Alexander Smorel is a special case in history. He was German, he was orthodox and he was a member of the "White Rose" organization, an organization of young German fighters against the Hitlerite cesspool. He was born in Russia in 1917. His father was a German living in Russia and his mother was Russian. He was baptized an Orthodox Christian and was raised, after the early death of his mother, by an Orthodox Russian nurse who guided him in the faith. In 1921 the family settled in Munich.
When Hitler came to power Alexander was a teenager. After graduating from high school he served in the Labor Service and then in the army participating in the occupation operations of Austria and Czechoslovakia, as well as operations in France in 1940. It is worth noting that at his oath of office as a soldier he refused to swear allegiance Hitler. The incredible thing is that his commanding officer did not punish him...
The "White Rose"
In the fall of 1940, however, he enrolled as a student at the medical school in Munich. There he first met Hans Saul, with whom and others, they created the "White Rose". The very name of the organization was suggested by Smorel inspired by Dostoyevsky.
Already the mass extermination of the Jews and more was a common secret in Germany, despite what is said today. The young Germans of the "White Rose" could not bear such a burden in their conscience.
From the summer of 1942, with a polygraph, Smorel and Soll printed the first four "White Rose" proclamations addressed to the German people and with which they attempted to shake them out of their Nazi delusion and make them to react to the Hitler regime. Proclamations were distributed in Munich. The second proclamation written by Smorel informed the Germans about the ongoing Holocaust.
Shortly thereafter Smorel, along with Sol and their friend and team member Willie Graf were sent to the Eastern Front as medical personnel. There all three attended Orthodox services wearing German uniforms.
Returning to Germany in October 1942, they intensified the struggle of the "White Rose" by joining new members. Then his sister Hans Sophie Soll, Professor Kurt Huber and others joined. In January 1943 the group released its 5th proclamation. At great risk, thousands of proclamations were distributed, this time, not only in Munich but also in Vienna, Leeds, Salzburg.
The fatal 6th proclamation
After the crash in Stalingrad the group prepared the 6th proclamation. On February 18, 1943, however, Hans and Sophie were caught distributing the proclamation. Investigations also followed for Smorel, who attempted, without success, to escape to Switzerland. On February 24 he was also arrested.
Meanwhile Hans, Sophie and another member of the group, Christoph Probzt, were tried, convicted and executed on 23 February. Smorel, along with Graf and Professor Huber were sentenced to death on 19 April 1943. Smorel and Huber were beheaded on July 13. Graf was executed on October 12.
In his last letter to his father, the only 25-year-old Alexander wrote:"By the will of God today my earthly life ends and I pass to the eternal where we will all meet... The blow is greater for you than for me as I know how I served the truth"... In 2012, the Russian Orthodox Church ranked him among its saints.
Alexander Smorel.
Smorel (left) and Sol.
Image of St. Alexander Smorel.