Hans Fritz Scholl (German: [hans ʃɔl] ; 22 September 1918 – 22 February 1943) was, along with Alexander Schmorell, one of the two founding members of the White Rose resistance movement in Nazi Germany. The principal author of the resistance movement's literature, he was found guilty of high treason for distributing anti-Nazi material and was executed by the Nazi regime in 1943 during World War II.
Scholl was born in Ingersheim (now a part of Crailsheim, Baden-Württemberg) on 22 September 1918 to Robert and Magdalena Scholl. His father later became the mayor of Forchtenberg am Kocher. He was the second eldest of six children. His siblings were: Inge Aicher-Scholl (1917–1998); Elisabeth Scholl Hartnagel (1920–2020), who married Sophie's long-term boyfriend, Fritz Hartnagel; Sophie Scholl (1921–1943); Werner Scholl (1922–1944), who served as a Wehrmacht medical officer and went missing in action on the Eastern Front and presumed dead in June 1944; and Thilde Scholl (1925–1926).
Scholl was raised as a Lutheran, although he did at one point consider converting to Catholicism. Against the declared will of his father, he became an enthusiastic member of the Hitler Youth on 15 April 1933, and initially held leadership positions in the Deutsches Jungvolk, but quickly became disillusioned with the group when he realised its true principles. In 1935, he was one of three standard-bearers from Ulm who took part in the Nazi Party's "Reich Party Rally for Freedom" from 10 to 16 September in Nuremberg. During this time, his attitude towards the Nazi regime gradually began to change. One reason was that the fanaticism promoted in the Hitler Youth and the unconditional subordination to the power structures ruling there became more and more repugnant.
Scholl was arrested in 1937–38 because of his membership in a forbidden Youth Movement organisation. Hans Scholl had joined the Deutsche Jungenschaft vom 1.11.1929 (d.j.1.11) in 1934, when he and other Hitler Youth members in Ulm considered membership in this group and the Hitler Youth to be compatible.
During the trial, Scholl was also charged under Paragraph 175, the paragraph in the German Criminal Code that criminalized homosexual behavior. Under questioning, he admitted to having had two separate sexual relationships, one with Rolf Futterknecht, and one with Ernest Reden, who had also made advances on his brother Werner. Futterknecht had been the one to inform on Hans.
Scholl made a positive impact on the judge, who dismissed the choice to join the youth groups as the "youthful exuberance" and "obstinate personality" of a "headstrong young man." The judge then dismissed the homosexual allegations as a "youthful failing." Hans was allowed to leave the trial with a clean slate. Ernest Reden, on the other hand, was sentenced to three months prison and three months in a Nazi concentration camp for the relationship.
After Scholl's trial, no one spoke of the allegations against him. The only people who knew were his parents and his older sister, Inge, who never spoke about the charges.
In spring of 1937, he joined the Reich Labour Service, having volunteered for duty. He was discharged in March 1939 to attend medical school at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU). At the university, he came into contact with professors, teachers, and students who represented positions that were clearly Christian-ethical and critical of the regime. Therefore, Hans began to question his own ideological position more critically.
During the semester break, he was drafted as a medic for front service and took the rank of medical sergeant in the French campaign. What he experienced during direct frontline operations reinforced his personal stance against the rulers and the war in particular. Hans was again enrolled in the military service in the spring of 1941 as a medic in the Wehrmacht.
Between 1940 and 1941, Scholl, a former member of the Hitler Youth, began questioning the principles and policies of the Nazi regime. As a student at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU), Scholl met two Roman Catholic men of letters who redirected his life, inspiring him to turn from studying medicine and pursue religion, philosophy, and the arts. Through Schmorell, Scholl met female medical student Traute Lafrenz in 1941. Scholl and Lafrenz soon became close friends, and for a time in summer 1941 they were lovers.
After their experiences at the Eastern Front, having learned about mass murder in Poland and the Soviet Union, Scholl and Alexander Schmorell felt compelled to take action. From the end of June until mid-July 1942, they wrote the first four leaflets. Quoting extensively from the Bible, Aristotle and Novalis, as well as German poets Goethe and Schiller, they appealed to what they considered the German intelligentsia, believing that these people would be easily convinced by the same arguments that also motivated the authors themselves. These leaflets were left in telephone books in public phone booths, mailed to professors and students, and taken by courier to other universities for distribution.
From 23 July to 30 October 1942, Willi Graf, Scholl and Schmorell served again at the Soviet front, and activities ceased until their return. After their return, Willi Graf became one of the core members of the White Rose. Sophie was the second to last member to join. By the end of December 1942, Kurt Huber became the last main member of the White Rose.
With six core members, two more White Rose pamphlets were created and circulated over the summer of 1942.
The leaflets were distributed around the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, where many of the group members studied. Leaflets were distributed at the University of Hamburg and in the city of Ulm as well. Additionally, leaflets were also mailed to doctors, scholars, and pub owners throughout Germany.
On 18 February 1943, while Hans and Sophie were distributing leaflets at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Sophie flung the last remaining leaflets from the top floor down into the atrium. This spontaneous action was observed by the university maintenance man, Jakob Schmid. Schmid reported the offense and the Scholls were arrested by the Gestapo. Along with Christoph Probst, the two siblings were tried for treason by Judge Roland Freisler. They were found guilty and condemned to death on 22 February.
During his interrogation, Hans tried to protect his sister by claiming to have thrown the leaflets himself, but his testimony was contradicted by the custodian's. He further tried to hide the role played by other members of the White Rose. Hans was well aware of the likely consequence of his actions.
"I knew what I took upon myself and I was prepared to lose my life by so doing."
At the trial, Hans, Sophie, and Christoph Probst were sentenced to death. They were originally scheduled to be hanged in public (work had already begun on the scaffolds) but the officials feared they would be immortalized as martyrs if they were killed in public. As such, a last minute decision was made to switch the execution method to the guillotine.