Today I'm thinking about The White Rose

Today I'm thinking about The White Rose, the German Resistance Movement to the Nazis during World War II.

Above, members of the White Rose, Munich 1942, (from left): Hans Scholl, his sister Sophie Scholl and Christoph Probst, confer to plot strategy against one of the most brutal regimes humanity has ever known. Okay, I have to confess, I didn't think of The White Rose just out of the blue - Wikipedia gave me an assist with its "On This Day..." section, which I read every day. Sixty six years ago today, following their capture by the Gestapo, members of The White Rose were found guilty of treason and guillotined.

I'm looking forward to reading some books about The White Rose, most notably Sophie Scholl and the White Rose, by Jud Newborn. I find their heroism and courage inspiring, especially considering the odds they faced and the consequences they surely knew they were facing if they were captured, which they were. Hitler and the Nazis had a zero-tolerance policy, to say the least, against any political opposition whatsoever. I cannot even begin to comprehend that sort of cost for opposition to one's government; despite what some would have us believe, especially during the George W. Bush administration, we had a duty to keep our mouths shut and "get behind our president while troops were in the field." What a crock.

And my feelings haven't changed now that Obama is president - questioning what our government is doing, including Obama, isn't only a right, it's a responsibility, and that hasn't changed with the new administration.

The people of The White Rose didn't just question, they put our lives on the line and paid the ultimate price. They should be remembered around the world for their courage in the face of horrifying consequences.

At right is the monument to the "Weiße Rose" in front of the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, where their memory is alive and well.

I shudder when I read what some of the leaders of The White Rose wrote in their leaflets - here are two short experts...

From The White Rose's first of six leaflets that the group distributed, guerrilla-style, to university students and other covert places:

Isn't it true that every honest German is ashamed of his government these days? Who among us can imagine the degree of shame that will come upon us and our children when the veil falls from our faces and the awful crimes that infinitely exceed any human measure are exposed to the light of day?

Pretty chilling words when read almost 70 years later.

Even more damning, from the group's second leaflet:

Since the conquest of Poland three hundred thousand Jews have been murdered in this country in the most bestial way - the German people slumber on in their dull, stupid sleep and encourage these fascist criminals... Each man wants to be exonerated of a guilt of this kind, each one continues on his way with the most placid, the calmest conscience. But he cannot be exonerated; he is guilty, guilty, guilty!

If only the German people and the rest of the world had listened.