Why? Because I know the story and I know how it would end. And furthermore, I have a phobia of watching movies dramatising true stories of courage from the European conflict during WWII. You and I know what usually happens in such stories: unimaginable hate and cruelty, death, fear, etc. This phobia is something I developed as child when I watched a movie about a family of Dutch Jews who had to hide from the Nazis.
So on Tuesday, I bit my tongue and said "yes" to a friend who suggested watching it. And I don't regret it.
For those not in the know, Sophie Scholl is a young German female undergrad who with her brother and a few friends was members of "The White Rose" (die Weiße Rose), an underground group which carried out non-violent resistant activities against Hitler and the Nazis. Their activities were restricted to writing and distributing leaflets critical of the Nazis as well as putting up anti-Nazi graffiti. She and her brother were caught while distributing them at their university and were subsequently interrogated, tried and executed. They were the rare few Germans who actually acted on their conscience and said "No". Now, there are streets, squares and schools named after Sophie, her brother Hans and other members of the group. Of course, this is not to say that there weren't other Germans who tried to stand up against Hitler and failed - there were many in fact. But I guess not that much in relation to the entire population.
There were two other movies made about the group and her, but what made this different is the wealth of material available after the fall of the Berlin Wall; such as Gestapo transcripts of the interrogation and the trial that was kept in the former East Germany. And on top of that, they also managed to interview people related to some of the people who had met her during her last few days including the son of her interrogator Robert Mohr, Sophie's sister Elisabeth, the nephew of Sophie's cellmate Else Gebel and the sister of another resistant member Willi Graf. Of course with the availability of the transcripts, part of the work of the scriptwriters was already done.
All this made a very gripping and intense movie that kept me riveted to my seat for about two hours.
What made it even better is that the directors didn't use a lot of music or tried to over-dramatise it. The end result is like a police-courtroom drama that made the story real to me. And the worst part about knowing the story is that you know what is going to happen and yet at the back of your head, you are either dreading it or willing that some deus ex machina will intervene and make everything right again. Unfortunately, this did not happen in this real life story.
But you know, the calmness and conviction of Sophie was a really powerful statement about moral courage in the face of death - the courage to stand up and say "this is wrong" even though the rest of the country kept silent.
At the end of the show, I wondered how I will respond when I am faced with the litmus test. Will I be like her or will I try to keep my head. In the coolness of my room, of course I can say that I will stand on my principle at the risk of forfeiting my life. But when I am faced with the crunch, will I be able to say that? That's a tough one to answer.
You know, a lot of us will probably praise people who have the moral courage and conviction to do as she did, but what about those who were caught and tried to wiggle their way out of it?
It's of course easy to call them cowards, but is it fair? Though we would like our heroes to die for their beliefs/causes, it is not fair to expect everyone who holds the same belief to do so.
Christoph Probst, her friend who was tried and executed with her, tried to deny (done with her and Han's approval) his role in their activities because of his three young children and bed-ridden wife. But was he a coward? Not in my books. After all, he was an active participant in their activities even though he may not have willingly wanted to part with his head for his own very good reasons.
Interestingly, this reminded me of a statement made by MM Lee last year about how when the young idealists grows up, start working, get married and have kids, they will be co-opted into the system and learn to "know better". Scary. Must we really be co-opted into the system and learn to know "better" before we can really contribute to making this country even better? But I digress.
Towards the end, I cried when her parents gave her the affirmation minutes before her execution. "You did the right thing," her father told her, "I'm proud of you both." That to me was a very powerful scene which released the pent up tension that has been building in me as the movie progressed and broke the dam that held back my tears.
Calmly, they shared their last cigarette given by a kind female guard and hugged each other. Calmly she walked through the courtyard where she said her last words: "Die Sonne scheint noch." (The Sun still shines). In the execution chamber, they lowered her to the guillotine and had her head secured. We see her face one last time as she looks down at the container that will hold her lifeless head later. We see and hear the blade as it rushes down. The screen goes black and I flinched.
"Es lebe die Freiheit!" (Long live freedom!) shouted Hans before the terrifying sound played out again.
And then finally, one last time for Christoph.
Did the White Rose managed to make much of a difference? Unfortunately, no. The students of Munich University did not rise up against Hitler as hoped. Were their actions then for naught? That's hard to say. At the very least, it did inform their fellow undergrads that something was amiss. And in any case, the text of the sixth White Rose leaflet were later smuggled out of Germany to England via Scandinavia and used by the allies who airdropped it over Germany in 1943. It was renamed "The Manifesto of the Students of Munich."
Nothing is so unworthy of a civilized nation as allowing itself to be governed without opposition by an irresponsible clique that has yielded to base instinct — Do not forget that every people deserve the regime it is willing to endure! - White Rose, leaflet 1
Every individual human being has a claim to a useful and just state, a state which secures the freedom of the individual as well as the good of the whole. - White Rose, leaflet 3
How can we expect righteousness to prevail when there is hardly anyone willing to give himself up individually to a righteous cause? Such a fine, sunny day, and I have to go. But what does my death matter, if through us thousands of people are awakened and stirred to action? - Sophie Scholl
Perhaps genuine heroism lies in deciding to stubbornly defend the everyday things, the mundane and the immediate. - Inge Aicher-Scholl, sister of Sophie and Hans
The police and the court are shown to follow the law, and in the law resides either good or evil, depending on what the law says and how it is enforced. That is why it is crucial that a constitution guarantee rights and freedoms, and why it is dangerous for any government to ignore it. There should be no higher priority. - Roger Ebert, film reviewer
PS: GO WATCH IT!!
PPS: Julia Jentsch who played Sophie was excellent. Her subtle and understated portrayal was perfect for the role.
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