July 03, 2011

RAF's rare anti-Nazi leaflet that told truth to wartime Germany

Heroes: Sophie and Hans Scholl were two
members of the group executed by the Nazis in 1943

A rare anti-Nazi leaflet dropped over Germany by the RAF during the Second World War will be presented to the UK Holocaust Centre this week.

The document is one of the few surviving White Rose leaflets produced by brave students at Munich University.

The White Rose resistance movement was behind thousands of copies of the leaflets, which gave details of the Holocaust and supported the ideals of democracy, freedom and religious tolerance. The six core members of the group, including Sophie and Hans Scholl, were executed in 1943. They are now regarded as heroes for their courageous opposition to the Third Reich.

The text of their sixth leaflet was smuggled out of Germany to Britain. In July 1943, copies were dropped over Germany by Allied aircraft.

Collector William Kaczynski is now donating one of the leaflets to the Holocaust Centre, a memorial and education museum in Newark, Nottinghamshire. It can be seen by the public at the first annual White Rose Ball, at the Kia Oval in South London on September 25 in support of the Holocaust Centre.

* To find out about the White Rose Ball go to www.whiteroseball.org.

Mail on Sunday

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

True heroes of grass-roots anti-fascism.

Rest in peace!!!

NewsHound said...

http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Home/Cambridge-is-in-the-grip-of-terrorists-01072011.htm

EDL STUPIDLY CLAIM CAMBRIDGE IS IN THE GRIP OF TERRORISTS: -

Anonymous said...

What's interesting in this is seeing what Jeff Marsh (of Casuals United) does- he's always had a foot in both camps, posting both EDL statements and guest posts from Snowy.

Anonymous said...

If you haven't seen it yet check out the 2005 German movie: "Sophie Scholl – The Final Days" with Julia Jentsch in the title role.

An great film and it portrays Sophie as she was; an amazingly courageous woman and an anti-fascist martyr.

Anonymous said...

And yet....in the end it was a couple of divisions of T-34 tanks parked outside the Reichstag which ended the reign of Nazism in Europe.

Passive resistance...don't make me laugh!

Anonymous said...

Anon 9:47 AM, July 04, 2011

You're a big man writing that from the safety of Britain in 2011.

I wonder what you would have done had you been in Sophie's shoes in 1943?

Probably what most other Germans did?