The White Rose Movement
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University of Texas at El Paso DigitalCommons@UTEP Open Access Theses & Dissertations 2017-01-01 The White Rose Movement: The Rhetorical Situation and Rhetorical Stances Surrounding the Six Anti-Nazi/Anti-War Leaflets Veronica Ruth Cruz University of Texas at El Paso, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.utep.edu/open_etd Part of the History Commons, Jewish Studies Commons, and the Rhetoric Commons Recommended Citation Cruz, Veronica Ruth, "The White Rose Movement: The Rhetorical Situation and Rhetorical Stances Surrounding the Six Anti-Nazi/ Anti-War Leaflets" (2017). Open Access Theses & Dissertations. 431. https://digitalcommons.utep.edu/open_etd/431 This is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@UTEP. It has been accepted for inclusion in Open Access Theses & Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@UTEP. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE WHITE ROSE MOVEMENT: THE RHETORICAL SITUATION AND RHETORICAL STANCES SURROUNDING THE SIX ANTI-NAZI/ANTI-WAR LEAFLETS By Veronica Cruz Master’s Program in English: Rhetoric and Writing Studies APPROVED: Maggy Smith, Ph.D., Chair Kate Mangelsdorf, Ph.D. Paul Edison, Ph.D. Charles Ambler, Ph.D. Dean of the Graduate School Copyright © by Veronica Cruz 2017 THE WHITE ROSE MOVEMENT: THE RHETORICAL SITUATION AND RHETORICAL STANCES SURROUNDING THE SIX ANTI-NAZI/ANTI-WAR LEAFLETS by Veronica Cruz A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at El Paso in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS Department of English THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT EL PASO August 2017 Acknowledgments To Dr. Smith: I am deeply and forever grateful for your incredible patience and unwavering support and encouragement throughout this journey. You saw great potential in this thesis where no one else had when it started as a mere concept for your class. This thesis could not have been written and completed without your passion and belief in it. Thank you, Dr. Smith, for the guidance and assistance. I am deeply thankful for all that I have learned from you. To Dr. Mangelsdorf and Dr. Edison: I would like to extend my gratitude to your passionate work and help in this thesis. I appreciate both of your input and the significant time given to reading and responding to this document. To my mother: Thank you for the love, support, encouragement, and belief in me through all the most difficult times as I completed the project. You are the only family who has stood by my side and I thank you. iv Abstract This study focuses on the White Rose Movement’s six anti-war/anti-Nazi leaflets the Movement produced and distributed between June 1942 and February 22, 1943 in Munich, Germany. The persuasiveness of the non-violent resistance Movement was analyzed and discussed using a Bitzerean and Booth rhetorical analysis. Though numerous active and passive social protests, such as marches, music, and rallies, have been examined rhetorically in the past, the research surrounding the written form of protest is minor. In direct regards to the White Rose Movement, specifically, the Movement has yet to be examined through a rhetorical lens until now. The Movement and its leaflets are unique in that the Movement had to act in deep secrecy to avoid detection as it composed and disseminated the leaflets in Nazi Germany. This study examined the persuasive quality of the leaflets through the use of the exigence, rhetors, audience, constraints, and rhetorical stances. This study concludes that the leaflets were not immediately as effective as the White Rose Movement hoped the leaflets would be. Keywords: Bitzer, Booth, rhetorical analysis, rhetorical situation, rhetorical stances, White Rose Movement v Table of Contents Acknowledements ........................................................................................................................ iv Abstract ......................................................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................ vii List of Illustrations ..................................................................................................................... viii Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................................1 Background ...........................................................................................................................1 Justfication.............................................................................................................................3 Analyzing the Leaflets ..........................................................................................................4 Methodology ..........................................................................................................................5 Overview of Chapters ...........................................................................................................8 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................8 Chapter 2: Literature Review .....................................................................................................10 Introduction .........................................................................................................................10 Rhetorical Situation ............................................................................................................10 Exigence ...............................................................................................................................15 Audience...............................................................................................................................17 Constraints...........................................................................................................................18 Rhetorical Stances ...............................................................................................................20 Chapter 3: Scope and Methodology ...........................................................................................24 Scope of Study .....................................................................................................................24 Methodology of Study .........................................................................................................27 Design ..........................................................................................................................27 Procedure ....................................................................................................................28 Data Analysis ..............................................................................................................29 Ethical Considerations........................................................................................................30 Chapter 4: Bitzerean and Booth Rhetorical Analysis ..............................................................31 Introduction .........................................................................................................................31 Results of the Study ............................................................................................................31 Exigence ......................................................................................................................31 vi The Rhetors ................................................................................................................39 Audience......................................................................................................................51 Constraints..................................................................................................................57 Rhetorical Stances ......................................................................................................62 Chapter 5: Conclusion .................................................................................................................71 Limitations of the Study .....................................................................................................71 Conclusion ...........................................................................................................................71 Bibliography .................................................................................................................................74 Appendices ....................................................................................................................................79 Appendix A: Images of the White Rose Members ...........................................................79 Appendix B: The White Rose Leaflets ..............................................................................80 Curriculum Vita ...........................................................................................................................99 vii List of Illustrations Illustration 1: Leaflet I .................................................................................................................. 25 viii Chapter 1: Introduction Background Hitler’s rise to power came at a time when the German people felt they needed him