White Rose resistance against Nazi dictatorship
Overview of the White Rose.
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Transcript
NARRATOR: Munich in the winter of war 1942-43 - while the majority of Germans stay silent on the crimes of the Nazi dictatorship there are stirrings of resistance at the Ludwig Maximilian University.
GEORG WITTENSTEIN: "The White Rose was a group of like-minded young students. Mainly in cultural matters - music, art, literature, philosophy - but also the same political views."
NARRATOR: Sophie and Hans Scholl's group includes individuals who had once marched with conviction in the Hitler Youth and to war until they bear witness to Nazi crimes. In Poland, medical student Georg Wittenstein had experienced the horror of the war of annihilation.
WITTENSTEIN: "When we heard what really happened, what happened to the Jews, what happened to the Poles, how prisoners of war were treated, it became increasingly clear that this government must be eliminated."
NARRATOR: The White Rose protests against the crimes against humanity and the sacrifices of Germany's own soldiers, such as at Stalingrad. They meet at the home of the Scholl siblings in Franz-Josef-Straße 13 in Munich. From here, the group maintains contact with like-minded individuals across Germany. Here, they produce thousands of leaflets against the Nazi regime, which also publicly denounce the murder of Jews. These are distributed in Southern Germany and in Austria.
HILDEGARD HAMM-BRÜCHER: "These flyers are actually the most beautiful documents of resistance that we have, because they are very palpable, and tremendously brave."
NARRATOR: They challenge the youth to bring Hitler to account.
HAMM-BRÜCHER: "These are people who have a conscience and knowledge of what is being done in the name of Germans, and by Germans, and who no longer want to participate or condone with their silence."
NARRATOR: The sixth pamphleting campaign is the group's undoing. The morning of the 18th of February, 1943 at the University of Munich, the Scholl siblings distribute fliers critical of the Third Reich's policy of war. They urge resistance against the Nazi Party and the enslavement of Europe by National Socialism. As they drop the last fliers, they are confronted by a janitor and betrayed to the Gestapo. The regime deals with them speedily. In summary proceedings, six members of the White Rose are sentenced to death by guillotine. Others remain in custody. The youthful rebellion of conscience fails, but it remains a prominent and rare example of civil resistance during the Nazi dictatorship.
GEORG WITTENSTEIN: "The White Rose was a group of like-minded young students. Mainly in cultural matters - music, art, literature, philosophy - but also the same political views."
NARRATOR: Sophie and Hans Scholl's group includes individuals who had once marched with conviction in the Hitler Youth and to war until they bear witness to Nazi crimes. In Poland, medical student Georg Wittenstein had experienced the horror of the war of annihilation.
WITTENSTEIN: "When we heard what really happened, what happened to the Jews, what happened to the Poles, how prisoners of war were treated, it became increasingly clear that this government must be eliminated."
NARRATOR: The White Rose protests against the crimes against humanity and the sacrifices of Germany's own soldiers, such as at Stalingrad. They meet at the home of the Scholl siblings in Franz-Josef-Straße 13 in Munich. From here, the group maintains contact with like-minded individuals across Germany. Here, they produce thousands of leaflets against the Nazi regime, which also publicly denounce the murder of Jews. These are distributed in Southern Germany and in Austria.
HILDEGARD HAMM-BRÜCHER: "These flyers are actually the most beautiful documents of resistance that we have, because they are very palpable, and tremendously brave."
NARRATOR: They challenge the youth to bring Hitler to account.
HAMM-BRÜCHER: "These are people who have a conscience and knowledge of what is being done in the name of Germans, and by Germans, and who no longer want to participate or condone with their silence."
NARRATOR: The sixth pamphleting campaign is the group's undoing. The morning of the 18th of February, 1943 at the University of Munich, the Scholl siblings distribute fliers critical of the Third Reich's policy of war. They urge resistance against the Nazi Party and the enslavement of Europe by National Socialism. As they drop the last fliers, they are confronted by a janitor and betrayed to the Gestapo. The regime deals with them speedily. In summary proceedings, six members of the White Rose are sentenced to death by guillotine. Others remain in custody. The youthful rebellion of conscience fails, but it remains a prominent and rare example of civil resistance during the Nazi dictatorship.
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