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In 1943 Allied aircraft swooped 
over Nazi Germany,

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raining tens of thousands of 
leaflets on people below.

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Written by anonymous Germans, the 
leaflets urged readers to renounce Hitler,

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to fight furiously for the future— 
and to never give up hope.

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Their call to action rippled through 
homes and businesses—

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and news of their message even reached 
concentration camps and prisons.

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It was only after the war had ended 
that the authors’ identities, stories,

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and tragic fate would come to light.

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When Hitler seized power 
10 years earlier,

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Hans and Sophie Scholl were teenagers 
in the town of Forchtenberg.

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At that time, fear, propaganda, 
and surveillance

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kept all aspects of life for the Scholl 
family and millions of other Germans

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under Nazi control.

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The government specifically 
targeted young people,

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setting up institutions to regulate their 
behavior and police their thoughts.

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As teenagers, Hans was a member 
of the Hitler Youth

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and Sophie joined The League 
of German Girls.

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Hans rose through the ranks

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and oversaw the training and 
indoctrination of other young people.

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In 1936, he was chosen to carry 
the flag at a national rally.

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But when he witnessed the zeal 
of Nazi rhetoric,

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he began to question it for 
the first time.

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Meanwhile, Sophie was also starting to 
doubt the information she was being fed.

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Their parents Robert and Magdalena,

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who had feared they were losing 
their children to Nazi ideology,

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encouraged these misgivings.

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At home, Robert and Magdalena listened 
to foreign radio stations

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that the government first discouraged 
and later banned.

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While the government churned out national
broadcasts which denied Nazi atrocities,

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the Scholls learned shocking truths.

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And yet, they were still subject to 
the rules of life in Hitler’s Germany.

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After the outbreak of war,

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Sophie reluctantly worked for 
the national effort,

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and Hans had to take on army duties 
while attending medical school in Munich.

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That was where Hans met Christoph Probst, 
Willi Graf and Alexander Schmorell.

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Day by day, each grew more 
sickened by Nazi ideology.

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They longed to share their views.

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But how could they spread them, when it 
was impossible to know who to trust?

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And so, the friends decided 
to rebel anonymously.

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They pooled their money and 
bought printing materials.

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An acquaintance let them use 
a cellar under his studio.

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In secret, they began drafting 
their message.

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In June 1942, mysterious anti-Nazi 
leaflets began appearing all over Munich.

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They were signed: the White Rose.

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The first leaflet denounced Hitler

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and called for Germans to 
sabotage the war effort:

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“Adopt passive resistance…

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block the functioning of this atheistic 
war machine before it is too late,

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before the last city is a heap of rubble…

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before the last youth of our 
nation bleeds to death...

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Don’t forget that each people gets 
the government it deserves!”

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At a time when a sarcastic remark 
could constitute treason,

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this language was unprecedented.

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It was written mostly by Hans Scholl.

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In 1942, Sophie came to Munich knowing 
nothing of her brother’s activities.

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She soon encountered the 
leaflets at school.

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But it was not until she discovered 
evidence in Han’s room

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that she realized who’d written them.

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Her shock soon gave way to resolve: 
she wanted in.

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For both siblings, it was time to escalate
the fury that had been brewing for years.

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From June 1942 to February 1943, 
the group worked feverishly.

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While the Gestapo searched for leads,

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the White Rose were constantly on guard.

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The war raged on. Regulations tightened, 
and Munich suffered air raids.

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But the White Rose ventured 
deeper into conspiracy.

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They graffitied buildings and braved 
trains swarming with Gestapo.

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In the winter of 1942,

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Hans made a treacherous journey to 
the Czechoslovakian border

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to meet anti-Nazi rebels.

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On February 18, 1943,

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Sophie and Hans brought a suitcase 
of leaflets to their university.

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A custodian noticed what they were doing 
and reported them to the Gestapo.

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Both calmly denied any involvement—

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until the police gathered all the leaflets
and placed them back in the empty case,

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where they fit perfectly.

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When Hans and Sophie confessed,

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they were immediately led to court 
and sentenced to death by guillotine.

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Despite a grueling interrogation, the two 
refused to betray their co-conspirators.

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Before her execution, Sophie declared 
her fury at the state of her country.

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But she also spoke to a 
more hopeful future:

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“How can we expect righteousness to 
prevail when there is hardly anyone

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willing to give himself up individually 
to a righteous cause?

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Such a fine, sunny day, and I have to go,

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but what does my death matter, 
if through us,

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thousands of people are awakened 
and stirred to action?”