Member review

That film is really good and has left me really thinking and impressed. As for me being German, it is probably a step closer to emotions than for others, I guess. For me, to live in a country with such a past can never be easy, but I wasn’t even born when the Holocaust happened and therefore I don’t feel guilty for it, but I recognise that everybody in Germany should take responsibility to make the future better than the past, because then it all might have brought about something good at least a little bit because we are always able to learn from the mistakes others have made. Right now I would say I have quite similar attitudes to those of Sophie Scholl and her friends, but I’m sure a lot people did; it is only that in that moment of war you prove how much it really means to you. Honestly, I’m not sure if I would have had the same courage that Sophie did, but I really admire her for being so strong up to the end, that she was willing to die for her beliefs. The White Rose for me is a tragedy, because everything they said became true in the end… when you think about this resistance, it can make you a little bit “proud” and in some sort of way it eases the pain, though that may sound a little bit weird. What was really well presented in the film was how they always lived anxiously, looking around if anybody was watching. That made me once again feel endlessly grateful that I haven’t had to experience a war yet, because I just can’t imagine what it must be like to live in constant fear. The stupidity of the Nazis was well reflected in the scene of the court case, just that they wouldn’t allow the true version of events anyway and that they were so stubborn to believe they could win the war, by scarifying all these poor innocent lives. I am absolutely horrified and disgusted by what Hitler did, and therefore I liked Sophie Scholl, the whole movie was absolutely brilliant and Julia Jentsch’s performance was completely believable, making the viewer feel very close to Sophie. I imagine it to be very challenging to play such a role, because you surely get involved in it a lot yourself. Her looking in the sky, folding her hands, praying and hoping for a better world… really convincing. Well, the movie is called “The last days”, but that is the only negative thing I could say, because sometimes I felt I lacked of knowledge of the previous activities of the White Rose, and some interviews were a bit too long, although that what Sophie said really caught me. Sophie Scholl is just an example, and a very good one, and I wish that it stands for all the untold stories and destinies, so that the good may be not forgotten. Sophie really reminded me of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, which I sympathise with as well. My favourite bit of the film was the nearly last scene, where Sophie, her brother and their friend all came together again, perfectly knowing what was awaiting them, but still fully convinced that what they were doing was right. That is what makes the true heroes.