Sophie Scholl

Sophie Scholl was a student and anti-Nazi political activist in Germany during WWII. As a child, she was an avid follower of National Socialism, as was her brother. However, her parents resented the Nazi movement. There were many family meals spent criticizing and discussing the horrors of the changes in Germany and the Nazis. She realized that the Nazi movement was not in line with her morals or Christian faith and began turning away from the system and toward resistance.

Her brother and his friends had created The White Rose, a passive resistance movement that created and distributed anti-Nazi pamphlets. When Sophie entered university, she joined the group and helped copy, distribute, and mail pamphlets while also managing the group's finances. Her membership in the group was hugely valuable as women were less likely to be stopped by the SS. And getting access to that much paper, envelopes, and stamps during times of wartime rationing was no easy feat. The White Rose managed to evade capture for months while they published and distributed 6 pamphlets. While leaving the 6th pamphlet in the halls of the University of Munich, a janitor saw Sophie and her brother and turned them into the Gestapo. Sophie tried to take all blame for The White Rose, but ultimately everyone involved was sentenced to death. She was 21.