Archive for May 2016
Sophie Scholl: From Hitler Youth to Political Activist
Historical Context: August/September 1936. Most people are aware that National Socialism was in full swing, capturing the hearts and minds of the German youth with the XI Olympic Games in Berlin and the Nuremberg Rallies. The Nazis continue their campaign against the Catholic Church, arresting over 300 protesters. EXCERPT FROM “WITH YOU THERE IS…
Read MoreLove Blooms Among the Ruins in Hohenstaufen
Historical Context: January, 1939. The city of Ulm is a part of Baden-Wuerttemberg, a German province that was the seat of the Hohenzollern dynasty located in the Swabian Alps. Hitler makes a speech at the Reichstag that in the event of war, it would mean the “annihilation of the Jewish race in Europe.” Ulm’s local…
Read MoreFritz Hartnagel Writes to Sophie Scholl, October 1938
Historical Context: October, 1938. German troops invade the Sudetenland (north, southwest and western Czechoslovakia). Jews must identify themselves in their passports with a “J.” Approximately 30,000 German “political suspects/undesirables” flee the Sudetenland; 17,000 German-Polish Jews are deported to the border. Augsburg, October 21, 1938 Dear Sophie! […] Although it was very difficult in the first days…
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