who among us ... (white rose)

In 2008 I wrote and drew a graphic novel called "The White Rose" about the World War II German Resistance group made up of students and a professor from the University of Munich. This included brother and sister Hans and Sophie Scholl. This won't be the last time I post about them, or drawings from my graphic novel.

When I chose to illustrate a panel around this portion of leaflet from the real White Rose, I knew I had to choose an image that would depict the horrifying and deplorable acts that the Nazis committed - an image so startling, yet so commonplace to the German people of the time: a round up of Jews - a mother and child with the gun of a Gestapo officer trained on them. The child's hands raised in surrender, and in fear.

There's something so unspeakable about the image. It depicts the way in which humans can dehumanize each other to such an extent that even children aren't seen as anything more than cattle. This is the horror of the Holocaust, and the horror of the depths to which human nature can sink.

The idealism, empathy, and hope of the message of the White Rose is something that I strongly identified with, and still do. I felt their story was an important one to share. And in today's divisive climate in which populism is becoming the order of the day, and empathy is in short supply, I hope more people turn to the lessons the White Rose wanted to teach - that we can be better, and should be better.