Not in their name

I took my time writing this post. Six months, if not more. Michael Probst, son of Christoph Probst (born November 6, 1919 in Murnau--see photo!, beheaded February 22, 1943 in Munich, Stadelheim Prison) made me aware of the issue in May 2002. I have written around the edges of this topic on a few occasions, always hesitating to jump in feet first.

Micha’s request, one I have honored to the best of my ability: Do not politicize White Rose resistance. I listened as the Probst and Schmorell families defended Vincent Probst and Christian Petry’s 1968 call to students protesting the Vietnam War. Christoph Probst’s son together with that lone historian memorializing White Rose resistance pleaded for students in 1968 to preserve the spirit of the White Rose, while avoiding the traps of dilettantism and idealism.

I will confess, as Herta and Micha pleaded with me not to politicize what their husband and father had done, I did not fully comprehend their reasoning. After all, in 2002 we had a president who was conjuring false evidence to embroil us in a war that would last longer than the Vietnam conflict, something we did not know in 2002 but could intuit. Surely Christl and Traute and Käthe and Hans and Sophie and Schurik and Willi and the dozens more who sacrificed everything for the courage of their convictions would not mind if I worked their noble words into my political blogs. What could it hurt?

After all (I reasoned), Micha’s brother Vincent had done exactly that in 1968. That article in Stern, co-written with Christian Petry, served as rebuttal to the politicization of White Rose work by Bernt von Heiseler and Christoph Dohrn. Christoph Dohrn was brother-in-law of Christoph Probst.

Earlier, Heiseler and Dohrn had penned a screed in which they condemned the contemporary 1960s version of White Rose narrative as “too Communist.” Their essay denounced history as manipulated by Communists and called for a “conservative” version of White Rose history to counterbalance “red propaganda.”

They were not wrong (and I am not agreeing with their politics when I say that). The first time I visited the Bundesarchiv (1995), it was still located in former East Berlin in a dingy, dilapidated facility. My signature followed that of Susanne and Hans Hirzel, who had presumably been there to block their archives.

But also on that sign-in sheet in unmistakable handwriting, Inge Scholl. Her visit was dated well before the fall of the Wall in November 1989, long before Christiane Moll ‘discovered’ the transcripts in former East Berlin. Last time I visited the Bundesarchiv, the page with Inge’s signature was missing. I’m hoping a diligent archivist saved it somewhere secure.

Because:

Although Inge and Robert Scholl associated with and worked for the top Nazis in Ulm, the younger Scholls — especially Sophie, Werner, and Elisabeth — socialized with and frequented the family of Richard Scheringer, a prominent Communist in that city. Sophie’s last visit in Ulm, she visited Elisabeth at the Scheringers’ farm where Elisabeth worked as a nanny. After the execution of Hans and Sophie Scholl, people in Ulm mocked Elisabeth as “that Communist Scholl.”

The very first “White Rose history” was written by Klaus Drobisch and published by Union Verlag in the DDR. In 1968. Long before the West latched onto White Rose as proof that there had been good Germans, East Germans promoted their story. The first ‘real’ White Rose narrative in the West would not appear until 1979.

Drobisch’s account was indeed Red propaganda (East Germans long saw themselves as the one and only true antifascist heroes) and it was also extraordinarily Scholl-centric. No wonder then that Heiseler deemed White Rose narrative in the 1960s as “an amazing accomplishment of red infiltration.” For context, it’s critical to understand that Heiseler was a writer, a member of the NSDAP, and published extensively from 1933-1945.

Vincent Probst and Christian Petry epitomized the other side of the political spectrum. They wanted the student revolution of 1968 to represent the spirit of White Rose resistance, but without toothless idealism. If students were to successfully fight against the war in Vietnam and nuclear weapons and for social justice, the protests had to be effective. Probst and Petry believed that if college students repeated the mistakes of White Rose resistance, the results would be the same. In a word, failure.

It is also important to understand that Petry and Probst did not see themselves as political, nor did they wish to work in the name of the White Rose.

As you can imagine, the Heiseler-Dohrn/Petry-Probst split was hurtful. Petry and Probst suffered personal repercussions from Inge Scholl’s anger — anger that Petry and Probst would dare to suggest that White Rose resistance could have been less idealistic and more realistic and practical. More importantly, the political debate drove a wedge between Christl Probst’s surviving family members. Herta Probst, Christl’s widow, was daughter of Harald Dohrn. The debate pitted family against family.

Since Erich and Hertha Schmorell remained close to the Probst family after the war, they joined Micha and Herta Probst in their pleas to just tell their story. Don’t make it political.

The longer I’ve researched and written about White Rose, the better I understand their admonition. So many organizations falsely claim to act “in the name of White Rose,” or worse, “in the name of Hans and Sophie Scholl” (as if that’s the same thing). The actions of most organizations stand in direct opposition to that idealism and longing for justice seen in White Rose leaflets of 1942/43.

The following groups and organizations do not speak in the name of those White Rose students and the adults who worked alongside them. If you participate in one of these organizations, please consider rebranding.

I have yet to see a single one that truly understands the White Rose story, that recognizes that they were Lutheran, Catholic, Buddhist, atheist, agnostic, anthroposophist. That they adhered to democratic, federalist, socialist, Communist, Nazi, monarchist, and anarchist political viewpoints. That they were straight and LGBTQ+ and don’t-ask-don’t-tell. That they loved the military-hated the military.

That they believed Hitler should-should not be assassinated, that they were for-against active resistance, that they believed-didn’t believe their leaflets had the power to change Germany.

Instead, the groups and organizations listed below pick one single aspect of White Rose resistance and create a storyboard around that single issue. When the rest of White Rose contradicts everything that organization stands for.

So please. Find another brand. Yes, admire, honor, respect these young people. They did all they could (and then some) in an aborted attempt to overthrow Hitler’s regime. We would do well to stand up as clearly as they did for justice.

Just keep politics out of it.

These are listed in strictly alphabetical order. I am not linking to any of them. As you will see, with three of them there are questions about the legality of their organization in general.

Army of God/Straight Shooters. This group calls its conferences “White Rose Banquets” in honor of Hans and Sophie Scholl. Really. The banquet generally ends with the awarding of The Order of the White Rose “to activists recently released from prison or parole.” If you bomb an abortion clinic or shoot an abortion provider, you’re a shoo-in for this award. “Hate is good,” that is their mantra.

Exactly what White Rose students died for. Not.

White Rose Magazine. Their writing is a little too strident for my taste, although I agree with much of their material. Their primary goal seems to be combatting antisemitism and moving “left-wing” politics back to its progressive roots.

I will be contacting them later this week. As much as I would like it to be otherwise, a few of our White Rose students and adults were quite antisemitic. For example, Professor Kurt Huber agreed with the NSDAP platform, but thought it was wrong to murder Jews. He wanted Germany to be Judenrein, “the Jews” merely somewhere else. When you read the gorgeous words of his leaflet — Leaflet VI — in light of his true political leanings, the words are not quite as gorgeous.

This publication clearly demonstrates the pitfalls associated with political activism “in the name of” White Rose.

White Rose Resistance. Anti-abortion group headed by Seth Gruber. “The White Rose Resistance is a nationwide movement whose mission is to be a voice for unborn children.” As strongly as I dislike their mission statement, they claim to be a legitimate 501(c )(3) nonprofit.

However, when I dug a little deeper, I found that “The White Rose Resistance” is merely a DBA of Vindex Media. I don’t understand how the IRS granted Vindex Media 501(c )(3) nonprofit status. It’s an SEO marketing firm that established a DBA called “The White Rose Resistance.” But the DBA is not mentioned in their IRS letter or Form 990 filing (singular — their tax returns are delinquent).

Vindex Media is chartered in Kansas. Their mailing address is in Idaho, but Idaho Secretary of State has no record of Vindex Media as a foreign registrant. There’s an unrelated Vindex in Idaho, but no Vindex Media, no Seth Gruber. Their Form 990 for 2022 (they still have not filed their Form 990 for 2023 or 2024) is signed by persons in Indiana and Florida, where — you guessed it — they are not registered. 100% of the revenue shown on the 2022 Form 990 is from “unrelated business taxable income.” So if you are donating to them, you may want to ask some questions.

From their Web site: Founded by Seth Gruber, The White Rose Resistance is reviving the mission of Hans and Sophie Scholl, who fearlessly condemned and exposed the actions of the Third Reich. Sophie Scholl’s passion and resolve inspired Seth to fulfill her vision: to prick the collective conscience of the culture, awaken the church to action, and build the army of Christian resistance that Hans and Sophie dreamed of.

Please note that there is no evidence that Sophie was anti-abortion. If anything, I suspect that when Scholl archives are eventually opened, we will learn more about Sophie’s sexual activity. I will not be surprised if open archives reveal that at least one of the White Rose women had an abortion, as women in the resistance also tended to fight against Hitler’s laws outlawing abortion. We know for a fact that Susanne Hirzel was sympathetic to the woman she shared a cell with who was imprisoned for having an abortion. Actually, for having five abortions!

White Rose Resistance. Yep, there’s another group with the same name. They too claim to be a nonprofit, and use the *.org designation for their Web site, but there is no evidence that they are a real entity of any sort, much less a registered nonprofit.

This group primarily exists in the social media sphere (Facebook, Substack, Bluesky). They have no email information, no physical or mailing address, no contact name. I have searched and could find no evidence that they’ve ever registered as a genuine entity. I assume that any donations to them are not tax deductible.

Although I somewhat (and I am cautious in saying “somewhat”) agree with some of their posts, by and large they appear to simply plagiarize from better-known groups such as 50501. Lots of memes, none original.

These are the organizations and groups that are blatantly using White Rose for political ends. If you know of others, please contact me!

There are countless others that promote a watered-down version of White Rose resistance, Scholl-centric, ignoring the political and religious diversity within the group. I won’t call them all out by name in this post.

Be aware, however, that when you see e.g., a Pentecostal preacher saying that Hans and Sophie Scholl exhibit the grace of Gaw-awwwwwd as set forth in Pentecostal doctrine (a genuine sermon I read online), or a Facebook group worshipping Sophie Scholl (A Mighty Girl), or yet another White Rose book that shies away from who these friends truly were — every single time these shallow, feel-good versions of their work show up in your feed, please either delete or push back.

Because without the shallow, feel-good versions, people like Seth Gruber would not have a leg to stand on.

Honor them with everything you have. I don’t care if you’re Democrat or Republican, Lutheran or Catholic, young or old, rich or poor. Understand that their true story is one we can all learn from.

If you want to revere Hans Scholl, great, but revere Hans Scholl, the young man who was addicted to crystal meth, who needed a “beard” (Gisela Schertling) because he was gay, who could be charismatic one minute and totally repulsive the next, especially when he was high.

If you want to revere Sophie Scholl, great, but revere Sophie Scholl, the young woman who was suicidal, who looked down on guys who were not rich or influential, who continued to hang out with her Nazi friends until the bitter end, who betrayed Willi and Traute, who could not love or be loved.

My guess is that you’re much more likely to identify with Traute, or Willi, or Alex, or Käthe, or Christl.

Traute the firebrand who kept discussions stirred up and who resisted long before there was a White Rose, who wore Parisian styles and knew how to love even when...
Willi, who like Traute resisted before White Rose, whose quiet exterior belied the churning anger inside him, anger that made him want to assassinate Hitler or blow up the Gestapo building in Berlin.
Alex, the funny, quirky, artist who didn’t want to be a doctor, who wanted to paint and sculpt, who hated life in Germany and was on his way home to Russia when he was arrested.
Käthe, who lived every day in fear because of her physical handicap (“useless eater”), whose parents were split between Hitler and not-Hitler, whose brilliance was overlooked then and now because she was a woman. (Can you imagine how high up the White Rose hierarchy Käthe would be if she had been a man? Because Kurt Huber was her Doktorvater. She was the brains of the group of friends!)
Christl, the moral backbone of the group of friends, the Bavarian intellectual who made them laugh and sit up straighter, all in the same breath, who adored his wife and three babies and resisted anyway, because what would they think if they grew up only to learn their daddy had done nothing?

And Lilo! And Gerhard! And Heinz! And Otl! And Eugen! And Wilhelm! And Tilly! And Susanne! All of them. Anarchists, democrats, monarchists, Buddhists, atheists, Catholics, Communists.

The things they had in common? A love of justice, a desire for freedom, a wish that their Germany could once again know peace.

Nothing else mattered.

Postscript #1: The courage of Christian Petry and Vincent Probst resulted in Inge Scholl’s sidelining them from White Rose scholarship. If you want to understand why White Rose is narrated Scholl-centric, you only need observe how she reacted when Probst and Petry dared to suggest that White Rose resistance had been ineffectual.

Someone should do their PhD dissertation on Inge Scholl’s reaction to the Petry-Probst article in 1968. Please!

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Image credits: Top photograph--Murnau, pedestrian zone. © 2024 Denise Elaine Heap. Please contact us for permission to use. Bottom photograph--Sunrise over the mountains. Shopify, public domain for platform users.

The above information is fully footnoted in our White Rose histories. Please purchase them for access to that material! To order digital version of White Rose History, Volume I: Coming Together (January 1933-April 30, 1942), click here. To order digital version of White Rose History, Volume II, click here. WRH1 is © 2002, 2003, 2007 by Denise Elaine Heap. WRH2 is © 2002, 2007 by Denise Elaine Heap.

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