WILL THE WHITE ROSE BLOOM AGAIN?
“Nothing is more shameful to a civilized nation than to allow itself to be “governed” by an irresponsible clique of sovereigns who have given themselves over to dark urges – and that without resisting.” (Opening sentence of the White Rose leaflet Number 1, published in Munich in June 1942).
The White Rose
movement was started by a group of young students and one of their professors at
Munich University. They did not blow up railway lines or bridges, they did not
fire guns, throw grenades or kill anyone. What the did do was passively resist
the horrors of Adolf Hitler’s totalitarian Nazi regime. They did this by
distributing six anti-Nazi leaflets between June 1942 and February 1943
revealing the horrors of the Hitler’s regime, the carnage on the Eastern front,
where some of the group had served, and the persecution of the Jews. The first
leaflet reminded all Germans, “Do not forget that every nation deserves the
government that it endures.”
Copies of their
leaflets were distributed in Munich and in other major centres by a growing
band of followers. Subsequent leaflets foretold of Germany’s impending military
disaster and said that “All Germans” had
a moral duty to resist Hitler’s tyranny. The major players in the White Rose’s
passive resistance movement were Hans Scholl, his sister Sophie Scholl,
Alexander Schmorell, Willi Graff, Christoph Probst and Professor Kurt Huber.
Hans and Sophie
Scholl
were seen distributing the 6th leaflet at Munich University on 18 February 1943
by a university janitor who was a staunch
member of the Nazi Party. They were quickly arrested by the Gestapo who
found that Hans Scholl was
carrying in his coat pocket the handwritten draft of a seventh leaflet authored
by Christoph Probst. These three were given a sham trial at which they
claimed sole responsibility in order to protect their friends. Three days later
they were executed by guillotine. In the days that followed dozens more, some
quite innocent, were rounded up and executed.
Now, the world is faced with another Hitler like tyrant, bent on expanding his empire at any cost. The new Russian Tsar, Vladimir Putin, presents as a macho leader. He is pictured bare chested in the sea, riding a horse while shirtless, swaggering around international Head of State meetings and fronting up on Russian TV, flanked by be-medalled generals and talking in tough and menacing tones. He is the classic bully. He says that the war with a Ukraine started when Ukraine retaliated against his “special military intervention,” which is another name for a cowardly attack against a peaceful country.
Bloody Vlad, the Ukrainian Invader
Putin’s war against Ukraine started in February. This
war has shown that his Russian army fights bravely against apartment buildings,
hospitals, schools, shopping centres, power stations and Ukrainian civilians
everywhere. However, when the Russians come against Ukrainian patriots fighting
for their very existence, they have not fared so well. Of course, many of these
Russian soldiers can see no rhyme or
reason for Putin’s war against Ukraine. The war drags on and on. History tells
us that Russian soldiers are brave and courageous. Perhaps those fighting
against Ukraine cannot see any good reason to be risking their lives?
With the war dragging on, Putin
mobilised his country. Now he is threatening to use nuclear weapons against
Ukraine. Putin has already violated many human rights conventions and is guilty
of many heinous war crimes against humanity. It is time for world leaders to
stop talking and threatening. It is time for world leaders to take resolute, decisive
action against this Russian bully who feels he can do whatever he is wants to
whomever he wants without suffering any consequences.
He needs to be told that any
Russian initiated attack with nuclear weapons on anyone will be deemed a
declaration of World War 3 on all free countries and will require immediate and full retaliation against Russia by NATO, the US and her allies. Put the fireball
of nuclear war back in Putin’s court.
The only other means of defeating the criminally wealthy Putin’s ambition of Russian imperial expansion is for forces within Russia to oppose and remove him from power. This is unlikely considering Putin’s strong grip on all Russian life but there are indeed forces in Russia opposed to Putin. Unfortunately, most of those opposed to him, like Alexi Navalny, have been executed or imprisoned. Navalny is leader of the Russian Future Party. He was on parole when Putin’s agents poisoned him. He was rushed to a hospital outside Russia where he nearly died before being saved by his doctors. After recovering in hospital, Navalny boarded a train to return to Russia. He was arrested en-route because he had “failed to follow his bail obligations.” The fact that he was in a hospital suffering from a government sponsored poisoning attack was not seen as a reasonable excuse by Putin’s heavily controlled justice system. Navalny, from his gaol cell is now urging his followers to conduct acts of terrorist resistance.
There is dissent in Russia. The West Australian newspaper on October 28 carried a story about Putin’s Goddaughter fleeing Russia because she had criticised his war against Ukraine. The God-daughter’s family is a member of the Russian elite, indicating at least some dissent at the highest level of Russian society.
Russia is ruled by Putin’s iron fist, so street protests are going to be short lived and result in much incarceration…or worse. However, is there a White Rose type of resistance emerging in Russia? The Washington Post on October 18th reported that “An antiwar movement exists in Russia, despite weak street-level resistance. To understand how Russian society has opposed the war, one needs to look beyond protests, to identify acts of stealth resistance. Stealth resistance can take different shapes as it adapts to new political realities.”
The Washington Post says that since Putin invaded of Ukraine there have been many acts of dissent and resistance. When Putin mobilised Russia, thousands of able bodied men fled the country. Some who stayed home have, at their peril, publicly refused to enlist. Some family members of those who “voted with their feet” have also complained about the mobilisation. This indicates a lack of will with no strong wish to fight Putin’s war.
The Post said that “In countries with a long authoritarian history, a repressive regime and lack of a protest culture, street protests make up only a fraction of societal resistance.” It added that “Russian resistance takes the shape of stealth resistance rather than public protest for several reasons. First, Russians who oppose the war feel isolated. This is not only because the official government surveys report that the majority of Russians support the war, but also because the pro-war agenda and its symbolism dominate virtually all media, official rhetoric and even city spaces and online discussions.”
On its website in late October, the Washington Post gave evidence of Russian dissent since the February invasion. It said, in flashback to those White Rose leaflets, that there had been the collection and dissemination of true information about the war. There had been acts of sabotage, most notably the damage to bridges and railways used to supply Russia’s war effort. It also gave evidence of individual acts of violence, including an incident in late September when a gunman shot at army recruiters. Resistance Art is also being used. Women wearing white dresses stained with blood-like red splotches. Some people just hold up blank white paper as a sign of anti-war protest. Groups representing Feminists, Youth and Human Rights groups are also employing stealth resistance tactics, adding to the many who strive to help Russians avoid conscription, and to sabotage the government’s mobilization plans.
In September, The Guardian online news reported that at least three army recruiting posts had been attacked since Putin’s mobilisation order. Journalist, Mark Scott, wrote in Politico on September 25th, 2022, that, “Opposition to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s mobilization of 300,000 more troops to fight in Ukraine continues to grow after two leading Russian politicians voiced concerns and local police arrested hundreds of protesters across the country.”
Scott reported that Valentina Matviyenko, head of the Upper Chamber of the Russian Parliament and a close ally of Putin and Vyacheslav Volodin, Speaker of Russia’s State Duma, both spoke publicly about their concerns over conscription and mobilisation. Scott said their statements were made after more than 700 people were arrested in Moscow and St Petersburg during widespread anti-mobilisation rallies.
Of course, if Russian war casualties continue to mount the stealth resistance may become more muscular. Talk of nuclear weapons sharpens the focus on the terrible outcomes that could follow from giant powers raining weapons of mass destruction upon each other. The online Guardian said Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, no doubt sensing a growing level of Russian unease and dissent in the face of a nuclear holocaust, addressed Russians directly in their native language in a recent televised speech. “I will explain to the Russians what is happening in Russian,” he said, looking straight into the camera. “Fifty-five thousand Russian soldiers have died in this war in six months. Tens of thousands are wounded and maimed. Want more? No? Then protest. Fight back. Run away. Or surrender to Ukrainian captivity. These are the options for you to survive.”
Sadly, our choices seem to be a nuclear removal of the Russian tyrant which leads to a scenario too horrible to ponder or that a Russian White Rose resistance movement will bloom and grow, enabling the Russian people to throw off the chains that bind them.
It was Einstein who said, “I do not know with what weapons world War 3 will be fought, but World War 4 will be fought with sticks and stones.”
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