THE WHITE ROSE INTRODUCTION AND CONTEXT ‘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.’ Sophie Scholl at her trial. 1943. In a Munich court, brother and sister Hans and Sophie Scholl, with their best friend Christoph Probst, are tried for speaking out against the Nazi regime. As German teenagers in the 1930’s the Scholl siblings had supported Hitler and his rise to power. They had even been members of German youth organisations and, like many others, believed that Hitler was leading Germany into a glorious future. However, as World War II began and the reality of Hitler’s policies became apparent, Sophie and Hans Scholl started to act. Copies of a leaflet called The White Rose appeared at the University of Munich. This anonymous essay condemned the Nazi regime and encouraged ordinary Germans to rise up and resist the authority of their own leaders. Such open rebellion was unheard of. Over the next few months, five more leaflets followed. Seeing The White Rose movement begin to attract public support, the Gestapo redoubled their efforts to hunt down the ringleaders. 18 February 1943 saw Hans and Sophie arrested after leaving leaflets in the buildings of the Munich University. Christoph Probst was linked to the movement and also arrested. After four days of interrogation by the Gestapo, they were tried for treason, found guilty and executed on 22 February 1943. Hans was 24 years old, Sophie 21 and Christoph was 22. More arrests, trials and executions followed as other members of this small group were rounded up. However, even though The White Rose had been broken, its ideals of freedom and non-violent resistance continued to influence many German citizens. Today, the story of The White Rose is taught and celebrated in schools and colleges all over modern Germany. In this unit, students will have the opportunity to explore the story of TheWhite Rose from a variety of perspectives. They will investigate something of the background context of national socialist Germany in the 1930s and 40s before dramatizing aspects of the White Rose story itself. They will work in both realistic and more abstract modes of performance and will also be able to examine the work of a professional playwright dealing with the same themes. Key issues of representation in drama will be considered as students create their own dramatizations based on carefully structured approaches to this engaging but in some ways problematic material. Finally they will be able to reflect on what they have experienced as they undertake the task of memorializing a group of university students who ‘made a start’ in resisting oppression. 246 ACTIVITY 1 Write the word ‘resistance’ on the board. • What does the word ‘resistance’ mean to you? • Can anyone think of an example of a person or a group who have stood up for something that they have believed in? This could be a local, national or global occurrence. • How do people make their feelings known when they want to protest against something or stop something from happening? • Can you think of any examples of people putting themselves at risk through their actions as they protest against something? • If ‘non-violent’ is added to the word ‘resistance’, what does this phrase imply about the sort of action people might take? • What sort of things would you be willing to fight for – freedom, equality, justice? ACTIVITY 2 Using resource sheet 1, show the students the image of Jewish civilians being forced to clean the streets in Vienna. Without explaining the context of the photograph, encourage them to deconstruct what is happening. • When do you think this photograph was taken? • What does it show? • Who are the people on their hands and knees? • Who are the people standing round watching? Your students may well successfully place the image in its proper context. However, they might need some more historical information to understand its implications. Once Hitler and his National Socialist party was established in Germany of the 1930’s he began a policy of intolerance and persecution resulting eventually in a process of mass-extermination that would become known as ‘The Final Solution.’ Hitler was obsessed with creating a master race of Aryans who were blond, blue-eyed, strong and healthy. He said that Germans and other north European people belonged to this Aryan race and should fulfil their destiny of ruling the world. Fuelled by relentless propaganda, the hatred and persecution of any non–Aryan grew. Jews, Slavs (from eastern Europe), black people, communists, gypsies, people with disabilities, homosexuals and anyone who did not hold the views of National Socialism became an enemy of the state. 247 In the run up to the Second World War, Jewish people in Germany found themselves in an increasingly dangerous world. Their shops and businesses were destroyed and they were openly attacked. Their houses and goods were seized and confiscated by the state. Laws were passed that banned them from working in government, using public transport or parks or even owning a bicycle. Jews and non-Jews were not allowed to marry. 1939 saw Germany plunged into The Second World War - a war that Hitler waged on two fronts. While German soldiers fought on the battlefields of Europe against the Allies, the persecution of Hitler’s enemies at home and in captured countries moved towards its final phase. Whole areas of cities became walled up Jewish ghettos where thousands starved to death or died of disease. The construction of death camps such as Auschwitz, Sobibor and Treblinka provided the means to the Nazi’s ‘Final Solution’ - intended to be the ultimate destruction of the Jewish people. Millions of Jewish people were shipped in cattle trucks to these camps and gassed to death in enormous sealed chambers. It is estimated that some six million Jews were killed. Arrange some chairs or blocks in the middle of the room and explain that these represent the Jewish people in the photograph being forced to scrub the streets. Ask the students to get into groups of five or six and place each group in a circle around the blocks or chairs. Give each group a piece of paper and a pen. Imagine that you are one of the people in the crowd who find themselves witnessing this event. In your groups, I want you to form a still image of these spectators. • What are your feelings about what is happening? • Do you think it is fair? • Are you worried that next time it could be you that is treated this way? • Do the children in the crowd understand what is happening? • Can you show your thoughts and feelings through your facial expression and body language? Once the students have completed their task, ask them to add a word or phrase that attempts to capture the feelings of their character. I want you write these words or phrases on the paper I have given you. We will be using them later in the work. Allow a few minutes to complete the task, asking each group to incorporate their spoken lines into their still image. As each group presents their drama, encourage the audience to offer captions or titles for each piece of work. Once all groups have shared their work, explain that during the next activity, you are going to work in role alongside them. For this part of the work, I am going to take on a role and become part of your scene. Each group will recreate their still image for a few seconds until I approach in role. 248 As I speak to you, animate your image. Carry the action on with movement and language, reacting to me and to each other until I stop the work. Imagine the play button on a video recorder has just been pressed to make the paused image come alive. The choice of role is up to you as the teacher. You may wish to consider a neutral role with equal status to the others in the group, drawing responses and reactions without providing a model to follow. You may wish to introduce the idea that there would be people in the crowd who believe they could be the next victim. A high status ‘authority’ role might be able to challenge the views of any spectators who might consider voicing their protests at what is going on. By careful questioning, you will be able to build the tension in the scene, highlighting the very serious implications of this event. • What’s going on here? • Who are the people on their hands and knees? • Why are you letting this happen? • Shouldn’t someone do something? • How would you feel if it was you and your family? • It’s not fair that these people are treated like this. • I’ve heard the soldiers saying they are looking for others in the crowd. • This is not the first time this has happened. • If they are doing this now, what will they do next? • Move back, we need to make more room so everyone can see. • It is about time we made examples of these people. • You look sorry for them, would you like to join your friends? Allow each group the opportunity to complete this task and discuss the work. • What did it feel like to be the spectator of this degrading act? • What do you imagine it might have felt like to be one of the victims? • Identify a line or word that someone said in role that you thought was effective.