Hans (left) and Sophie Scholl with Cristoph Probst (right), leaders of “The White Rose” resistance movement. Munich Germany, July 1942.

UPDATE, March 21, 2018: Some of the links in this article no longer work. This article has been updated with new links here.

Hans Scholl and his sister Sophie were part of “The White Rose”, a group that opposed Hitler and the Nazi party. Hans served as a medic on the Eastern (Russian) front from late July to October 1942. One month later, 300,000 Germans were trapped in Stalingrad and only 5,000 returned to Germany. . . .

Hans and Sophie were arrested February 18, 1943 for distributing leaflets and indicted for treason. They were “tried” February 22, 1843 along with their friend Cristoph Probst, found guilty, and executed by guillotine later the same day. A moving account of the trial and visits with their parents during their last hours is toward the end of this article.

12 or so years ago, my son Jim acquired the above photo. He and his friend Eric wrote the following poem at that time.

— — —
WHITE ROSE

They are the things of nursery rhymes
Such as ones you read to children –
Unknowing toddlers suffering parents’ crimes
And burned beneath the ashes of Dresden:
Petals falling to the ground.
Sophie stares darkly serious
With heavier weight than should be
Allowed for a woman on twenty-one.
But everyone carried burdens.
Three hundred thousand bodies
make the conscience sour,
Shameful that a much larger number
would be necessary to sate one man’s
Thirst, or earn
righteous vengeance.

For Hans, perhaps no healing powers
Ever learned could stop the burns and amputations
from the
EAST
Or mend the bleeding of a people
Once vast
Once proud
Once beautiful.
And more than beauty, the daisy
sits
Close to Sophie’s bosom,
In its last bastion of protection
Where life and beauty survive
If only for a moment –

Innocence lost, like blood drained and
Whitened leaving zombies in blind sleep;
Red sapped from passionate roses
Stifling growth,
Cultivating compliance,
Leaving only a single symbol
Of virginity
Of purity
On aninimity

White Rose

– Copyright © Eric Duckworth and Jim Doty III
— — —

You can learn more about Hans, Sophie, and the White Rose here , here, and (if you speak German) here.

Sophie’s story has been made into a critically acclaimed movie that will be released in major U.S cities between February and May. You can learn more about the movie here and here.

Current play dates follow. Updates to the playdate list will appear at the movie site.

Current playdate list (February 27, 2006) arranged by state:

CALIFORNIA
Beverly Hills Music Hall 3 NOW PLAYING
Encino Town Center NOW PLAYING
Newport Beach Lido Theatre NOW PLAYING
Pasadena Playhouse NOW PLAYING
Santa Monica Monica 4 opens March 3
Berkeley Shattuck Cinemas opens March 3
San Francisco Embarcadero Center opens March 3
Palm Springs Camelot Theatres opens March 10
San Rafael Rafael Film Center opens March 10
San Jose Camera Cinemas 7 opens March 10
San Diego Ken Cinema opens April 21

FLORIDA
North Miami Sunrise Cinemas opens March 24
Boca Raton Sunrise Cinemas opens March 24
Sunrise Sunrise Cinemas 11 opens March 24

GEORGIA
Atlanta Midtown Art Cinema Opens May 5

HAWAII
Honolulu Honolulu Academy of Arts April 22-26

IDAHO
Boise Flicks Theatre opens April 28
Sandpoint Panida Theatre May 25-27

ILLINOIS
Chicago Music Box Theatre opens March 31

INDIANA
Indianapolis Keystone Art Cinema opens March 24

MARYLAND
Bethesda Bethesda Row Cinema opens March 31

MASSACHUSETTS
Cambridge Kendall Square opens March 10
Dennis Cape Cinema opens March 17
West Newton West Newton Cinemas opens March 17
Worcester Cinema 320 opens May 9

MINNESOTA
Minneapolis Edina Cinema opens March 31

MISSOURI
Frontenac Plaza Frontenac opens April 7

MONTANA
Bozemann Campus Square 8 June 16-22

NEW JERSEY
Montclair Claridge 6 opens March 3
Vorhees Ritz Theatres opens March 31

NEW YORK
New York Film Forum NOW PLAYING
Huntington Cinema Arts Centre NOW PLAYING
Manhassett Manhassett Cinemas NOW PLAYING
Rhinebeck Upstate Films opens March 17
Peekskill Paramount Centre May 3-7

PENNSYLVANIA
Philadelphia Ritz Theatres opens March 31
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh Filmmakers opens April 14

TEXAS
Dallas Inwood Theatre opens April 7
Houston Angelika Film Center opens April 28
Austin Dobie Theatre opens May 19

UTAH
Salt Lake City Broadway Center Cinemas opens Apr 14

VIRGINIA
Fairfax Cinema Arts Theatre opens March 31
Williamsburg Kimball Theatre opens April 29

WASHINGTON
Seattle Varsity Theatre opens March 17

WASHINGTON DC
Washinton DC E Street Cinema opens March 24