75 years ago today Sophie and Hans Scholl, siblings, students, members of the White Rose, were beheaded for distributing anti-Nazi leaflets. Armed with nothing but a mimeograph machine, courage, and the uncorrupted idealism of youth, they challenged the edifice of tyranny.

Their strategy: to shatter the illusion of consent, to defy the Nazi claim to omnipotence; hoping that by proclaiming the truth they might break the spell in which Germany was enthralled and inspire those with doubts to move toward active resistance. Sophie Scholl: pray for us.