Opinion
OTHER VIEWS
The White Rose
On the anniversary of their execution (Feb.
22, 1943) — and in this U.S. election year
— Germany's White Rose Resistors compel us
to act for change, at home and abroad.
Plainview, N.Y.
F
eb. 22 marks the 65th anniver-
sary of the Gestapo's executions of
Sophie Scholl and the White Rose
in 1943. They were swiftly beheaded after a
show trial in Munich by Hitler's "Hanging
Judge;' Roland Freisler, who reviled them for
daring to call their countrymen to action
in the face of Nazi Germany's suspension of
all civil rights and
its mass murder of
Europes Jews.
This anniversary is
hardly another dusty
date in Holocaust
remembrance, or
another chance
to mouth pious
platitudes of "Never
Again." Ulm — the
Jud Newborn
city where Sophie
Special
and her older brother
Commentary
Hans Scholl grew
up as Hitler Youth
fanatics — is today a hotbed of homegrown
Islamic radicalism.
Only this past fall, in a story that made
worldwide headlines, authorities foiled
a terror plot by a young German convert
that would have surpassed the carnage in
Madrid and London.
tyranny. Their thoughts then turned
Surely today, at last, it is time to heed
to active resistance.
the wake-up call of Sophie Scholl and
the White Rose resistance, as the world's
The Setup
nations continue their usual inaction
In May 1942, dubbing themselves "The
— years into the genocide in Dafur.
White Rose," they joined with friends at the
This 65th anniversary is also the elec-
University of Munich to produce a series
tion year in which U.S. citizens will either
of impassioned leaflets. Reproducing thou-
choose a fresh vision for the future, or
sands in their secret headquarters, they
further entrench the
made dangerous train
legacy of an "imperial"
sorties, mailing leaflets
administration and
from Stuttgart to Vienna
fossilized party that
and from Hamburg
has maligned the dis-
back to Munich — any-
sent of its citizens as
thing to mislead the
"unpatriotic"and con-
Gestapo into thinking
stantly attempted to
theirs was a broadly
bypass Congress at the
based movement, and
expense of America's
not just a handful of
The White Rose, 1942
most basic civil free-
students.
doms.
"Since the beginning
of the war',' they declared in June in their
The Backdrop
second leaflet,"300,000 Jews have been
Hans Scholl, 21 and 24 at the time of their
murdered in the most bestial manner. This
executions, rejected their parents' Christian
is a crime unparalleled in human history
humanism as youngsters in 1933 to
— a crime against the dignity of Man. But
embrace Hitler's offer of racial superiority
why do we tell you this," they continued,
and the glory of fanatical self-sacrifice to
"when you already know it? Everyone wants
bring about the "Thousand Year Reich!'
to be exonerated, but you cannot be, because
But Han Scholl's Gestapo arrest in 1937 at everyone is guilty, guilty, guilty."
age 19 for a passing gay affair years earlier
"We will not be silent," they con-
— a startling fact suppressed until now for
cluded."We are your bad conscience. The
reasons of shame and prejudice — caused
White Rose will not leave you in peace!"
the scales to drop from the siblings' eyes.
In the years following his six-month
The Arrest
ordeal as victim rather than hero, their
On Friday, Feb.18, 1943, Sophie and Hans
distress evolved into outrage over Nazi
Scholl mounted a gallery in the University of
Munich's vast atrium. From there, they scat-
tered hundreds of their sixth leaflet down
upon the heads of students milling about
in the change of class. It was the only public
protest against Nazism in the entire 12 years
of Hitler's rule. Spotted almost immediately,
they were arrested by the Gestapo and
subjected over the weekend to grueling
interrogation. On Monday, Feb. 22, even as
their family and friends were struggling
to submit appeals, Sophie, Hans and their
comrade Christoph Probst were tried, con-
demned and summarily beheaded.
Long after the war, most Germans con-
sidered them traitors. But things are dif-
ferent today. Not long ago, in a nationwide
TV competition to choose the top 10 most
important Germans of all time, voters under
the age of 40 catapulted Sophie and Hans
Scholl into fourth place — winning over
Goethe, Gutenberg, Bach, Bismarck, Willy
Brandt and Albert Einstein! And a German
film, Sophie Scholl: The Final Days, was
nominated for an Oscar as Best Foreign
Film in 2006. At the same time, my co-
authored book, Sophie Scholl and the White
Rose, was published, telling their full story.
Little Known
Despite this, the White Rose remains barely
known outside Germany. But the inspiration
they provide is something the world cannot
afford to pass up. For this reason, I've taken
their story across the U.S.A. in multimedia
form, and from Canada to Cape Town.
White Rose on page A27
The Day School Difference
T
his past summer, Brandeis
University and PEJE (Partnership
For Excellence in Jewish Education)
published the results of the first national
study,"What Difference Does Day School
Make?"It considered the impact of a day
school education on a wide range of student
outcomes: academic skills, college prepara-
tion, Jewish identity and connections to
Jewish communal life.
More than 3,300 college students par-
ticipated in this comparative study — one
that compiled and analyzed the experiences
among Jewish students from both private
(Jewish and secular) and public schools,
and which provides data that verify what
many have known anecdotally for years. The
results give factually compelling support for
Jewish day school education.
The data from this study reveal that
A26 February 21 • 2008
most suburban schools — whether public,
private or Jewish day schools — provide
a good education, and prepare students
equally well, resulting in their
acceptance to the same colleges
in, proportionately, the same
numbers. The study's findings
show no discernible differences
in academic performance, when
comparing those same students
at college, regardless of their
school background; all are
similarly successful. The results
of the study also show little
discernible differences in social
networking between day school
and other students.
If a parent's primary concern
regarding his/her child's educa-
tion is academic preparation and future
academic success, then comparable results
can be attained through either public or pri-
vate school education — secular or Jewish.
These findings alone would make
it difficult to justify paying tuition
to any private school — secular
or Jewish. Therefore, "What are
the compelling reasons that would
guide a parent to send his/her
child to a Jewish day school?"
The answers can be found in the
study's findings that articulate pre-
cisely what it is that distinguishes
the former day school students
from students of other school
backgrounds. Highlights of the
differences between the day school
and the non-day school edu-
cated college students are shown
below (You may access the results in their
entirety at www.peje.org/docs/200705_peje_
impact_of_day_school.pdf )
Students who attended day schools have
higher levels of academic confidence. This is
especially true for girls.
Day schools provide top-notch prepa-
ration for a broad range of colleges and
universities, including those that are most
selective.
Students who attended day schools
demonstrate a higher level of engagement
with Judaism and Jewish life. Students who
attended day schools exhibit a stronger
sense of responsibility to address the needs
of the larger society through influencing
social values, helping those in need, and vol-
unteering their time to affect social change.
Students who attended day schools are
Day School on page A27