On February 18, 1943, Hans and Sophie carried suitcases stuffed with the leaflets, scattering copies all over campus. The university's superintendent saw Sophie as she dumped the last pile in the courtyard. He captured them and turned them in to the police. Hans and Sophie were interrogated for hours. They displayed courage up to the bitter end, refusing to divulge the identity of other White Rose members. The Gestapo was already on their trail, though, and the rest of the group was arrested as well.
The trial began four days later, at 9:00 AM, presided by Roland Freiser, known as Hitler's hanging judge. The proceedings were swift, the outcome a foregone conclusion. By 6:00 PM, Hans, Sophie and Christoph Probst were executed by the guillotine. Several months later, Professor Huber, Alexander Schmorell and Willi Graf were also executed.
These students fought against a formidable foe, one that they had very little chance of defeating. At one time Sophie had said "so many people have already died for this regime that it's time someone died against it." The White Rose were the men and women of hope that Goethe wrote about, gathering in the night, writing their words of liberty, refusing to stop until they could declare freedom. Hitler took their bodies. But true to the words of their fourth leaflet, they have not been silenced. The White Rose is our conscience.
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