May 20-May 21, as it appeared in Ulm from 1933-1945

I have a “new” book — not at all new, but one I’ve wanted since 1995. As we spent time in Ulm’s Stadtarchiv in April of that year, and as we talked with Dr. Silvester Lechner, the Ulmer Bilderchronik became a recurring topic. In 1995, it was a relatively new compilation of archival material and the cost was therefore prohibitive.

Nevertheless, we copied out what we absolutely needed. Those transcriptions were dutifully entered into the Microsoft Access database that formed the basis for White Rose Histories Volumes I and II.

Now that it’s been around a while, the price for used copies has dropped. To give you a taste of my excitement, here’s what Hildegard Sander recorded for May 20-21, 1933-1945. Summarized only.

1933

Tenth anniversary of the death of Leo Schlageter. [Schlageter, along with Horst Wessel, was a “hero” of the Nazi Party.] Celebrated with great pomp in Ulm.

The Ulm chapter of the Deutsche Demokratische Partei [German Democratic Party] voluntarily disbanded.

First massive assembly of Hitler Youth and Bund deutscher Mädel. Over three thousand boys and girls marched behind the Nazi flag.

1934

Pentecost weekend. Approximately 3000 Ulmers climbed the 768 steps to the top of the Münster’s tower. Note: That is the official number of steps. My mom counted 792 steps when she made the climb in 1995. She counted going up and coming down to be sure.

Sixty-five-year-old Wilhelm Schings stopped in Ulm on his cross-country walk through Germany. In a little less than a month, Schings had walked 715 km [429 miles]. Hitler had given him the necessary equipment for the (nationalistic) hike. He was scheduled to arrive in Berlin in October 1934, where Hitler would receive him.

May 21, 1934 was the 85th birthday of the oldest National Socialist in Ulm: Emilie Liβ’s party membership number was 120754, an extraordinarily low number. A point of pride.

1935

The police in Ulm caught the young man who had been robbing both Catholic and Lutheran churches in the city. He had been responsible for seven burglaries.

Hitler gave a speech to the Reichstag following the “victory” of Konrad Henlein in Czechoslovakia. The NSDAP had funneled millions of Reichsmarks to Henlein’s campaign. Henlein denied that he had Hitler’s support, but after the election, the campaign donations came to light. By then it was too late. Hitler’s puppet was in place, ready for the moment he decided to invade the Sudetenland.

In his speech on May 21, 1935, Hitler told his sycophants that they were not living in the time of the decline of Western civilization, but rather in its resurrection. He said Germany was critical to this “resurrection.”

1936

Population of Germany had risen to 67 million. (Announced on May 20, 1936.) [Apparently numbers were a big deal to Hitler. There are multiple references to new censuses, several years in a row.]

Despite miserable weather — cold and raining, with hail — on May 21 Hitler Youth boys participated in a relay race from Söflingen to Ulm.

1937

To cut down on DUIs, all drivers who caused accidents when driving drunk were to be immediately arrested and held in jail until their trial.

1938

Citizens of Ulm were admonished to ensure that every person in a family had a gas mask.

Hitler Youth and Bund deutscher Mädel held their annual Wandertag — a day of hiking in the great outdoors.

1939

Awards ceremonies for mothers with large numbers of children continued. Begun the week before, the ceremonies on May 21 took place in five different regions of the city, honoring 282 women over the age of seventy. An earlier event honored a 90-year-old mother, as well as those with “up to” twenty children.

The girls’ Oberrealschule [the one Sophie Scholl attended at this time] served coffee and cake to the leaders of the NSDAP, including Eugen Maier.

Appeals for families to ensure that everyone had a gas mask were ramped up in May 1939. Hitler Youth assisted the NSDAP with this urgent request.

1940

Nearly all mayors from the Ulm Gau met in Ulm to discuss measures they could take in their communities to support the war effort.

Ulmers stood in very long lines to read the special edition of the Ulmer Sturm newspaper, for news of the war (Western front).

1941

Nothing on May 20 or May 21.

May 19: Female members of the NS-Frauenschaft organization attended a meeting. A high-ranking member of the NSDAP’s nutrition board explained to the women that they were solely responsible for the proper distribution and use of rations. Additionally, another high-ranking Nazi reminded the women that if Germany were to be eternal, they must take care that Nazi racial ideology and “volksbiologische” ideals were adhered to.

They were further instructed regarding their duties during the war.

1942

News from the war in Russia. One soldier from Ulm met a Russian who spoke bad German, but with a Swabian accent. That was newsworthy.

1943

Fifty-six year-old Jean Schnee was convicted of listening to foreign broadcasts. Schnee was a security guard. He said he could not resist the temptation of listening to the radio when he had nothing to do.

The special court sentenced him to eighteen months in prison.

[May 22: It looks like the war is winding down!]

1944

Promotion of Hitler Youth boys — apparently to positions in the military.

Mothers are sacrificing for their sons by working in armament factories. Bolshevists produced the “shotgun woman” (see propaganda photo) [Flintenweib], America made women into “decorative dolls” [Zierpuppen], but Adolf Hitler created the ideal German woman, the ideal image of Woman. The German mother is the giver of all life.

Nazi bigwigs gave all the women very large bunches of flowers.

December 1944

Allied bombers annihilated Ulm. They did not bomb the Münster. Any damage to that structure was collateral damage. They needed the Münster spire for orientation. The bombing maps in the Stadtarchiv in Ulm present a dispassionate view of those days in December.

Susanne Hirzel’s gut-wrenching description of the bombing, and her reverend father’s care for church over family, add a whole new dimension to the White Rose story.

1945

Nothing to report. The Ulmer Sturm published its last edition on April 21, 1945 with a report about the battle in Berlin.

On April 19, 1945, Goebbels — through the puppet press — was still admonishing and encouraging Germans, saying there’s no one greater than Germans. “The perverse coalition between plutocracy and Bolshevism is breaking apart.”

Instead — Germans lived with death and destruction for years to come.

Note: This was included in the Travelogue instead of the history of White Rose resistance, because it has broader interest than merely German resistance. Students of the Holocaust who include Ulm on their itinerary for reasons unrelated to resistance can benefit from this.

If you are interested in White Rose or other Germany resistance, check out Passing the Torch: Essays on the Web site of Center for White Rose Studies.

When other projects are completed and I can return to writing the 2025/2026 update to White Rose Histories I and II, I will input ALL news stories from the Ulmer Bilderchronik into the database. I’ve already noticed correction to at least one date contained in Susanne Hirzel’s memoirs.

Comparing this chronology to the letters and diary entries of Hans and Sophie Scholl, Fritz Hartnagel, and Inge Scholl, as well as the memoirs of Susanne Hirzel and essays penned by Hans Hirzel, as well as Franz Josef Müller’s interrogations, should shine a bright light on gaps that require further research.

Stay tuned!

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Image credits: Top photo--Münsterplatz, October 12, 1912. The five- (six-?) story house to the right (west) of the Münster is Münsterplatz 33, where the Scholl family moved in May 1939. Photo is public domain. Middle photo: NSDAP propaganda photo showing Soviet Flintenweiber. Public domain. Bottom photo: Destruction on west side of Münsterplatz, December 1944. Scholl family had moved out before the total destruction of their home, as seen here. Official photo. Public domain.

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