German student Sophie Scholl was executed for resistance to the Nazis. At trial she said, “Somebody, after all, had to make a start.”

by Bob Schwartz

Sophie Scholl, “the most important woman of the 20th century”

My blog posts from 2017 reflect real concern about the possibility of tyranny in America. I and others who shared this concern were not prophets. All it took was a knowledge of history and some insight into politics and human nature.

A signature post in this vein was about Sophie Scholl. She was a founder of the White Rose movement, a tiny group of German students who distributed leaflets opposing the Nazi regime. In 1943 she and two others were arrested, tried and immediately executed for treason. At the trial she simply said, “Somebody, after all, had to make a start.”

In modern times, the readers of Brigitte, the largest women’s magazine in Germany, voted Sophie Scholl the most important woman of the 20th century.

For an extended discussion, see the original post.

© 2024 by Bob Schwartz