Editing White Rose (section)

=== The German Youth Movement and the Hitler Youth ===
The ideas and thoughts of the [[German Youth Movement]], founded in 1896, had a major impact on the German youth at the beginning of the twentieth century. The movement aimed at providing free space to develop a healthy life. A common trait of the various organizations was a romantic longing for a pristine state of things, and a return to older cultural traditions, with a strong emphasis on independent, non-conformist thinking. They propagated a return to nature, confraternity and shared adventures. The {{lang|de|[[Deutsche Jungenschaft vom 1 November 1929]]|italic=no}} (abbreviated as "d.j.1.11.") was part of this youth movement, founded by [[Eberhard Koebel]] in 1929. Christoph Probst was a member of the German Youth Movement, and Willi Graf was a member of {{lang|de|Neudeutschland}} ("New Germany"), and the {{lang|de|[[Grauer Orden]]}} ("Grey Convent"), which were illegal [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] youth organizations.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.holocaustresearchproject.org/revolt/whiterose.html|title=The White Rose Revolt & Resistance www.HolocaustResearchProject.org|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160523065146/http://www.holocaustresearchproject.org/revolt/whiterose.html|archive-date=23 May 2016}}</ref>

The Nazi Party's youth organizations took over some of the elements of the Youth Movement, and engaged their members in activities similar to the adventures of the [[Scouting Movement|Boy Scouts]], but also subjected them to ideological indoctrination. Some, but not all, of the White Rose members had enthusiastically joined the youth organizations of the Nazi party: Hans Scholl had joined the [[Hitler Youth]], and Sophie Scholl was a member of the {{lang|de|[[Bund Deutscher Mädel]]|italic=no}}. Membership in both party youth organizations was compulsory for young Germans, although a few—such as Willi Graf, [[Otl Aicher]], and Heinz Brenner—refused to join. Sophie and Hans' sister [[Inge Scholl]] reported about the initial enthusiasm of the young people for the Nazi youth organization, to their parents' dismay:<ref name="Scholl"/>

{{blockquote|But there was something else that drew us with mysterious power and swept us along: the closed ranks of marching youth with banners waving, eyes fixed straight ahead, keeping time to drumbeat and song. Was not this sense of fellowship overpowering? It is not surprising that all of us, Hans and Sophie and the others, joined the Hitler Youth? We entered into it with body and soul, and we could not understand why our father did not approve, why he was not happy and proud. On the contrary, he was quite displeased with us.| author=Inge Scholl, ''The White Rose''}}

Youth organizations other than those led by the Nazi party were dissolved and officially forbidden in 1936. Both Hans Scholl and Willi Graf were arrested in 1937–38 because of their membership in forbidden Youth Movement organizations. Hans Scholl had joined the {{lang|de|Deutsche Jungenschaft|italic=no}} 1. 11. in 1934, when he and other Hitler Youth members in Ulm considered membership in this group and the Hitler Youth to be compatible. Hans Scholl was also accused of transgressing the German anti-homosexuality law, because of a same-sex teen relationship dating back to 1934–1935, when Hans was only 16 years old. The argument was built partially on the work of [[Eckard Holler]], a sociologist specializing in the German Youth Movement,<ref>Eckard Holler, "Hans Scholl zwischen Hitlerjugend und dj.1.11 – Die Ulmer Trabanten", Puls 22, {{Interlanguage link multi|Verlag der Jugendbewegung|de}}, Stuttgart, 1999</ref> as well as on the Gestapo interrogation transcripts from the 1937–38 arrest, and with reference to historian [[George Mosse]]'s discussion of the homoerotic aspects of the German {{lang|de|"[[German Youth Movement#Bündische Jugend|Bündische Jugend]]"|italic=no}} Youth Movement.<ref>Mosse, George, ''Nationalism and Sexuality'', University of Wisconsin Press, 1985. {{ISBN|978-0-299-11894-5}}.</ref> As Mosse indicated, idealized romantic attachments among male youths were not uncommon in Germany, especially among members of the {{lang|de|"Bündische Jugend"|italic=no}} associations. It was argued that the experience of being persecuted may have led both Hans and Sophie to identify with the victims of the Nazi state, providing another explanation for why Hans and Sophie Scholl made their way from ardent "Hitler Youth" leaders to passionate opponents of the Nazi regime.<ref name="solving" />