The White Rose: Reading, Writing, Resistance

Dr Alex Lloyd, Tutor in German at Teddy Hall, has recently launched a new project to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the White Rose trials in Germany, where three university students were executed for encouraging anti-Nazi sentiment. There will be an exhibition at the Taylor Institution from 12-31 October, with a launch event on 12 October; a new translation of the White Rose group’s leaflets will also be commissioned as part of the commemoration.

Alex explains the context behind the commemoration: “In February 1943, three students at the University of Munich were executed. They were members of a clandestine group called the White Rose: students Hans and Sophie Scholl, Alexander Schmorell, Willi Graf, Christoph Probst, and a professor, Kurt Huber. The White Rose had written and distributed leaflets calling on the German people to resist Nazism. The last of these leaflets was smuggled out of Germany and in the autumn of 1943, millions of copies were dropped over Germany by Allied aircraft.” An exhibition about the group, open to Bodleian card holders, will be held in the Voltaire Room at the Taylor Institution from 12-31 October 2018.

As part of the commemoration, the Faculty is also commissioning a new translation of the White Rose leaflets, to be published alongside the original German. The commission is primarily aimed at students of German who are about to enter their second or fourth year, but applications will also be considered from students of other subjects who are confident translating between German and English.

There are twelve places available for the project, which will take place in a series of seminars in the coming academic year during Michaelmas and Hilary term. The resulting translation will be published in the next volume of the Taylorian Treasures series, to be released in Trinity term 2019, which will also include contributions by experts on the White Rose. For further details, including how to apply, see the Faculty page.

The launch event will take place at 5pm on 12 October 2018, in Room 2 at the Taylor Institution. Please RSVP to Alex Lloyd if you would like to attend.

Visit the White Rose Project’s website for more information.