White Rose is a historical novel in verse by Kip Wilson in 2019 that tells the true story of Sophie Scholl, a political activist who lived in Nazi Germany and was executed for speaking out against the regime. Wilson has a background in German literature and is an editor with the Young Adult Review Network, a youth literature online publication. Due to its creative format and historically important subject matter, White Rose received the Malka Penn Award for Human Rights in Children’s Literature in 2019. The novel deals with themes such as The Consequences of Complacency, Sacrifice and Courage in the Face of Injustice, and The Power of Propaganda.

This guide uses the 2019 Versify edition of the book.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of religious discrimination, racism, and death.

Plot Summary

The story is told between two periods: the 1930s, when Sophie and her brother are part of the Hitler Youth, and 1943, when they are caught distributing anti-Nazi propaganda. Both periods are presented in present tense.

On February 18, 1943, Sophie Scholl and her brother Hans are arrested by the Gestapo after distributing rebellious leaflets at the University of Munich. They are taken for interrogation, where Sophie sits across from the interrogator Robert Mohr. He questions her about the leaflets and about why she met Hans at the university. She denies involvement and lies about her actions. She returns to her cell and thinks about Hans being questioned in another room. Mohr plans to continue questioning both of them until they confess.

During interrogation, she admits that she bought stamps but denies distributing the leaflets. However, Mohr then tells her that Hans has confessed. Sophie realizes that their actions are known and admits that she and Hans printed and distributed the leaflets. She explains that they hoped to encourage Germans to oppose the government. After signing her confession, she knows she will face punishment and likely death.

In the mid-1930s, Sophie lives in Ulm with her parents and four siblings. At first, she and Hans participate in the Hitler Youth program, but they begin to question the movement when their Jewish friends are excluded and they learn about concentration camps. In 1935, Hitler announces that men must complete service in the National Labor Service, and in 1937 Hans leaves for his service. In Ulm, signs appear that separate Jews from the rest of the population. Police enter the family’s apartment building, which belongs to a Jewish owner, and Sophie’s siblings Inge and Werner are arrested. During Kristallnacht (the Night of Broken Glass) in 1938, Sophie watches as Jewish homes and businesses are destroyed and people are taken away. Neither she nor anyone else does anything to stop it.

Later, Hans is arrested with other youth, who read banned literature and listen to banned music; he is imprisoned and later released. Sophie begins a relationship with an officer named Fritz but the relationship is complicated by his duties as a soldier.

In 1939, Germany invades Poland and war begins. Fritz leaves for military service and Hans later serves in France, which fuels his resentment of the Nazis. Sophie soon learns that the government is imprisoning Jews and killing children. She completes her own mandatory labor service and moves to Munich for university, where she finds Hans and his friends Traute, Christoph, and Alex. Hans and Alex begin distributing leaflets that call on Germans to reject oppression and question the war. Their group calls itself White Rose, and Sophie joins their effort.

On February 18, 1943, Sophie and her brother Hans distribute leaflets at the University of Munich that call on Germans to oppose Hitler’s regime. A custodian named Jakob Schmidt sees the leaflets and stops them as they leave the building. He reports them to the Gestapo, and both are arrested and taken away. During the interrogation, Mohr offers to release Sophie if she claims that Hans led the group and that she only followed him. Sophie refuses and soon learns that their friend Christoph has also been arrested.

Sophie, Hans, and Christoph are brought to trial with Judge Freisler. The judge accuses them of sabotage and supporting the enemy, and Sophie states that she has no regrets. All three are sentenced to death; Sophie meets her parents one last time and then says goodbye to Hans and Christoph before they are executed.