It blows my mind that only 70 years ago one could not freely express their political opinion without the risk of getting imprisoned, or even executed if their views challenged the authority.
I thought about this when I watched the film "Sophie Scholl: The Final Days" in a history class that I am taking. The film is about a 21-year-old German woman named Sophie Scholl who was a member of the White Rose, an intellectual resistance group that opposed Hitler and Nazi Germany during WWII. One day Scholl and her brother passed out leaflets at the University of Munich that called for opposition against Hitler. Though the Gestapo did not see them passing out the leaflets, both Scholl and her brother were arrested as the primary suspects of the stunt.
While Scholl was being interrogated, she provided a believable story and was almost let off the hook. But the next day, the police decided to search her apartment and found too much evidence that pointed at her as guilty for passing out the leaflets. She was then sentenced to death and was executed.
It's crazy to see how much progress our world has made in less than a century. Nowadays, you could badmouth the president to his face and probably nothing would happen to you. In fact, this day and age stresses on the idea of having a variety of opinions in society.
We would not be where we are today if it weren't for people like Sophie Scholl. She was not afraid to voice her opinion, even when that was the most lethal thing one could do. If it weren't for people like her, people would be afraid to speak up when it is needed the most. And I think that today many professions (especially advertising) rely on the ability to voice opinions.
While Scholl was being interrogated, she provided a believable story and was almost let off the hook. But the next day, the police decided to search her apartment and found too much evidence that pointed at her as guilty for passing out the leaflets. She was then sentenced to death and was executed.
It's crazy to see how much progress our world has made in less than a century. Nowadays, you could badmouth the president to his face and probably nothing would happen to you. In fact, this day and age stresses on the idea of having a variety of opinions in society.
We would not be where we are today if it weren't for people like Sophie Scholl. She was not afraid to voice her opinion, even when that was the most lethal thing one could do. If it weren't for people like her, people would be afraid to speak up when it is needed the most. And I think that today many professions (especially advertising) rely on the ability to voice opinions.
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