#44: The White Rose

"Since the conquest of Poland, 300,000 Jews have been murdered in this country in the most bestial way… The German people slumber on in dull, stupid sleep and encourage the fascist criminals. Each wants to be exonerated of guilt, each one continues on his way with the most placid, calm conscience. But he cannot be exonerated; he is guilty, guilty, guilty!”

— 2nd leaflet of the White Rose.

Have you ever heard of The White Rose? They being the German resistance group that defied Nazi Germany. They also being the chief inspiration for this weeks poem. Despite having a B.A. in History, I somehow had never heard of them until I heard the song "Holland 1945" from Neutral Milk Hotel's brilliant album In the Aeroplane Over the Sea.

As the song recounts the death of Anne Frank and her family, the final lyric goes, "And it's so sad to see, the world agree, that they'd rather see their faces filled with flies, all when I'd want to keep white roses in their eyes."  As I began to obsess over this album, I began reading about the song's influences. Jeff Mangum, lead singer and writer of the song was asked if the final line of his song was a reference to the German resistance movement. Ironically, he had never heard of them but this White Rose piqued my curiosity.

I researched the White Rose and was fascinated by their boldness in the face of the Nazi Regime. This group of men and women distributed anti-Nazi pamphlets in Germany and were beheaded for it. They saw the madness around them and knew that their nation was doing something terrible. When they spoke out against it, they lost their lives. Today, they are considered heroes of Germany.

Sophie Scholl on Trial

Of heroism the world should know

Of freedoms light and how it can glow

Of resistance in the face of foes

Standing brave, is the White Rose

To think for them what sedition brings

Freedom took them to the guillotine

Their bloodless battle can’t go unseen

For all should know what the White Rose means

Huber, Graf, and Wittenstein,

In darkness they made freedom shine

Probst with Hans and Sophie Scholl

Made Germany ponder liberty's role

Amidst the backdrop of tyranny

Where the world would face adversity

They printed papers of freedom’s plea

To wake the conscience of Germany

In secret they would take freedom’s fight

With no worry of their individual plight

In death their faith was their delight

Liberty eternally in their sight

To wellsprings in life where liberty flows

Where the thinker can think before he knows

Of rights and wrongs as goodness glows

Honor is the place of the White Rose

#19 Despair in the Dawn (Treblinka Death Camp)

Oh to the discoveries of horror

Of monsters we wish we could ignore

The stench will eternally linger

The wound will remain an open sore

The road was black with ashes

Our victory trumpets would sound

But more was lost in the moment

When none of the prisoners were found

The machinations in this prison

Were filled with plenty of clues

The haze in the sky was repulsive

As we realized the unbearable truth

Only their dust and their memories

Would echo along in the wind

We have no comprehension of their potential

Of who they could have been

I can only imagine how horrific it must have been at the death camps in Germany. This poem is about the discovery of the death camp at Treblinka by the Soviets. The Nazis had already retreated by the time the soldiers arrived. I wonder how long it took for the Soviet soldiers to realize that this place was an extermination site. 

Prior to their retreat, the Nazis destroyed any documents and attempted to hide any evidence of Treblinka being a death camp. But the evidence, is overwhelming. The last mile of the road leading to Treblinka was pitch black from cremated ashes and remnants of teeth and bones were found in the surrounding soil. To come across this prison but to see no prisoners, and then to discover that all the prisoners were executed, I can't even begin to comprehend the emotions the Soviet liberators were feeling.