Freiheit! A Graphic Novel about The White Rose

´Do not forget that every people deserves the regime it is willing to endure´.

´I would do it all over again. Because not I but you have the wrong view of the world´.

The White Rose movement operated between 27 June 1942 and 18 February 1943 in the South of Germany. Through its representatives, among which Hans and Sophie Scholl, Alexander Schmorell and Christoph Probst, they distributed manifests encouraging ´passive resistance´ against the National- Socialism and expressing their suspicions regarding the ideological relevance and values of the Nazi regime in general. Caught by the Gestapo while distributing the manifests within the Munich University on 18 February, Hans and Sophie Scholl, together with Christoph Probst are condemned to death three days after. Freiheit! - Freedom, are among the last words written by Sophie Scholl. The movement is considered as an example of German resistance against the Nazi regime, with institutions and steets all over Germany being given the Scholl name. The members of The White Rose were middle class, on different religious and sexual orientations. Some of the texts wroten by them were used by the British Army when was spreading from airplanes the anti-Nazi manifestoes. 

Freiheit!, the graphic novel by Andrea Grosso Ciponte concentrates in 113 pages the profile of the movement, in its historical and intellectual context. From the visual point of view, the dramatic pastels and the predominantly black graphics create the perfect effect expected for a graphic novel treating this very serious topic. Published by Plough Publishing House this February, it offers basic information about the movement through the graphic story, as well as the content fo the manifestoes, part of the annexes. 

If you are completely ignorant about this episode of German history, and of the WWII politics and stories in general, this book helps to figure out the basics. Written in English, it offers a good information support to a wide range of readers, from teenagers to adults looking for an entertaining approach to history.

However, if you are knowledgeable of the topic, there may be at least a couple of objections to the approach. There are references to the concentration camps and the deportations of Jews - the fact that the average population was not familiar with is a horrible lies, given that there were many concentration camps in the near vicinity of populated areas, as it is the case of Sachsenhausen for instance, among others. However the general references and dialogues attributed to the characters are very basic, robotic and vaguely philosophical sometimes. I had the feeling of just reading some texts that are there because expected to include them, without any clear personal human touch and fiction add-on. The topic may be overwhelming, indeed, but the role of the story-teller is to find the right narrative and wording which make your story different from all the other stories and unique. Unfortunately, I felt through the over 100 pages of Freiheit! as exposed to a standardized historical account, the only difference being made by the visual form - which, again, is appropriate to the topic and aesthethically successful. 

Rating: 3 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review