White Rose name

Coming back to my leaflet The White Rose: When asked why precisely this name was given to the leaflet, I will explain it as follows. The name “The White Rose” [Note 1]was randomly chosen.

I acted on the assumption that certain concrete concepts must be present in effective propaganda – the concepts would mean nothing in and of themselves, but would sound good and would give the impression that there was an agenda to [the propaganda].

It is possible that I chose the name on an emotional basis because at the time, I was under the influence of Brentano’s Spanish ballad [Note 2] “Die Rosa Blanca”. There is no connection to the “White Rose” [Note 3] in English history. I also was unaware that there had been a girls’ organization of that name. The typewritten leaflets that had the same content as those of the “White Rose” did not originate with me.

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Note 1: Typo in original renders it “The Wise Rose” (Die Weise Rose instead of Die Weiβe Rose).

Note 2: Romanze is a poetic ballad; not a Roman or novel.

Note 3: Another typo – this time the original document says “Weisse Roe”.

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Source: Hans Scholl’s fourth interrogation, February 20, 1943