We Will Not Be Silent

A new book by Russell Freedman?  Yes, please!  Freedman is one of my favorite authors, and this is a fascinating topic.

This is the story of how a group of ordinary students decided to stand up to Hitler and his regime of fear.  Sophie and Hans Scholl grew up in a home that encouraged free thinking, and this allowed them to question Hitler and the Nazis.

As college students, they formed a secret group called The White Rose to write and distribute anti-Nazi pamphlets.  Freedman describes the danger they faced and the extreme measures they took to keep their activities secret using letters and interviews from people who participated in the movement.

Sophie and Hans Scholl and their friends in The White Rose are ordinary students who became heroes.  Freedman does an excellent job of making Sophie and Hans real.  The chapter on their arrest is particularly engaging with eyewitness accounts and photographs.

This is a great pick for students who are interested in WWII and the holocaust.  When we talk about this time period in school, students always want to know why people didn't stand up to Hitler.  We Will Not Be Silent will show them the dangers of opposing Hitler as well as the importance and lasting impact of defying evil.