18/05/2026
May 9 was the 105th anniversary of the birth of Sophie Scholl. She went to her death at the guillotine at just 21 years of age for peacefully but openly resisting the culture of death in N**i Germany.
Sophie has long been one of my inspirations, and her writings, which show a profound wisdom and maturity beyond her years, have often brought me solace in the cultural missionary work that I do.
I have a lot of favorite Sophie Scholl quotes:
"Stand up for what you believe in, even if you are standing alone."
But the one I probably love the most is:
âI will cling to the rope God has thrown me in Jesus Christ, even when my numb hands can no longer feel it.â
If you want to read more I would highly recommend Paul Shrimptonâs excellent 2018 book âConscience Before Conformity: Hans and Sophie Scholl and the White Rose Resistance in N**i Germanyâ, it is the best biography of Scholl ever written.
The 2005 German film âSophie Scholl: The Final Daysâ (which was nominated for an Academy Award) is also an excellent companion to Shrimptonâs book.
âThe real damage is done by those millions who want to 'survive.' The honest men who just want to be left in peace. Those who donât want their little lives disturbed by anything bigger than themselves. Those with no sides and no causes. Those who wonât take measure of their own strength, for fear of antagonizing their own weakness. Those who donât like to make wavesâor enemies. Those for whom freedom, honour, truth, and principles are only literature. Those who live small, mate small, die small. Itâs the reductionist approach to life: if you keep it small, youâll keep it under control. If you donât make any noise, the bogeyman wonât find you. But itâs all an illusion, because they die too, those people who roll up their spirits into tiny little balls so as to be safe. Safe?! From what? Life is always on the edge of death; narrow streets lead to the same place as wide avenues, and a little candle burns itself out just like a flaming torch does.â ~ Sophie Scholl
911Babies.com
Passion for Life!