By Rebecca Gosper, Director of LifeChoice Australia
Today marks ninety-nine years since the birth of Sophie Scholl, a leader of the first peaceful anti-Nazi resistance group during World War II.
Sophie and her brother Hans were students at the University of Munich. Sophie studied biology and philosophy while Hans studied medicine.
Together with likeminded students who did not believe in the Nazi ideology, the Scholl siblings formed ‘The White Rose’. Their primary mission was to write and distribute leaflets that called for democracy and highlighted the horrific euthanasia programs and genocide of Jewish people and minority groups by the Nazis.
On 18th February 1943, Sophie and Hans distributed the sixth edition of these leaflets at their university. They were arrested immediately and killed four days later. During her interrogation, Sophie was given multiple chances to claim innocence and escape execution. She refused.
During her ‘trial’, 21-year-old Sophie told the people’s court “Somebody, after all, had to make a start. What we wrote and said is also believed by many others. They just don’t dare express themselves as we did.”
This is where our society is at today. So many Australians are pro-life! But they just don’t dare express themselves as we do.
Sophie’s bravery and determination to stand up for the truth regardless of the personal cost is inspiring. We in the pro-life movement are not being asked to sacrifice our lives for the cause, but we may have to sacrifice other things – jobs, popularity, money, time.
Is it hard to sacrifice these things? Yes. Is it worth it? Without a doubt.
On Sophie Scholl’s ninety-ninth birthday, we honour her memory by not being silent about the things that matter. Sophie died defending the truth, we should live speaking the truth.