7-9Th Grades Waves of Resistance by Chloe A. Girls Athletic Leadership School, Denver, CO
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First Place Winner Division I – 7-9th Grades Waves of Resistance by Chloe A. Girls Athletic Leadership School, Denver, CO Between the early 1930s and mid-1940s, over 10 million people were tragically killed in the Holocaust. Unfortunately, speaking against the Nazi State was rare, and took an immense amount of courage. Eyes and ears were everywhere. Many people, who weren’t targeted, refrained from speaking up because of the fatal consequences they’d face. People could be reported and jailed for one small comment. The Gestapo often went after your family as well. The Nazis used fear tactics to silence people and stop resistance. In this difficult time, Sophie Scholl, demonstrated moral courage by writing and distributing the White Rose Leaflets which brought attention to the persecution of Jews and helped inspire others to speak out against injustice. Sophie, like many teens of the 1930s, was recruited to the Hitler Youth. Initially, she supported the movement as many Germans viewed Hitler as Germany’s last chance to succeed. As time passed, her parents expressed a different belief, making it clear Hitler and the Nazis were leading Germany down an unrighteous path (Hornber 1). Sophie and her brother, Hans, discovered Hitler and the Nazis were murdering millions of innocent Jews. Soon after this discovery, Hans and Christoph Probst, began writing about the cruelty and violence many Jews experienced, hoping to help the Jewish people. After the first White Rose leaflet was published, Sophie joined in, co-writing the White Rose, and taking on the dangerous task of distributing leaflets. The purpose was clear in the first leaflet, “If everyone waits till someone else makes a start, the messengers of the avenging Nemesis will draw incessantly closer” (White Rose Leaflet 1). The leaflets strong stance was very unusual since many didn’t rebel against the Nazis publicly. As the leaflets were issued, many people turned them into the Gestapo. This didn’t stop Scholl from continuing to speak her mind through the leaflets, despite knowing the danger she was in. On February 18, 1943 while distributing a new leaflet in the stairwells of Munich University, Sophie threw the last leaflets into the air from the top of the stairwell. Jakob Schmid, the school janitor, saw Sophie and Hans and reported them to the Gestapo (Freedman, 71). The Scholls were arrested, tried in court and sentenced to execution. When in court, Sophie pled guilty arguing what she did was the right thing to do, “Somebody, after all, had to make a start. What we wrote and said is also believed by many others. They just don't dare to express themselves as we did.” (Hornber, 3) As Scholl faced death she showed no fear, “‘without turning a hair, without flinching’” one observer wrote (Hornber, 4). Scholl was executed by guillotine on February 22, 1943 because of her efforts to help those in need and to stand up for what was right. Sophie was never stopped by the fact that her actions could kill her. Sophie's actions inspired others to question their opinions and speak up. The second leaflet exposed the atrocities of war, “We would like to mention by way of example the fact that since Poland was conquered, three-hundred-thousand Jews have been murdered in that country in the most bestial manner imaginable. In this we see a terrible crime against the dignity of mankind, a crime that cannot be compared with any other in the history of mankind.” (White Rose Leaflet 2) Knowing the truth of Hitler’s actions awakened German consciences and forced people to reassess their stance. Sophie’s writing prompted people to speak up and act knowing they weren’t alone. By the end of 1943, some leaflets had been smuggled out of Germany and British War planes dropped thousands of copies into Nazi Germany titled, “A GERMAN LEAFLET: MANIFESTO OF THE MUNICH STUDENTS.” (Freedman, 82) The White Rose leaflets were then spread even farther and caused more resistance in Germany. Sophie’s persistence and bravery in expressing her thoughts has truly urged me to speak up. I am often afraid to speak up because I dislike conflict. Sophie has shown me it’s important to speak my mind because if I don’t nothing will change. Lately, I have noticed our current world is not too different from Sophie’s world. The United States is filled with violence and fear. Sophie has reminded me if she can risk her life, I can absolutely risk feeling uncomfortable or scared while speaking up against injustice and conflict when we need change. I will stay informed, march for causes that matter, and talk to people about my opinions. While writing this essay another mass school shooting occurred in Florida, keeping Sophie in mind, I decided to take action. I found a petition for gun control and signed it online. I shared the link on social media and encouraged my friends to sign too. I will continue to fight for gun control and mental health awareness by organizing school walkouts, and participating in protests. By doing this, I will hopefully inspire others to speak up and participate. Sophie motivates me to keep pushing forward to let my voice be heard. Sophie always believed in the power of her mission: “We took everything upon ourselves, what we did will cause waves.” (Horner, 3) Sophie’s writing in the White Rose leaflets brought attention to the persecution of Jews and pushed others speak up, by doing so she demonstrated an immense amount of moral courage. Although Sophie accomplished all this over 50 years ago, Sophie’s story is still relevant to our society today. In our country, we are filled with fear. When we give in to fear, we often don’t speak our minds. When we remain silent, injustice festers. Let’s use Sophie’s story as a reminder that our voices matter and it is our job to speak up. Whether your opinion will be broadcasted on the news, written in an essay, or you talk about your opinions with your friends, family, or peers, it can make a difference. If we speak out we’ll initiate our own waves of resistance; it just takes courage. Works Cited Freedman, Russell. We Will Not Be Silent: the White Rose Student Resistance Movement That Defied Adolf Hitler. Clarion Books, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016. “Holocaust Resistance.” The White Rose - A Lesson in Dissent, www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the- white-rose-a-lesson-in-dissent. “The Leaflets.” White-Rose-Studies, www.white-rose- studies.org/The_Leaflets.html. .