 --> 00:10:37,600 Speaker 1: German men have been senselessly and irresponsibly driven to death 177 00:10:37,640 --> 00:10:41,200 Speaker 1: and destruction by the inspired strategy of our World War 178 00:10:41,280 --> 00:10:45,360 Speaker 1: one private first class fure we thank you, and another 179 00:10:45,440 --> 00:10:48,720 Speaker 1: repeated through the leaflet for us, there is but one slogan, 180 00:10:48,920 --> 00:10:51,440 Speaker 1: fight against the party. It says that over and over again, 181 00:10:51,720 --> 00:10:54,360 Speaker 1: something to try to get get it stuck in the 182 00:10:54,400 --> 00:10:58,559 Speaker 1: reader's head. And the Shoals go to this campus building 183 00:10:58,559 --> 00:11:01,680 Speaker 1: at their university and they leave stacks of these leaflets 184 00:11:01,720 --> 00:11:04,040 Speaker 1: outside of the doors of the classroom. They're carrying the whole, 185 00:11:04,440 --> 00:11:07,720 Speaker 1: the whole shebang in this suitcase. When they realize that 186 00:11:07,760 --> 00:11:10,000 Speaker 1: there's still a lot of the leaflets left in their bag, 187 00:11:10,240 --> 00:11:13,319 Speaker 1: Sophie takes them up to the third floor and throws 188 00:11:13,400 --> 00:11:16,160 Speaker 1: them down a light. Well, so imagine just all these 189 00:11:16,200 --> 00:11:20,720 Speaker 1: pamphlets shower showering down. Well, it catches the attention of 190 00:11:20,760 --> 00:11:25,360 Speaker 1: a janitor and he turns them into the Gestapo. They're arrested, 191 00:11:25,559 --> 00:11:29,720 Speaker 1: and the barely involved Kristoph Propst is actually implicated because 192 00:11:29,880 --> 00:11:33,600 Speaker 1: Hans has something mentioning him in his pocket, a draft 193 00:11:33,640 --> 00:11:36,839 Speaker 1: for a later pamphlet, so the three of them are 194 00:11:36,880 --> 00:11:40,600 Speaker 1: taken into custody. They delivered that last batch of pamphlets 195 00:11:40,640 --> 00:11:45,160 Speaker 1: on February eighteenth, ninete and just days later they're put 196 00:11:45,200 --> 00:11:49,679 Speaker 1: on trial. The judge is horrified that three nice German 197 00:11:49,760 --> 00:11:53,120 Speaker 1: kids could have turned to this, and is especially disgusted 198 00:11:53,520 --> 00:11:56,120 Speaker 1: that Hans is a soldier well, and that the state 199 00:11:56,200 --> 00:11:59,600 Speaker 1: is paid for his education. It just seems doubly wrong 200 00:11:59,640 --> 00:12:03,040 Speaker 1: to this judge. Props has a wife and three babies, 201 00:12:03,080 --> 00:12:06,679 Speaker 1: and he claims psychotic depression after the loss at Stalingrad 202 00:12:06,720 --> 00:12:09,440 Speaker 1: and because of his wife's difficult child birth. He's trying 203 00:12:09,440 --> 00:12:13,280 Speaker 1: to save his life. Sophie explains herself really boldly, though 204 00:12:13,320 --> 00:12:16,040 Speaker 1: she says somebody, after all, had to make a start. 205 00:12:16,360 --> 00:12:19,080 Speaker 1: What we wrote and said is also believed by many others. 206 00:12:19,360 --> 00:12:21,920 Speaker 1: They just don't dare to express themselves as we did. 207 00:12:22,000 --> 00:12:24,880 Speaker 1: And later she actually tells the judge, you know the 208 00:12:24,920 --> 00:12:27,160 Speaker 1: war is lost, why don't you have the courage to 209 00:12:27,240 --> 00:12:31,120 Speaker 1: face it? So she's being incredibly brave and bold in 210 00:12:31,160 --> 00:12:35,839 Speaker 1: the face of I mean, she'll definitely be charged by 211 00:12:35,840 --> 00:12:40,160 Speaker 1: this judge. There's no other way out. The Shoals parents 212 00:12:40,280 --> 00:12:42,720 Speaker 1: tried to burst into the courtroom in the middle of 213 00:12:42,760 --> 00:12:45,520 Speaker 1: the trial, and their mother is told she should have 214 00:12:45,640 --> 00:12:48,680 Speaker 1: brought them up better. Their father forces his way in 215 00:12:48,800 --> 00:12:52,800 Speaker 1: and is forcibly escorted out, and as he's escorted out, 216 00:12:52,880 --> 00:12:55,680 Speaker 1: he shouts, one day there will be another kind of justice. 217 00:12:55,880 --> 00:12:59,680 Speaker 1: One day they will go down in history. Poor propst family, 218 00:12:59,679 --> 00:13:02,000 Speaker 1: on the other him, doesn't even know that he's been arrested. 219 00:13:02,040 --> 00:13:05,680 Speaker 1: His wife is still in the hospital from childbirth, and 220 00:13:05,920 --> 00:13:10,360 Speaker 1: he's not visited by anyone before his execution. Unsurprisingly, the 221 00:13:10,480 --> 00:13:14,720 Speaker 1: judge rules guilty. The court finds quote that the accused have, 222 00:13:14,920 --> 00:13:17,760 Speaker 1: in the time of war, by means of leaflets, called 223 00:13:17,800 --> 00:13:20,760 Speaker 1: for the sabotage of the war effort in armaments and 224 00:13:20,840 --> 00:13:23,840 Speaker 1: for the overthrow of the national socialist way of life 225 00:13:23,920 --> 00:13:28,040 Speaker 1: of our people, have propagated defeatist ideas, and have most 226 00:13:28,120 --> 00:13:32,400 Speaker 1: vulgarly defamed the fur, thereby giving aid to the enemy 227 00:13:32,400 --> 00:13:35,400 Speaker 1: of the Reich and weakening the armed security of the nation. 228 00:13:35,800 --> 00:13:39,240 Speaker 1: On this account, there to be punished by death. They're 229 00:13:39,240 --> 00:13:42,959 Speaker 1: executed by guillotine almost immediately. The siblings meet with their 230 00:13:43,000 --> 00:13:45,640 Speaker 1: parents one last time, and the guards allow the three 231 00:13:45,679 --> 00:13:49,600 Speaker 1: to meet one last time. Sophie is killed first, then Propst, 232 00:13:49,760 --> 00:13:53,880 Speaker 1: then Hans, who cries out long lived freedom, but it's 233 00:13:53,960 --> 00:13:57,640 Speaker 1: not over yet, and the Gestapo arrests three other members 234 00:13:57,720 --> 00:14:01,280 Speaker 1: later in the year. Alexander Schmorl is twenty five. We 235 00:14:01,280 --> 00:14:04,160 Speaker 1: should I don't think we've mentioned their ages yet. They're 236 00:14:04,200 --> 00:14:07,800 Speaker 1: all in their very early twenties. Uh. They also arrest 237 00:14:07,840 --> 00:14:10,320 Speaker 1: Willie Graff, who's twenty five, and the professor who is 238 00:14:10,360 --> 00:14:13,960 Speaker 1: helping Kurt Hooper, who is forty nine, and some of 239 00:14:14,000 --> 00:14:17,679 Speaker 1: them aren't executed until nine, so the second batch of 240 00:14:17,760 --> 00:14:21,400 Speaker 1: trials doesn't go as quickly as as the first with 241 00:14:21,480 --> 00:14:26,080 Speaker 1: the Shoals and Props does. Today, they're heroes in Germany 242 00:14:26,120 --> 00:14:29,400 Speaker 1: for daring to stand up during the country's darkest years. 243 00:14:29,840 --> 00:14:32,600 Speaker 1: There's a square at the University of Munich named after 244 00:14:32,640 --> 00:14:35,200 Speaker 1: the Shoals, and things all over the city that are 245 00:14:35,280 --> 00:14:39,240 Speaker 1: named after other members, and will close with another quote 246 00:14:39,400 --> 00:14:43,000 Speaker 1: from their leaflets, quote, we seek the revival of the 247 00:14:43,040 --> 00:14:47,080 Speaker 1: deeply wounded German spirit for the sake of future generations. 248 00:14:47,120 --> 00:14:49,720 Speaker 1: An example must be set after the war so that 249 00:14:49,760 --> 00:14:52,400 Speaker 1: no one will ever have the slightest desire to try 250 00:14:52,440 --> 00:14:56,120 Speaker 1: anything like this ever again. Do not forget the minor 251 00:14:56,160 --> 00:14:59,320 Speaker 1: scoundrels of this system note their names so that no 252 00:14:59,360 --> 00:15:02,000 Speaker 1: one may escape ape. We shall not be silent. We 253 00:15:02,080 --> 00:15:04,760 Speaker 1: are your bad conscience. The White Rose will not leave 254 00:15:04,800 --> 00:15:09,640 Speaker 1: you in peace. It's especially interesting that call to not 255 00:15:09,760 --> 00:15:13,200 Speaker 1: forget even the most minor scoundrels, to know their names 256 00:15:13,240 --> 00:15:16,280 Speaker 1: so that no one will escape. That's still so pertinent 257 00:15:16,320 --> 00:15:19,320 Speaker 1: even today. We have an article on that. It's called 258 00:15:19,600 --> 00:15:22,560 Speaker 1: are their Nazi war criminals still at large? And there are, 259 00:15:22,640 --> 00:15:25,760 Speaker 1: and people are still actively looking for them and looking 260 00:15:25,800 --> 00:15:28,600 Speaker 1: to bring them to justice. People have not forgotten. If 261 00:15:28,680 --> 00:15:31,280 Speaker 1: you'd like to look for that article, you can search 262 00:15:31,280 --> 00:15:35,480 Speaker 1: on our home page at www dot house stuffworks dot com. 263 00:15:35,520 --> 00:15:38,320 Speaker 1: And that brings us to our listener mail for today. 264 00:15:41,280 --> 00:15:44,040 Speaker 1: So when we finish our episode on King Ludibig the Second, 265 00:15:44,280 --> 00:15:47,600 Speaker 1: we mentioned that he's a very popular figure, or so 266 00:15:47,680 --> 00:15:51,040 Speaker 1: we believed in Germany still today. And one of the 267 00:15:51,040 --> 00:15:54,480 Speaker 1: things I remember reading about that was that because the 268 00:15:54,560 --> 00:15:58,680 Speaker 1: twentieth century history is so violent, people have really embraced 269 00:15:58,680 --> 00:16:01,920 Speaker 1: this figure who is a passive This even if he's 270 00:16:02,440 --> 00:16:06,000 Speaker 1: crazy and built all these maybe not, maybe not had 271 00:16:06,000 --> 00:16:09,960 Speaker 1: imagining friends, maybe maybe not, he's still this very compelling, 272 00:16:10,120 --> 00:16:14,080 Speaker 1: peaceful figure and Consequently, a lot of people have gotten 273 00:16:14,080 --> 00:16:16,400 Speaker 1: really into him. But we we raised the question is 274 00:16:16,480 --> 00:16:18,800 Speaker 1: he really a huge figure in Bavaria And we got 275 00:16:18,800 --> 00:16:22,160 Speaker 1: at least one answer from Karen, who studied abroad and 276 00:16:22,560 --> 00:16:26,160 Speaker 1: visited his castles. But she also remembers one of her 277 00:16:26,200 --> 00:16:30,160 Speaker 1: friends from Bavaria putting out a toast to King Ludwig 278 00:16:30,280 --> 00:16:32,920 Speaker 1: in the middle of a bar. All the other American 279 00:16:32,960 --> 00:16:35,160 Speaker 1: student kind of didn't know what was going on, but 280 00:16:35,800 --> 00:16:39,480 Speaker 1: not yeah exactly. They went along with it to to 281 00:16:39,600 --> 00:16:42,600 Speaker 1: look big. The second well, when that happened, a group 282 00:16:42,640 --> 00:16:44,720 Speaker 1: of German guys who were also sitting in the bar 283 00:16:45,200 --> 00:16:47,720 Speaker 1: started to cheer on King Lidvig as well, and they 284 00:16:47,840 --> 00:16:52,080 Speaker 1: started singing the Bavarian regional anthem. Love it. I love 285 00:16:52,200 --> 00:16:56,880 Speaker 1: this story of all these college kids, study abroad kids, 286 00:16:56,960 --> 00:17:00,600 Speaker 1: German guys singing and toasting kids in load big in 287 00:17:00,640 --> 00:17:03,600 Speaker 1: a bar. There are not enough national anthems in bars. 288 00:17:03,680 --> 00:17:06,960 Speaker 1: Maybe during the World Cup, but besides that, maybe we 289 00:17:07,040 --> 00:17:09,560 Speaker 1: really need to step that up. So thank you Karen 290 00:17:09,600 --> 00:17:12,840 Speaker 1: for answering our question, And if you have some really 291 00:17:12,880 --> 00:17:16,000 Speaker 1: cool emails to send us, our email address is History 292 00:17:16,080 --> 00:17:19,359 Speaker 1: Podcast at how Stuff Works dot com. We would also 293 00:17:19,480 --> 00:17:21,399 Speaker 1: like you to make us look good to our boss, 294 00:17:21,640 --> 00:17:25,119 Speaker 1: and follow us on Twitter at missed in History and 295 00:17:25,240 --> 00:17:27,959 Speaker 1: join our Facebook fan page. You can find out what 296 00:17:27,960 --> 00:17:31,199 Speaker 1: we're up to in the various little trivia bits we 297 00:17:31,280 --> 00:17:34,239 Speaker 1: find during the week, and remember to check out that 298 00:17:34,320 --> 00:17:37,840 Speaker 1: Nazi article by searching on our home page at www 299 00:17:38,040 --> 00:17:42,200 Speaker 1: dot how stuff works dot com. For more on this 300 00:17:42,400 --> 00:17:44,880 Speaker 1: and thousands of other topics. Is it how stuff works 301 00:17:44,920 --> 00:17:46,960 Speaker 1: dot com And be sure to check out the stuff 302 00:17:47,000 --> 00:17:49,280 Speaker 1: you missed in History Glass blog on the how stuff 303 00:17:49,320 --> 00:18:04,280 Speaker 1: works dot com home page.