Munich's memorial museum to the White Rose resistance group which opposed the Nazis in World War Two
Discover: Inside the refurbished White Rose Memorial Museum. Picture: Weiße Rose Stiftung e.V./Catherina Hess
It is just steps away from where Hans and Sophie Scholl were taken into custody after leaving anti-Nazi leaflets in front of hall doors while lectures were in progress, and Sophie cast a spare stack from an upper landing to drift down to the atrium floor. The new museum was opened on February 18, 2017, exactly 74 years on from the day the Scholl siblings were arrested.
READ MORE: Sophie Scholl and the White Rose - A briefing on this brave Munich group which dared to stand up to Hitler and the Nazis
Remember: From left, White Rose members Hans and Sophie Scholl and Chrisoph Probst in 1943, shortly before their arrest.
The original White Rose Museum (Denkstätte Weiße Rose) was opened in Munich in 1997 at the suggestion of Otl Aicher, a brother-in-law of Hans and Sophie Scholl. Although it was always worth a look, it was rather limited and the displays were only in German. But thanks to an increasing interest in the World War Two resistance group - particularly from international visitors - it was decided to refurbish the museum and add English information panels. There are interactive media stations, biographies of the main figures behind the White Rose and a film which shows how they mass produced and distributed their anti-Nazi leaflets in an age of typewriters and basic printing techniques. Visitors can also learn about how the White Rose was seen directly after the war, and how the group’s reputation has changed over the decades.
READ MORE: White Rose walking tour - A suggested self-guided tour around Munich to visit the main sites associated with the Second World War resistance group.
Dr Bernd Huber, professor and LMU president, said the resistance group held a special place in the university's history. Dr Huber said: "The White Rose Memorial Museum has been a core part of our main building for the past 20 years, and it remains a place of remembrance and contemplation. "In the White Rose, young people, and among them many students, made a stand against an inhuman dictatorship. "We want to preserve the remembrance of the White Rose and its legacy at this site, and pass that memory onto future generations." Dr Huber said he was delighted about the refurbishment. He said: "Right here, young people can get an insight into the fate of the members of this student resistance group, and also into an important chapter in the history of the LMU (university) during the time of the Nazis."
Learn: One of the displays at the White Rose Memorial Museum. Picture: Weiße Rose Stiftung e.V./Catherina Hess
Location: In the atrium (Lichthof) of Munich's Ludwig Maximilian University, Geschwister-Scholl-Platz, 1, 80539 Munich
Open: Monday to Friday from 10am to 5pm, Saturday 11.30am to 4.30pm, closed Sunday.
Directions: Take the U3 or U6, the nearest station is Universität.
Other details: Entry is free. Guided tours can be arranged in English, German, Italian and French, and they can also arrange seminars for schools groups. Contact the White Rose Foundation for more details by phone +49 89218 05678 or email info@weisse-rose-stiftung.de
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