Hans Scholl
For the astronomer, see Hans Scholl (astronomer)Hans Scholl (born
22 September 1918 in Ingersheim a district of
Crailsheim, executed
22 February 1943) was a member of the
White Rose resistance movement in
Nazi Germany.
He, along with his sister,
Sophie,
Christoph Probst,
Alexander Schmorell,
Willi Graf, and Professor
Kurt Huber, wrote and distributed six leaflets denouncing Nazi actions in Europe and calling on the German people to resist what their government was doing. They distributed these leaflets in the
Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, where they studied, and the University in
Hamburg. They also mailed the leaflets to doctors, scholars, and pub owners across Germany, trying to spread the message as far as possible.
Hans and his sister were discovered on
18 February 1943 while distributing the sixth leaflet in Munich. They flung the leaflets from the top of the atrium as students exited from their exams, and they were seen by one of the janitors, and arrested by the
Gestapo. They were tried for treason along with their friend
Christoph, by Judge
Roland Freisler, known for his predetermined "guilty" verdicts, and all three were
executed only a few hours later by
guillotine on the
22 February 1943. His last words were "Es lebe die Freiheit!"-(Long live Freedom).
Shortly thereafter, most of the other students involved were arrested and executed as well.
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Biography*
Text of leaflets in English and German
