One Last Shot by Kip Wilson

Gerda Pohorylle lives in Stuttgart, Germany with her parents, Heinrich and Gisela and her two younger brothers, Oskar and Karl, her Tante Terra and her husband, Onkel Moritz. Gerda's father runs a delivery business.

In 1921, eleven-year-old Gerda is aware that the Jews are being blamed for anything that goes wrong, including Germany losing the First World War. Her Tante Terra tells her to be her true self at home but to blend in outside the home in "German spaces". Gerda is the only Jewish girl in her class at the Konigin-Charlotte-Realschule. There, she fits in fine during the weekdays, but on Saturdays when attending school in the morning, her Shabbat duties mark her as different.

In 1925, Onkel Moritz hires Gerda's papa as a permanent employee in his delivery business. Gerda also becomes friends with Meta Schwarz, whose flat she visits everyday after school. In her teen years, Gerda begins to realize that she also wants to please herself and not just her parents.

In September of 1927, Gerda along with Meta, attends finishing school in Switzerland. Her tuition to the Villa Florrisant in Chamblandes-Pully is paid for by Tante Terra. At Villa Florrisant  the two girls discover "the sanctuary of their dreams".  Gerda dreams of making a future for herself and sees the school as helping her to do that. She excels in languages, becoming fluent in French and English, while also learning a bit of Spanish.

After returning home to Stuttgart, Gerda is noticed by a tall, young man named Hans Bote, while playing tennis with Meta. Hans, who is called Pieter, is not Jewish and works as a salesman for an American company. Despite the fact that neither her parents nor Tante Terra like him, Gerda agrees to many Pieter. However, when her father moves the family to Leipzig to expand the family business, their relationship becomes a long-distance one.

In Leipzig in 1929, Gerda falls in with intellectuals and fellow Jews, becoming politically involved and learning about the dangers of nationalism and the Nazis. She becomes involved in Leipzig's left-wing youth movement where she meets one of it's leaders, Georg Kuritzkes. After visiting Stuttgart, Gerda breaks off her engagement to Pieter.

After the stock market collapse of 1929 and into 1930, Gerda finds herself attending political rallies for equality and workers' rights, to abolish Nazism, fascism and nationalism. But the results of the Reichstag elections of 1930 see a weakening center and the Nazis gaining strength. By 1933, Hitler is appointed Chancellor and Gerda and others now focus on resistance, posting anti-Nazi posters and distributing flyers. Gerda's brothers are soon involved.

In March 1933, the Gestapo come for Oskar but take Gerda in his place when he's not home. She is held for three weeks at Gestapo headquarters before being released at the intercession of a Polish diplomat. Gerda learns that the Nazis have ordered a one day boycott of Jewish businesses. Her papa begins liquidating his business so the Nazis can't take it away. Gerda's parents now want her to leave Germany. Karl and Oskar tell her that they will help their parents survive.

In September 1933, Gerda heads to Paris, France leaving behind her family and friends. She shares an apartment with her friend Ruth Cerf, finds a job as a secretary, and spends time meeting people at the Paris cafes.

 In August 1934, Hitler is now President of the Reich as well as Chancellor. In September, Ruth insists that Gerda accompany her to a small park in Montparnasse, where a photographer, Andre Friedmann wants to photographer her. Gerda and Andre experience an immediate attraction to one another and begin to develop a friendship. At this time, Gerda is involved somewhat with Willi Chardack, a friend from Leipzig, with Pieter who visits her in Paris, and with Georg whom she visits in Italy. However, their common Jewish ancestry, and their desire "to do something big in this world" leads them to fall in love and into a partnership. With Andre, Gerda becomes a photojournalist, determined to capture the reality of war and fascism, no matter the personal cost.

Discussion

Gerda Taro's story is told by Kip Wilson in free verse, in seven parts titled Beginnings, Growing Up, Change, Independence, Partners, Success, and Extremes. Wilson, an amateur black-and-white photographer knew of Robert Capa but had never heard of Gerda Taro (Gerta Pohorylle).

To pen One Last Shot, Wilson had to rely on Gerda's biographers, Irme Schaker and Jane Rogoyska who wrote about many of the events portrayed in this novel. As a result, One Last Shot is not a biography but more a fictionalized account of Gerda's life. Primary sources for the life of Gerda Taro were quite limited as none of her family survived the Holocaust, and she left no diaries or correspondence.

In One Last Shot, Wilson portrays Gerda as a free-spirited young woman, full of adventure and determination. Wilson's poetry captures Gerda's zest for life, shown by the many friends she had. What is surprising was her involvement with many men at a time when society was still very conservative regarding women. She loved the cultures of the countries she visited and hated what fascism was doing to the people of Europe. Because of this, Gerda was determined to fight fascism any way she could. This resistance began with protests and joining groups but eventually Gerda became aware of the power of the photograph to show the realities of fascism, nationalism and war. 

Wilson captures Gerda's increasing disregard for the dangers present on the battlefield - the one last shot always being her goal. Unfortunately, this disregard for her own safety would result in her horrific and untimely death. But Robert and Gerda's style of photo-journalism would soon become the norm during most of the conflicts in the 20th century. It would allow the world to witness the reality of war, which continued to be glamorized.

Wilson's Authors Note, which details the inspiration behind the novel, also discusses fact vs. fiction in the novel and provides information on the Spanish Civil War and how Gerda's life came to light. Wilson also offers a list of the major characters in the story in Dramatis Personae, a Selected Sources listing, and a Glossary of German, French and Spanish terms used.

One Last Shot is highly recommended for readers who are interested in learning about amazing women trailblazers in the last one hundred years.

Book Details:

One Last Shot by Kip Wilson
New York: Versify      2023

405 pp.

White Rose by Kip Wilson

The White Rose is a historical novel about the White Rose resistance group formed by a group of medical students and a professor out of the University of Munich in the early 1940's. The group included Hans Scholl and his sister Sophie, Kurt Huber, Willi Graf, Alexander Schmorell and Professor Christoph Probst as well as others. After the defeat of German forces in the Battle of Stalingrad, with millions of wounded and dead, with the ongoing annihilation of Jewish citizens of Germany and other occupied countries, the destruction of the Polish aristocracy and forced labour, the White Rose group hoped to prick the consciences of their fellow Germans into rebelling. Sadly their resistance brought them only death. By 1943, it was too little too late for the German people who were completely under the control of  the Nazis. It would be two more years before the Nazi regime would be brought to its knees by the Allies.

The novel opens with a section title "The End" on February 18, 1943 with Sophie and Hans having been taken to Gestapo headquarters where they are both being interrogated by Herr Mohr. Sophie naively believes she will be able to lie her way out of this dire situation.

The story then backtracks in a section titled "Before", to 1935 where fourteen-year-old Sophie enjoys life in Ulm with her four siblings Inge, Hans, Liesl and Werner. Her family has lived in Ulm in a rented flat in a building owned by Jakob Guggenheimer who is a Jewish businessman. Sophie's aim is to become "...the most of me" and "...the best of me". Sophie dreams of being a noble person. 1935 also sees the Fuhrer decree that young Germans must complete a mandatory six months of service.

In 1937 Hans leaves for Gopping for the Reichsarbeitsdienst to complete his labour service. Signs begin appearing, on bridges, in parks and on German Jewish storefronts, indicating that Jews arse not welcome. The Scholl's home is raided by the Gestapo and Inge and Werner are arrested. So is Hans on his military base. Hundreds of teenagers throughout Germany are also arrested, accused of being involved in illegal youth group. Inge and then Werner are released, but Hans is not. Eventually Hams is acquitted in 1938.

By 1938, Sophie begins to see the changes in Nazi Germany. She is glad to leave Ulm during a summer trip.
"escape
from the once overwhelming
civilization of Ulm, now
eroding
at its very
foundation with
        soft music turned harsh
        beloved books burned
        true art marked degenerate,
all hints that a terrible future
presses close,..."

Meanwhile returning to "The End", Sophie continues to be interrogated as Robert Mohr is determined to catch Sophie and Hans.

In 1939, Hans is now in Munich studying medicine and Sophie's boyfriend Fritz is away training soldiers. Although he's enjoying university, Hans knows the Reich doesn't value the knowledge they are learning. Instead it just wants the young men for war. Because Sophie's father is doing well in his business, he moves the family to a larger home on Munsterplaz.

1940 sees the Blitzkrieg in progress as Germany marches through Luxembourg to France. Sophie attempts to get her male friends to promise not to fire their weapons, to refuse to follow the Fuhrer blindly. A letter from Hans in May reveals that German soldiers are commandeering the best homes in France, making him feel like they are thieves. In July he writes about the casaulties. At this time Sophie begins to hear rumours of disabled children being deliberated killed in vans with poison gas. She wonders,
"Yet what can anyone
do
to stop it?"
She feels ignoring this would be cowardly.

In 1941, Sophie attempts to circumvent the Reichsabeitsdienst with teacher training. Instead, she is sent to Krauchenwies labor camp, with its forced ideology lessons and constant work. In May, Sophie is energized by the sermon of Bishop August Von Galen who reminds the German people that deliberating killing is murder and punishable by death. Von Galen's sermon is circulated as leaflets, giving Sophie hope people will act. In September, Jews are ordered by Reinhard Heydrich to wear the yellow Star of David. Shortly afterwards, rumours begin about Jews from Ulm being deported out of Germany. Sophie wonders where they are being sent.Sophie and her family refuse to participate in the collection drive for the Wehrmacht. She worries and prays for her brothers to survive the war.

1942 sees Sophie finishing her labor service in Blumberg and then entering university. Possibly inspired by Bishop Von Galen, Sophie asks Fritz to help her get money and a voucher for a duplicating machine. In Munich, Sophie is both uplifted and determined to make a difference. She meets Alex a half-Russian, half German student, and Christoph and his wife Herta with two small children, Han's girlfriend Traute. Sophie is given a leaflet like Bishop Von Galen's, encouraging passive resistance. Sophie is convinced that the leaflet is the work of her brother Hans. Sophie resolves when her brother returns from the front, she will not be excluded.

Meanwhile in the present of February 19, 1943 Sophie denies knowing anything about mailing "treasonous leaflets" in Munich and other cities. But then Sophie learns that Hans has confessed and that they have evidence from their flat. This leads Sophie to admit that she and Hans did in fact spread the leaflets because
"The war for Germany
                is lost,
young lives
              sacrificed in vain..."
They wanted to inspire others to follow them.
Sophie begins to realize her situation is dire,
"There's no way
              out
of this cage."
  

Discussion

In her novel, White Rose, Wilson has crafted a  deeply moving account of the events that led to the arrest and execution of members of the White Rose resistance group in Germany in 1943. Initially Sophie Scholl believes she and Hans will survive the interrogation. Instead they are considered traitors and are dealt with harshly; sentenced to death. The tragedy of Sophie and Hans Scholl is that Sophie hoped their deaths would spark more resistance. But it proved to be too little too late. Only defeat in war would bring the down Hitler and end the mass killing. Within Germany many members of the resistance were hunted down and executed. The leaflets found their way out of Germany and into the hands of the Allies who dropped them over Germany. But by this time, the people of Germany were too afraid to confront the Nazi regime which now had complete power over all of the country. They could only wait for the Allies and Russia to overrun their country.

Wilson portrays Sophie as a young, honourable woman whose father, Vati instilled in her the ideals of  truth and justice and who was raised to be politically minded. Sophie is portrayed as a young person who sees her beloved country being destroyed from within and who longs for others to do something, for her fellow Germans to resist, but no one takes up the charge. It seems Bishop Von Galen's homily and the leaflets distributed afterwards are the impetus for Sophie taking action.

The story of the White Rose resistance group is told primarily from Sophie Scholl's perspective, in free verse. There are a few poems written in the voices of Jakob Schmid the custodian who saw Sophie and Hans with the fliers and who brought them to his superior, Roland Freisler the judge who condemns Sophie and Hans, Else Gebel a political prisoner who shared Sophie's jail cell, Robert Mohr the Gestapo investigator who interrogated Sophie. Wilson has divided events up sections titled  "Before" which relate the events that lead up to her and Hans capture at the University of Munich, "Day Zero" which is a section of poems about what happens at the university when the leaflets are released and "The End" which deal with her interrogation, sentencing and execution.

Wilson has done considerable research into White Rose and the Scholls as evidenced by her extensive list of sources, both in English and German at the back of the novel as well as primary sources in German. She also provides readers with a Glossary and a list of the people involved as well as what happened to them.

Novels like White Rose are important because they challenge young readers to consider the actions of real people like Hans and Sophie Scholl and to ask what they might have done if they had lived in this time. Sophie and Hans originally supported Hitler and were eager to join the youth groups. But they quickly became disillusioned when they saw what policies and ideas these groups were promoting.  Many of the issues that Sophie experienced are issues are similar to ones we face today; we live in an era of unprecedented propaganda and fake news, where inaccurate content can be created and spread quickly, where voices different from the accepted social/political narrative can be deplatformed and where even facts often don't hold sway.

White Rose is a well-written novel that is highly recommended. Although Sophie and Hans Scholl's deaths did not lead to the uprising she hoped, they are remembered today as one of the few voices that stood alone against the Nazi regime. And that is no small accomplishment.

For more information on the White Rose resistance group readers are directed towards these resources:

A Noble Treason: The story of Sophie Scholl and the White Rose Revolt Against Hitler by Richard Hanser

Sophie Scholl and the White Rose by Annette Dumbach and Jud Newborn


United States Holocaust Memorial Museum


Book Details:

White Rose by Kip Wilson
New York: Versify, an imprint of  Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Co.     2019
358 pp.