Professor McDonough draws large crowd
30 January 2012
Professor Frank McDonough, from the School of Humanities and Social Science, gave his inaugural professorial lecture to a 150-plus crowd.
The lecture, entitled 'Sophie Scholl: A woman for all seasons', followed the life of the 21-year-old woman who has become a legendary figure for her role as part of a non-violent anti Nazi resistance group.
The intriguing lecture revealed how Sophie's upbringing and events in her life led to the development of her personality and belief system.
Sophie's father had a strong belief in freedom of opinion and, despite being a prominent figure in the family's community, during WW1 he refused to serve in the German army. Sophie's mother was a lay preacher and urged her children to have a moral and religious conscience. Sophie's brother Hans was also very important to her and when he was arrested for refusing to disband a Hitler Youth group where he encouraged the children to be anti Nazi ñ during which time he admitted to being gay - his maltreatment by the Nazis, including being put in solitary confinement, had a profound effect on Sophie.
Due to his good looks, Hans was acquitted but the whole family was traumatised by his ordeal at the hands of Gestapo. Sophie said it was the main reason why she wanted nothing to do with the regime.
Sophie and Hans, though several years apart in age, attended the same university, at the same time, and started a group called 'The White Rose'. This was a group of fascinating young people who expressed their anti Nazi views in leaflets. It was a non-violent protest movement and they believed that this approach would expose the violence of the Nazi regime.
The Nazis were keen to track down the group and eventually did so. Hans and Sophie were both arrested but Sophie was offered a plea bargain to escape inevitable execution. However, she turned it down.
The brother and sister both stood trial, with a judge renowned for being intimidating presiding, but even at this stage Sophie remained steadfast to her beliefs, as did Hans. They were both sentenced to death, and were executed by guillotine. The guard, who was one of the last people to see Sophie alive, commented that he had never seen anyone look as calm and as collected as when she walked up to the guillotine, showing bravery and commitment to her cause until the bitter end.
Summarising the lecture, Frank concluded: "Her short life shows that it's not when or how you die that matters, it's what you live for that counts."
Sophie Scholl's life is not just a story of the past, but a prime example of selfless bravery that stands as an inspiration to all those who opposed and continue to oppose - dictatorial regimes.
