If
you haven't read my previous post that serves as an introduction to
this topic you might want to go back or this will be out of context.
When
the Chutz-POW committee was discussing the list of Upstanders to
include in the museum exhibit I found myself particularly fascinated
by the story of Sophie Scholl and the White Rose. Even though my
primary role was as writer of the comic book (Sophie's story does not
appear in it), I do draw comics occasionally and have a couple of
professional credits to my name. I decided I wanted to draw Sophie's
page for the exhibit.
Sophie's
story, in brief, is heroic and horrific.
Sophie
and her brother Hans were born in Germany and raised Lutheran. They
were teens during the rise of the Nazi party and witnessed the
growing abuses of the regime (this is an incredibly abridged version
of what took place). They were increasingly appalled at the direction
Germany was headed. They, along with a number of friends, formed a
secret society called The White Rose and began a movement of passive
resistance. They wrote exposes' and essays that were overtly critical
of the Nazis. They printed these as flyers and discretely distributed
them.
They
were eventually caught and arrested.
Sophie
was beheaded by guillotine on February 22, 1943 at the age of 22. Her
final words were, "How can we expect righteousness to prevail when
there is hardly anyone willing to give himself up individually to a
righteous cause. Such a fine, sunny day, and I have to go, but what
does my death matter, if through us, thousands of people are awakened
and stirred to action?”
The last flyer by The White Rose was smuggled out of Germany and later dropped in the thousands all over Germany from Allied airplanes.
This
story really touched me, and when I started looking for more
information on Sophie I found lots of photos of her online. These
kind of blew me away. She looks absolutely contemporary in most of
these. Young with a funky hairstyle, happy and full of life. She
could be one of the students in my class at Chatham this spring. One
of my customers at the comics store. Someone I see when I go out to
shows. The same age range as my goddaughter.
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| Do a Google image search for more. |
So
I drew Sophie Scholl. My style leans more toward the stylized and
iconic than it does toward realism. I like to think of myself as
influenced by Jaime Hernandez (of Love & Rockets fame), and Dan
DeCarlo and Harry Lucey, famous Archie Comics artists. I'm nowhere
near as good as any of these, but it's what I aim for. The black and
white line work is an abstraction and the goal was to turn Sophie
into a comic book character in my style while still being able to
recognize her. Parts of my composition used very specific photo
reference.
The
exhibit is in color (the comic will be in black and white). I think
of myself as primarily an inker when it comes to my comics work, and
that's where most of my actual professional comics experience is. I
love working with a bottle of ink and a brush. My own pencils are
very loose because I prefer working out the details directly in the
ink. As a result of this I don't work in color very often and admit
to being a little intimidated by the prospect. My style lends itself
to more traditional flat coloring than to heavily rendered or shaded
colors, so that's the direction I went with this. I'm happy with the
results.
Seeing the reproduction of my art in context at the 3 Rivers Arts Festival yesterday was really rewarding. The drawing was accompanied by text pieces telling Sophie's story. Two of the other members of the Chutz-POW! committee were there when Marcel Walker (my friend and one of the artists on the project) and I arrived. They introduced us to the people who were there and we received a spontaneous round of applause. I can't tell you how gratifying it is to see something that I have worked this long and hard at finally out where we can share it with the world.
The following are photos of my Sophie piece in context at the exhibit. My next blog will detail some of the other artists and Upstanders involved with the project.
“Freedom.”
Word
found on a scrap of paper left behind in the cell of White rose
resistance leader Sophie Scholl on the day of her execution;
February
22, 1943
Sophie
Scholl was born in Forchtenberg Germany on May 9, 1921. Sophie had
loving parents and enjoyed spending her time outside and learning.
She even had an interest in art and theology. Soon she began to
question the Anti-Jewish doctrine of the Nazi Party and grew
increasingly frustrated along with her brother, Hans, about the
direction in which Germany was headed.
In
1942 Sophie Scholl, Hans Scholl, Christopher Probst, Willi Graf,
Alexander Schmorell, and their Professor Kurt Huber formed the
resistance movement called “The White Rose”.
The
White Rose was a German resistance group who spoke out against the
Nazi regime’s mass atrocities and crimes to humanity.
Horrified
of what their nation became, Sophie and the members of the White Rose
wrote and distributed leaflets urging Germans to oppose Hitler and
the Nazi Party.
After
the defeat at Stalingrad in January 1943, Sophie, and Hans,
distributed Anti-Nazi leaflets in the hallways of the University of
Munich urging the students to rebel. However, the university janitor
recognized Sophie and Hans and turned them in to the Gestapo, the
German Secret State Police. Soon after their arrest, the Gestapo
found the other members of the White Rose.
The
members of the White Rose were tried by the Volksgerichtshof
(People’s Court), overseen by Roland Freisler, a Nazi judge and the
State Secretary of the Reich. Sophie Scholl and the members of the
White Rose were sentenced to death by beheading. However, they
remained defiant and proud. The words “To stand defiant before
overwhelming power” were found on Hans’ prison cell wall and
before execution he shouted, “Long Live Freedom!”
Sophie
Scholl along with her brother and the other members of the White Rose
stood up for their country and their people even before certain
death. Their last leaflet was smuggled out of the country and
scattered over Germany by Allied plans.
“Fight
Against the Party!”
The
day of reckoning has come, the reckoning of German youth with the
most repellent tyranny our nation has ever seen...
For
us there is only one slogan: Fight against the Party! Get out of the
party hierarchy, which wants to keep us silent!
The
German name will be dishonoured forever if German youth does not rise
up, to revenge and atone at once, to destroy their tormentors and
build up a new spiritual Europe. Students! The German nation looks to
us!
Translation:
Lucy Burns
Contents copyright 2014 The Pittsburgh Holocaust Center.
