Reviewed by Emma Crowley
Sophie was born to be a rebel, raised by parents who challenged the brutal Nazi regime. Determined to follow in their footsteps, she leaves for university, defying Hitler’s command for women to stay at home.
On her first day in Munich, Sophie’s brother Hans introduces her to his dear friend. When she meets Alexander, with his raven-black hair and brooding eyes, she knows instantly that she isn’t alone. There are more courageous souls like her, who will fight against evil.
Together, and with others who also refuse to back down, they form the White Rose Network. In an underground vault, Sophie and Alexander conspire in whispers, falling in love as they plot against Hitler. Promising her heart to Alexander is the most dangerous act of all––with each risk they take, they get closer to capture.
As snowflakes fall on a frosty February morning, Sophie and her brother scatter Munich University with leaflets calling for resistance: “We will not be silent; we will not leave you in peace!”
But their lives hang in the balance, with the secret police offering a reward to anyone with information on the White Rose Network. It is only a matter of time before the Gestapo closes in… And when Sophie is imprisoned in an interrogation room, staring a Nazi officer in the eye, will she take their secrets to her grave? Will she sacrifice her freedom for love?
Many thanks to Bookouture via NetGalley for my copy of The White Rose Network to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
The White Rose Network, the newest book from Ellie Midwood, is an intense, brooding and daring read which shows how a group of young people never backed down in the face of immortal danger right until the very end. It’s based on fact and just when you think you have read everything there is to possibly read about World War Two along comes this book and shines a light on the German Resistance during the war. To be honest I would have thought there was no resistance to the war in the country governed by Hitler but this story certainly proved me wrong. Ellie Midwood always writes hard hitting books that really grab you and have you thinking about the themes and issues being raised. I was blown away by The Violinist of Auschwitz and The Girl in the Striped Dress, both featuring strong powerful women who battled to survive in the concentration camps but with this new book the author has ventured into different territory.
Munich, February 1943 and Kriminalkommissar Robert Mohr is at Gestapo headquarters investigating siblings Hans and Sophie Scholl. They are accused of distributing anti-Nazi pamphlets at the university where they attend. Sophie initially denies everything and right from this moment we know that she is someone who will fight to the bitter end. The scenes of her interrogation where she quickly changes her tune as to what actually happened and what she has been engaged with for quite some time were very well written. I loved that the chapters from the questioning of Sophie were interspersed with going back several months as to how The White Rose Network came in to being. It helped me join the dots as I did find the start of this book confusing and difficult to get in to. When Robert looks at Sophie he sees his young daughter and wishes that the inevitable will not happen for if someone confesses the wheels of fate start to turn in motion and nothing can be done about it.
Sophie is brave, courageous and above all else loyal. She would rather the ultimate fate befall to her than give the names of those other members of the network. She is a warrior and that is evident from page one. The fact that her family are not the norm and don’t subscribe to the belief that a woman’s place is in the home and nor do they feel there are any valid reasons for the war to be happening go against the norms of the time. Sophie is steadfast in her beliefs and when she attends university she soon discovers her brother Hans, who is studying to be a medic, and his friends Christoph, Willi and Alex are also passionate about going against the powerful tide engulfing Germany she wants to be part of it. She wonders as I’m sure so many of us do how could cultured people have allowed themselves to be governed by a ruling clique motivated by the darkest of instincts? Too many people are passive but The White Rose Network will stand up against this. Yes, their work is dangerous and as we see if caught there will be no sympathy but Sophie with her comrades is an intellectual soul who will fight against the evil. She is fearless and formidable and the small unit have big ideas and make these known through the pamphlets that are secretly distributed. Excerpts from said pamphlets are scattered throughout the book and the anger and emotions Sophie, Hans and co feel really emanate from the pages.
Sophie is someone who is ready to die so that others can live but whilst she lives on this earth she wants the message of the Network to be heard from as many corners as possible. The network wish to cut through the racial hatred and loathing that exists all because of the beliefs of one immoral man and in turn restore peace and prosperity to the nation. I admired Sophie but I didn’t always like her. I appreciated that she was a woman going against the conventions of her sex at the time and that she was fired and fuelled by her father and the family beliefs and rightly so. But I didn’t like the way she treated her fiancée Fritz who was away fighting at the front. They were fighting for opposite causes so why string him along in letters? Why not just say we are over especially as a different romantic entanglement presented itself to her and one which she soon became quite passionate about? If she has such strong opinions and beliefs, she should have followed her heart 100% when it came to love instead of kind of having her cake and eating it too.
Sophie and the Network through their contacts at the university were trying to get a swell of public opinion going against the immoral principles enacted by Hitler. There was clearly a taste for rebellion out there as free expression had long been supressed, but could a small group achieve their aims with such string welding hands of power only exerting and strengthening their influence? The ending proved to be extremely powerful and quite shocking given I knew nothing of the background of the story but it all made sense and fitted well with the themes and beliefs evoked throughout the story
The White Rose Network is a fascinating read given the subject matter was entirely new for me. I found it to be dark, fierce, harsh and vivid. At times I found it hard going as you need all your wits about you to keep track of what is happening and to understand why the main characters are so driven to achieve their ultimate goal of seeing Germany free from tyranny and hatred. I was confused for the first several chapters as there is a lot of information thrown at you and you need to absorb it rather quickly before the next point is made. A brief note at the beginning summarising the resistance and why they came to be and what actions they took would have really helped to set the scene for me and have my mind in the right place to absorb what I was reading.
There is no question that they have realistic and worthwhile goals but can one small group achieve this in the face of such power, hatred and malice? This is not a book to dip in and out of rather it needs to be read either all in one go or for long stretches of time. It requires all of your attention as its very politically driven and focused which perhaps made my opinion overall of this story reflect my personal tastes as I am more interested in the human side of things. Don’t get me wrong the human element to Sophie’s story was there but I needed more of it as at certain points the story read a bit like stating facts.
Overall, I enjoyed The White Rose Network for enlightening me on a topic of the war I had heard nothing about. It’s not my favourite book by this author so far but nonetheless she writes really well with detailed research and characters that definitely pack a punch.
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