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Sophie Scholl was born May 9, 1921, in Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany, where she lived the first seven years of her life. Later, the family moved to Forchtenberg, where her father became mayor.

Sophie had two sisters, Inge and Elisabeth, and two brothers, Werner and Hans. She grew up in a home those who survived her described as idyllic.

As a little girl, Sophie loved to play with dolls. Later, she became an excellent student at boarding school, where she wrote moving essays about the beauty of nature and her homeland. She hoped to study biology one day.

Althugh at first optimistic that Hitler would bring only good to Germany, it didn't take long for Sophie to see what he really had in mind. Her brother, Hans, felt the same. They disavowed national socialism and helped found the White Rose, a student resistance group. It was the least she could do as a Christian, Sophie said.

Though it was illegal, and indeed brought a penalty of death, members of the White Rose began distributing anti-Nazi leaflets. They often carried such messages as. "The fact is that since the conquest of Poland 300,000 Jews have been bestially murdered in that country," and a warning: "No one who knows of such crimes and does nothing is innocent."

When the Nazis discovered the names of members of the White Rose, they quickly arrested them. Hans and Sophie Scholl were among eight members sentenced to die. Hans went first, then Sophie.

"She kept smiling as if she were looking into the sun," her sister recalled. "Gladly and cheerfully she accepted the candy Hans had refused. 'Oh yes, of course. Why, I haven't had any lunch yet.' It was an indescribable affirmation of life right up to the end, to the very last moment."

Sophie Scholl was 21 years old when she died.