In May of 1942, with Germany still winning the war, an improbable little band of students at Munich University began distributing the leaflets of the White Rose. In the very city where the Nazis got their start, they demanded resistance to Germany s war efforts and confronted their readers with what they had learned of Hitler s final solution: Here we see the most terrible crime committed against the dignity of humankind, a crime that has no counterpart in human history . . . These broadsides were secretly drafted and printed in a Munich basement by a young medical student and military conscript, Hans Scholl, and a handful of young co-conspirators that included his twenty-one-year-old sister Sophie. The leaflets placed the Scholls and their friends in mortal danger, and it wasn t long before they were captured and executed. As their letters and diaries reveal, they were not primarily motivated by political beliefs, but rather came to their convictions through personal spiritual searches that eventually led them to sacrifice their lives for what they believed was right. Idealistic, serious, and sensible, Hans and Sophie Scholl joined the Hitler Youth with youthful and romantic enthusiasm. But as Hitler s grip throttled Germany and Nazi atrocities mounted, Hans and Sophie emerged from their adolescence with the conviction that at all costs they must raise their voices against the murderous Nazi regime. Interwoven with commentary on the grim progress of Hitler s campaign, the letters and diary entries range from veiled messages about the course of a war they wanted their country to lose, to charming descriptions of hikes and skiing trips and meditations on Goethe, Dostoyevsky, Rilke, and Verlaine; from entreaties to their parents for books and sweets hard to get in wartime, to deeply humbled and troubled entreaties to God for an understanding of the presence of such great evil in the world. There are alarms when Hans is taken into military custody, when their father is jailed, and when their friends are wounded on the eastern front. But throughout even to the end, when the Scholls sense of peril was most oppressive there appear in their writings lovely spontaneous outbursts of joy and gratitude for the gifts of nature, music, poetry, and art. In the midst of evil and degradation, theirs is a celebration of the spiritual and the humane.

A unique study of the WW2 culture of Germany.

A gorgeous and timely novel based on the incredible story of Sophie Scholl, a young German college student who challenged the Nazi regime during World War II as part of The White Rose, a nonviolent resistance group.

The title of the book represents a black heart and white rose. As many know a black heart is dark and it has little to do with love. The Black heart in the title stands for a love so deep in red it seems black. The White Rose stands for the death of love or ending of a relationship. Just as if attending a funeral with white roses. The book is a collection of light and dark poems to show both spectrums dealing with a love of any sort. The words are up and down to show imperfections make the world beautiful. Depends how the reader perceives it.

"Among the wealth of good Holocaust literature available, Freedman's volume stands out for its focus and concision, effectively placing the White Rose in its historical context, telling the story of Nazi Germany without losing the focus on the White Rose, and doing so in just over 100 pages." (Kirkus starred review) In his signature eloquent prose, backed up by thorough research, Newbery medalist and nonfiction master Russell Freedman tells the story of Austrian-born Hans Scholl and his sister Sophie. They belonged to Hitler Youth as young children, but began to doubt the Nazi regime. As older students, the Scholls and a few friends formed the White Rose, a campaign of active resistance to Hitler and the Nazis. Risking imprisonment or even execution, the White Rose members distributed leaflets urging Germans to defy the Nazi government. Their belief that freedom was worth dying for will inspire young readers to stand up for what they believe in. Archival photographs and prints, source notes, bibliography, index. A Sibert Honor Book

'Long Live Freedom!'-- Hans Scholl's last words before his execution The White Rose (die Weiße Rose) resistance circle was a group of students and a professor at the University of Munich who in the early 1940s secretly wrote and distributed anti-Nazi pamphlets. At its heart were Hans Scholl, Sophie Scholl, Christoph Probst, Alexander Schmorell, Willi Graf and Professor Kurt Huber, all of whom were executed in 1943 by the Nazi regime. The youngest among them was just twenty-one years old. This book outlines the story of the group and sets their resistance texts within their political and historical context, including archival photographs. A series of brief biographical sketches, along with excerpts from their letters, trace each member's journey towards action against the National Socialist state. The White Rose resistance pamphlets are included in full, translated by students at the University of Oxford. These translations are the result of work by undergraduates around the same age as the original student authors, working together on texts, ideas and issues. This project reflects a crucial aspect of the White Rose: its collaborative nature. The resistance pamphlets were written collaboratively, and they could not have had the reach they did without being distributed by multiple individuals, defying Hitler through words and ideas. Today, the bravery of the White Rose lives on in film and literature and is commemorated not just in Munich but throughout Germany and beyond.

A special 80th anniversary edition of this much-acclaimed title, to commemorate the extraordinary events of 1943 A SPECIAL ANNIVERSARY EDITION TO COMMEMORATE 80 YEARS SINCE THE EXTRAORDINARY EVENTS OF 1943 Sophie Scholl and the White Rose tells the gripping true story of five Munich university students who set up an underground resistance movement in World War II. The thrilling story of their courage and defiance, brought to life in the Oscar-nominated film Sophie Scholl - The Final Days, is beautifully told in this special 80th anniversary edition of Annette Dumbach & Jud Newborn's critically acclaimed work. Acclaim for Sophie Scholl and the White Rose: 'The animated narrative reads like a suspense novel.' New York Times 'Powerful and compelling... Among the indispensable literature of modern political culture.' Hans-Wolf von Wietersheim, Das Parlament 'A dramatic story of courage during the darkest period of the 20th Century... And it's a story with new chapters unfolding. This book is a fundamental resource and a memorable read.' Toby Axelrod, author and reporter