I was reading a page I made on Celebrity memorials of Sophie when two things struck me. Her final words as she faced the guillotine on that day in 1943, following what must have been cruel and terrifying interrogation by the Gestapo were
"Such a fine sunny day and I have to go."
And linked to that page was the name Johann Reichhart. The 8th generation German executioner, the worlds leading practioner of this dark art where he favoured the guillotine for its superior efficiency, ending over 3,000 lives by his own hand.
Sophie died a traitor and a criminal, sentenced to death for protesting the Nazi ways through membership of the White Rose. Johann was of course an upstanding member of the community and a first rate civil servant bound by duty to his employment.
And yet, despite the dehumanising effects of mindless conformity to one repetitive task legitimized in the guise of employment, I couldn't help but wonder how Johann must have felt when he heard this beautiful 21 year old say those words before he placed her head on the brace and pressed the lever to end her life.
With the passage of time, Sophie's story lives on. The convicted traitor is shown for what she was, inspiring many millions to confidence in their own beliefs, while the duty bound civil servant doing his job and saluting the flag is revealed by the passage of time.
Sophie and Johann who met briefly on 22 February 1943, joined forever in a moment in time that shows the best and worst of humanity.
Here is their story told in song.
Sophie and Johann.
