If you've read my White Rose histories, you know how much I enjoyed and appreciated Susanne Hirzel's memoir, Vom Ja Zum Nein [From Yes to No]. She's honest and up front about so many things. Her words ring true, because she only wrote about what she knew. She never insinuated herself into White Rose activities that were beyond the scope of her limited engagement.
And if you've read the updates to the academic version of those same histories, you know how problematic things became once her brother Hans Hirzel joined the Republikaner party, a far-right-wing, extremist political party in Germany. He eventually un-joined and returned to the CDU, a normal conservative affiliation.
Showing posts with label Susanne Hirzel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Susanne Hirzel. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Why my White Rose research began ~ July 1994
In July 1994, I was working away at my translation business when I stopped to really look at the week's photography of the German American Chamber of Commerce calendar. The photograph of Munich caught my eye first. That's the way the city looks when Foehn blows in, that southern, Italian wind that clears out cobwebs and lets you see the Alps from the city. A picture this clear can probably be taken only once every ten years.
But then, who were these people in the old snapshot? I had never heard of them before. "Must be Communists," I thought. Then the air conditioning went out, and a horrid landlord would not fix it for nearly a week. He drove me straight into the arms of the Houston Public Library.
I cried when I read those first few books by Hanser and Dumbach/Newborn. Spent a lot of time reading extant literature (all secondary sources), moved beyond words by a story of genuine martyrdom and sacrifice. I wrote the first draft of my nonfiction novel and decided I simply had to go to Germany to tie up the loose ends.
Sold my translation company in January 1995, and convinced my mom to travel with me as videographer, then headed out, thinking I would only need the three months we had scheduled to wrap it all up and get this thing out the door to a publisher. The Forsters had agreed to let us have their Ferienwohnung near Bad Toelz for the Munich portion of our stay, and they provided far more than that. They showed up with warm winter clothes, including wool coats, and maps.
Early March 1995, after attending the annual memorial service at the University of Munich on February 22, I received a letter from Inge Aicher-Scholl that I thought had surely ended my White Rose research. Her letter was essentially a Schreibverbot, in which she stated that she had written the only book that ever needed to be written about the White Rose, and that she was henceforth forbidding her publisher (S. Fischer Verlag), her agent, and her son (who had taken over the Scholl Archives) from speaking to me. I still do not know what I ever did to deserve such a letter before she had ever exchanged a single word with me. I had only written her, asking for an interview, and she had granted dozens of interviews before.
Being the honest, direct person that I am, I notified each subsequent person of Inge's letter. Instead of doors slamming in my face, they miraculously opened. People talked who had been silent before, and people who had talked said things they had suppressed for many years.
For it turns out that the White Rose story has been controlled by Inge for half a century. At the expense of the truth, and the friendships that made their resistance possible.
The truth is sometimes uglier than the legend that has grown up around the resistance movement. Haloes came crashing to the ground, as weaknesses were exposed and the thirty or so among these friends were shown to be regular people like the rest of us. The generic term of "Christian humanists" that this calendar chose is woefully inaccurate. Some were devout Christians, pained by the way their churches had deserted them. Others were not Christian at all, following anthroposophism or secular humanism as their guiding principles. Some became more religious, others less, as 1933 faded into 1943.
Some, specifically Hans Scholl, demonstrated gross negligence and irresponsibility in their behavior, causing more harm to be inflicted on the friends than was necessary. And others, like Susanne Hirzel, overcame fear of being caught, doing some small thing or another that contributed to the whole.
The true story, the whole story, still makes me cry. But it also makes me angry, makes me laugh, makes me question, makes me want to sing and rage at the same time. If my readers do the same in at least half the measure as I, then I will have succeeded.
But then, who were these people in the old snapshot? I had never heard of them before. "Must be Communists," I thought. Then the air conditioning went out, and a horrid landlord would not fix it for nearly a week. He drove me straight into the arms of the Houston Public Library.
I cried when I read those first few books by Hanser and Dumbach/Newborn. Spent a lot of time reading extant literature (all secondary sources), moved beyond words by a story of genuine martyrdom and sacrifice. I wrote the first draft of my nonfiction novel and decided I simply had to go to Germany to tie up the loose ends.
Sold my translation company in January 1995, and convinced my mom to travel with me as videographer, then headed out, thinking I would only need the three months we had scheduled to wrap it all up and get this thing out the door to a publisher. The Forsters had agreed to let us have their Ferienwohnung near Bad Toelz for the Munich portion of our stay, and they provided far more than that. They showed up with warm winter clothes, including wool coats, and maps.
Early March 1995, after attending the annual memorial service at the University of Munich on February 22, I received a letter from Inge Aicher-Scholl that I thought had surely ended my White Rose research. Her letter was essentially a Schreibverbot, in which she stated that she had written the only book that ever needed to be written about the White Rose, and that she was henceforth forbidding her publisher (S. Fischer Verlag), her agent, and her son (who had taken over the Scholl Archives) from speaking to me. I still do not know what I ever did to deserve such a letter before she had ever exchanged a single word with me. I had only written her, asking for an interview, and she had granted dozens of interviews before.
Being the honest, direct person that I am, I notified each subsequent person of Inge's letter. Instead of doors slamming in my face, they miraculously opened. People talked who had been silent before, and people who had talked said things they had suppressed for many years.
For it turns out that the White Rose story has been controlled by Inge for half a century. At the expense of the truth, and the friendships that made their resistance possible.
The truth is sometimes uglier than the legend that has grown up around the resistance movement. Haloes came crashing to the ground, as weaknesses were exposed and the thirty or so among these friends were shown to be regular people like the rest of us. The generic term of "Christian humanists" that this calendar chose is woefully inaccurate. Some were devout Christians, pained by the way their churches had deserted them. Others were not Christian at all, following anthroposophism or secular humanism as their guiding principles. Some became more religious, others less, as 1933 faded into 1943.
Some, specifically Hans Scholl, demonstrated gross negligence and irresponsibility in their behavior, causing more harm to be inflicted on the friends than was necessary. And others, like Susanne Hirzel, overcame fear of being caught, doing some small thing or another that contributed to the whole.
The true story, the whole story, still makes me cry. But it also makes me angry, makes me laugh, makes me question, makes me want to sing and rage at the same time. If my readers do the same in at least half the measure as I, then I will have succeeded.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
History: January through December 2002
December 31, 2002
Finally, the last entry of a most difficult year. Wrote my response to the task force in Crailsheim. The crux of their general argument is that we are not allowed to actually talk about the true White Rose story and portray anyone in it (but especially Hans and Sophie Scholl) with flaws, because they are symbols of "good" in Germany. I think this is an issue that will have to be addressed in white paper articles, not here in this journal.
The end of the year is always a good time to take stock of ourselves, to see what we like and don't like. Even incidents as completely unpleasant as the last few weeks wrangling with dishonesty in Crailsheim ~ even that can make me stronger. I have to believe that.
December 20, 2002
Well, the people in Crailsheim found another new low. I received an official task-force email, copied to every member. Hannes' new tactic is to insinuate that I wrote that Hans and Sophie Scholl had an incestuous relationship. To "prove" his point, he translated portions of my book, leaving out critical passages that would have disproved his accusation. What offended me even more was that he alleged this, while: 1) Not having asked me what I meant by those passages before making his presentation; and 2) Without having read the book (which he admitted in front of the task force).
It's even more irresponsible that the task force did not ask him to take his seat and stop talking the moment he admitted to them that he had not read my book before reporting on it! And he's a teacher? His "apology" was a joke, more self-justification.
Is it just me, or is this beginning to sound like a soap opera? (Maybe the Crailsheimer will make a great screenplay one day.)
December 13, 2002
Whenever I think that the people in Crailsheim have reached their nadir, they prove me wrong. Where is the bottom of their barrel?
Now Hannes is trying to claim that I am being "super-sensitive" about his accusations that I am interested only in "sex and crime", and not in the real White Rose story. He points to an August 2001 email in which he had written that he liked my approach (!) even though I attributed "sex and crime" to "his hero, Hans Scholl." Wednesday he said that since I didn't protest that label in August 2001, he didn't understand why I didn't find it offensive now.
His attempt to excuse himself is offensive on so many levels, not least of which is that Hans Scholl does not equate with the White Rose. I did not protest in August 2001, because Hans Scholl did have problems with sex and crime. He was a regular Robert Downey Jr., complete with Downey's unbelievable talents, and Achilles heel.
The Arbeitskreis (task force) was supposed to meet again last night to consider a very strong email that I wrote to the Hohenloher Tagblatt, the local newspaper that published parts of Hannes' slander. It should be interesting to see if Hannes apologized.
December 6, 2002
The Mission Statement and White Rose Projects are now posted on the Center's site. If you wish to make a tax-deductible contribution to our work, please note that in a comment here and someone will contact you.
And yes, I am writing such mundane things because I am trying to keep my mind off the ugliness in Crailsheim. It has not improved, only worsened.
November 29, 2002
Tomorrow is my birthday. But any anticipation of that usually happy event was ruined by an unexpected turn of events in Crailsheim.
Following a week of extremely enjoyable email exchange on the topic described below (Nov. 22), Hannes Hartleitner took that discussion and misquoted the two of us involved in the conversation. His presentation of my book at the annual meeting of the Arbeitskreis in Crailsheim took the approach of personal vilification. He accused me of Gestapo-like tactics in my White Rose research, claiming that I am only interested in "sex and crime" (ergo, not the truth).
It was devastating seeing positive words that we had written, now mangled beyond all recognition. I have asked for a public apology. We'll see if I get one.
November 22, 2002
The poet C.K. Williams has recently posited that perhaps Germany has become the 20th century's "symbol" for evil and that it will be difficult for the country to ever shake that association.
While Williams' prose is admirable and even thought-provoking on the topic, I disagree. That perpetuates the notion that the current administration in Washington DC seeks to put forward, that the world is black and white. I think I understand ~ more than ever before ~ that not all heroes are good, and not all good people are heroes; and that not all villains are mean, and not all mean people are villains.
With that in mind, I would also say to C.K. Williams that his hypothesis opens the door for those who would say that, for example, the White Rose is the symbol for goodness. What they did was good, and excellent, and noble. Their actions were praiseworthy, and should never be minimized. But their actions do not remove their warts and flaws and blemishes, nor should they.
Not all heroes are good, and not all good people are heroes.
November 15, 2002
Oh sigh. We are late with the production of our next book too, the Gestapo interrogation transcripts for Hans and Sophie Scholl, Willi Graf, and Alexander Schmorell. It will be the most wonderful thing in the world when we can afford to hire assistants and not do everything ourselves.
I'm realizing that the Hamburg "branch" of the White Rose has its own fascinating story to tell, completely separate and apart from the people in Munich. They were not so much a branch (as the legend has been told) as they were a viable, functioning resistance movement in their own right.
The post-White Rose resistance in Munich is similarly intriguing. This is the group that centered around Hans Leipelt (who was essentially a Hamburger). It is really a crying shame that the names of Leipelt's friends have not been honored and respected along with him. Since Leipelt and his friends were largely so-called "halb Juden" (half-Jews), it's interesting to see how they were treated differently. For example, one of Leipelt's friends (who was 'more Jewish' than the rest) was sent to a concentration camp long before her trial.
So many stories, so little time to tell them all in. One thing is for certain, the Chemistry Department at the University of Munich and Professor Heinrich Wieland come off looking awfully good. A few more Wielands and Hubers, and history easily could have been written differently.
August 23, 2002
Yea! It shipped! A back-breaking week of shared pizza and running up and downstairs and all that goes into getting a book like this out the door and in your mailbox. One exhausting day after another, and we felt like saying, "Yes, we do windows too." All in all, a good feeling.
July 26, 2002
Juggling multiple projects is challenging, but necessary. Finishing up production of White Rose History, Volume I, and it seems like the headaches never go away. We're all on the phone all the time. Well, that may be an exaggeration, but not much of one. This didn't print right, that's not right, and we've blown by our first deadline. Again, the joys of being a small company...
We'll savor warm champagne fuzzies (or is it fizzies?) when the book finally ships. Right now, we're wondering when that will be. [Note: If you want to order it, and it's not available in your favorite book store, you can buy the volume directly from the publisher.]
(We're also curious as to how our unique format for this book will be received. We looked at it this way and that, and opted for a three-ring binder that can support annual updates as additional archives are opened ~ specifically the Scholl Archives that have long been off limits to serious scholars. If you've bought or read the book (it's in better libraries the world over), please let us know how you like the 'different' concept. Your opinion will make a difference in how we handle Volume II in 2003. Please post comments here!)
June 28, 2002
The local newspaper carried a very nice article about our work. But I'm going to have to get used to not being quoted 100% accurately. Oh well. The publicity is nice? Yes, it is.
May 9, 2002
We need more time! We need more time! We can't go home just yet. Aaahh!!
One more conversation (telephone) with Lilo Fuerst-Ramdohr, and a surprisingly delightful meeting with the Probst family and with Dr. Wolfgang Huber. The Probsts have traditionally been the "quiet" White Rose wheel, much like Christl himself all those years ago. Adored Herta Probst! She lost so much ~ her husband, her father, and a brother. She told us that just a few days before the war ended, the SS showed up at her door with orders to execute her and her babies. Luckily, one of her brothers knew that they were coming and gave her the heads-up. She escaped with just the clothes on her back.
And Dr. Wolfgang Huber... These entries will definitely contain more about him in the future. One of those bizarre quirks of fate: There was a visiting professor in Houston in 1981/82. I hit it off great with him, since I knew just enough of the Swabian dialect to be dangerous, and he was from Tuebingen. Of course, twenty years later I discover that Dr. Kreuzer is a good friend of Dr. Huber.
And I also understand why Professor Kurt Huber was so beloved, if not revered, in 1943.
May 5, 2002
Berlin is one of the most amazing cities ever. I still cannot believe how much it has changed since the "Wende". So glad now that my brother and I "did" Berlin in 1987, staying on the East side. Having that contrast is the only way to genuinely appreciate the city's rebirth.
We stayed at the Hotel Gendarm, about four blocks from the Brandenburger Gate. Something you never see in a German hotel (and I cannot think when I've seen this in an American hotel): We had a washing machine in our kitchen! Sad to admit that clean underwear is something to get excited about.
The Bundesarchiv did not have the order ready as promised, but the archive director worked out a great compromise that will be beneficial in the long run. They are sending us the entire White Rose documentation on microfilm. The additional time with the director made the whole long south-to-north trip worthwhile. He clarified what may and may not be published, making a point of advising me that Inge Scholl and her children do not qualify as "Nachkommen" of Hans and Sophie Scholl. They therefore have no legal standing with regards to anything in the archives and ~ despite Inge's dire warnings in 1995 ~ can do nothing to hinder publication of these papers.
May 1, 2002
I could talk on and on about yesterday evening in Crailsheim with the White Rose task force. They basically coordinate activities between schools named for the White Rose students, especially at times when these schools work together to combat racism and anti-Semitism in Germany.
Delightful people! And a delightful place. We met in the local school's choir room. By the end of the evening, everyone was singing. Great fun, and we got it all on video.
This morning, we met Susanne Hirzel, a far too short conversation with a fascinating lady. She is so direct and frank that you don't have to worry about whether she's spinning or telling the truth. I like people like that, even when I don't always agree with them.
Afternoon, to Ulm to meet up with Dr. Silvester Lechner. He heads up the DZOK, a permanent exhibit located in the Fort Oberer Kuhberg, one of the first concentration camps in Germany. Dr. Lechner was a pioneer in the accurate telling of the White Rose story. He had the guts to dispute the fictional aspects of the legend long before I ever heard the name Scholl. In 1995, he taught me how to navigate treacherous shoals, and where to look for truth.
April 29, 2002
Full days behind us, full days ahead. Dinner with the Schmorells ~ early asparagus! Few people realize that Herta Schmorell's father was the C.O. of the Student Company that many in the White Rose belonged to. Because he was not afraid to take on the Gestapo (he felt the guys should be tried in military courts, where they would not have been executed), several fellows survived the war. After Hans Scholl's quickie trial and beheading, her father wrote transfer papers for anyone else who knew about or participated in the resistance. For example, Otmar Hammerstein was sent to Holland. More on this topic in my White Rose History, Volume II.
On Sunday, we traveled to Munich to search for some kind of a plaque or remembrance for those who participated in Freiheitsaktion Bayern. Harald Dohrn (Christoph Probst's father-in-law) was one of the people killed in that final act of resistance. As far as we could tell, there is nothing to remember them by.
Monday, on to Stuttgart. Stayed in my favorite hotel in that area, Hotel Rieth. Been staying there for the past twenty years. Nothing fancy, it's just another family-owned hotel that gives consistently good service. And has one of the best breakfasts!
Finally met Armin Ziegler and his lovely wife. Dr. Ziegler has been a patient and trustworthy sounding board as I've worked through some difficult White Rose topics. After a hearty Chinese dinner, we retired to his study. I do think the four of us could have talked all night. Have you read this, did you see that? He had the rare opportunity to thoroughly explore Gisela Schertling's papers shortly after her death. This provided insights I never expected. We will never know it all.
April 26, 2002
We'd missed interviewing Lilo Fuerst-Ramdohr in 1995. The Schmorells told us about her, but our schedule never worked out so that we could meet her then. What a treat to finally meet this grand lady! Schurik came alive for us through her eyes. She also explained a few things that had been 'bugging' me for nearly eight years, such as why he would say "Du, mein bester Freund" (masculine) when taking his final leave from her. (You have to read the book to find out why!)
That was yesterday. Today we got out in this wonderful Spring weather and searched for places that were on their map in 1943, but places we were not able to find in 1995. All three remain a mystery. We are no closer to knowing where Drei-Burschen-Huette/Lenggries, The Bridge (British?) Museum/Starnberg, and Am Kalvarienberg 1/Bad Toelz are located. We have eliminated a few logical guesses, and in that sense are closer. But no photographs to show for it.
Still, a lovely day to be out and about in the mountains, breathing fresh air, and reveling in indescribable beauty. The late evening thunderstorm only added to the magic.
April 23, 2002
Well, I remember why I don't like to fly USAir. Terrible flight, and mediocre service. Still the best price from Philly...
Took the long way from the airport to Starnberger See, driving through Munich. Such a good place to be. Even better when we wended our way to Hotel Lidl in Tutzing. I've found my new favorite place to stay. Right on the lake ~ you can touch the Alps from the balcony. Highly recommend this place, especially for anyone who likes freshly caught trout.
April 19, 2002
Final "Rundbrief" to White Rose friends in Germany, letting them know where we'll be staying and what our tentative itinerary looks like. A million things to do ~ in three days! What I forget here, I can buy there.
April 5, 2002
Mom is on her way to visit little bro' in Oxford, and all that's left is putting together the final details for the Germany leg of the trip. Where to stay in Berlin? Can we afford anything there?
At least the National Archives (Bundesarchiv) will have everything waiting for me. All I have to do is show up, sign the wire transfer order, and we will own a complete set of White Rose Gestapo transcripts. No more relying on handwritten notes, hoping I got it right.
March 31, 2002
Plans for a trip to Munich next month ~ to talk to people, visit archives, shoot more video and take more photographs ~ are being firmed up. By June, the White Rose section of the Center for White Rose Studies Web site should be fleshed out and provide even more information for interested readers. This will likely be the last "journal entry" until late May, giving time for travel prep in advance, and catch-up work upon return.
March 21, 2002
White Rose stationery (available through Exclamation! Publishers, with profits going to the White Rose scholarship fund) is looking good. It is an indescribable feeling to see years ~ years! ~ of work making sense and taking shape. The best is yet to come!
February 28, 2002
All right, now I can admit it out loud. In December, I had nearly gotten to the point of walking away from the White Rose. On occasion, it has felt hopeless. I work my tail off, nailing down facts, ferreting out details that yield significant insight into the dynamics of the friends who called themselves the White Rose. And it seems like it does no good. On days like those in December, it seems that only people who are willing to perpetuate lies and half-truths are the ones who get to talk out loud, who get to be designated "experts" on this remarkable story.
But now, as progress becomes more visible, I find it easier to stick to my task at hand: Documenting the true story with irrefutable evidence, then telling it in a form that is accessible to young and old alike.
"Progress" says to me that there are people out there who want Truth to be told, to be documented. Hopefully, Truth will outlast the Lie. Ironically, that's what Hans and Sophie and Christl and Dr. Huber and Willi and Schurik gave their lives for.
February 14, 2002
Center for White Rose Studies finally has been founded, chartered as a nonprofit in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Long time coming. It's got to be worth the effort.
February 7, 2002
Back to basics! By now, a little over a year after beginning this online journal, the White Rose Access database has grown to 2,440 individual records (approximately 500,000 words). The substantial part of extant documents is in the database. But there's another 200,000 words or so that still needs to be added, and it will take a while yet. These are the things collected here and there, letters that contain a fascinating tidbit or morsel. Individually, these facts are not "important", but they certainly add up to a larger whole.
In addition, I need to get Ziegler's excellent work about Eugen Grimminger into the database. Grimminger is hardly an incidental character, though he is treated as such. Ziegler's book fleshes out the Grimminger relationship to the Scholl family, and adds an intriguing woman ~ Tilly Hahn ~ to the White Rose story.
I truly have my work cut out for me!
Finally, the last entry of a most difficult year. Wrote my response to the task force in Crailsheim. The crux of their general argument is that we are not allowed to actually talk about the true White Rose story and portray anyone in it (but especially Hans and Sophie Scholl) with flaws, because they are symbols of "good" in Germany. I think this is an issue that will have to be addressed in white paper articles, not here in this journal.
The end of the year is always a good time to take stock of ourselves, to see what we like and don't like. Even incidents as completely unpleasant as the last few weeks wrangling with dishonesty in Crailsheim ~ even that can make me stronger. I have to believe that.
December 20, 2002
Well, the people in Crailsheim found another new low. I received an official task-force email, copied to every member. Hannes' new tactic is to insinuate that I wrote that Hans and Sophie Scholl had an incestuous relationship. To "prove" his point, he translated portions of my book, leaving out critical passages that would have disproved his accusation. What offended me even more was that he alleged this, while: 1) Not having asked me what I meant by those passages before making his presentation; and 2) Without having read the book (which he admitted in front of the task force).
It's even more irresponsible that the task force did not ask him to take his seat and stop talking the moment he admitted to them that he had not read my book before reporting on it! And he's a teacher? His "apology" was a joke, more self-justification.
Is it just me, or is this beginning to sound like a soap opera? (Maybe the Crailsheimer will make a great screenplay one day.)
December 13, 2002
Whenever I think that the people in Crailsheim have reached their nadir, they prove me wrong. Where is the bottom of their barrel?
Now Hannes is trying to claim that I am being "super-sensitive" about his accusations that I am interested only in "sex and crime", and not in the real White Rose story. He points to an August 2001 email in which he had written that he liked my approach (!) even though I attributed "sex and crime" to "his hero, Hans Scholl." Wednesday he said that since I didn't protest that label in August 2001, he didn't understand why I didn't find it offensive now.
His attempt to excuse himself is offensive on so many levels, not least of which is that Hans Scholl does not equate with the White Rose. I did not protest in August 2001, because Hans Scholl did have problems with sex and crime. He was a regular Robert Downey Jr., complete with Downey's unbelievable talents, and Achilles heel.
The Arbeitskreis (task force) was supposed to meet again last night to consider a very strong email that I wrote to the Hohenloher Tagblatt, the local newspaper that published parts of Hannes' slander. It should be interesting to see if Hannes apologized.
December 6, 2002
The Mission Statement and White Rose Projects are now posted on the Center's site. If you wish to make a tax-deductible contribution to our work, please note that in a comment here and someone will contact you.
And yes, I am writing such mundane things because I am trying to keep my mind off the ugliness in Crailsheim. It has not improved, only worsened.
November 29, 2002
Tomorrow is my birthday. But any anticipation of that usually happy event was ruined by an unexpected turn of events in Crailsheim.
Following a week of extremely enjoyable email exchange on the topic described below (Nov. 22), Hannes Hartleitner took that discussion and misquoted the two of us involved in the conversation. His presentation of my book at the annual meeting of the Arbeitskreis in Crailsheim took the approach of personal vilification. He accused me of Gestapo-like tactics in my White Rose research, claiming that I am only interested in "sex and crime" (ergo, not the truth).
It was devastating seeing positive words that we had written, now mangled beyond all recognition. I have asked for a public apology. We'll see if I get one.
November 22, 2002
The poet C.K. Williams has recently posited that perhaps Germany has become the 20th century's "symbol" for evil and that it will be difficult for the country to ever shake that association.
While Williams' prose is admirable and even thought-provoking on the topic, I disagree. That perpetuates the notion that the current administration in Washington DC seeks to put forward, that the world is black and white. I think I understand ~ more than ever before ~ that not all heroes are good, and not all good people are heroes; and that not all villains are mean, and not all mean people are villains.
With that in mind, I would also say to C.K. Williams that his hypothesis opens the door for those who would say that, for example, the White Rose is the symbol for goodness. What they did was good, and excellent, and noble. Their actions were praiseworthy, and should never be minimized. But their actions do not remove their warts and flaws and blemishes, nor should they.
Not all heroes are good, and not all good people are heroes.
November 15, 2002
Oh sigh. We are late with the production of our next book too, the Gestapo interrogation transcripts for Hans and Sophie Scholl, Willi Graf, and Alexander Schmorell. It will be the most wonderful thing in the world when we can afford to hire assistants and not do everything ourselves.
I'm realizing that the Hamburg "branch" of the White Rose has its own fascinating story to tell, completely separate and apart from the people in Munich. They were not so much a branch (as the legend has been told) as they were a viable, functioning resistance movement in their own right.
The post-White Rose resistance in Munich is similarly intriguing. This is the group that centered around Hans Leipelt (who was essentially a Hamburger). It is really a crying shame that the names of Leipelt's friends have not been honored and respected along with him. Since Leipelt and his friends were largely so-called "halb Juden" (half-Jews), it's interesting to see how they were treated differently. For example, one of Leipelt's friends (who was 'more Jewish' than the rest) was sent to a concentration camp long before her trial.
So many stories, so little time to tell them all in. One thing is for certain, the Chemistry Department at the University of Munich and Professor Heinrich Wieland come off looking awfully good. A few more Wielands and Hubers, and history easily could have been written differently.
August 23, 2002
Yea! It shipped! A back-breaking week of shared pizza and running up and downstairs and all that goes into getting a book like this out the door and in your mailbox. One exhausting day after another, and we felt like saying, "Yes, we do windows too." All in all, a good feeling.
July 26, 2002
Juggling multiple projects is challenging, but necessary. Finishing up production of White Rose History, Volume I, and it seems like the headaches never go away. We're all on the phone all the time. Well, that may be an exaggeration, but not much of one. This didn't print right, that's not right, and we've blown by our first deadline. Again, the joys of being a small company...
We'll savor warm champagne fuzzies (or is it fizzies?) when the book finally ships. Right now, we're wondering when that will be. [Note: If you want to order it, and it's not available in your favorite book store, you can buy the volume directly from the publisher.]
(We're also curious as to how our unique format for this book will be received. We looked at it this way and that, and opted for a three-ring binder that can support annual updates as additional archives are opened ~ specifically the Scholl Archives that have long been off limits to serious scholars. If you've bought or read the book (it's in better libraries the world over), please let us know how you like the 'different' concept. Your opinion will make a difference in how we handle Volume II in 2003. Please post comments here!)
June 28, 2002
The local newspaper carried a very nice article about our work. But I'm going to have to get used to not being quoted 100% accurately. Oh well. The publicity is nice? Yes, it is.
May 9, 2002
We need more time! We need more time! We can't go home just yet. Aaahh!!
One more conversation (telephone) with Lilo Fuerst-Ramdohr, and a surprisingly delightful meeting with the Probst family and with Dr. Wolfgang Huber. The Probsts have traditionally been the "quiet" White Rose wheel, much like Christl himself all those years ago. Adored Herta Probst! She lost so much ~ her husband, her father, and a brother. She told us that just a few days before the war ended, the SS showed up at her door with orders to execute her and her babies. Luckily, one of her brothers knew that they were coming and gave her the heads-up. She escaped with just the clothes on her back.
And Dr. Wolfgang Huber... These entries will definitely contain more about him in the future. One of those bizarre quirks of fate: There was a visiting professor in Houston in 1981/82. I hit it off great with him, since I knew just enough of the Swabian dialect to be dangerous, and he was from Tuebingen. Of course, twenty years later I discover that Dr. Kreuzer is a good friend of Dr. Huber.
And I also understand why Professor Kurt Huber was so beloved, if not revered, in 1943.
May 5, 2002
Berlin is one of the most amazing cities ever. I still cannot believe how much it has changed since the "Wende". So glad now that my brother and I "did" Berlin in 1987, staying on the East side. Having that contrast is the only way to genuinely appreciate the city's rebirth.
We stayed at the Hotel Gendarm, about four blocks from the Brandenburger Gate. Something you never see in a German hotel (and I cannot think when I've seen this in an American hotel): We had a washing machine in our kitchen! Sad to admit that clean underwear is something to get excited about.
The Bundesarchiv did not have the order ready as promised, but the archive director worked out a great compromise that will be beneficial in the long run. They are sending us the entire White Rose documentation on microfilm. The additional time with the director made the whole long south-to-north trip worthwhile. He clarified what may and may not be published, making a point of advising me that Inge Scholl and her children do not qualify as "Nachkommen" of Hans and Sophie Scholl. They therefore have no legal standing with regards to anything in the archives and ~ despite Inge's dire warnings in 1995 ~ can do nothing to hinder publication of these papers.
May 1, 2002
I could talk on and on about yesterday evening in Crailsheim with the White Rose task force. They basically coordinate activities between schools named for the White Rose students, especially at times when these schools work together to combat racism and anti-Semitism in Germany.
Delightful people! And a delightful place. We met in the local school's choir room. By the end of the evening, everyone was singing. Great fun, and we got it all on video.
This morning, we met Susanne Hirzel, a far too short conversation with a fascinating lady. She is so direct and frank that you don't have to worry about whether she's spinning or telling the truth. I like people like that, even when I don't always agree with them.
Afternoon, to Ulm to meet up with Dr. Silvester Lechner. He heads up the DZOK, a permanent exhibit located in the Fort Oberer Kuhberg, one of the first concentration camps in Germany. Dr. Lechner was a pioneer in the accurate telling of the White Rose story. He had the guts to dispute the fictional aspects of the legend long before I ever heard the name Scholl. In 1995, he taught me how to navigate treacherous shoals, and where to look for truth.
April 29, 2002
Full days behind us, full days ahead. Dinner with the Schmorells ~ early asparagus! Few people realize that Herta Schmorell's father was the C.O. of the Student Company that many in the White Rose belonged to. Because he was not afraid to take on the Gestapo (he felt the guys should be tried in military courts, where they would not have been executed), several fellows survived the war. After Hans Scholl's quickie trial and beheading, her father wrote transfer papers for anyone else who knew about or participated in the resistance. For example, Otmar Hammerstein was sent to Holland. More on this topic in my White Rose History, Volume II.
On Sunday, we traveled to Munich to search for some kind of a plaque or remembrance for those who participated in Freiheitsaktion Bayern. Harald Dohrn (Christoph Probst's father-in-law) was one of the people killed in that final act of resistance. As far as we could tell, there is nothing to remember them by.
Monday, on to Stuttgart. Stayed in my favorite hotel in that area, Hotel Rieth. Been staying there for the past twenty years. Nothing fancy, it's just another family-owned hotel that gives consistently good service. And has one of the best breakfasts!
Finally met Armin Ziegler and his lovely wife. Dr. Ziegler has been a patient and trustworthy sounding board as I've worked through some difficult White Rose topics. After a hearty Chinese dinner, we retired to his study. I do think the four of us could have talked all night. Have you read this, did you see that? He had the rare opportunity to thoroughly explore Gisela Schertling's papers shortly after her death. This provided insights I never expected. We will never know it all.
April 26, 2002
We'd missed interviewing Lilo Fuerst-Ramdohr in 1995. The Schmorells told us about her, but our schedule never worked out so that we could meet her then. What a treat to finally meet this grand lady! Schurik came alive for us through her eyes. She also explained a few things that had been 'bugging' me for nearly eight years, such as why he would say "Du, mein bester Freund" (masculine) when taking his final leave from her. (You have to read the book to find out why!)
That was yesterday. Today we got out in this wonderful Spring weather and searched for places that were on their map in 1943, but places we were not able to find in 1995. All three remain a mystery. We are no closer to knowing where Drei-Burschen-Huette/Lenggries, The Bridge (British?) Museum/Starnberg, and Am Kalvarienberg 1/Bad Toelz are located. We have eliminated a few logical guesses, and in that sense are closer. But no photographs to show for it.
Still, a lovely day to be out and about in the mountains, breathing fresh air, and reveling in indescribable beauty. The late evening thunderstorm only added to the magic.
April 23, 2002
Well, I remember why I don't like to fly USAir. Terrible flight, and mediocre service. Still the best price from Philly...
Took the long way from the airport to Starnberger See, driving through Munich. Such a good place to be. Even better when we wended our way to Hotel Lidl in Tutzing. I've found my new favorite place to stay. Right on the lake ~ you can touch the Alps from the balcony. Highly recommend this place, especially for anyone who likes freshly caught trout.
April 19, 2002
Final "Rundbrief" to White Rose friends in Germany, letting them know where we'll be staying and what our tentative itinerary looks like. A million things to do ~ in three days! What I forget here, I can buy there.
April 5, 2002
Mom is on her way to visit little bro' in Oxford, and all that's left is putting together the final details for the Germany leg of the trip. Where to stay in Berlin? Can we afford anything there?
At least the National Archives (Bundesarchiv) will have everything waiting for me. All I have to do is show up, sign the wire transfer order, and we will own a complete set of White Rose Gestapo transcripts. No more relying on handwritten notes, hoping I got it right.
March 31, 2002
Plans for a trip to Munich next month ~ to talk to people, visit archives, shoot more video and take more photographs ~ are being firmed up. By June, the White Rose section of the Center for White Rose Studies Web site should be fleshed out and provide even more information for interested readers. This will likely be the last "journal entry" until late May, giving time for travel prep in advance, and catch-up work upon return.
March 21, 2002
White Rose stationery (available through Exclamation! Publishers, with profits going to the White Rose scholarship fund) is looking good. It is an indescribable feeling to see years ~ years! ~ of work making sense and taking shape. The best is yet to come!
February 28, 2002
All right, now I can admit it out loud. In December, I had nearly gotten to the point of walking away from the White Rose. On occasion, it has felt hopeless. I work my tail off, nailing down facts, ferreting out details that yield significant insight into the dynamics of the friends who called themselves the White Rose. And it seems like it does no good. On days like those in December, it seems that only people who are willing to perpetuate lies and half-truths are the ones who get to talk out loud, who get to be designated "experts" on this remarkable story.
But now, as progress becomes more visible, I find it easier to stick to my task at hand: Documenting the true story with irrefutable evidence, then telling it in a form that is accessible to young and old alike.
"Progress" says to me that there are people out there who want Truth to be told, to be documented. Hopefully, Truth will outlast the Lie. Ironically, that's what Hans and Sophie and Christl and Dr. Huber and Willi and Schurik gave their lives for.
February 14, 2002
Center for White Rose Studies finally has been founded, chartered as a nonprofit in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Long time coming. It's got to be worth the effort.
February 7, 2002
Back to basics! By now, a little over a year after beginning this online journal, the White Rose Access database has grown to 2,440 individual records (approximately 500,000 words). The substantial part of extant documents is in the database. But there's another 200,000 words or so that still needs to be added, and it will take a while yet. These are the things collected here and there, letters that contain a fascinating tidbit or morsel. Individually, these facts are not "important", but they certainly add up to a larger whole.
In addition, I need to get Ziegler's excellent work about Eugen Grimminger into the database. Grimminger is hardly an incidental character, though he is treated as such. Ziegler's book fleshes out the Grimminger relationship to the Scholl family, and adds an intriguing woman ~ Tilly Hahn ~ to the White Rose story.
I truly have my work cut out for me!
Thursday, June 18, 2009
History: Excerpted posts from 2001
Occasionally, and before the RuthSachs.com Web site disappears, I will copy old posts from my author's journal to this site. Here are some excerpts from early 2001:
March 29, 2001
Smiles enough, and laughter the last seven days. Putting aside White Rose has been like opening the windows on a gorgeous spring day, letting in the fresh air. Mark Twain has that effect on you. I've simply got to finish White Rose, so I can go back to Joanie and Sid.
Have practiced writing in different voices this week. Nothing publishable. In fact, I need to shred anything that made it to the printer. It is simply a delicious exercise, thinking out loud from another point of view.
I think sometimes we've got to back away from the things that normally consume our lives and stand in the sunshine a while. Clears out cobwebs hidden by the dark. This I will do!
March 22, 2001
Early this week, I found myself struggling. I would look at the Otl Aicher book that has very little left to translate, and think I could not bear to write another word. I finally got out some Mark Twain I had not read in years. In the ensuing laughter, I knew that every once in a while, when you deal with such a dark subject, you simply have to take a break and step completely away without feeling guilty.
So I have managed to do exactly that. Working on a few short, bright, airy pieces, nothing more than happy fluff. Nothing serious, or long.
Maybe in a week or two, I can return to that dark place that does hold such light, a little refreshed and ready to tackle it head-on.
March 15, 2001
Not a writing week! Stephen King may say that every writer should write ten pages a day, but odds are, he doesn't have to deal with car repairs and telephone people. Only one-and-a-half pages this week. For the whole week. Sometimes you just have to be thankful for what you do get done and quit obsessing over the work you wanted to do.
Oh well. At least the imminent trip to the garage turned into a new car instead. Fun shedding the staid, business-image automobile for something a little more me.
March 8, 2001
Varied week, lots of little things accomplished. Sometimes a break from the darkness of the Third Reich is very much in order.
Finished one article for Children's Writer, started another. Doing these makes me understand a little more here or there about the corners of writing that I am still discovering, the niches that are out there, still unexplored.
Also started translation work for hagalil.com, that excellent German Jewish Web site. Focusing first on contemporary German Jewish life, because so much Shoah material is already available in English. It's a breath of fresh air to write about today's struggles, joys, and perplexities, instead of always looking to the past for inspiration.
Looking to the "future" too, as a very strange and funny dream may have solved the way to get Joanie to talk again. Maybe I can write a chapter or two there next week, get her story moving. Need to look up something about Jupiter, so I can get the commentary right. I like the days I work on Joanie's Letters, because I find myself laughing as I write.
March 1, 2001
White Rose work this week has taken me well beyond the usual confines of thinking about them in terms of resistance to Hitler. Their words resound in our own politics.
I am wondering about collecting things I find here and there, bits of wisdom across the centuries, on the horror of war. How is it that our sages tell us always and again that war is hell, yet each generation goes out and has to learn that anew? Such somber, dark reflections this week, but it can not be any other way after translating Otl Aicher's eyewitness account of what he saw.
I'd like for us to start defining heroes a little better. Remove professional sports figures from the pedestal first, those who simulate war, taking the sport out of it. How can we write the word hero so it's understood as the people who make us more whole? This has been a week for questions.
February 22, 2001
Today is the 58th anniversary of the execution of Christoph, Hans, and Sophie. Guess it's appropriate that this week has been filled with nothing but White Rose.
Nearly done entering Otl Aicher's memoirs. He gives such a clear view of who Sophie was. "She had hair like I like hair. She had a body like I like bodies." He speaks so frankly, no masks trying to be politically correct. Researching him a little has been fun too. Wonder why no one ever picked up on the fact that he was in Munich that week to talk to them about working with the resistance? It's been there in black and white for so long.
Finley came out Tuesday. We looked at the CD-ROM software that Brian recommended. It's exactly right. Now the only question remains, how to sort through the piles in the conference room to choose only those things that other people besides me will be interested in?
February 15, 2001
Finally got Hans and Sophie, 1933-1942 in the database. (2,200 entries and more to come!)
Went through ups and downs doing this. Sophie's honesty is refreshing, especially when it follows a section of Hans that is purposely deceitful. Wish Scholl archives could be forced to let us read the letters he wrote "girls" besides Rose Naegele at the same time he was writing her. Actually, at this point, I would be happy to read un-edited versions of letters to Rose!
Letter from Dr. Schmorell. More details on his wife's father's role in protecting many of the ones who were in the army, and her memories... He wrote that he had been worried that I had abandoned the White Rose project. If only he knew how close I came to doing just that last year.
Bomb scare this week at Valley Forge Post Office. Is that #16?
Thinking about the Joanie Letters. Am I getting close to figuring out her relationship to Sid? If so, I can finally get past Chapter Four. Should Kirk disappear, or start dating Mandy (maybe that's the answer)? Joanie has simply quit talking. Hmm, maybe this is part of her transformation, that she has to stop talking and just "do" for a while. She is 18, after all. I'm sure she will start talking again once she and Sid are in Israel. Hard not to talk when you're there.
February 8, 2001
Took a break from the Hans and Sophie Scholl entries. I would probably be finished by now if I were not having to deal with conflicted emotions over Hans' letters.
Short week, with unexpected snowstorm on Monday. Decided to stay home, though at the time they were just saying an inch. Got eight inches! The delightful interruption to routine made it easier to take a break from everything else.
Organizational issues. How am I going to be able to manage the piles of photographs and other documents that are for the proposed CD-ROM? Right now, I have two stacks on the floor, and others in the bookcase. I have to start thinking about weeding out some of the information.
Dinner with Sara Lieberman. I think I am getting spoiled.
February 1, 2001
What a nice week! Arlene's here from Phoenix, so Mom and I lunched with her at King Street Grille. Why is "Hans and Sophie" taking so long? I wonder.
Very nice response from Susanne Hirzel. Wish I had been able to meet her in 1995. One of the few I missed. Her book makes her terribly vulnerable. She hides none of her questions, none of her pain. I hope I can honor that sacrifice in my own work.
January 25, 2001
Still talking about the possibility of a documentary. Good to have friends to brainstorm with. I still want the documentary to be the first step to a feature film or mini-series. Dan thinks the story is made for a documentary only. But even this isn't easy. A simple one-hour program with the basic information, or an in-depth approach? The latter costs more.
And I still want the mini-series, Hallmark Hall of Fame style! I know I am stubborn.
Tracked down lots of details this week. Hans Scholl spoke so disparagingly of the "French doctor" who committed suicide the day before Paris fell. But it felt like his usual shallow assessment of the situation. So searched till I found her: Sophie Morgenstern. Child psychiatrist. Freudian school. Instincts were right. He clearly passed judgment without having half the facts. A character trait he never lost.
Also became curious about where he was in France, especially after knowing where Willi and Fritz were. Never intended to get bogged down in the military aspect of this story, but turns out that their joint perspectives are fascinating. Fritz was in the northern "prong", Willi in the central, Hans in the southern. Hitler's "scythe" makes more sense when you read about it from inside the sweep.
Now, is that information, including Winston Churchill's braggadocio speech on June 4, 1940, appropriate for the scope of what I am doing? I don't know.
Eichmann book came today. Rosen did a great job. Only two typos in the whole book, that I found at least.
January 18, 2001
Talked to Dan and Peter and Finley about documentary possibilities. The brainstorming has begun!
Finished Willi Graf, 1933 - 1942, except for the photocopies of handwritten letters. I like that "young man" even more now than I did when I started this project seven years ago. There is just something so decent and honorable about Willi Graf. His decency knows nothing of blind duty. There's simply a sense that he followed his conscience and always tried to do what was right. People like him are rare enough in any age.
January 11, 2001
Incredible letter from Lilo Ramdohr. I enjoy finding out that the "insides" of a person are as lovely as their "outsides", and she qualifies.
White Rose Status Report as of January 1, 2001
Finley's database has been amazing. Everything from May 1, 1942 through October 12, 1943 is in. What is that, like 1300 entries? I've had good success in shaping the report so the information is useful. Nice feeling to be able to add ten entries at random dates, re-generate the report and sometimes be astounded at the difference a little new information can make.
I am learning too that this database is helping me pinpoint exact dates. Susanne Hirzel may have written, for example, that something happened at the beginning of October. So I put it in as October 1, just to have an anchor date. Then, when I compare her memories to Sophie's diary to Dr. Muth's letter, I can determine when it was. Sometimes by process of elimination (if Susanne was "here" on October 4, she couldn't be "there" too), sometimes by finding an exact match to a described activity.
So, what's left to do in the database? Willi Graf, 1933 - 1942 (actually two books worth, because Anneliese Knoop-Graf gave me a treasure, the photocopies of letters in his own handwriting, and not all are published). Hans and Sophie's letters, what we are allowed to read of them at least, 1933 - 1942. Otl Aicher's memoirs. Going back through Lilo Ramdohr's memoirs with a fine-tooth comb to make sure I didn't miss anything. Albert Riester's memoirs. The Ulm/Hitler Youth information from Dr. Lechner. And whatever I learn from Dr. W next week.
"What's left" actually sounds overwhelming on the face of it. But it's nothing compared to what's already in. This is the home stretch!
March 29, 2001
Smiles enough, and laughter the last seven days. Putting aside White Rose has been like opening the windows on a gorgeous spring day, letting in the fresh air. Mark Twain has that effect on you. I've simply got to finish White Rose, so I can go back to Joanie and Sid.
Have practiced writing in different voices this week. Nothing publishable. In fact, I need to shred anything that made it to the printer. It is simply a delicious exercise, thinking out loud from another point of view.
I think sometimes we've got to back away from the things that normally consume our lives and stand in the sunshine a while. Clears out cobwebs hidden by the dark. This I will do!
March 22, 2001
Early this week, I found myself struggling. I would look at the Otl Aicher book that has very little left to translate, and think I could not bear to write another word. I finally got out some Mark Twain I had not read in years. In the ensuing laughter, I knew that every once in a while, when you deal with such a dark subject, you simply have to take a break and step completely away without feeling guilty.
So I have managed to do exactly that. Working on a few short, bright, airy pieces, nothing more than happy fluff. Nothing serious, or long.
Maybe in a week or two, I can return to that dark place that does hold such light, a little refreshed and ready to tackle it head-on.
March 15, 2001
Not a writing week! Stephen King may say that every writer should write ten pages a day, but odds are, he doesn't have to deal with car repairs and telephone people. Only one-and-a-half pages this week. For the whole week. Sometimes you just have to be thankful for what you do get done and quit obsessing over the work you wanted to do.
Oh well. At least the imminent trip to the garage turned into a new car instead. Fun shedding the staid, business-image automobile for something a little more me.
March 8, 2001
Varied week, lots of little things accomplished. Sometimes a break from the darkness of the Third Reich is very much in order.
Finished one article for Children's Writer, started another. Doing these makes me understand a little more here or there about the corners of writing that I am still discovering, the niches that are out there, still unexplored.
Also started translation work for hagalil.com, that excellent German Jewish Web site. Focusing first on contemporary German Jewish life, because so much Shoah material is already available in English. It's a breath of fresh air to write about today's struggles, joys, and perplexities, instead of always looking to the past for inspiration.
Looking to the "future" too, as a very strange and funny dream may have solved the way to get Joanie to talk again. Maybe I can write a chapter or two there next week, get her story moving. Need to look up something about Jupiter, so I can get the commentary right. I like the days I work on Joanie's Letters, because I find myself laughing as I write.
March 1, 2001
White Rose work this week has taken me well beyond the usual confines of thinking about them in terms of resistance to Hitler. Their words resound in our own politics.
I am wondering about collecting things I find here and there, bits of wisdom across the centuries, on the horror of war. How is it that our sages tell us always and again that war is hell, yet each generation goes out and has to learn that anew? Such somber, dark reflections this week, but it can not be any other way after translating Otl Aicher's eyewitness account of what he saw.
I'd like for us to start defining heroes a little better. Remove professional sports figures from the pedestal first, those who simulate war, taking the sport out of it. How can we write the word hero so it's understood as the people who make us more whole? This has been a week for questions.
February 22, 2001
Today is the 58th anniversary of the execution of Christoph, Hans, and Sophie. Guess it's appropriate that this week has been filled with nothing but White Rose.
Nearly done entering Otl Aicher's memoirs. He gives such a clear view of who Sophie was. "She had hair like I like hair. She had a body like I like bodies." He speaks so frankly, no masks trying to be politically correct. Researching him a little has been fun too. Wonder why no one ever picked up on the fact that he was in Munich that week to talk to them about working with the resistance? It's been there in black and white for so long.
Finley came out Tuesday. We looked at the CD-ROM software that Brian recommended. It's exactly right. Now the only question remains, how to sort through the piles in the conference room to choose only those things that other people besides me will be interested in?
February 15, 2001
Finally got Hans and Sophie, 1933-1942 in the database. (2,200 entries and more to come!)
Went through ups and downs doing this. Sophie's honesty is refreshing, especially when it follows a section of Hans that is purposely deceitful. Wish Scholl archives could be forced to let us read the letters he wrote "girls" besides Rose Naegele at the same time he was writing her. Actually, at this point, I would be happy to read un-edited versions of letters to Rose!
Letter from Dr. Schmorell. More details on his wife's father's role in protecting many of the ones who were in the army, and her memories... He wrote that he had been worried that I had abandoned the White Rose project. If only he knew how close I came to doing just that last year.
Bomb scare this week at Valley Forge Post Office. Is that #16?
Thinking about the Joanie Letters. Am I getting close to figuring out her relationship to Sid? If so, I can finally get past Chapter Four. Should Kirk disappear, or start dating Mandy (maybe that's the answer)? Joanie has simply quit talking. Hmm, maybe this is part of her transformation, that she has to stop talking and just "do" for a while. She is 18, after all. I'm sure she will start talking again once she and Sid are in Israel. Hard not to talk when you're there.
February 8, 2001
Took a break from the Hans and Sophie Scholl entries. I would probably be finished by now if I were not having to deal with conflicted emotions over Hans' letters.
Short week, with unexpected snowstorm on Monday. Decided to stay home, though at the time they were just saying an inch. Got eight inches! The delightful interruption to routine made it easier to take a break from everything else.
Organizational issues. How am I going to be able to manage the piles of photographs and other documents that are for the proposed CD-ROM? Right now, I have two stacks on the floor, and others in the bookcase. I have to start thinking about weeding out some of the information.
Dinner with Sara Lieberman. I think I am getting spoiled.
February 1, 2001
What a nice week! Arlene's here from Phoenix, so Mom and I lunched with her at King Street Grille. Why is "Hans and Sophie" taking so long? I wonder.
Very nice response from Susanne Hirzel. Wish I had been able to meet her in 1995. One of the few I missed. Her book makes her terribly vulnerable. She hides none of her questions, none of her pain. I hope I can honor that sacrifice in my own work.
January 25, 2001
Still talking about the possibility of a documentary. Good to have friends to brainstorm with. I still want the documentary to be the first step to a feature film or mini-series. Dan thinks the story is made for a documentary only. But even this isn't easy. A simple one-hour program with the basic information, or an in-depth approach? The latter costs more.
And I still want the mini-series, Hallmark Hall of Fame style! I know I am stubborn.
Tracked down lots of details this week. Hans Scholl spoke so disparagingly of the "French doctor" who committed suicide the day before Paris fell. But it felt like his usual shallow assessment of the situation. So searched till I found her: Sophie Morgenstern. Child psychiatrist. Freudian school. Instincts were right. He clearly passed judgment without having half the facts. A character trait he never lost.
Also became curious about where he was in France, especially after knowing where Willi and Fritz were. Never intended to get bogged down in the military aspect of this story, but turns out that their joint perspectives are fascinating. Fritz was in the northern "prong", Willi in the central, Hans in the southern. Hitler's "scythe" makes more sense when you read about it from inside the sweep.
Now, is that information, including Winston Churchill's braggadocio speech on June 4, 1940, appropriate for the scope of what I am doing? I don't know.
Eichmann book came today. Rosen did a great job. Only two typos in the whole book, that I found at least.
January 18, 2001
Talked to Dan and Peter and Finley about documentary possibilities. The brainstorming has begun!
Finished Willi Graf, 1933 - 1942, except for the photocopies of handwritten letters. I like that "young man" even more now than I did when I started this project seven years ago. There is just something so decent and honorable about Willi Graf. His decency knows nothing of blind duty. There's simply a sense that he followed his conscience and always tried to do what was right. People like him are rare enough in any age.
January 11, 2001
Incredible letter from Lilo Ramdohr. I enjoy finding out that the "insides" of a person are as lovely as their "outsides", and she qualifies.
White Rose Status Report as of January 1, 2001
Finley's database has been amazing. Everything from May 1, 1942 through October 12, 1943 is in. What is that, like 1300 entries? I've had good success in shaping the report so the information is useful. Nice feeling to be able to add ten entries at random dates, re-generate the report and sometimes be astounded at the difference a little new information can make.
I am learning too that this database is helping me pinpoint exact dates. Susanne Hirzel may have written, for example, that something happened at the beginning of October. So I put it in as October 1, just to have an anchor date. Then, when I compare her memories to Sophie's diary to Dr. Muth's letter, I can determine when it was. Sometimes by process of elimination (if Susanne was "here" on October 4, she couldn't be "there" too), sometimes by finding an exact match to a described activity.
So, what's left to do in the database? Willi Graf, 1933 - 1942 (actually two books worth, because Anneliese Knoop-Graf gave me a treasure, the photocopies of letters in his own handwriting, and not all are published). Hans and Sophie's letters, what we are allowed to read of them at least, 1933 - 1942. Otl Aicher's memoirs. Going back through Lilo Ramdohr's memoirs with a fine-tooth comb to make sure I didn't miss anything. Albert Riester's memoirs. The Ulm/Hitler Youth information from Dr. Lechner. And whatever I learn from Dr. W next week.
"What's left" actually sounds overwhelming on the face of it. But it's nothing compared to what's already in. This is the home stretch!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
