DAY ONE November 3, 2005

by Chris Davison

A janitor working for the Gestapo spies the intrepid brother and sister as a stream of papers begins to fall from above--bearers of forbidden messages, restlessly twisting and turning as a school bell rings to announce the changing of times.

So begins a trial by fire in Marc Rothemund's SOPHIE SCHOLL: THE FINAL DAYS, starring Julia Jentsch as the sole female member of the White Rose, an underground group of college students dedicated to the downfall of Hitler's Third Reich. SOPHIE SCHOLL has already won numerous awards and is Germany's official submission for this year's Best Foreign Film Academy Award(R). On a recent night--at the stroke of midnight--I picked up my cell phone, entered a lengthy series of numbers and had the privilege of speaking with Rothemund in his Munich office.

Since the real-life events depicted in SOPHIE SCHOLL took place more than 60 years ago, one of the first things I ask Rothemund is what inspired him to tell this story in 2005. It is well known in Germany that Sophie spent four days in Gestapo headquarters, but the details of her final days were not known until recently. Rothemund describes how he has always had a personal interest in bringing Sophie to life, and so was excited to discover the existence of detailed, unpublished interrogation reports of Sophie, Hans and other White Rose members--even documents about their subsequent trial and execution. In the waning days of World War II, when the Russians took Berlin, these documents were found in the Bundesarchiv and taken back to Moscow. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the papers eventually made their way back to Germany, and, upon learning of this, Rothemund called the Bundesarchiv and arranged to have them sent to him.

Although Scholl is a known and revered figure in Germany, Rothemund feels that the younger generation does not know her as a human being, and so he set about creating the chance for viewers to look into Sophie's eyes, hear her voice and consider her own words. In the film, Rothemund vividly brings to life the moment when Scholl is offered a way out, a chance to renounce her beliefs and escape death--a chance she refuses by saying, "I'd do the same again. You have the wrong worldview, not me." In addition to the interrogation transcripts, Rothemund also discovered a 14-page letter written by Scholl's cellmate, information that made it possible to reconstruct her last night almost minute by minute.

Going beyond this newfound treasure trove of papers, Rothemund conducted interviews with surviving members of the White Rose, as well as with Willy Mohr, the son of Scholl's Gestapo interrogator, Robert Mohr. Much of the film centers on a searing battle of wills between Scholl and Mohr, a historical dialogue that shows many complicit German officers were not cold-blooded murderers but rather "yes-men" who went along with others in saying "Heil Hitler."

Viewing the film, one is struck by Scholl's fortitude. Rothemund says that although she was very much afraid, Scholl's belief in God was strong enough to resist the Nazis. Another important factor in her makeup was the guidance Scholl received from her father, an ardent opponent of Hitler who raised his daughter to have a strong mind and a tender heart. Scholl's deep well of empathy for others gave her power to take on the state, to resist the Nazi war machine and to open the eyes of the population by her death.

Human history is replete with themes of nationalism, intolerance and dissent, and so I ask Rothemund if the story of Sophie Scholl speaks to some of the things happening in the modern world. Rothemund points out that in many countries it is often students who lead ideological revolutions, and that he hopes young people in Germany, America and other countries will be prompted to ask themselves: "Do we have enough empathy?"

Rothemund describes how even today in Germany youth are being targeted with seductive extremist slogans that blame foreigners for all of their problems. One or two percent of the population--representing approximately one million Germans--vote annually for fascist party candidates, so Rothemund exhorts us to never stop watching extremists in order to stave off the reoccurrence of fascism worldwide.

The filmmaker's most fervent wish, of course, is that as many people as possible will see, discuss and learn from his film--that we will be touched by the true story of Sophie Scholl and the unbelievable, chilling lead performance of Jentsch. Scholl had the power to resist and the courage to accept the consequences, and thanks to Rothemund's brilliant storytelling, her White Rose blooms once more in a film with raw, humanistic power deftly expressed through humility and grace.

Postscript: The film is scheduled to be released early next year by Zeitgeist Films, the same company that released the Academy Award-winning German production NOWHERE IN AFRICA

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