Excerpt from Hans Hirzel’s interrogation

Excerpt.

From the interrogation of the single Gymnasium pupil Hans Hirzel, born October 30, 1924 in Untersteinbach, the interrogation dated March 11, 1943 at the State Police Headquarters Munich.

From January 6 through 10, 1943, I was in Stuttgart for a music competition. During this time, the already-mentioned letter from Sophie Scholl arrived. Among other things, she said that I should send all correspondence to:

Gisela Schertling,

Munich, Lindwurm Str. 13, c/o Wertheimer.

She did not say why. I also recall that Miss Scholl required that all correspondence [from me] bear a certain return address, specifics I cannot recall right now except to say that it contained the word “Zollhaus”. I wrote to that address on two occasions. The first time, I asked what she meant by “the 15th is the deadline”.

In the other letter, I told her that I could not meet her at the train station in Ulm on Saturday, January 23, 1943 as she requested. She had ordered me to meet her on that day at a specific time at the train station in Ulm, where a Schnellzug [express train] coming from Stuttgart would arrive. Therefore I assume that she was either in Stuttgart beforehand, or in another city in that direction. Miss Scholl told me nothing about that. I assume that I was to receive leaflets from her at that time.

Since I could not receive mail from Munich without my family’s noticing, I told Sophie Scholl that she should send all mail to me at the address:

Walter Hetzel, Ulm, Boden Str. 5.

Miss Scholl wrote to me at that address on two occasions. The first time, she ordered me to meet her at the train station in Ulm on January 23, 1943. The other time she asked how the operation (leaflet distribution) in Stuttgart had gone. I reported to Miss Scholl about the leaflet operation c/o Schertling’s address. I do not know whether I told her about my sister’s help.

I had told Miss Scholl that when she wrote to Hetzel’s address, she should add the initial “F” after his first name Walter, so that he would know the mail was for me. I only told Hetzel that it was possible he would be receiving mail addressed to Walter F. Hetzel, and that he should give it to me. I certainly did not tell him why. I told him that my parents did not need to know that I was getting mail from out of town.

However, in this context I would not like to keep silent about the fact that I had had political conversations with Hetzel on several occasions. He would have been able to ascertain that I would be receiving letters with political content and that I had secrets to keep in that regards.

During the above-mentioned conversations with Hetzel, I had told him that I had met with a group of students and a professor in Munich who were against the NSDAP, and that I remained in contact with them. I did not show him the leaflets “The White Rose” and “Leaflets of the Resistance Movement in Germany” that I had received.

It is possible that I briefly mentioned the latter leaflet [“Leaflets of the Resistance Movement in Germany”] to Hetzel at the Wilhelmsburg barracks in Ulm on Sunday, January 24, 1943. I would have said that something would be happening soon. Hetzel could certainly conclude from that that I would be undertaking something against the State. But I do not believe that I told Hetzel that I was commissioned to distribute leaflets in Stuttgart. I certainly did not mention the name Scholl to him.

I have already stated that Hetzel wants to become a Catholic priest. He has been in the army for the past two months. He is probably assigned to APO unit 17942 C.

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Editor’s note: This was included in Gisela Schertling’s file, part of the evidence used against her.

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Source: Schertling/Schüddekopf (15 – 16)