Pinned posts (important)

These posts are "pinned" on our Substack. In these words, we tackle topics critical to understanding informed dissent in general, and White Rose resistance in particular.

  • Just the Facts. Why tell the story of White Rose - and other - resistance, when it was all for nothing? Because: Their deaths and imprisonments were not in vain. They changed the people around them. (2022.01.06)
  • About Why This Matters. Introduction to Substack posts.
  • NOVEMBER 9, 2000 IN FRONT OF THE BRANDENBURG GATE, BERLIN. We will not and we may not help Hitler and his accomplices win their war after the fact, by making Germany 'judenrein,' free of Jews. - Paul Spiegel, November 9, 2000. (2024.11.09) FREE.
  • “The symbol of eternal youth." About our logo. Whether lifted in prayer or lifted in supplication to one’s friends and neighbors, it is recognized as genuine pleading for wrongs to be made right, for everyone on the face of the globe to live free. (2024.08.24) FREE.
  • Why I don’t “talk politics” in this Substack. If we don’t question, if we don’t ask WHY, if we blindly accept stump speeches – even rousing stump speeches – without examination of facts in evidence, we are not free. (2024.08.14) FREE.
  • Moving forward. White Rose scholarship can be a battleground between legend and truth. It's worth it. Voices of real people make it so. (2023.06.09)
  • Anger and awe and joy and work. Writing about German resistance is not for the faint of heart. The stories are complex, unpleasant, wonderful, and life-changing. (2023.03.01)
  • Yes, this matters. The stifled voices must be heard. At some point, the hero worship must end and the respect for courage beyond measure must begin. (2023.02.24)
  • Important Enough to Write Down. When I ask myself: What have I left behind? Rough drafts, sketches only – papery masses, hardly a clean copy. The clean copy of my life is only my death. And it was not in vain. - Professor Kurt Huber. (2022.02.22)
  • The Dichotomy of Dissent. Real change cannot be ushered in until idealists and dreamers join hands with realists and pragmatists. (2022.01.18)
  • The Hillelian Imperative. A Rabbi answers the question: If I was not Jewish and was living in Germany during the time of the Shoah, would I have risked my life by hiding Jews or actively resisting the Nazis? (2022.01.16)
  • Happy anniversary to us!, belatedly. July 1994, I had no idea I was embarking on a journey that would tackle historical revisionism and counterfactual versions of White Rose resistance. As hard as it's been, I wouldn't change a thing. (2023.07.31)
  • Social media and history. "History" may not lag behind other disciplines or industries re social media. Some thoughts on how we can use social to teach and learn, and research. (2023.08.08)
  • Their story. A very, very short version of the White Rose story. One that honors their lives and deaths, and their impact on Germany. And on us. No mythology here. (2023.08.18)
  • Mythologies: Thinking out loud. White Rose resistance. They were all Catholic. No, all Lutheran. No, they were democrats. No, they were... It's time to listen to Michael Probst and stop the fairy tales. Enough of mythology! (2023.08.15)
  • Mythology and historical revisionism. "When your government and cultural authorities stop downplaying and denying the hard reality of the past, we can then come together for a better future." - Ron Riesenbach. August 19, 2023. (2023.08.23)
  • Teachers matter. Treat students like adults. Remember when you were twelve and how you wanted to be respected for what you thought and were capable of. (2023.08.25)
  • Wall Street paper. "Unspeakable horror highlights what we hold dearest, honors our most valued holdings." 9/11 revisited. (2023.09.11)
  • What came after. Our White Rose friends lived postwar history too, not just the epoch we call the Shoah. We do them a disservice if we celebrate their youthful nobility, without considering who they became. (2024.04.04)
  • I Pray to the Power of Love. If we wish to honor White Rose friends, then let’s do so properly. Join their work of tikkun olam, repairing our world. No matter what. We all have the same power of love. Let’s use it for good. (2024.02.07)
  • Silos. Get out of your silo, stop looking for confirmation that White Rose students lived as you want them to have lived. Stop trying to make them conform to your religion, your politics, your worldview. (2024.01.30)
  • Biographies versus histories. There are at least thirty people who made up the core of White Rose resistance. There were an additional 150 that worked and interfaced with the friends. Great deal of undone work... We need you! (2024.03.07) (For paid subscribers)
  • Be the change. Change does not come overnight. Change does not come easy. Change does not come because of one single person. Be the change. (2023.10.27)