Editing White Rose (section)

=== Germany in 1942 ===
White Rose survivor Jürgen Wittenstein described what it was like for ordinary Germans to live in [[Nazi Germany]]:

{{blockquote|The government—or rather, the party—controlled everything: the news media, arms, police, the armed forces, the judiciary system, communications, travel, all levels of education from kindergarten to universities, all cultural and religious institutions. Political indoctrination started at a very early age, and continued by means of the Hitler Youth with the ultimate goal of complete mind control. Children were exhorted in school to denounce even their own parents for derogatory remarks about Hitler or Nazi ideology.|author=George J. Wittenstein, M.D., "Memories of the White Rose", 1997<ref name="wittenstein">{{Cite web|url=http://www.historyplace.com/pointsofview/white-rose1.htm|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20030806190310/http://www.historyplace.com/pointsofview/white-rose1.htm|title=The History Place – Points of View: Memories of The White Rose – Part One|archivedate=6 August 2003|website=www.historyplace.com}}</ref>}}

The activities of the White Rose started in the autumn of 1942. This was a time that was particularly critical for the Nazi regime; after [[German-occupied Europe|initial victories]] in [[World War II]], the German population became increasingly aware of the losses and damages of the war. In summer 1942, the German Army was preparing a new military campaign in the southern part of the Eastern front to regain the initiative after their earlier defeat close to Moscow. This German offensive was initially very successful, but it slowed in the autumn as Army Group South approached Stalingrad and the Caucasus region. During this time, the authors of the pamphlets could neither be discovered, nor could the campaign be stopped by the Nazi authorities. When Hans and Sophie Scholl were discovered and arrested whilst distributing leaflets at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich,<ref name="n" /> the regime reacted brutally. The "Volksgerichtshof" was not bound by law, but its decisions were guided by Nazi ideology. Thus, its actions were declared unlawful in post-war Germany. The execution of the White Rose group members, among many others, is considered [[judicial murder]] today.<ref>German [[Bundestag]], 10th Term of Office, 118. plenary session. Bonn, Friday, 25 January 1985. Protocol, p. 8762: "The Volksgerichtshof was an instrument of state-sanctioned terror, which served one single purpose, which was the destruction of political opponents. Behind a juridical facade, state-sanctioned murder was committed." [http://dip21.bundestag.de/dip21/btp/10/10118.pdf PDF] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160603113802/http://dip21.bundestag.de/dip21/btp/10/10118.pdf |date=3 June 2016 }}, accessed 3 May 2016</ref>