Basta. Now It’s Time for Action

Basta. Now It’s Time for Action

The lifestory of Sophie Scholl

As a partisan and member of the “White Rose”, Sophie Scholl (1921-1943) became a legend. Her courage and dauntlessness are even more amazing considering that she was an enthusiastic Hitler Youth leader just a few years beforehand. New sources reveal that Sophie Scholl was more complicated and enthralling than previously known to be.

The Scholl family was split in two after 1933 – whereas the parents regarded Hitler as a dangerous “rat catcher”, their children were fascinated by the Hitler Youth and the League of German Girls (Bund Deutscher Mädchen). However Sophie Scholl also believed in freedom and altruism and felt more and more disgusted by the contempt shown by the NS regime. Her boyfriend, a young officer named Fritz Hartnagel, with whom she had a close, but difficult relationship, told her about his gruesome experiences on the East front. Shortly before her arrest on February 18, 1943, after handing out leaflets on the White Rose with her brother Hans at the Munich University, she said, “So many people are dying for the Regime – it is time, that someone does something to stop it.” She was executed at the age of 21.
A portrait showing Sophie Scholl from various angles, making her come to life as a person and not just concentrating on her role as a partisan. Maren Gottschalk evaluated many documents, and also letters and diaries that were previously not available for viewing. She was able to receive valuable information from talks with Sophie’s sister Elisabeth Hartnagel.