The Short Life of Sophie Scholl

The Short Life of Sophie Scholl by Hermann Vinke is by far one of my favorite history books. I first discovered it when I was a child visiting my local public library. I spent hours there during the long, scorching hot Phoenix summers, selecting each book carefully. I came across it by chance as I was flipping through the worn yellowed entry cards in the old card catalog. There it was, something about the title caught by eye, and I read on- a short description about the White Rose followed the bibliographic information which I quickly jotted down on a scrap of paper. The White Rose? I questioned. I had never heard of this before, so my interest was piqued. I hurried over to the stacks and scanned the shelves until I located the book. I held it in my hands and was immediately intrigued by its cover. Starring back at me was a black and white photo of a young woman with intense eyes and a commanding look. At that moment I felt as if I had just uncovered a great treasure that no one else knew about. As soon as I got home, I curled up on couch and stayed up far into the night. Her story compelled me, and I could not stop reading until I was done. I closed the book and felt a sense of satisfaction come over me. I truly had discovered a great book that had affected me as none ever had before.

One of the reasons why I love this book is because I can relate to Sophie Scholl. As a member of the Nazi resistance group the White Rose, she along with her brother and his friends, reached out to others, and she rebelled in her own quiet way by distributing anti-Nazi pamphlets against what had become the standard in Nazi Germany. She was doing what she believed in by pointing out the wrongs and injustices of the Nazi party. Here was a young woman risking her life and the lives of her family members because of something she believed in. It was worth it to her. I admired her strength, her will power, her love of nature, and her spirituality.


The writer, Hermann Vinke, conveys Sophie’s passion for life by including some of her diary entries, letters, and interviews with her surviving sister, Inge. One gets a true sense of who Sophie really was; a young girl trying to make the world a better place. This book might be obscure and not read as often as it should be, it can be easily obtained through your public library's InterLibrary Loan service. Nonetheless I recommend it because it is a powerful reminder that one is never too small or young or insignificant to stand up and make a difference. It is something that I have kept with me my whole life, and it has truly made a difference to me.