Detlef Bald Die Weiße Rose Von der Front in den Widerstand (The White Rose) Aufbau-Verlag, January 2003. 220 pp. ISBN 3-351-02546-7 This book tells the fascinating and ultimately tragic story of the German students who formed the wartime resistance group known as 'The White Rose'. During 1942 and 1943 its members distributed anti-Nazi leaflets, exhorting the German population to oppose the Nazi government. In the course of time, the group's attitude became more radical: instead of advocating passive resistance, they called on their fellow Germans to topple the regime. Their story is all the more compelling for its singularity, for these young people were isolated as well as heroic. At the centre of the group were Hans Scholl and Alexander Schmorell. Together they clandestinely penned the first leaflets and distributed them anonymously. Then other friends were cautiously introduced, including Hans's younger sister Sophie. Few in number as they were, they were at pains not to endanger others, until a rash demonstration at the University of Munich led to their arrest by the Gestapo. After a series of trials, the key members of the group, including Alexander Schmorell and Hans and Sophie Scholl, were condemned to death and executed. This book provides important new insights into the lives and experiences of a tightly-knit group of friends, and constitutes an important addition to the literature of German opposition to Hitler. In the postwar era, the story of the White Rose has been celebrated as an example of civilian resistance, yet the factors contributing to the genesis of the group have been generally overlooked. Detlef Bald draws on hitherto unknown material to reconstruct the story from its beginnings, showing how the group's experience of Nazi violence served to radicalise the protesters' attitudes. Crucial to this were the horrors of the Russian front, to which both Hans Scholl and Alexander Schmorell were drafted in 1942. Well illustrated and with two maps, this book is a must for all those interested in this still under-explored subject. It is the starkly moving story of a group of young people who followed their consciences and paid for their deeds with their lives. 'An informative book that adds new facets to our understanding of the White Rose.' Generalanzeiger Bonn '(This) book represents an important step towards giving the White Rose the prominent place in the history of resistance that … is rightfully theirs.' Die Zeit