The White Rose responds to Sydsvenskan

Published 11/08/2012

• Ingrid Carlqvist

The similarity between Islam and Nazism is fanaticism, the absolute claim of possessing the only truth

In an unusually ill-informed article in the Swedish daily Sydsvenskan, the theologian and author Ann Heberlein praises the stone-throwing left as heroes. (Sydsvenskan). The anti-democrats that stood outside Kockum Fritid in the Swedish town of Malmö, where they proceeded to direct verbal abuse, throw eggs and deliver blows in order to prevent citizens from attending a peaceful gathering with Dutch Party Leader Geert Wilders, are no ordinary thugs. And in order to stress how fantastic these hoodlums are, she quotes the German anti-Nazi resistance group The White Rose: ”Nothing is so unbecoming a civilized nation than without resistance allowing oneself to be ruled by an irresponsible clique that has given in to its lowest instincts.”

That is quite an apt description of Sweden’s situation right now. We are ruled, with little noticeable resistance, by an irresponsible clique that has given in to its lowest instincts – the urge to appear good while in reality causing enormous harm.

In the first flier distributed by The White Rose it said: ”Isn’t it true that every honest German is ashamed of his government these days? Who among us has any conception of the dimensions of shame that will befall us and our children when one day the veil has fallen from our eyes and the most horrible of crimes – crimes that infinitely outdistance every human measure – reach the light of day?”

To compare Hitler’s war of aggression and his extermination of millions of Jews to today’s Sweden led by the Moderate Party is a thought that most Swedes will reject out of hand. There are, nevertheless, similarities: Dismantling of democracy, persecution of dissidents and a social experiment of a kind never before attempted. It defies all common sense to exchange large parts of the Swedish population within a time span of a few decades and thus change the country, which the government is there to administer, from a safe and secure society to the world’s second-worst haven for rapists.

I quite agree with Heberlein that such a country is in need of resistance. Apart from that she has got it all wrong. To even mention the anti-democratic and violent Anti-Fascist Action (AFA) and their ilk in connection with The White Rose is an insult to the young and brave Germans who joined that pacifist organization.

One person who is bound to become utterly enraged when she reads Ann Heberlein’s stupidities is Suzanne Zeller-Hirzel (photo), one of the last survivers from The White Rose. Today she is a member of Pax Europa, an organization opposing the Islamization of Germany and Europe. During a 2009 interview (NewEnglishReview), Suzanne Zeller-Hirzel explained why she had got engaged:

– I read many, many books on the subject, in particular the books by Mark Gabriel on Islam and terrorism. So I realized that one must not simply accept these things passively but also do something about it. One must support this cause by necessity.

Asked about what similarities she detects between Islam and Nazism, the White Rose survivor answers:

– The fanaticism, the absolute claim of possessing the only truth and the spiritual simplicity are very similar between Islam and the Nazism.

New English Review’s reporter asked Suzanne Zeller-Hirzel why she thinks it is so hard to explain these similarities to the public – and here the theologian Ann Heberlein ought to pay attention:

– The general indifference to religious matters makes it difficult. The public believes we have to be ‘fair’ to everyone. That is counterproductive. Additionally, there is general prosperity with a relatively high standard of living that makes people lazy. I say: Only education can help. Education can aid.

Education, says Suzanne Zeller-Hirzel. Knowledge. The very thing the Swedish media are trying to bar Swedes from access to. The fact that the Free Press Society offers such knowledge is anathema to journalists who believe that they are entitled to a monopoly of interpretation.

Ann Heberlein is obviously without a clue about The White Rose, and lacks the ability to identify the real resistance fighters. But she is right about one thing: There is something that deserves defending. Regrettably she seems to think that what deserves defending is the right of left extremists to pelt their adversaries with rocks and prevent peaceful gatherings from taking place.

What we need to defend is our freedom.

Freedom from religious oppression, freedom to live in a Western democracy without fatwas, decapitations, stonings and all the rest of what Islamic sharia has on offer.

If there are heroes to be found, they are certainly not among the stone throwers – but among those daring to stand up for freedom.

PS: I asked Sydsvenskan for an opportunity to reply but Cultural Editor Rakel Chukri refused on the grounds that “Heberlein’s article doesn’t deal with the Free Press Society but with a moral question of whether or not to act at a time where xenophobia is growing stronger in Europe”. In other words, both Chukri and Ann Heberlein have completely misunderstood where the threat against Europe comes from.