Ruth Hanna Sachs
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Ruth Hanna Sachs |
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December 31, 2002 Finally, the last entry of a most difficult year. Wrote my response to the Crailsheimer. The crux of their general argument is that we are not allowed to actually talk about the true White Rose story and portray anyone in it (but especially Hans and Sophie Scholl) with flaws, because they are symbols of "good" in Germany. I think this is an issue that will have to be addressed in Common Ground articles, not here in this journal.
The end of the year is always a good time to take stock of ourselves, to see what we like and don't like. Even incidents as completely unpleasant as the last few weeks wrangling with dishonesty in Crailsheim ~ even that can make me stronger. I have to believe that.
December 20, 2002 Well, the people in Crailsheim found another new low. I received an official task-force email, copied to every member. Hannes' new tactic is to insinuate that I wrote that Hans and Sophie Scholl had an incestuous relationship. To "prove" his point, he translated portions of my book, leaving out critical passages that would have disproved his accusation. What offended me even more was that he alleged this, while: 1) Not having asked me what I meant by those passages before making his presentation; and 2) Without having read the book (which he admitted in front of the task force).
It's even more irresponsible that the task force did not ask him to take his seat and stop talking the moment he admitted to them that he had not read my book before reporting on it! And he's a teacher? His "apology" was a joke, more self-justification.
Is it just me, or is this beginning to sound like a soap opera? (Maybe the Crailsheimer will make a great screenplay one day.)
December 13, 2002 Whenever I think that the people in Crailsheim have reached their nadir, they prove me wrong. Where is the bottom of their barrel?
Now Hannes is trying to claim that I am being "super-sensitive" about his accusations that I am interested only in "sex and crime", and not in the real White Rose story. He points to an August 2001 email in which he had written that he liked my approach (!) even though I attributed "sex and crime" to "his hero, Hans Scholl." Wednesday he said that since I didn't protest that label in August 2001, he didn't understand why I didn't find it offensive now.
His attempt to excuse himself is offensive on so many levels, not least of which is that Hans Scholl does not equate with the White Rose. I did not protest in August 2001, because Hans Scholl did have problems with sex and crime. He was a regular Robert Downey Jr., complete with Downey's unbelievable talents, and Achilles heel.
The Arbeitskreis (task force) was supposed to meet again last night to consider a very strong email that I wrote to the Hohenloher Tagblatt, the local newspaper that published parts of Hannes' slander. It should be interesting to see if Hannes apologized.
On a positive note, finished an article about multi-cultural markets for the Children's Writer newsletter. Publishers and editors who understand the value of diversity are so much fun to talk to. Their outlook on life is refreshing, as they seem to understand our place in this world ~ as human beings, one and all. Whether we eat with chop sticks, fork and knife, or fingers.
December 6, 2002 I now have a book of personal essays that will be available February 1, 2003. It's called Common Ground, Volume I. In the book, I examine German-Jewish relations, using the White Rose as a starting point (but not stopping there.) This will become a regular part of the Web site for the Center for White Rose Studies. To learn more about Common Ground, click on the link.
The Mission Statement and Projects for 2003/2004 are now posted on the Center's site. If you wish to make a tax-deductible contribution to our work, please contact me. You can also make gifts directly through our Online Store.
And yes, I am writing such mundane things because I am trying to keep my mind off the ugliness in Crailsheim. It has not improved, only worsened.
Tomorrow is my birthday. But any anticipation of that usually happy event was ruined by an unexpected turn of events in Crailsheim.
Following a week of extremely enjoyable email exchange on the topic described below (Nov. 22), Hannes Hartleitner took that discussion and misquoted the two of us involved in the conversation. His presentation of my book at the annual meeting of the Arbeitskreis in Crailsheim took the approach of personal vilification. He accused me of Gestapo-like tactics in my White Rose research, claiming that I am only interested in "sex and crime" (ergo, not the truth).
It was devastating seeing positive words that we had written, now mangled beyond all recognition. I have asked for a public apology. We'll see if I get one.
November 22, 2002 The poet C.K. Williams has recently posited that perhaps Germany has become the 20th century's "symbol" for evil and that it will be difficult for the country to ever shake that association.
While Williams' prose is admirable and even thought-provoking on the topic, I disagree. That perpetuates the notion that the current administration in Washington DC seeks to put forward, that the world is black and white. I think I understand ~ more than ever before ~ that not all heroes are good, and not all good people are heroes; and that not all villains are mean, and not all mean people are villains.
With that in mind, I would also say to C.K. Williams that his hypothesis opens the door for those who would say that, for example, the White Rose is the symbol for goodness. What they did was good, and excellent, and noble. Their actions were praiseworthy, and should never be minimized. But their actions do not remove their warts and flaws and blemishes, nor should they.
Not all heroes are good, and not all good people are heroes.
November 15, 2002 Oh sigh. We are late with the production of our next book too, the Gestapo interrogation transcripts for Hans and Sophie Scholl, Willi Graf, and Alexander Schmorell. It will be the most wonderful thing in the world when we can afford to hire assistants and not do everything ourselves.
I'm realizing that the Hamburg "branch" of the White Rose has its own fascinating story to tell, completely separate and apart from the people in Munich. They were not so much a branch (as the legend has been told) as they were a viable, functioning resistance movement in their own right.
The post-White Rose resistance in Munich is similarly intriguing. This is the group that centered around Hans Leipelt (who was essentially a Hamburger). It is really a crying shame that the names of Leipelt's friends have not been honored and respected along with him. Since Leipelt and his friends were largely so-called "halb Juden" (half-Jews), it's interesting to see how they were treated differently. For example, one of Leipelt's friends (who was 'more Jewish' than the rest) was sent to a concentration camp long before her trial.
So many stories, so little time to tell them all in. One thing is for certain, the Chemistry Department at the University of Munich and Professor Heinrich Wieland come off looking awfully good. A few more Wielands and Hubers, and history easily could have been written differently.
November 1, 2002 Finished my first-ever screenplay, The Brickmaker's Son. Don't worry, I'll post the notice here first when Spielberg options the script.
October 11, 2002 One of the best things about living "up North" is that you are so close to so many beautiful things. After a difficult September, I called my mom and said, "Why don't we just hit the road?" So with next to no idea what we wanted to do or see, we threw together some clothes, filled up the trusty Saturn, and headed north.
First stop was Niagara Falls. It was more spectacular than we could have imagined. We did the "Maid of the Mist" boat ride. Drenched to the skin, blinded by the spray, we joined in the hilarity with a group of Japanese tourists. I'm always amazed at how an experience like that can bring together total strangers. By the end of the twenty minute (too short!) ride, we were laughing together and even posing in their pictures for back home.
We are easily fascinated; little things can keep us happy for hours on end. We chanced upon the St. Lawrence Seaway and gawked at ships moving through the locks between great lakes. Waved at the sailors, flirted as they passed by almost at eye level. And the bridges!
One day we ate lunch on Lake Ontario, checking out abandoned ships. And we watched the sun set on Lake Erie. Coming home, we made our way through Mexico and Texas (towns in upstate New York) and spent the night in the Adirondacks, vowing to return and spend at least a month in a cabin there.
It's funny... Great architecture can be inspiring. Who has not oohhed and ahhed inside the Muenster in Ulm or atop the Empire State Building? But when our batteries need recharging, there is no better place than Nature. Nothing more refreshing than crisp mountain air or a sea breeze.
Especially when the trees are ablaze.
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Site last updated: October 31, 2007. All material on this Web site © 2001-2007 Ruth Sachs. Please email for reprint permission.
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