As ordered, police deputies Grimm and Müller undertook a search of the residence of both of the above-named on February 18, 1943 around 10 pm. The search took place at Mandl Str. 1, Second Floor, c/o Lösch-Berrsche, each one room; object of the search was seditious documents etc. Documents of a seditious nature could not be found. The search yielded the following items, which were seized: Continue reading
Following this meeting with Schmorell, I went to Pasing where I had been invited to dinner with my relatives (Captain Dr. Martin Luible, Exter Str. 19).
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Source: Fourth interrogation of Willi Graf, February 26, 1943
Not suspecting a thing, I met him. Schmorell told me that he had learned that two people had been arrested that morning at the university as they were distributing leaflets. He had called the Scholls in their apartment and no one had answered. He therefore had suspected that someone had arrested Scholl and his sister. Continue reading
That same afternoon around 3:15 pm, Schmorell called me in my residence and told me that he would like to meet me at the corner next to the Ursula Church in Schwabing about half an hour later.
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Source: Fourth interrogation of Willi Graf, February 26, 1943
When we entered the university building, my brother and I met several male and female students on the stairs to the second floor. They were just leaving Dr. Huber’s lecture. Continue reading
Question: Did you meet anyone you knew on the way from your apartment to the university?
Answer: I did not meet anyone on the way, but directly in front of the entrance to the university on Ludwig Street, I met the medical student Willi Graf (resides at Mandl Str. 1 c/o Bersche [sic]) and the medical student Traude [sic] Lafrenz, residence unknown. Continue reading
Willi Graf and Traute Lafrenz had left the lecture 10 minutes before its conclusion. I also did not see them at the university later. I do not know whether they took part in the distribution at the university. Continue reading
I had to leave the lecture about 10:50 am, because I had to be in the neurology clinic on Nussbaum Street by 11:15 am. I did not see the Scholl siblings when I left the university. If I had encountered them, it would not have escaped my notice, because it is not often that people enter the university carrying a suitcase.
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Source: Fourth interrogation of Willi Graf, February 26, 1943
I saw Willi in Prof. Huber’s lecture. He left 10 minutes before I did, because he had to attend a medical lecture. Continue reading
Willi Graf likewise was often in Scholl’s apartment, but not as often as Schmorell. He also worked with Hans Scholl and Schmorell. But I never knew what they were working on. Graf never brought anyone with him when he came to visit. Continue reading
Last Thursday – 8 days ago (February 18, 1943) – I was attending Prof. Huber’s lecture in the auditorium on the second floor of the university from 10 to 11 am.
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Source: Fourth interrogation of Willi Graf, February 26, 1943
On that day [February 18, 1943], I went to Professor Huber’s lecture around 10:15. I met Traute Lafrenz and Willi Graf there. They also attended the lecture.
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After the leaflets were mailed, there were still some leaflets left over. It is possible there were 1,500 – 1,800 leaflets. To be rid of these, Scholl and I agreed to set out the rest of the leaflets at the university in front of the doors to the lecture halls shortly before lectures ended. This idea came from either Scholl or me. In any case, we were temporarily in agreement about this plan. Neither Sofie Scholl nor Graf was present during this discussion. I cannot say whether Hans Scholl possibly told Willi Graf about our plan later. Continue reading
A third time – the night of February 15 / 16, 1943 – Hans Scholl, Willi Graf, and I painted graffiti as we went from the telegraph office to Scholl’s residence. I still remember well that we painted the inscriptions “Down with Hitler!” and “Hitler the Mass Murderer!” on the walls of Hugendubel Book Store.
That night, Hans Scholl and I painted while Willi Graf merely stood watch, to protect us from being caught unawares. We wished to take our propaganda primarily to the bulk of the nation, which was impossible to this degree through distribution of flyers. Continue reading
The last time I [Hans Scholl] saw him [Willi Graf] was when we accidentally ran into one another on Ludwig Street two or three days ago.
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Source: Hans Scholl’s second interrogation, February 18, 1943
When we finished working that evening, the leaflets were packed into a small suitcase and 2 briefcases and taken to the post office by Scholl, Schmorell, and me. We left Scholl’s apartment between 11:00 and 11:30 pm. Continue reading
Together, Hans Scholl, Willi Graf, and I took the finished leaflets to various post offices and posted them in the late evening hours of February 15, 1943. It was probably around 10 p.m. Continue reading
I did not go to Scholl’s apartment till the next day around 6 pm. Hans and Sophie Scholl were busy sealing the leaflets that had already been addressed (Fellow Students) and getting them ready to mail. Continue reading
On Sunday, February 14, 1943 around 10 pm, I returned from Gaissach to my residence in Munich.
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Source: Fourth interrogation of Willi Graf, February 26, 1943
I am stating so much detail about this work to demonstrate that the work needed to produce the leaflets could actually be carried out by only my brother and me within the scope of the set-up that we had available to us. It took more time and labor to procure and address the envelopes than it did to run off copies of the leaflets. Continue reading
On Friday, February 12, 1943, around 8:15 pm, I traveled to Gaissach near Lenggries to go skiing.
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Source: Fourth interrogation of Willi Graf, February 26, 1943
However, the second and third times the graffiti appeared, I did think about Hans Scholl. But I only learned about it [for sure] when he showed me the leaflet. Continue reading
Last Friday, I visited him for the last time in his apartment. At this moment, I could not say whether his sister (who lives in the same apartment) was also present. During these visits, we primarily discussed literary matters more than any other topic. As far as I know Hans Scholl, he is among those German men who have dedicated themselves to a German victory. Incidentally, I am shocked that such a question could even be posed during this time of war. Continue reading
Before I left [to go skiing], I stopped by Scholl’s apartment around 4 pm, where Hans Scholl or Schmorell were already busy typing the stencil for the leaflet entitled “German Students” or “Fellow Students”. In my presence, Scholl and Schmorell began the production of that leaflet. At first, it was not working properly. And finally, I had to leave because I had to get ready for my trip. Continue reading
It is possible that I saw the student Jaeger [Note 1] in Scholl’s apartment on either February 12 or 13, 1943. On that occasion, Jaeger brought Scholl a book from the National Library [Staatsbibliothek]. They talked for about half an hour. Willi Graf was also present. I could tell from the conversation which primarily was about literary matters that Jaeger had studied at the University of Freiburg. Continue reading
Either the next day, or the day after that, Hans Scholl and I set about getting our leaflets ready to mail. We used an older student directory (I believe Scholl owned something like that) and randomly copied out the addresses of students [Note 1] who lived in Munich. Continue reading
Sometime around February 10, our defeat in the East became known. As a result, the mood among the student body worsened. I got the idea to do justice in this situation [Note 1] by publishing a new leaflet. I wrote a draft entitled “Students!” and ran off about 200 copies of it. I did this with the same duplicating machine in my apartment. I was able to do so without my sister’s knowledge, because she was away that week. Continue reading
I typed the “Students” leaflet on the Remington typewriter in Scholl’s residence. Scholl and I jointly wrote the text, compared our drafts, and determined that the content was suitable for our cause. Continue reading
We ended the conversation between 1 pm and 2 pm so we could finally eat lunch. … Continue reading
It is correct to say that we (my brother and I) talked freely with Graf about current events or political and military situations. Graf largely shared our opinion that we could not win the war and that the current form of government must be and would be changed once it was overthrown. Continue reading
Willi Graf has only been visiting my brother and me for about 8 weeks, and then only occasionally, usually afternoons or evenings. Our meetings and conversations with Graf are of a purely social nature. Continue reading
Hans Scholl definitely was not a disciple of National Socialism. I could see in him clear antagonism to National Socialist ideology, but I never could see that he was thinking about ways to overthrow the National Socialist government or eliminate its leaders. He had a very impassioned manner of speaking and championed decidedly Protestant [religious] views. I never would have believed him capable of treasonous activities punishable by death. Continue reading
Following various discussions with Schmoll (sic) [Note 1], I knew that he had a negative attitude towards the current regime. For example, he rejected its authoritarian national leadership and its Führerprinzip [authoritarian principle] and championed more the point of view of a democracy. Continue reading
The next day, or the day after, I think it was Thursday February 11, 1943, shortly after 11 am, I went to Scholl’s apartment. After the lecture, he had told me that I should come with him, that Harnack would be stopping by. When we arrived at Scholl’s apartment, Schmorell and Harnack were already standing in front of the door. A few minutes later, Professor Huber arrived as well. Continue reading
When Hans Scholl and I left the lecture that day, Willi Graf was already waiting for us. We met Schmorell and Harnack waiting for us in front of the apartment. As far as I know, Prof. Huber arrived about 15 minutes later. Continue reading
Once we were all together in Scholl’s residence, the first things we discussed were general political topics. That was followed by an exchange of ideas between Prof. Huber and Dr. Harnack. Continue reading
The next day when I came out of Prof. Huber’s lecture, I saw Scholl and Schmorell in front of the university. They then met with Harnack. Harnack then immediately took his leave. Scholl and I went to the city to eat lunch, while Schmorell went to a restaurant alone where he allegedly wanted to meet up with a Russian woman. [Note 1] Continue reading
The next day, we met as agreed at the university. Prof. Huber was the last person to join us, at which time we introduced Harnack to him. Continue reading
And as a matter of fact, the next day I observed or rather Hans Scholl himself told me that he and Willi Graf had done as he had said. That time, they painted with green paint. I emphasize this because I had nothing to do with it.
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Source: Schmorell’s initial interrogation.
When I learned about the graffiti the next day at the university, it was clear to me that only Hans Scholl and Willi Graf could have done this. But I kept silent about my suspicions with Hans Scholl. I did not want to say anything to him about it, because he had made it clear that he would rather I know nothing about it. Continue reading
White Rose History: January 1933 - October 1943 