Thread- Remember #sophiescholl
Born #OTD in 1921.
An heroic anti nazi, executed by the nazis aged just 21. She was a leader of the incredible White Rose (WR) resistance movement.
At Munich University she & her brother Hans, organised opposition to Hitler. Her words speak to the
Soul. WR wrote & distributed leaflets encouraging citizens to fight the 3rd Reich. Hans & friends arrest in 1937, for being part of outlawed, German youth movement, reinforced her growing anti nazism.
By 1942 she & friends focused defiance to the nazis. They adopted tactics based
On Americans fighting 'race laws'. WR materials were widely distributed. 6 different types were managed to be disseminated. In Jan 43, over 10 000 leaflets were put out. Several German cities saw WR activities. People were encouraged to "join the resistance". "WR foresaw Nazi
Defeat in the war. "The day of reckoning has come". In Feb 1943, the Scholls put leaflets in students internal mail in Munich Univ. Tragically, they were informed upon.
Hans & Sophie were arrested & interrogated. Other WR supporters too.
With huge courage, Sophie stood by her
Deeds at her show trial. Facing death, even her jailors remarked on Sophie's fortitude. She, Hans & others were beheaded on Feb 22, 1943. Today, many schools, streets & squares are named after her & Hans in Germany/Austria. WR were among the finest beacons of anti nazism. Their
Thread - #Kristallnacht On 9/10th November in 1938, nationwide pogroms resulted in the murder of perhaps hundreds of Jews in Germany, by Nazi goons. Countless others were injured. Nearly 300 synagogues were destroyed. Over 7000 Jewish shops & other property were looted.
Around 30 000 male Jews were arrested & put in concentration camps. Nazi terror was "revenge" for the killing of an official at the German Embassy in Paris, by a a young Polish Jew, Herschel Grynszpan. His parents were among many expelled from Germany & refused entry to Poland
Nazi myths of a world wide Jewish conspiracy fed into Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass). Legislation after Kristallnacht forced Jews out of the economy & onto the fringes of society. Nearly 80 000 Jews were driven to leave Germany in 1939, compared to about 40 000 in 1938.