https://www.dw.com/en/the-story-of-nazi-resistance-fighter-sophie-scholl/a-57457734
I subscribe to a weekly news digest from the Deutsch Welle. This article gives some background on Sophie Scholl, the most famous member of the White Rose (Weiße Rose)( resistance group in the Third Reich. Her brother Hans was one of the actual leaders; Sophie rejected an opportunity offered by the Gestapo to say that he influenced her.
The English translation linked above caught my attention in several ways. When hiking or camping with NAzi youth organizations, Sophie read the poet Rilke (one of my favorites). As I read I could not help thinking about the censorship controversy raging in the US these days.
While there are no state-sponsored youth organizations in Florida, for example, There are certainly existing organizations that support efforts to ban books, Black History AP courses, and anything that some conservatives find objectionable.
On Thursday the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod announced it would excommunicate those members who belonged to white supremacist groups who did not repent and leave such groups. I began seminary as a member of the LCMS and expected to be ordained by them; I wasn't but that does not matter here. Thursday's story deserves a separate post.
The dangers of extreme right-wing politics in this world are not going away quickly. Extreme left-wing politics have their own dangers. But the other side presents a larger threat to democracy. I wonder who the new Sophie Scholls will be; hopefully, they will live full lives, and read Rilke or anyone they wish to read.
https://www.blurb.com/b/10799783-the-botleys-of-beaumont-county
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