Louisa is an OC i have that represents the city of Munich. For those that care to know what she looks like : Blonde hair in two braids like Gretal from Sound of Music, Blue eyes, wears a light blue Drindle because that's what gals wear around Oktoberfest and light blue is the flag of Bavaria, looks about 16ish. Not a fighter, but also not someone who will sit around at home being a house wife. No. She is mine. You no can has.
Hetalia belongs to Himaruya, but history belongs to all of us.
Ludwig walked through the streets of Munich, happy to visit Louisa. But today was not a good day for him. Today was a day that he just had to keep asking himself "Why?"
How he could have been so stupid.
How he could have listened to such insanity.
How he could have gone along with such horrors.
He was met with an odd sight once he reached Louisa's home. In her front yard was a young girl, about five years old. She was planting white roses. Something tugged in the back of Ludwig's mind, something about the roses was important. The little girl looked up from the roses. "Hi I'm Sophie! Ms. Louisa told me a story and now I'm planting flowers so she can always remember the story. Wanna help?" The words came out of the five year old's mouth so fast Ludwig had to take a moment to understand it all.
"A story about flowers?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah! A group of boys and girls like me who made a club "The White Rose."" Ludwig froze. "Ms. Louisa said there was a girl in the club named Sophie, that's my name!" The girl looked Ludwig over. "Are you okay Mr?"
1943.
A group of university students.
A girl with brown hair. Fire in her eyes.
Her head held high.
A wiz and a thunk.
Blood
Blinks.
Eyes that pierced his soul.
She could have gone free.
"Ludwig?" Louisa asked, jarring him from his thoughts. She had come outside. "Are you okay?"
Ludwig blinked several times. "What all did Louisa tell you about Sophie?" He knelt down next to the girl.
"Not much." Sophie said. "She was very brave! And she told people about the bad stuff."
"I uh… censored it a bit." Louisa coughed uncomfortably. He looked up and nodded at his sister.
"Sophie Scholl was the bravest girl to walk the Earth. Braver than Joan of Arc, and braver than Mulan." China had argued Mulan was braver, but France agreed Sophie was the braver than Joan.
"But Joan of Arc died! She was burned!" The little girl gasped. Louisa sat down on the steps next to the two.
"Once, a long time ago, during the dark times, a bad man came to rule Germany. He spoke of hope, a way that we could hold ourselves with pride again." Louisa explained. "The people were intoxicated by his words."
"But he was a bad man! You said so yourself!"
"We didn't know it at the time." Louisa sighed. "At the time, the people were so lost, they had no hope, so when someone came speaking of hope, they listened. People were going hungry, and he fed the people."
"People were so drunk on his words that they went along with whatever he said." Ludwig added. "Even if those things including hurting others."
"That's not right!" Sophie stomped her foot.
"Not it isn't." Louisa agreed. "And many people thought that way, but they couldn't say so. If they did, they risked being killed."
"But Sophie was very brave. She was very smart too. She went to university here in Munich, her brother Hans was going to school here too and he introduced her to many of his friends." Ludwig smiled. "And they agreed that the ruler was very bad, they also agreed that if they had the courage to speak up others would too. So for a long time in secret they spread out pamphlets telling about all the bad things the ruler was doing. Hans didn't want Sophie to get involved, because he was worried she would get hurt."
"But you can't stop a girl whose mind is set." Louisa smirked, winking at her brother.
"Sophie became part of the group, the White Rose. It worked out for the boys because the soldiers never stopped or questioned her, during that time nobody thought a girl would be so brave. One night her and her brother were putting their leaflets up. Sophie decided that they should throw the rest of them from a balcony to get distribute the rest, that way when students came the next day they would see all the papers and read them. Someone saw them, and he called the soldiers. The soldiers caught her and her brother." Ludwig swallowed. "Sophie was almost set free, she could have gone free because the soldiers didn't believe she was the one throwing the papers. But as soon as they sat down to talk to her she came forward and said she was the one who threw the papers." Ludwig swallowed again. "The soldiers decided to execute her and her brother, and eventually the rest of the group, by guillotine. She walked to her death with her head held high, fire in her eyes, and courage in her heart. Before she died she told the soldiers that thousands of others would be awakened. She died the most courageous girl in all of Germany." Ludwig wiped his eyes. Sophie looked up at him.
"When I grow up I want to be that brave." She said, her eyes shining of hope. For the first time Ludwig looked over the girl. She had brown hair and dark eyes.
Just like Sophie Scholl.
Sophie Scholl was born in 1921 and was executed by Nazi soldiers in 1943 by guillotine. The soldiers were going to set her free because they believed she was innocent, but she came forward and told them that it was her idea to toss the leaflets over the balcony (which it was). She was executed shortly after five o'clock February 22 1945. Descriptions of how she walked to her death from the soldiers emphasized her courage.
In a poll of the 10 most important Germans the Scholl siblings beat out Bach, Goethe, Gutenberg, Bismark, Willy Brandt, and Albert Einstein at fourth place. If votes from those under age 40 were only counted they would have been number one. Sophie Scholl is one of the bravest young women who ever lived.
Because unlike Joan of Arc she had the opportunity to go free. Yet we are taught about Joan and never about Sophie and Hans in American history courses, even those focused on European history.