White Rose

FEBRUARY 18, 1943Gestapo HeadquartersThe cars screech to a halt, officers pull us out by the arms, haul us inside and off to           separate rooms, my heartbeat pounding all the while,boom-boom,boom-boom.They swing the door shut, unlock my handcuffs, order me to sit, rush about with coats, hats, cases, papers as I try not to give in to the overwhelming,           sickening knowledge spreading through me: the two of us are trapped in this net because of me.Boom-boom,boom-boom.I take a deep breath and prepare to fight for our lives.INTERROGATIONI carefully blend a cupful of lies into the bucket of truth spread out in front of me as Herr Mohr shoots question after question, trying to catch me off-guard.                                                  Fräulein Scholl, why were you carrying                                                  an empty suitcase with you to the university?So I could pick up clean laundryfrom home.                                                  And why were you at the university                                                   if you were planning to head to Ulm?So I could let my friend Gisela knowI couldn’t meet her for lunch after all.                                                  Why were you and your brother                                                   in the corridor upstairs?So I could show him the Psychological Institutewhere I take classes.His eyes narrow, his voice icy, Herr Mohr is good at this, but he doesn’t know that I’m good, too.Boom-boom,boom-boom.My voice sounds so calm telling these lies, I barely recognize the words as my own.