The Loss at Stalingrad

(February 1943)

Stalingrad remains, to this day, one of the most terrible battles ever fought. It lasted from August of 1942 until Germany's surrender on 2 February 1943. Estimates of the casualities on the Axis side run at about 850,000, while the number is often thought to be over a million for the Soviets. (The Soviets once lost 10,000 men in one day trying to recapture one hill. There are reports of people coming through the city six months later and still being completely overpowered by the stench of death.) A further 91,000 German prisoners of war had been taken, though of these, fewer than 6,000 would ever return to Germany (the last of these survivors were not able to return until 1955 - ten years after the end of the war).

Stalingrad had been a point of pride for Hitler, and he had claimed in a public speech in September that the German army would never leave the city. When things were looking desperate, he did not give his army the choice to surrender, but let Göring convince him that a Luftwaffe "air bridge" could be enacted to supply the surrounded army. This plan was an utter failure.

The defeat at Stalingrad was a huge blow to the German psyche, as well as a personal tragedy for thousands of German families around the country. Three days of national mourning were declared, the newspapers were bordered in black, and the back pages were filled with name after name of those who had died in this horrendus battle. This also is often seen as the greatest turning point in WWII, because it halted the Nazi encroachment into Russia, and it drained so many resources that to lose this battle and win the war seemed impossible.

In the days following, the White Rose did not remain quiet. On the night of February 3rd, Hans, Willi, and Alex went out into the streets of Munich and painted such things as "Down with Hitler" and "Freedom" and crossed out swastikas on the sides of buildings. This was all done with paint that was of a higher quality, which was only made before the war, and so the authorities had a hard time getting it removed. (This was generally done by Russian women.) More night excursions took place on the 8th and 15th of that month.

Professor Huber, instead of just helping Hans and Alex write the leaflets, took up the pen to author his own. Hans and Alex agreed with almost everything that he said - however, Professor Huber had written that he believed the Wehrmacht (German military - not the Nazis) was the key to toppling Hitler, and that the people needed to support them. Hans and Alex found this idea unacceptable, and it came to Professor Huber storming out of the apartment where they were, extremely angry. This would be the last time he saw Hans Scholl or would have anything to do with the White Rose.

There were other visits around this time as well. Falk Harnack met with the group, and they set up another meeting date scheduled for Berlin on February 25th. Christoph Probst visited as well, also leaving Hans a draft for a leaflet (which, like Professor Huber's, focuses on the disaster in Stalingrad). Elisabeth Scholl visited her siblings, and saw for herself the graffitti on the walls in Munich.