Who we are
The White Rose. Faces of a Friendship
In the summer of 1942 and in February 1943, a group of medical students at the University of Munich distributed leaflets signed “The White Rose,” urging resistance against Hitler and calling for freedom for the German people.
Why were they willing to risk their lives? What united them? Where did their courage and sense of judgment come from?
The White Rose was not primarily a resistance group—it was, first of all, a group of people united by a deep friendship: Alexander Schmorell, Sophie Scholl, Hans Scholl, Willi Graf, Kurt Huber, Christoph Probst, Traute Lafrenz, and others.
“You may have already heard about the little group I’ve gathered here. You would rejoice at seeing their faces. The energy we invest in it flows back into our hearts undiminished,” wrote Hans Scholl.
This exhibition seeks to explore the lives of the six main figures and their friendship.
It presents their personal journeys, giving voice to them—through excerpts from letters and diaries—as well as to their friends and living witnesses.
What emerges are portraits of people whose religious sense allowed them to live reality intensely, to encounter others in profound ways, and to grow in certainty and hope.
Their story unfolds through shared readings, deep friendship, a passion for beauty—especially in nature and music—and a relentless pursuit of truth, all the way to the courage of a decisive choice.
The exhibition also presents the historical context in which these students acted: youth life in Nazi Germany, the University of Munich, the war in Russia, and their medical internship on the Eastern Front.
Finally, the farewell letters—placed at the conclusion of the exhibition—reveal the possibility of living in freedom even under the most extreme oppression.
One of the students wrote to his mother shortly before his execution:
“I thank you for giving me life. If I look at it for what it truly is, it has been one long road to God.”
THIS EXHIBITION IS AVAILABLE IN A TRAVELING FORMAT. CLICK HERE FOR FULL DETAILS.
