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.
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!
History: October through December 2001
December 27, 2001
Well, the well-worn and horribly romantic image of a writer writing and pacing and drinking himself silly sure has taken a hit this year. Writing is proving to be much more of a "job" than anyone ever lets on. A job, to be sure, that I wouldn't trade for anything. And that, my friends, is a great place to be.
December 20, 2001
Finished a "markets" piece for Children's Writer Newsletter. Researched which publishers are looking for adventure pieces in 2002 and early 2003. This means I'll be able to seriously pick up where I left off on White Rose work. Hopefully very soon! Nothing like a short absence to make me ready to go again. How is it that after all these years, their story still has the power to make me cry?
November 29, 2001
Birthday tomorrow reminds me that we all get older and slower, no matter what we do or where we live. Oh well. Enjoying the journey, and that is what matters most.
November 22, 2001
So much to be thankful for, and I don't even mean the "biggies". Strong sense this year of needing to understand that so much that I am "thankful" for comes at the expense of others who receive little or no wage (much less thanks) for their labor.
November 1, 2001
We are coming up so quickly on the 63rd anniversary of Kristallnacht, the night of breaking glass, that awful pogrom that signaled the irrevocable beginnings of the Shoah. In these days when our own society can feel like it is standing on equivalent quicksand, we need to hear the words of Paul Spiegel, President of the German Jewish Council, spoken last November 9 in Berlin.
October 18, 2001
The worst thing to come of the bombing of the World Trade Center and Pentagon has been the willingness of too many citizens to voluntarily hand over civil liberties in exchange for what is perceived as "security" ...
This is a dangerous world view. We can fight external enemies. It has never been difficult to rally Americans to genuine jeopardy from abroad. But if we let go of the things that make us special ~ the right to freely assemble, the right to dissent, the right to speak our minds even if our opinions buck conventional wisdom and White House spin ~ we may as well surrender now. For we will have already lost.
Well, the well-worn and horribly romantic image of a writer writing and pacing and drinking himself silly sure has taken a hit this year. Writing is proving to be much more of a "job" than anyone ever lets on. A job, to be sure, that I wouldn't trade for anything. And that, my friends, is a great place to be.
December 20, 2001
Finished a "markets" piece for Children's Writer Newsletter. Researched which publishers are looking for adventure pieces in 2002 and early 2003. This means I'll be able to seriously pick up where I left off on White Rose work. Hopefully very soon! Nothing like a short absence to make me ready to go again. How is it that after all these years, their story still has the power to make me cry?
November 29, 2001
Birthday tomorrow reminds me that we all get older and slower, no matter what we do or where we live. Oh well. Enjoying the journey, and that is what matters most.
November 22, 2001
So much to be thankful for, and I don't even mean the "biggies". Strong sense this year of needing to understand that so much that I am "thankful" for comes at the expense of others who receive little or no wage (much less thanks) for their labor.
November 1, 2001
We are coming up so quickly on the 63rd anniversary of Kristallnacht, the night of breaking glass, that awful pogrom that signaled the irrevocable beginnings of the Shoah. In these days when our own society can feel like it is standing on equivalent quicksand, we need to hear the words of Paul Spiegel, President of the German Jewish Council, spoken last November 9 in Berlin.
October 18, 2001
The worst thing to come of the bombing of the World Trade Center and Pentagon has been the willingness of too many citizens to voluntarily hand over civil liberties in exchange for what is perceived as "security" ...
This is a dangerous world view. We can fight external enemies. It has never been difficult to rally Americans to genuine jeopardy from abroad. But if we let go of the things that make us special ~ the right to freely assemble, the right to dissent, the right to speak our minds even if our opinions buck conventional wisdom and White House spin ~ we may as well surrender now. For we will have already lost.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Attention to detail
Without even trying, we have found ourselves visiting numerous museums these first few weeks in California. Whether the Gene Autry Museum with its variety of displays (rock climbing, art galleries, C&W music) or the stark simplicity of the Santa Barbara Mission exhibits, each museum offers something unique and thought-provoking.
Additionally, the curators demonstrate a good eye for making their subject matter relevant. Touch the sequins in the C&W exhibit and lip sync to a young George Jones performance "onstage". Smell the roses in the Mission garden. Test the rockclimbing equipment for yourself. Learn the value of a good telescope for fun and games (as predecessor to more serious pursuits) at Griffith Observatory.
These experiences have made me think about what we want for our Center for White Rose Studies. Of course we wish to make the archival material available to everyone, in its original German as well as in English translation.
But what can we do beyond that to make the story come alive? Just as the Autry people made rockclimbing (something I am NOT interested in) fascinating by permitting visitors to physically feel the equipment, thereby gaining an appreciation for the risks these earthbound explorers undertake, I would like to see our staff make the notions of civil disobedience and informed dissent come alive for students - and "older" students - alike.
Please let us know your thoughts on this topic! We are listening...
Additionally, the curators demonstrate a good eye for making their subject matter relevant. Touch the sequins in the C&W exhibit and lip sync to a young George Jones performance "onstage". Smell the roses in the Mission garden. Test the rockclimbing equipment for yourself. Learn the value of a good telescope for fun and games (as predecessor to more serious pursuits) at Griffith Observatory.
These experiences have made me think about what we want for our Center for White Rose Studies. Of course we wish to make the archival material available to everyone, in its original German as well as in English translation.
But what can we do beyond that to make the story come alive? Just as the Autry people made rockclimbing (something I am NOT interested in) fascinating by permitting visitors to physically feel the equipment, thereby gaining an appreciation for the risks these earthbound explorers undertake, I would like to see our staff make the notions of civil disobedience and informed dissent come alive for students - and "older" students - alike.
Please let us know your thoughts on this topic! We are listening...
Paul Spiegel on November 9, 2000
NOVEMBER 9, 2000 IN FRONT OF THE BRANDENBURG GATE, BERLIN
Sixty-two years ago today, synagogues and houses of prayer all across Germany were torched and profaned. Jewish businesses and houses were looted. There were numerous arrests, and at least 91 people were murdered. This night officially signaled the largest and most awful genocide in the history of mankind.
A few feet from here, on November 9, 1989, the walls erected by another unlawful regime were finally forced open. For this reason, today’s date is a day of joy for all Germans.
But it may never supplant the remembrance of November 9, 1938, the remembrance of a pogrom organized by the State. And certainly, it should never lead to a holiday for the Ninth of November. For the revelry associated with a festival, complete with beer tents and stands selling sausages—appropriate for the joy associated with the tearing down of the Wall—is worthless for remembering the millions who died under Nazi terror.
Memories of the events of those days become spontaneously relevant when we view the pictures of the last few weeks and months: When synagogues are attacked and profaned, such as in Lübeck, Erfurt, in my hometown of Düsseldorf, and here in Berlin as well. Angry and embittered, we see the images of people being driven through the streets, publicly beaten, often murdered.
Can you imagine what kind of memories these crimes awaken in us Jews, indeed, must awaken? And with that, I do not merely mean for those of my generation who had to go through the hell that was the Holocaust. I mean my children and grandchildren too. Can you imagine what we think, when we must see how once again Germans torch our synagogues, profane our cemeteries, threaten us with death and bombs in our homes? Can you begin to know what we think, when we see how a black African is chased through German streets and murdered?
We often hear, “nip it in the bud,” when we are speaking about the battle against right-wing extremism. But we are well past this stage. What we experience here nearly every day has nothing to do with ‘beginnings.’ Already we find ourselves in the middle of this battle against right-wing extremism. A few weeks ago, Chancellor Schröder called us to a “Revolution of Decency,” he called for more people to act on the courage of their convictions. But what does that mean in concrete terms, what does it mean for the individual? What can, what must each of us do?
I am convinced that the majority of the people in this country reject right-wing extremism, anti-Semitism, and xenophobia. But this majority may no longer be silent. No longer can it look the other way. No longer may it write off the events in our country as insignificant. Germany in the year 2000 is not the Germany of 1938. The “Berlin Republic” is not the “Weimar Republic.” But—in ten years, will this State still be a democratic, open, liberal Republic, like the “Bonn Republic” was?
In spite of the terrible negative events of the last few weeks, Jews in Germany have confidence in this country, in its competent politicians, and in its inhabitants. After their terrible suffering, and despite world opinion, our parents decided to live here once more, and establish Jewish communities. Now as then, we are firmly convinced that this was a good decision, and an important one. We will not and we may not help Hitler and his accomplices win their war after the fact, by making Germany judenrein, free of Jews. But we need a clear signal that the majority of the non-Jewish residents of this country want to have us and our Jewish communities in this country.
Today we remember the events of the evening of November 9, 1938, when the Nazis visibly gave free rein to their hatred of the Jews. It was an operation carried out by the State, and it was enacted in public streets. The German nation became witnesses to the trampling under foot of human rights and human values, in the truest sense of the words. Exultant and howling witnesses were among the onlookers that night. Others simply took in what happened either silently or indifferently. That night, Jews were all but left on their own. With a few exceptions, among them the courageous clergyman Bernhard Lichtenberg, hardly anyone publicly declared his displeasure, his horror. To this day, I do not understand how the non-Jewish population was able to resume its daily existence after that night.
Few are heroes. Few have the courage to step in when they witness skinheads attacking a defenseless man, a defenseless woman – and in the meantime, yes, defenseless children – on the street, beating them up. But every single one of us is capable of calling the police. Every single one of us is capable of taking small steps right where he lives. When dining with friends and derogatory jokes are told about Jews, Turks, Blacks, or gays. When a foreigner is treated badly, discriminated against, in your workplace. Talk to your friends and colleagues when they do such things! Talk to your shop steward and thereby demonstrate your opposition to such things! We cannot yield our streets and favorite restaurants to the brown mob.
I am happy that there are so many of you who—with this demonstration today—say to the right-wing extremists on our streets: “Stop it! Enough! We will no longer stand for the fact that people in our country must once again be afraid!”
We may not cease in our battle against right-wing extremism, anti-Semitism, and xenophobia. For this is not merely about us Jews, or about Turks, Blacks, the homeless, or gays. This is about this country. This is about the future of every single individual in this country. Do you want to be ruled by skinheads and their predecessors one of these days? That is the real question at hand. Not how many foreigners this country can bear.
Make your democratically elected politicians jointly responsible for what happens here. What good does a special session of the German Parliament do, when they condemn anti-Semitism with beautiful speeches following the attacks on the synagogues in Düsseldorf and Berlin, when the very next day several politicians choose to use words that can be easily misunderstood? When for tactical reasons, they make immigration questions an election theme, babbling about so-called “useful” and “useless” foreigners?
And what is this talk about a Leitkultur, a basic culture? Perhaps German Leitkultur consists of hunting down foreigners, torching synagogues, murdering the homeless? Are we talking about a culture, or about the prevailing values of western democratic culture that we have firmly anchored in our national constitution? Article One of that constitution states: “The dignity of mankind is inviolable. The duty of national power is its protection.” The dignity of mankind – of all mankind – is inviolable, not just the dignity of Central European Christians!
If this principle is the one that is understood as German Leitkultur, then I can only support it. And then I must challenge all politicians, must make all politicians responsible for bridling their populist speeches. They must begin to see that Article One of our constitution is also implemented and taken seriously. Our politicians, our departments of justice, our police are required to do everything – really everything! – they can to protect the dignity of all people in this country.
Ladies and gentlemen of our political parties: Consider well what you say, and cease your inflammatory speech-making! Protect the people of this country and create a framework of conditions that will allow us all to live together. That is the only way you will be able to prove to every citizen, non-Jew and Jew alike, and prove to yourselves and to the rest of the world, that this Germany in the year 2000 truly has a democratic future.
All of us are called every day – but especially on a day like today – to finally get serious with the protection of human dignity. Only when we are serious will memorial services, such as the one today, cease to be empty, burdensome rituals or productions, and become rather meaningful signs of a living and strong democracy.
“Memorial” entails remembering. In the Jewish community, we learn young that remembering is an important part of our history. The Talmud says, “The secret of redemption is remembering.” We owe it to those sacrificed in the Shoah never to forget them or their suffering! He who forgets their sacrifice murders them a second time.
~ Paul Spiegel, President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany
© 2000 Paul Spiegel
Translation © 2000 Ruth Sachs
Sixty-two years ago today, synagogues and houses of prayer all across Germany were torched and profaned. Jewish businesses and houses were looted. There were numerous arrests, and at least 91 people were murdered. This night officially signaled the largest and most awful genocide in the history of mankind.
A few feet from here, on November 9, 1989, the walls erected by another unlawful regime were finally forced open. For this reason, today’s date is a day of joy for all Germans.
But it may never supplant the remembrance of November 9, 1938, the remembrance of a pogrom organized by the State. And certainly, it should never lead to a holiday for the Ninth of November. For the revelry associated with a festival, complete with beer tents and stands selling sausages—appropriate for the joy associated with the tearing down of the Wall—is worthless for remembering the millions who died under Nazi terror.
Memories of the events of those days become spontaneously relevant when we view the pictures of the last few weeks and months: When synagogues are attacked and profaned, such as in Lübeck, Erfurt, in my hometown of Düsseldorf, and here in Berlin as well. Angry and embittered, we see the images of people being driven through the streets, publicly beaten, often murdered.
Can you imagine what kind of memories these crimes awaken in us Jews, indeed, must awaken? And with that, I do not merely mean for those of my generation who had to go through the hell that was the Holocaust. I mean my children and grandchildren too. Can you imagine what we think, when we must see how once again Germans torch our synagogues, profane our cemeteries, threaten us with death and bombs in our homes? Can you begin to know what we think, when we see how a black African is chased through German streets and murdered?
We often hear, “nip it in the bud,” when we are speaking about the battle against right-wing extremism. But we are well past this stage. What we experience here nearly every day has nothing to do with ‘beginnings.’ Already we find ourselves in the middle of this battle against right-wing extremism. A few weeks ago, Chancellor Schröder called us to a “Revolution of Decency,” he called for more people to act on the courage of their convictions. But what does that mean in concrete terms, what does it mean for the individual? What can, what must each of us do?
I am convinced that the majority of the people in this country reject right-wing extremism, anti-Semitism, and xenophobia. But this majority may no longer be silent. No longer can it look the other way. No longer may it write off the events in our country as insignificant. Germany in the year 2000 is not the Germany of 1938. The “Berlin Republic” is not the “Weimar Republic.” But—in ten years, will this State still be a democratic, open, liberal Republic, like the “Bonn Republic” was?
In spite of the terrible negative events of the last few weeks, Jews in Germany have confidence in this country, in its competent politicians, and in its inhabitants. After their terrible suffering, and despite world opinion, our parents decided to live here once more, and establish Jewish communities. Now as then, we are firmly convinced that this was a good decision, and an important one. We will not and we may not help Hitler and his accomplices win their war after the fact, by making Germany judenrein, free of Jews. But we need a clear signal that the majority of the non-Jewish residents of this country want to have us and our Jewish communities in this country.
Today we remember the events of the evening of November 9, 1938, when the Nazis visibly gave free rein to their hatred of the Jews. It was an operation carried out by the State, and it was enacted in public streets. The German nation became witnesses to the trampling under foot of human rights and human values, in the truest sense of the words. Exultant and howling witnesses were among the onlookers that night. Others simply took in what happened either silently or indifferently. That night, Jews were all but left on their own. With a few exceptions, among them the courageous clergyman Bernhard Lichtenberg, hardly anyone publicly declared his displeasure, his horror. To this day, I do not understand how the non-Jewish population was able to resume its daily existence after that night.
Few are heroes. Few have the courage to step in when they witness skinheads attacking a defenseless man, a defenseless woman – and in the meantime, yes, defenseless children – on the street, beating them up. But every single one of us is capable of calling the police. Every single one of us is capable of taking small steps right where he lives. When dining with friends and derogatory jokes are told about Jews, Turks, Blacks, or gays. When a foreigner is treated badly, discriminated against, in your workplace. Talk to your friends and colleagues when they do such things! Talk to your shop steward and thereby demonstrate your opposition to such things! We cannot yield our streets and favorite restaurants to the brown mob.
I am happy that there are so many of you who—with this demonstration today—say to the right-wing extremists on our streets: “Stop it! Enough! We will no longer stand for the fact that people in our country must once again be afraid!”
We may not cease in our battle against right-wing extremism, anti-Semitism, and xenophobia. For this is not merely about us Jews, or about Turks, Blacks, the homeless, or gays. This is about this country. This is about the future of every single individual in this country. Do you want to be ruled by skinheads and their predecessors one of these days? That is the real question at hand. Not how many foreigners this country can bear.
Make your democratically elected politicians jointly responsible for what happens here. What good does a special session of the German Parliament do, when they condemn anti-Semitism with beautiful speeches following the attacks on the synagogues in Düsseldorf and Berlin, when the very next day several politicians choose to use words that can be easily misunderstood? When for tactical reasons, they make immigration questions an election theme, babbling about so-called “useful” and “useless” foreigners?
And what is this talk about a Leitkultur, a basic culture? Perhaps German Leitkultur consists of hunting down foreigners, torching synagogues, murdering the homeless? Are we talking about a culture, or about the prevailing values of western democratic culture that we have firmly anchored in our national constitution? Article One of that constitution states: “The dignity of mankind is inviolable. The duty of national power is its protection.” The dignity of mankind – of all mankind – is inviolable, not just the dignity of Central European Christians!
If this principle is the one that is understood as German Leitkultur, then I can only support it. And then I must challenge all politicians, must make all politicians responsible for bridling their populist speeches. They must begin to see that Article One of our constitution is also implemented and taken seriously. Our politicians, our departments of justice, our police are required to do everything – really everything! – they can to protect the dignity of all people in this country.
Ladies and gentlemen of our political parties: Consider well what you say, and cease your inflammatory speech-making! Protect the people of this country and create a framework of conditions that will allow us all to live together. That is the only way you will be able to prove to every citizen, non-Jew and Jew alike, and prove to yourselves and to the rest of the world, that this Germany in the year 2000 truly has a democratic future.
All of us are called every day – but especially on a day like today – to finally get serious with the protection of human dignity. Only when we are serious will memorial services, such as the one today, cease to be empty, burdensome rituals or productions, and become rather meaningful signs of a living and strong democracy.
“Memorial” entails remembering. In the Jewish community, we learn young that remembering is an important part of our history. The Talmud says, “The secret of redemption is remembering.” We owe it to those sacrificed in the Shoah never to forget them or their suffering! He who forgets their sacrifice murders them a second time.
~ Paul Spiegel, President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany
© 2000 Paul Spiegel
Translation © 2000 Ruth Sachs
Otl Aicher on War
As long as you are a soldier, you have to stay within the framework of your unit or move within the confines of the line of command of an order.
Since we lounged around for days on end ~ I had unbelievable time to read ~ I risked taking a field trip. We were camped on the fringes of a village. All around us, as far as the eye could see, the unplowed fields of stubble. The tracks of the trucks and tanks from the battle for Charkov spread across the fields like a black net.
I was raised on the topic of war. The first World War with its peace of Versailles and the revolution of the soldiers returning home created a climate of thought and conversation that would give no one a break. Someone would say, 'never again war.' Someone else, 'that revolution is a stab in the back to our army.' Even in civvies, most of the years I was in school, students wore a puttee [Ed: a leather legging secured by a strap or catch or by laces], like soldiers in the field wore. Shoulder harnesses and webbing showed up in the uniforms of many parties and organizations.
In the evenings, the men would tell one another about the war, and we children would listen with our mouths wide open. Demonstrations and public announcements always included marching, flags, and military music. In school, the French teacher talked about war, the biology teacher talked about war. Even the religion teacher had to clarify his nationalistic reputation by speaking about chaplains during the war. The poetry textbook for our German literature class was full of poems about war and the deeds of heroes.
And now, I myself was in a war. I was lying on the ground where a battle had just taken place. It was as though this was a point that my life had been leading up to all this time. After all that talk about war, for the first time I could hold it with my hands. It was tangible reality.
I left our camp without telling anyone. I wanted to go to Charkov, to really see the war. Out here where I was stationed, we got only vague hints about it. I almost ran to Charkov, up hill and down. I had a picture in my mind of what a battlefield had to look like, drawn from my father's stories, from newspapers and books, from teachers' reports. I wanted to see it. So I ran for hours till I reached Charkov.
Once I saw a few piles of something or other in the distance, but it turned out not to be dead soldiers. It was only clumps of straw. The network of truck tracks that criss-crossed the land were wider in some places, and in others, narrow. Then I reached a ravine, and for the first time, smelled the stench of war.
I still couldn't see anything, but a penetrating sweet odor kept forcing me to hold my nose. In vain. Suddenly, they were everywhere. Horses, soldiers, parts of vehicles, a few patches of uprooted earth.
I approached the first dead soldier almost cautiously. His face was bloated, yellow-green, yellow-brown. Teeth bared in a snarl. His wool jacket, ripped open, was encrusted with clotted blood. The battle was probably three or four days ago. The burning sun had turned death into putrefaction. The next dead soldier, I was met with a blank stare. His eyes were looking someplace where he could not see, and blood had run from his nose.
Now I understood why we always close the eyes of dead people. But I did not dare. It was as though poison flowed between us. I was breathing suffocating vapors of poisonous gas. I would have liked to have closed his eyes. Death is only peace when our eyes stop looking for something.
One soldier was lying halfway in a fox-hole, head down. His cotton clothing looked like a sofa that has been split wide open.
One soldier was lying on his back on the ground, his chest split in two, a child's chest with no hair. I tiptoed, like the angel of death, slowly from body to body, choking, mouth dry, yet full of curiosity to see what war looked like. A dead man is a dead man.
But these here, they were not dead men. They did not have a body. They were a mix of scraps of clothing, dirt, mud, blood, flesh, and swollen skin. They did not rest in peace. They had died like animals, had been exploded like a grenade.
One soldier was missing a leg. I never could find where it was. The stump had been bound up with a shirt. The blood looked like red cement. Many of their hands were soft and peaceful. All were swollen. Many hands were like those of Matthias Gruenwald, making a tight fist. Some deaths must have been sudden, others slow and painful.
No angel of death had been at work in this place, no unceasing angel of death. No, here had walked a tormentor, a torturer, someone who inflicted pain, a butcher.
This was anything but a sacrificial death. One does not become a hero by dying. One bleeds to death, one wastes away, one witnesses his own death as a public embowelment. Even the one who passed away with his head bound in white, the only thing that is white in this whole tumult of blood and earth, even he lies there still and stutters his pain. Beards and fingernails grow over death, and the faces quickly take on the image of grimaces and ghosts. These are creatures of hell, of the devil.
War does not allow man to end his life as man.
From innenseiten des kriegs, by Otl Aicher. Translation (c) 2001 Ruth Sachs. All rights reserved.
Since we lounged around for days on end ~ I had unbelievable time to read ~ I risked taking a field trip. We were camped on the fringes of a village. All around us, as far as the eye could see, the unplowed fields of stubble. The tracks of the trucks and tanks from the battle for Charkov spread across the fields like a black net.
I was raised on the topic of war. The first World War with its peace of Versailles and the revolution of the soldiers returning home created a climate of thought and conversation that would give no one a break. Someone would say, 'never again war.' Someone else, 'that revolution is a stab in the back to our army.' Even in civvies, most of the years I was in school, students wore a puttee [Ed: a leather legging secured by a strap or catch or by laces], like soldiers in the field wore. Shoulder harnesses and webbing showed up in the uniforms of many parties and organizations.
In the evenings, the men would tell one another about the war, and we children would listen with our mouths wide open. Demonstrations and public announcements always included marching, flags, and military music. In school, the French teacher talked about war, the biology teacher talked about war. Even the religion teacher had to clarify his nationalistic reputation by speaking about chaplains during the war. The poetry textbook for our German literature class was full of poems about war and the deeds of heroes.
And now, I myself was in a war. I was lying on the ground where a battle had just taken place. It was as though this was a point that my life had been leading up to all this time. After all that talk about war, for the first time I could hold it with my hands. It was tangible reality.
I left our camp without telling anyone. I wanted to go to Charkov, to really see the war. Out here where I was stationed, we got only vague hints about it. I almost ran to Charkov, up hill and down. I had a picture in my mind of what a battlefield had to look like, drawn from my father's stories, from newspapers and books, from teachers' reports. I wanted to see it. So I ran for hours till I reached Charkov.
Once I saw a few piles of something or other in the distance, but it turned out not to be dead soldiers. It was only clumps of straw. The network of truck tracks that criss-crossed the land were wider in some places, and in others, narrow. Then I reached a ravine, and for the first time, smelled the stench of war.
I still couldn't see anything, but a penetrating sweet odor kept forcing me to hold my nose. In vain. Suddenly, they were everywhere. Horses, soldiers, parts of vehicles, a few patches of uprooted earth.
I approached the first dead soldier almost cautiously. His face was bloated, yellow-green, yellow-brown. Teeth bared in a snarl. His wool jacket, ripped open, was encrusted with clotted blood. The battle was probably three or four days ago. The burning sun had turned death into putrefaction. The next dead soldier, I was met with a blank stare. His eyes were looking someplace where he could not see, and blood had run from his nose.
Now I understood why we always close the eyes of dead people. But I did not dare. It was as though poison flowed between us. I was breathing suffocating vapors of poisonous gas. I would have liked to have closed his eyes. Death is only peace when our eyes stop looking for something.
One soldier was lying halfway in a fox-hole, head down. His cotton clothing looked like a sofa that has been split wide open.
One soldier was lying on his back on the ground, his chest split in two, a child's chest with no hair. I tiptoed, like the angel of death, slowly from body to body, choking, mouth dry, yet full of curiosity to see what war looked like. A dead man is a dead man.
But these here, they were not dead men. They did not have a body. They were a mix of scraps of clothing, dirt, mud, blood, flesh, and swollen skin. They did not rest in peace. They had died like animals, had been exploded like a grenade.
One soldier was missing a leg. I never could find where it was. The stump had been bound up with a shirt. The blood looked like red cement. Many of their hands were soft and peaceful. All were swollen. Many hands were like those of Matthias Gruenwald, making a tight fist. Some deaths must have been sudden, others slow and painful.
No angel of death had been at work in this place, no unceasing angel of death. No, here had walked a tormentor, a torturer, someone who inflicted pain, a butcher.
This was anything but a sacrificial death. One does not become a hero by dying. One bleeds to death, one wastes away, one witnesses his own death as a public embowelment. Even the one who passed away with his head bound in white, the only thing that is white in this whole tumult of blood and earth, even he lies there still and stutters his pain. Beards and fingernails grow over death, and the faces quickly take on the image of grimaces and ghosts. These are creatures of hell, of the devil.
War does not allow man to end his life as man.
From innenseiten des kriegs, by Otl Aicher. Translation (c) 2001 Ruth Sachs. All rights reserved.
History: July through September 2001
September 13, 2001
There is nothing else to write except for deepest grief at the events of this week. On Monday, facing a week full of bright prospects, we could never have imagined how changed our world would be today, how very different we have all become in so short a space.
May our innocence lost turn to wisdom gained.
September 6, 2001
Interesting news out of Germany... Hans Hirzel has left the Republikaner party. Reasons are unclear at present. Just a development worth noting.
Armin Ziegler sent me his biography of Eugen Grimminger. More for the database, but more important, more puzzle pieces to complete the White Rose picture. It grows increasingly fascinating the greater its complexity.
August 24, 2001
More of Otl's work is "in the database" now. Nearly finished, after a long hiatus from his writing. So many why's, not many answers. It is chilling to realize that they were very much aware of the odds against them. 30, maybe 50 individuals at most, in the face of 60 million Germans who either followed Hitler blindly and loudly, or would not say no to those who did. Chilling, and an indictment.
30, maybe 50, against 60 million. How much more alone could one be?
August 17, 2001
This White Rose "puzzle" is so intricate, so beautiful. Asked Armin Ziegler a simple question this week: Was Tilly Hahn related to the educator Kurt Hahn?
She was not... but she represents one of those White Rose jewels who has been ignored far too long. She gave Hans Scholl and Alex Schmorell the 500 Marks that Eugen Grimminger was arrested for. Out of her own pocket. Long depicted as his pretty secretary, Tilly instead handled customer accounts ~ and shared Grimminger's views of the Nazis completely.
It's a shame that the falsehood of the legend has hidden the charm of the real story. High time people like Tilly Hahn received the recognition, and honor, they deserve.
August 10, 2001
There's movement in the White Rose work again. I won't talk out loud about some of it. Suffice it to say, I alternate between breathless and agony. Listening to people who can make a difference... And it's exciting to be talking to Leslie Friedman, a fellow Fulbrighter who shares my strange sense of humor, regarding art direction for a potential White Rose movie.
August 2, 2001
When a person thinks about becoming a writer (or at least when I did), there's this romantic vision of sitting at a computer and pouring meaningful words onto a blank page. I remember the early days, writing whenever inspiration struck... usually late at night. It was simply fun, that theater of and for one.
I still love to write, but have discovered in the interim that it's a business like anything else. The routine may "interfere" with the creative, but it enables it as well. Would not trade this business for any other! Keeping routine and creativity in balance is, however, a dance on egg shells.
July 20, 2001
Ran across some people this week who willingly distort truth just to win an argument. Had nothing to do with the White Rose. The topic, in fact, was media bias. Instead of honestly discussing the matter, they invented specious supports to their claim, including but not limited to the mind-boggling assertion that writing "Rep. Condit" was a deliberate attempt to make people think Condit is Republican.
Yes, there really are people like that. Finding them outside the realm of the White Rose made me feel a little better. I was beginning to believe all those types had migrated to this topic.
Still enjoying the ongoing correspondence with Armin Ziegler. Questions are good. He forces me to nitpick and think hard.
July 13, 2001
It's been one of those weeks where, if you touch it, it breaks. I'm sure that no one reading this has ever had a week like that. (Yeah right.) Guess these days make me appreciate other times when creativity comes easy, when everything rhymes, and mistakes are unehard of, I mean unheard of.
In the meantime, I've been reading the new John Adams biography. Astounding, isn't it, how many stories we once knew are quickly forgotten. He lived a scant 200 years ago. What have we forgotten from time even more immemorial?
July 5, 2001
On this day after we celebrate our declaration of independence, it is sobering to realize that not everywhere and not in every time have people enjoyed so much luxury of freedom as we do here in these United States.
A recent discussion about what drove the students in the White Rose to sacrifice their lives pointed this up clearly. They were of one mind on one topic only, namely, that human and civil rights were worth dying for. They could never have agreed on religion or politics. But they understood what we take for granted, that this precious freedom is for every one of us, not just for the privileged few.
There is nothing else to write except for deepest grief at the events of this week. On Monday, facing a week full of bright prospects, we could never have imagined how changed our world would be today, how very different we have all become in so short a space.
May our innocence lost turn to wisdom gained.
September 6, 2001
Interesting news out of Germany... Hans Hirzel has left the Republikaner party. Reasons are unclear at present. Just a development worth noting.
Armin Ziegler sent me his biography of Eugen Grimminger. More for the database, but more important, more puzzle pieces to complete the White Rose picture. It grows increasingly fascinating the greater its complexity.
August 24, 2001
More of Otl's work is "in the database" now. Nearly finished, after a long hiatus from his writing. So many why's, not many answers. It is chilling to realize that they were very much aware of the odds against them. 30, maybe 50 individuals at most, in the face of 60 million Germans who either followed Hitler blindly and loudly, or would not say no to those who did. Chilling, and an indictment.
30, maybe 50, against 60 million. How much more alone could one be?
August 17, 2001
This White Rose "puzzle" is so intricate, so beautiful. Asked Armin Ziegler a simple question this week: Was Tilly Hahn related to the educator Kurt Hahn?
She was not... but she represents one of those White Rose jewels who has been ignored far too long. She gave Hans Scholl and Alex Schmorell the 500 Marks that Eugen Grimminger was arrested for. Out of her own pocket. Long depicted as his pretty secretary, Tilly instead handled customer accounts ~ and shared Grimminger's views of the Nazis completely.
It's a shame that the falsehood of the legend has hidden the charm of the real story. High time people like Tilly Hahn received the recognition, and honor, they deserve.
August 10, 2001
There's movement in the White Rose work again. I won't talk out loud about some of it. Suffice it to say, I alternate between breathless and agony. Listening to people who can make a difference... And it's exciting to be talking to Leslie Friedman, a fellow Fulbrighter who shares my strange sense of humor, regarding art direction for a potential White Rose movie.
August 2, 2001
When a person thinks about becoming a writer (or at least when I did), there's this romantic vision of sitting at a computer and pouring meaningful words onto a blank page. I remember the early days, writing whenever inspiration struck... usually late at night. It was simply fun, that theater of and for one.
I still love to write, but have discovered in the interim that it's a business like anything else. The routine may "interfere" with the creative, but it enables it as well. Would not trade this business for any other! Keeping routine and creativity in balance is, however, a dance on egg shells.
July 20, 2001
Ran across some people this week who willingly distort truth just to win an argument. Had nothing to do with the White Rose. The topic, in fact, was media bias. Instead of honestly discussing the matter, they invented specious supports to their claim, including but not limited to the mind-boggling assertion that writing "Rep. Condit" was a deliberate attempt to make people think Condit is Republican.
Yes, there really are people like that. Finding them outside the realm of the White Rose made me feel a little better. I was beginning to believe all those types had migrated to this topic.
Still enjoying the ongoing correspondence with Armin Ziegler. Questions are good. He forces me to nitpick and think hard.
July 13, 2001
It's been one of those weeks where, if you touch it, it breaks. I'm sure that no one reading this has ever had a week like that. (Yeah right.) Guess these days make me appreciate other times when creativity comes easy, when everything rhymes, and mistakes are unehard of, I mean unheard of.
In the meantime, I've been reading the new John Adams biography. Astounding, isn't it, how many stories we once knew are quickly forgotten. He lived a scant 200 years ago. What have we forgotten from time even more immemorial?
July 5, 2001
On this day after we celebrate our declaration of independence, it is sobering to realize that not everywhere and not in every time have people enjoyed so much luxury of freedom as we do here in these United States.
A recent discussion about what drove the students in the White Rose to sacrifice their lives pointed this up clearly. They were of one mind on one topic only, namely, that human and civil rights were worth dying for. They could never have agreed on religion or politics. But they understood what we take for granted, that this precious freedom is for every one of us, not just for the privileged few.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
