Sophie Scholl — The Last Days
Screenplay by Fred Brienesdorfer
Directed by Marc Rothermund
With Julia Jentsch, Alexander Held, Burghart Klassner, Fabrian Hinrichs
In German, with English subtitles
In cinemas now
REVIEW BY ALEX SALMON
Sophie Scholl — The Last Days is a reconstructed account of the last days of anti-Nazi activist Sophie Scholl (played by Julia Jentsch from The Edukators). Sophie and her brother Hans (Fabrian Hinrichs) were active in the anti-Nazi group known as the White Rose, which attempted to inspire the German people to rise up against the Nazi regime in the years 1942 and 1943.
Directed by Marc Rothermund, this film is based on the transcripts of the police interrogations, trials and executions of the White Rose activists that took place in February 1943. Released to critical acclaim, it has already won awards at the Berlin 2005 film festival and been nominated for an Oscar for best foreign film.
Formed in late 1942 among students at Munich University, the White Rose set out to alert German people to the crimes being carried out in their name by the Nazi regime and to call for an end to the war. The authorities caught Sophie and Hans Scholl while distributing leaflets at the university on February 18, 1943. When taken into interrogation Sophie manages to convince a Gestapo official that she was innocent for five hours. However, after incriminating evidence is found, Sophie accepts full responsibility, stating, "Yes I took part in this and am proud of it".
When offered a chance to save her own life by informing on other members of the White Rose, Sophie refuses because it would be a betrayal of her ideals. Sophie, her brother Hans and Christoph Probst are hauled before the Nazi's "People's Court" for a show trial in front of the president of the court, Roland Friesler.
On the January 25, 1985, the West German parliament unanimously approved a statement describing the execution of the White Rose activists as not being carried out by a constitutional court of justice, but as an institution used to impose terror by the Nazi regime. The White Rose was not the first or only group to offer resistance to the Nazis, but it was one of the most notable examples. In the current political climate of increased attacks on civil liberties and illegal, unjust wars being waged against Iraq, Palestine and Lebanon it should offer inspiration to witness the courage that Sophie showed in opposing the Nazi regime.