Sophie Scholl portrait

7 April, 11.00 a.m.
Giardino dei Giusti di tutto il mondo - Milan
piazza Santa Maria Nascente
(MM QT8)

Moving letter from Elisabeth Hartnagel, the sister of Sophie Scholl, the White Rose student killed by the Nazis for trying to awake the conscience of German youths face the horror.

"May the tree for Sophie grow and bloom", writes the Righteous' relative to Gabriele Nissim. "This will symbolize the fact that she did not die in vain in the struggle against injustice and racism".


Stuttgart, 11 March 2011

Dear Mr. Nissim,

unfortunately due to my age I won't be able to accept your invitation to Milan, nonetheless I feel planting a tree in the Garden of the Righteous really bestows honour on my sister Sophie and the White Rose circle, and I thank you very much.

May the tree grow and bloom, as a symbol that her death in the struggle against injustice and racism was not vain.

Yours sincerely,

Elisabeth Hartnagel

The original letter