History: January through December 2007

(Photo is of Lilo Ramdohr and her grandson Domenic... September 2007)

November 13, 2007
Thomas Friedman's October 10 Newsweek column challenged today's college students to break away from their 'Generation Q' - the quiet generation - stereotype and do more to effect change in our society. Many of his points are well-taken, especially comments about some being content to upload their concern, a so-called Facebook activism.

When I read his words about a month ago, I found myself agreeing with him. After all, my generation marched on Washington, joined the Peace Corps (one friend died while serving), and held peaceful and not-so-peaceful demonstrations against the injustices of our day.

Then we grew up, settled down, and lost our idealism and willingness to take risks on behalf of others. It's always harder to fight injustice when we're personally comfortable.

The more I've thought about it, the less I agree with Friedman. What we need is tikkun olam, repairing this old world. Give me slow and steady informed dissent any day, the kind of passion that still goes to football games and school dances, yet is deadly serious about doing whatever can be done to make our society whole. Especially when that passion lasts a lifetime.

I love seeing Naomi Iser and her Brandeis friends publicly declare their fast on behalf of Darfur relief ~ as one of many ways they have embraced that issue. Or Tim Hansen and Amy Samuelsen and their entourage at Brigham Young University agonizing over the Cambodian genocide of 1975-1979 and concluding: "We need to help the world."

But informed dissent cannot and should not be limited to the Big Things like genocide ~ although if images of Darfur now and Cambodia then don't elicit righteous indignation, a person is likely emotionally dead. Still, real activism has no heart if we can get upset about events halfway around the world while remaining numb to human rights abuses next door and wounds suffered by our neighbors.

So I am equally happy when I note that Robert Barton (also of BYU) noiselessly gives his time to volunteer, to help out in 'small spaces.' Or when I read that five Baylor University guys took their friend's close call with suicide to heart. And set out to do something about the epidemic of hopelessness.

This is the true message of the White Rose students and the adults who learned from them. Yes, they attempted grandiose things, noble feats of conscience. But all of that would have meant nothing if Willi Graf had not been willing to give up his seat on the streetcar to Russian women, forced laborers in Munich. If Alex Schmorell and Nikolai Nikolaeff-Hamasaspian had not taken food and clothing to POWs and more of those forced laborers, also in Munich. If Traute Lafrenz had not assisted her Jewish neighbors in Hamburg when the noose tightened.

Caring about the wrongs that are right in front of our face should ~ must ~ accompany activism and even attend acts of civil disobedience.

Informed dissent? Means caring more about integrity and about the powerless more than we care for our own comfort. Because once you start caring, actions follow.

October 25, 2007
It's a good thing I made no promises this time last year. Otherwise, I'd have some major apologizing to do!

To be painfully honest, White Rose work pretty much came to a standstill over the last twelve months. It didn't make sense any longer. I felt like - we all felt like - we were butting our heads up against a brick wall that had been reinforced with commercial-grade steel and topped off with barbed wire. Any time we tried to do anything that put "the truth" of the White Rose story out there, any time we bucked the system or took on the well-funded White Rose establishment in Munich, we ended up suffering the consequences. And made nary a dent in a well-oiled, corrupt machine.

I don't know about you, but I am not a person who relishes pain. Even the emotional kind.

So it was easier to put "White Rose" on hold and concentrate on things that made me and our family happy. We moved to Utah (because the unemployment rate out here is much lower than on the East Coast or in Texas, and it was easier to find a job unrelated to White Rose), stored our archives in the basement in unopened boxes, and did as little as possible.

Luckily, Dr. Igor Chramov in Orenburg, Russia is a persistent fellow. Although we didn't answer his initial 2007 email about the Schmorell conference in September, he followed up. And followed up. For reasons I don't understand to this day, we decided to go to Orenburg after all. It was not necessarily a "rational" decision. The trip was horribly expensive, I was unmotivated by the topic, and by the time the conference rolled around, I was up to my eyeballs in non-White Rose work. It seemed like a terrible choice to have made.

The Orenburg part of the trip was preceded by a week in Germany. We visited old friends in Bad Heilbrunn, people and place that serve as a favorite flannel nightgown or broken-in hiking shoes. For several days, we simply basked in the warmth that comes from that kind of friendship.

Equally important, we visited two of the White Rose women we hold dear. The first visit nearly didn't happen. Herta Probst is not well, and her family tends to protect her from people and things that would drag her down. Especially after the Probst family's awful experience with the recent Sophie Scholl movie - in which Christoph Probst was falsely portrayed as the weakling, when Hans Scholl was the one who almost fainted (and so on and so on) - they can hardly work up the strength to tackle anything related to the White Rose. It doesn't seem to matter how loudly or correctly they attempt to rectify history, to persuade writers to "get it right the first time." There's so much invested in The Official Legend that no one listens to them.

The plan therefore involved a ten-minute "hello" to Herta Probst, followed by dinner with one of her children.

Four hours later, we were still talking, eating cake and drinking coffee, laughing even at the ridiculousness of some of the pompous asses who put on a big White Rose show with no substance behind them.

This conversation began to effect a change inside me, reminding me why our work is important, why it's important not to give up even when the "pompous asses" seem to be winning. I saw anew the faces of the White Rose that make this story so personal, so very valid for the 21st century. When Herta recalled the shenanigans her beloved husband and Schurik had pulled, the silliness that had been heart and soul of a powerful friendship that eventually led both to give up their lives for freedom and justice, I saw and heard "my" BYU team in all their crazy glory, hearts of gold, yearning for a world where injustice is a thing of the past.

The next day, we sat across the table once again from Lilo Ramdohr, this time joined by her precious grandson. A new generation is joining the work of "keeping true memories alive". In Domenic's face, I could see the passion that once had been on Lilo's, when she was a young woman fresh out of college, caught up in an unwanted intrigue for the sake of her friend Schurik, and for the sake of Germany. Lilo's health is failing too - she turned 94 on October 11 - so it is important for Domenic and all the other grandchildren of these White Rose families to become actively involved in righting the record.

Yet as is so often the case, the "good guys" have largely kept silent over the past sixty years. For the most part, they have quietly gone about their lives, never seeking fame or fortune for their virtues, past or present. The 'new generation' is therefore under-informed about their grandparents' heroics. They know only that it's a topic that's hardly ever brought up, although "White Rose" in general often consumes the German media.

It's rarely these "good guys" who hog the media spotlight. I saw with Domenic that our work involves far more than merely recording an accurate history for scholars and young students to read. We can also fill in the gaps for children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren who badly need to know just how heroic some of their family was.

[And I have yet to figure out how an entire nation of "scholars" has allowed the fraud to be perpetrated so long, to the point that those who proudly wore the swastika during the Third Reich are allowed to posture and swagger before the cameras, with no one dragging them off the stage in handcuffs for blatant lies. I understand why the liars do it - it must be awful living with the guilty conscience of a Nazi past, even if none of them was a guard at Auschwitz - but I don't understand why tenured professors, government officials, radio and television journalists, and keepers of archives let them get away with it. - Note that I include U.S. "scholars" in this indictment, because way too many American universities regularly invite known Nazis posing as "freedom fighters" to speak on campus - without challenging one word of their speeches. Unforgivable.]

The Russian leg of the trip started off traumatically. We arrived on September 12. Moscow felt like it was under siege, almost a martial law mentality. Police on every street corner, Kremlin off limits, no one "able" to speak either German or English when we asked directions. We came oh-so-close to turning around and heading back to Bad Heilbrunn, where we felt safe. Our airport hotel in Moscow did not even have Internet service, so in the short space of a day, we began to feel cut off from the rest of the world. A scary place to be.

(A couple of days later, we heard that Putin had dissolved his government the day we were "in town". And a new Siberian friend told us that the day before - yes, September 11 - there had been a suicide bomber, evidently near the Kremlin, in Moscow. No wonder the city was on edge!)

After an equally rough start in Orenburg - no Internet service there either, among other things - the change that began with the visit with Herta Probst blossomed into a full-fledged turning point. I cannot go into too many details, as I am still processing some of the conversations and conclusions.

What I can tell you: I saw firsthand the great White Rose dichotomy, up close and personal. At that memorial service on the occasion of what would have been Alexander Schmorell's ninetieth birthday, a decidedly motley crew had gathered.

Some had come because German and Russian television cameras showed up. They made sure they were front and center of photo ops. They tried to grab the best tables whenever we ate together (and we ate together a lot!). They genuflected before the graven image of fifteen minutes of fame. In short, they represent on a small scale the larger circle of would-be scholars who nearly drove me away from this topic that for so long has been my passion.

But there were others there as well, the "others" I felt comfortable with, "others" who gladdened my heart and renewed my hope for Truth. I changed my opinion about a couple of people whose work I had known about without knowing them - positive change. We discussed and debated our differing conclusions. It felt good to be among these "others" who care as much as I do about getting the story right - the first time.

We left Orenburg completely exhausted, but convinced we had to return to White Rose work full-time. Effective today, we are doing just that.

It's funny in some ways. We came to Utah, expecting to put the White Rose behind us. Over the past few years as we have sent out our newsletters, I've always felt like BYU - Brigham Young University - would be the last place that could ever be hospitable to the true White Rose story. LDS theology does not encourage civil disobedience. When I've seen Mormon missionaries in Texas, the East Coast, in Germany, I've always envisioned even Mormon young people as complete conformists who only do as they are told, without thinking, reflexively as it were.

Just as Orenburg renewed my vision for our White Rose efforts and changed my mind about some of the "players", living and working among BYU students has definitely changed my mind about BYU. True, LDS theology does not encourage civil disobedience. But "my" BYU team showed me that they care very much about right and wrong, about social justice, about values that matter. They subscribe to a very strict honor code, yet they are anything but conformists. I'm proud that some of them have become my friends. They have renewed my hope in students who are willing to be themselves, stand up for what is right, and in so doing, change the world.

Who knows? A year that started out one way may prove to end up completely different.

One thing is for certain. I am different.

History: January through December 2003

December 31, 2003
It's hard to remember on days like these that somewhere tulip bulbs lie dormant, expectantly awaiting warm spring mornings. Or that our mulberry tree will ever have leaves. Everything looks like death, yet hopes of new life. Difficult year... Besides our own health issues, our family lost a dear friend in August. Dr. Johann Forster ~ Hansi to me and Denise ~ died tragically on August 4. He was only 46. His encouragement, both emotional and tangible, in the White Rose work had kept us going through some discouraging days.

This was also a time when we learned how closely mental, physical, and intellectual health are related. When one goes, the others are hard put to stay intact. It's nearly impossible to work well when you're not. Small things like data entry into the Access database took far too long. Everything slowed down to molasses.

On the bright side, in October I got to present our White Rose work at the Women in German conference (Carrollton, Kentucky). I could barely participate in many of the "extracurricular" activities and spent more time than I like holed up in my hotel. But it felt good to get a positive response from real, live people.

Lilo Ramdohr continues to encourage us. She embraces our vision. Amazing how the people who have nothing to hide don't mind it when you expose their warts!

Also got a very nice letter from Traute Lafrenz. She answered a bunch of additional questions, including queries I had about Werner Scholl (Hans Scholl respected and admired his younger brother far more than has been told to date), as well as about Katharina Schueddekopf (she did more than she's been credited with).

But we are going to have to evaluate the status of this work. That will come at the first of the New Year.

October 28, 2003
We have had a great deal of illness in our family this year. Common Ground has been all but abandoned. For now. The illness has meant that simple tasks take twice, if not three times as long.

We know that we are among the lucky few in this America ~ a place that can be harsh, if not deathly for someone in bad health. For all of us have health insurance. And we have doctors who can treat the IBS and skin cancers and infections and debilitating inflammations.

We're all getting healthy once again, slowly but surely. We are looking for 2004 to be a time of uncommon goodness. You're forewarned!

May 1, 2003
First Common Ground column posted on Center for White Rose Studies Web site. Truly hoping this can turn into a forum for honest, meaningful discussion. Talking to a Turkish fellow we met at the Dreyfus Conference on using an excerpt from his discussion about historical attempts to establish a secular Muslim state in Turkey. This is the kind of thing that needs ~ desperately needs ~ a wide audience. War solves nothing.

April 25, 2003
Starting on the next White Rose "thing" ~ publication of the indictment, trial transcript and partial interrogation transcripts for the third White Rose trial (Josef Soehngen, Manfred Eickemeyer, Wilhelm Geyer, and Harald Dohrn). Also, the 1937-1938 interrogations and trial for Hans and Werner Scholl, and Ernst Reden.

Have to proceed cautiously with the latter ~ not out of fear of Scholls, though I have no doubt they'd be livid. But because it includes information about Hans Scholl's sexual activities with boys who were minors at the time. Can't publish their names.

And have to make certain that we don't sell to minors. Pretty explicit text.

April 18, 2003
Taxing time of year, even if you don't count the IRS. Oh well. At least filing income tax returns gives me an excuse to clean up paperwork I've put off for months now. Massive filing campaign ~ I can see all of my office floor for the first time in a year!

Thanks to Dr. Ziegler, I now have a copy of Detlef Bald's new White Rose book. It's pretty awful. Bald goes on and on about how wonderful it is that he has Dr. Wittenstein's diary entries and letters to use to expand his White Rose knowledge. Too bad Bald wasn't honest enough to admit that Wittenstein's diary entries etc. are "reconstructed" (yes, I have a copy!) and that they don't mention White Rose work.

Bald's book is one more example of horrible, fake "scholarship" by someone who just wants to cash in on the legend. So frustrating.

April 4, 2003
A week to play catch-up and not much else. Loads of emails to answer. Starting on the next White Rose project already. Very tired. Hard to get motivated.

March 30, 2003
What a great time we had in Springfield! Learned so much from the people at the conference. Fun being a presenter, but just as "fun" hearing what everyone else had to say.

Drove home the long way, down through Kentucky and the Smoky Mountains. It snowed in West Virginia. Eight inches of the white stuff. How wonderful was that.

March 21, 2003
Oh yea, oje, oy. Getting ready for Dreyfus Conference next week. Putting together materials, finalizing speech. Preparing handout. All the while, continuing to do administrative stuff for the Center. Glad I'm not in this alone. I'd go out of my blooming mind if that were the case. And frankly, I think I'd have walked away a long time ago if I didn't have familial support.

March 7, 2003
Yea! Sometimes I can just get on a roll and write like I'm talking to someone face to face. Inspiration seems to come easy during weeks like this! Completed the essay for the Dreyfus Conference!

February 28, 2003
Helping with the distribution of a press release about the two newest White Rose books. I feel like I am always complaining about how hard it is. Don't want to be a whiner, but this phase of our work is very wearing.

And I have to finish the Dreyfus Conference speech. I love the material, it's just hard juggling everything.

February 21, 2003
The big snow! In many ways, it felt like a "reward" for all our hard work of the last couple months, and especially the last few weeks. Everything was quiet, peaceful, and when it stopped, there was laughter on the street as people worked together to move all the white stuff. Funny how difficult situations can bring out the very best in people!

Tomorrow is the 60th anniversary of the execution of Christoph Probst, Hans Scholl, and Sophie Scholl. I hope our White Rose work can successfully raise the awareness of the other executions, so that one day, people will commemorate July 13 (execution of Kurt Huber and Alexander Schmorell), October 12 (Willi Graf), and May 5 (Harald Dohrn, shot by the Gestapo three days before war's end in 1945) as well.

February 14, 2003
Out the door! We shared pizza and laughter, cooked corn bread and stew, did whatever it took to make sure the backbreaking side of production and order fulfillment was not too painful.

Looking forward to taking a short break from White Rose work over the next month or two. The Ludwig Thoma/Muth/Herzl paper needs to be wrapped up and submitted, and we are beginning work on a couple other 'history projects', one Houston-based, the other hopefully right here in Pennsylvania. No official announcements to make at this stage. But if all goes well, we will be able to juggle several projects at once and not get in the rut of a single one (as with White Rose).

February 7, 2003
Such a wonderful feeling. . . The Gestapo Interrogation Transcripts are about ready to ship. We are still such a small operation. Sometimes the non-creative aspects of our work can feel overwhelming, as each of us must wear so many different hats. You know, one of these days we will likely look back on these as the "good old days."

January 23, 2003
Dr. Armin Ziegler reminded me this week that I need to be more careful about generalizing groups of people. Though he does not live in Crailsheim these days, he considers himself a Crailsheimer. He asked me to remember that the seven or eight people in the so-called White Rose Task Force are not necessarily representative of 30,000 residents of that town. He's right... I apologize to him specifically. It does not improve my opinion of the wannabe task force ~ just narrows the focus of my irritation to the people who actually deserve it.

I am still up in the air about continuing White Rose work long-term. It seems fraught with more pitfalls than I can handle alone (even with the support of my amazing family).

When working on any topic that has to do with the Third Reich or history between 1933-1945 ~ even US history during that time period ~ you quickly learn to look askance at people who proclaimed their resistance post-war, where there is no evidence of said resistance documented during the war. Especially with the White Rose, this is a huge issue. The people who have been first in line at the microphone to tell about the White Rose and their involvement in it tend also to be the same people who are most likely to be lying through their teeth.

This causes problems for people like me who just want to know the whole story as it really happened. The handful who have traditionally controlled the telling of the story have also amassed small fortunes for reciting their fairy tales. It's a little scary to face an establishment like that.

January 16, 2003
Well, I thought the people in Crailsheim had finally found the bottom of their barrel. They had not. As of today's date, I am officially dissociating myself from them and repudiating every positive comment I've ever made about their work. (If you missed out on prior events, see my journal beginning November 29, 2002 and going forward to the end of the year.)

I will not even dignify them with additional comments. It's simply disgusting.

I will however note that though the people in Crailsheim have insisted that I am wrong about the Scholl family's continued censorship of the Scholl archives, I have an email received from the Institut fuer Zeitgeschichte in Munich ~ received THIS WEEK! ~ in which the person in charge of Scholl archives notes the following:

Scholl Archives will not be accessible till 2004;
They cannot yet tell if Sophie Scholl's entire diary was included in the sale from the Aicher-Scholl family to the IFZ; and,
They will not know for another year whether the Scholl archives will be open to everyone [or whether Aicher-Scholl demands for censorship of access to the archives will be honored].

In my opinion, this is unforgivable! The government of the United States of America evidently provided most of the funds that enabled Inge Scholl to establish "her" archives (as far as I know, there has never been a full accounting for how the funds were spent). If the IFZ does not quickly resolve the issue of access and equally quickly verify that 100% of the Scholl documents were turned over to the IFZ, I am of a mind to ask the Attorney General of the US to file a lawsuit against the Scholl Archives either to recoup the substantial money that flowed to Inge Scholl under the Marshall Plan and related organizations, or to bring the archives to the US where they were bought and paid for.

I am so fed up, I can hardly stand it! I am tempted to walk away right this minute.

January 10, 2003
The Gestapo Archives book is nearing completion and should ship by the end of this month or the first of February. Production considerations have included (but are hardly limited to) whether we should try to emulate the exact layout of the Gestapo files, or whether we should present the work in usual translation format. We finally opted for the latter and resumed production. (I know, it sounds trivial, but it was a decision that affected how we go forward with future translations of Gestapo archives (among others).

These last two weeks have also been marked by a very deep and hurtful White Rose experience that I cannot talk about yet. Maybe one day.

Funny, about the same time I was going through the unspeakable event, I ran across an article about the estate of "Winnie the Pooh" and how upsetting it has been for everyone ever associated with it. From the author to the author's son and even to those who first published and marketed the lovable bear, it has meant one personal nightmare after another.

My White Rose experiences have left me seriously doubtful as to whether I'll continue this work once this first volume of Gestapo archives is out the door. It seems to be a world where those who propagate lies are rewarded, and those who tell the truth are heroes left unsung.

January 3, 2003
Mom's home again, after spending several weeks with my little brother in England. Good to have her back in non-long-distance range.

A couple of friends forwarded me a vile article written by a fellow named William Grim. His virulent anti-German propaganda is mind-boggling. It makes absolutely no sense at all. If you happen to receive any of his works, please let me know. I am calling on the leaders of the American and Jewish communities to repudiate his racism. His other extreme positions, such as revoking female suffrage and expansion of American imperialism, should make him a pariah to anyone who values their brain.

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!