June 27, 1942
Hans Scholl and Alex Schmorell wrote the first four of six leaflets, called the “Leaves of the White Rose,” attacking the Nazi regime and listing its crimes, from the mass extermination of Jews, to the dictatorship and the elimination of the personal freedoms of Germany’s citizens. It called the Nazi regime evil, and called for Germans to rise up and resist the oppression of their government. The “Leaves of the White Rose” were left in telephone boxes, mailed to students and professors throughout Germany, and brought by train to spread the White Rose’s beliefs to other regions of the country. The White Rose students were captured, tried and hanged in February.
