Fürst-Ramdohr: Freundschaften

Lieselotte Fürst-Ramdohr. Freundschaften in der Weissen Rose. Munich: Verlag Geschichtswerkstatt Neuhausen, 1995.

A friend of Alex Schmorell's, Lieselotte (or Lilo to her friends) grasped the essence of the White Rose, something the majority of historians overlook.... Namely, that the origins of the "movement" (for lack of a better term) were not rooted in a great desire to make a political statement. Rather, these were friends first, who late at night over cheap bottles of Chianti, decided to put their political notions into direct action. Without those enduring personal connections, there would have been no White Rose.

Ramdohr misses a few dates here and there. Her memoirs were penned from memory, years after the war ended. Her book may therefore not be used as a source for exact dates.

But the stories she weaves are filled with unmistakable love for the people she knew, people who were not an abstract, but who made her days whole with laughter and the struggles of living in a "brown" society. Those of us who would know them now should look to her for an unadorned glimpse of faces we have learned to honor.

Note added March 30, 2002: People who fear the truth about the White Rose have had Fürst-Ramdohr's book removed from the library of the White Rose Foundation (Weisse-Rose-Stiftung). But this does not deter the rest of us from continuing to recommend it as one of the most important contributions to White Rose literature. Says Herta Probst (widow of Christoph), "Whenever anyone asks me about the White Rose, I always give them a copy of Lilo Ramdohr's book. She captures the group better than anyone else." -- Update: Apparently it has been re-added.

Note added September 17, 2021: Exclamation! Publishers has committed to publication of this book in English translation. We are working with Lilo's grandson on the form this publication should take. Since 1995, her grandson has drilled down on many facets of Lilo's life, including her family home in Aschersleben.

Our preference would be to publish Lilo's little book first, followed by DS's scholarly treatise, since she perfectly captured the essence of the group. Stay tuned!

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