Scholl, Sophie (1921-1943), was a student activist who struggled against the government and policies of Nazi Germany—including the systematic mistreatment of Jewish people —during World War II (1939-1945). Scholl was a founder of the nonviolent resistance group White Rose . She, her brother Hans, and several friends started the group at the University of Munich.
Sophie Magdalena Scholl was born on May 9, 1921, in Forchtenberg, Germany , near Nuremberg . The Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany in 1933. Scholl’s father, Robert, objected to Hitler’s rule and policies. Like most German children at the time, Sophie and her siblings participated in Nazi youth programs (see Hitler Youth ). Such programs were meant to train and educate children to become loyal members of the Nazi Party. But Sophie eventually began to question Nazi values. Her father was arrested in 1942 for criticizing Hitler.
Also in 1942, Sophie enrolled at the University of Munich, joining Hans there. At the time, few women attended college in Germany. Scholl studied biology and philosophy. She, Hans, and a small group of friends shared a dislike of Nazi policies. They criticized Hitler and disagreed with the mass deportation of German Jews. The friends formed the White Rose to help spread their ideas.
The White Rose bought a typewriter and a duplicating machine to print pamphlets. The pamphlets condemned the murder of Jews and criticized Hitler’s speeches. Scholl helped hand out pamphlets at the University of Munich and secretly mailed them to German scholars. The White Rose also marked buildings in Munich with anti-Nazi graffiti .
The Nazis hunted for the White Rose members. A worker at the University of Munich saw Scholl distributing pamphlets and alerted the Gestapo , the Nazi secret police. Members of the White Rose were arrested, including Hans and Sophie Scholl.
Sophie, Hans, and fellow White Rose member Christoph Probst were quickly put on trial and sentenced to death. All three were beheaded by a guillotine on Feb. 22, 1943.
