Page 409 - The Secret Museum

The group wrote six more leaflets and contacted resistance groups across

Germany. They wrote graffiti such as ‘Down with Hitler!’ and ‘Freedom!’ in the
streets. The Nazis became furious as resistance against them grew stronger. The
Gestapo could not initially track down any members of the group, but after several
months, Hans and Sophie were arrested at the University of Munich. Hans had a
freshly printed leaflet in his pocket.

Four days later, they were put on trial. Sophie Scholl remarked: ‘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.’ The two siblings were found

guilty of ‘conspiracy to commit high treason’ and, that afternoon, after saying
goodbye to their parents, they were led to the guillotine. Sophie was 21, Hans 24.

Copies of their final pamphlet were smuggled out of Germany and air-dropped
back into the country by Allied Forces, which led to more resistance against the
Nazis towards the end of the war. The Scholl siblings have gone down in history in
Germany. They tell the story of the ‘other’ Germany, of the artists, the poets and
thinkers who believed in the freedom of the human spirit.