AUTHOR’S NOTE

The White Rose has been the subject of numerous non-fiction books, university studies, papers, essays, lectures, and even a critically acclaimed German film: Sophie Scholl: The Final Days (2005). In fact, the number of books, the astounding amount of file material kept by the Nazis, which, in this case, survived destruction by the Gestapo, makes writing a book about this particular resistance movement all the more difficult from a fictive standpoint. The volume of written words and historic research is staggering. My task would have been monumental indeed if my goal was to compare and contrast these differing accounts.

Then why attempt this novel? As I pointed out in The Taster, my novel about a food taster for Adolf Hitler, published in 2018, I’ve always found World War II a tragic, terrifying, and humbling subject. Despite those daunting parameters, the war fascinates me along with many others. A recent article I read pointed out that some of the war’s appeal may lie in the nature of the conflict itself. It was perhaps the last combat situation in which America entered and exited as a hero nation, unlike the wars that followed and continue to this day. In the opinion of some, it may have been the last war in which good and evil were clearly delineated.

However, the White Rose had more than just war appeal for me. The story of this resistance movement is truly one of courage, a David and Goliath story that would end in sacrificial tragedy for most of its members. Questions arise: Why would the members attempt the distribution of incendiary, treasonous leaflets under Hitler’s dictatorial regime when there was little chance of success? Did they cling to the hope that they would succeed—that their leaflets would change the course of Nazi Germany and the war? Did they realize that every day they lived with the prospect of death as they plotted and wrote their words? These were some of the fascinating and troubling questions that drew me to the White Rose.

The story of Hans and Sophie Scholl is well-known throughout their native land, less so in America. On a recent trip to Germany for research on The Traitor, I noted a few observations. I wouldn’t quantify these in the realm of unqualified truth, but others who have been to the country have echoed similar impressions. They are:

• The Scholls and those in the White Rose circle have become national heroes (almost folk heroes) and an integral part of Germany’s World War II history.

• Germans don’t mince words about National Socialism and the terrible effects the Reich had on the world and their country.

• Reminders about Nazi horrors, ranging from plaques to memorials, are abundant, particularly in those cities most adversely affected by the war.

• School children are taught about the Reich and its crimes. History has not been forgotten or replaced by a false narrative. In Munich there is a museum dedicated to the rise of National Socialism as related to that city alone. It is a terrifying and bitter story to tell, but it is told—on the former site of Hitler’s Munich headquarters.

I can safely say that fewer Europeans outside of Germany, and most Americans, particularly young people, know little of resistance movements like the White Rose and the Red Orchestra. Their only exposure may be a mention in passing during a history class on World War II. This is another reason I wanted to write The Traitor. We should never forget.

Those acquainted with the White Rose know the story: Hans Scholl, and his sister Sophie Scholl, and Christoph Probst were executed on the same day in February 1943; Alexander Schmorell and Professor Kurt Huber were felled in July of the same year, followed by Willi Graf in October, only because the Gestapo was hoping Willi would expose more of the group. He didn’t. The core of the White Rose was snuffed out in less than a year. Many others were given prison sentences of varying length for their participation in and sometimes unwitting aid to the group.

On April 22, 2009, George Wittenstein, a surviving member of the White Rose, presented his personal account of the group at a Holocaust Memorial Week program at Oregon State University, and asked the question of the gathered students and faculty: “What would you do (have done) about the Nazis?” Several students suggested answers, but Wittenstein always had a rebuttal. Telephones were tapped; the press was controlled by the state; work permits were needed; it was almost impossible to leave Germany because money and resources were scarce for those who needed to flee—if you could find a country that would take you. In fact, those who resisted during those years had little choice but to conform to the Nazi standard; thus, the birth of the underground, nonviolent resistance group.

Wittenstein explained that communication was key for resistance groups, but under the regime it was nearly impossible to achieve. According to him, there were more than three hundred resistance groups in Germany, but “they didn’t know about each other.” He also stated that the White Rose did not have “members.” There was no membership card, no membership number—the participants were a group of “friends.” Relationships drew them together.

At least eight hundred thousand Germans were imprisoned for active resistance during the war years. Roland Freisler, Hitler’s high-profile “hanging judge,” whose task was to rid the state of its enemies, ordered more than twenty-five hundred executions, including those of Hans and Sophie Scholl. His preferred method of execution was the guillotine. Ironically, he was killed in his courtroom during an Allied bombing raid on Berlin late in the war.

Rather than take the Hans and Sophie Scholl story, about which volumes of non-fiction have been written, I decided to concentrate on three fictional characters who, in the novel’s world, became “satellites” of the group.

I did this for a number of reasons.

I have too much respect for the Scholls and the White Rose to put unnecessary words in their mouths. Their own diaries and the resistance leaflets speak for themselves. Both Hans and Sophie were literate and forceful writers, Sophie’s writings often filled with poetic rhapsody. When a real person from the White Rose appears in The Traitor, I made every effort to stay true to their character and feelings. I didn’t want to spoil the legacy of the White Rose by placing Hans, Sophie, and the others in situations that never would have occurred.

As in my other books, I try as best I can to marry fiction with history. No action—nothing that happens to these characters—is outside the realm of possibility in this horrifying time of Nazi rule. The scenes with the White Rose, as a group, have been created as they most likely happened. Of course, dialogue is invented by necessity, but I’ve made every effort to honor the person. I took this task seriously.

Readers often want to know what books I have read for research. One only has to surf the internet to find a wealth of material on the White Rose, but I’ll mention a few of the sources that were instrumental in my writing:

• Sophie Scholl and the White Rose, Annette Dumbach & Jud Newborn, revised, updated edition, Oneworld Publications, 2018.

• At the Heart of the White Rose, Letters and Diaries of Hans and Sophie Scholl, edited by Inge Jens, Plough Publishing House, 2017.

• The White Rose, Munich 1942–1943, Inge Scholl, (Sophie and Han’s sister), Wesleyan University Press, 1983.

• A Noble Treason, The Story of Sophie Scholl and the White Rose Revolt against Hitler, Richard Hanser, Ignatius Press, 1979.

• We Will Not Be Silent, The White Rose Student Resistance Movement That Defied Adolf Hitler, Russell Freedman, Clarion Books, 2016.

• The White Rose, a publication of Weisse Rose Stiftung e.V., Munich, 2006.

• Every Man Dies Alone, Hans Fallada, Melville House Publishing, translated by Michael Hofmann, 2009 (A superb novel about a married couple’s resistance in Berlin).

• Sophie Scholl: The Final Days, Zeitgeist Films, 2005.

• Alone in Berlin, IFC Films, 2017 (Based on Every Man Dies Alone).

Three fine museums in Germany are must-sees for anyone interested in the subject:

The Topography of Terror, on Niederkirchnerstrasse in Berlin, is an indoor and outdoor history museum on the former site of the main Reich Security Offices. The site also includes a large section of the Berlin Wall.

In Munich, on Brienner, is the Cradle of Terror, a four-story museum dedicated to understanding the origins and ideology of National Socialism in the city where its beginnings flourished. Lest anyone think otherwise, this museum is not a celebration of fascism, but an educated look at the past and a warning for the future.

Also, in Munich is a small museum, the Weisse Rose Stiftung (White Rose Foundation), at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, where Hans and Sophie were captured distributing their final public leaflet.

 

As always, thanks are due to my beta readers, Robert Pinsky and Michael Grenier; my editor at Kensington, John Scognamiglio; my agent, Evan Marshall; and my manuscript editors, Traci Hall and Christopher Hawke of CommunityAuthors.com. And not to be forgotten, I want to thank my readers who have been with me for four Kensington books. You give me the courage to go back to the keyboard—to create fiction based on history that I hope will not only entertain but tell stories that need to be told.