The Timeline
A timeline of the White Rose non-violent resistance group in Nazi Germany.
The Leaflet Campaign
June 27 - July 12, 1942
The first four leaflets are written by Hans Scholl and Alexander Schmorell, and distributed. This process involved buying postage at various locations and then traveling to out-of-town locations to mail them anonymously.
The Graffiti Campaign
On 3rd, 8th, and 15 February 1943
Alexander Schmorell, Hans Scholl, and Willi Graf scrawl anti-Hitler and anti-Nazi messages on Munich buildings.
The Arrest
February 18, 1943
Hans and Sophia Scholl are seen distributing leaflets at the University of Munich. Usually quite cautious, the pair are more brazen on this day, even throwing a handful of pamphlets over an upper-story bannister to flutter down on fellow students. A janitor calls the Gestapo and Hans and Sophie are arrested. A search of Hans pockets and residence implicates Christopher Proust.
The Judge
Roland Freisler was President of the People’s Court, and a fanatical Nazi whose courtroom histrionics were the subject of Nazi propaganda films. In this video, Freisler is shown screaming at an accused German officer who was appalled by atrocities he had witnessed in Poland.
For more, click here.
for the execution of Hans and Sophie Scholl
The Execution
February 22, 1943
Hans, Sophie and Christopher Proust are tried and convicted. They were beheaded by guillotine at Stadelheim Prison.
The Second Trial
April 19, 1943
As more members of the group are discovered and arrested, a second trial is held. Willi Graf, Kurt Huber and Alexander Schmorell are sentenced to death, while 11 others receive prison sentences. Two were acquitted.
implicated, these six were the core group.
include (top, L-R) Reinhold Meyer, Katharina Leipelt,
Heinz Kucharski, (bottom, L-R) Alexander Schmorell
also picture above), Friedrich Rudolf Geussenhainer,
and Margarethe Mrosek.
The Third Trial
July 13, 1943
A third trial exonerates most of the remaining defendants, although one receives a short prison sentence.
The Fourth Trial
January 29, 1945
Hans Leipelt was convicted and sentenced to death for distributing the final pamphlet in Hamburg.
