Freiheit!: The White Rose Graphic Novel

by Andrea Grosso Ciponte

Overview

The dramatic true story of a handful of students who resisted the Nazis and paid with their lives, now in a stunning graphic novel.

With an entire nation blindly following an evil leader, where did a handful of students find the courage to resist? The university students who formed the White Rose, an undercover resistance movement in Nazi Germany, knew that doing so could cost them their lives. But some things are worth dying for.

The White Rose printed and distributed leaflets to expose Nazi atrocities and wake up their fellow citizens. The Gestapo caught and executed them. Sophie Scholl was twenty-one; her brother Hans, twenty-four; Christoph Probst, twenty-three; Alexander Schmorell and Willi Graf, twenty-five.

But the White Rose was not silenced. Their heroism continues to inspire new generations of resisters. Now, for the first time, this story that has been celebrated in print and film can be experienced as a graphic novel. Italian artist Andrea Grosso Ciponte’s haunting imagery will resonate with today’s students and activists. The challenges they face may vary, but the need for young people to stand up against evil, whatever the cost, will remain.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780874863444
Publisher:	Plough Publishing House, The
Publication date:	02/16/2021
Pages:	112
Product dimensions:	7.62(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.28(d)

About the Author

Andrea Grosso Ciponte is a Calabrian painter, graphic novelist, filmmaker, and illustrator. He is a professor of computer graphics and digital animation techniques at the Academy of Fine Arts in Catanzaro, Italy. Ciponte was born in Praia a Mare, Italy, in 1977. In 2011 his work was shown at the Venice Biennale. His graphic novel Renegade: Martin Luther, The Graphic Biography, won gold at the Independent Publisher Book Awards and at the Indies Awards.

Editorial Reviews

A graphic account of the lives and tragic ends of the young anti-Nazi White Rose martyrs.... Readers will come away appreciating the courage it took for these young collegians to stand up as they did.... a heartfelt, well-deserved tribute.” —Kirkus Reviews 


“The true story of a group of anti-fascist student propagandists... Although the White Rose lost its leaders, the spirit of the group continues to inspire young activists to this day, a fact that Ciponte’s graphic novel underscores, placing events into a larger historical context via additional quotes and commentary from German writers and historians.” —The Hollywood Reporter 


“Very engaging… gorgeously illustrated… That emotional pull is something that Freiheit! does incredibly effectively.” —Snap Book Reviews 


“Ciponte adopts a cinematic pace for the story, allowing it to unspool through the ordinary moments in the lives of the five protagonists. In doing so, he gives the characters depth and dimension beyond their historical role as resistance martyrs. Freiheit! is an important reminder that the darkest times can’t extinguish the spark of human conscience, and that history remembers those who take risks – and even pay the ultimate cost – to resist oppression.” —Forbes


Brilliantly timely... a magnificently illustrated and taut, thrilling retelling of the incredible daring of these students who gave full measure to end the evil in their midst. —Good Men Project

“Striking and atmospheric… The tight focus on language and its power to change minds—both the writings in the leaflets and the anti-Semitic and fascist rhetoric of the Nazi party—offers a valuable angle.” —Booklist 


“Appropriately moody and beautifully composed.” —Comics Beat


“Writer and artist Andrea Grosso Ciponte captures the hope and horror of resistance in hopeless, horrible times; a topic entirely too relevant to the present day. Freiheit! manages to be both intimate and epic... The result feels like a stream-of-consciousness straight from the tortured German soul, suffering and straining under Hitler’s heel.” —David Avallone, The Secret Diary of Bettie Page 


“I’m blown away by the artwork because the presentation is like watching a piece of old cinema. It truly puts readers into this old world: the problems these kids faced (it was black and white), and the terror, which wasn’t of their design!” —Otaku no Culture 


“Engaging… Ciponte’s humanizing depiction of the White Rose group... may be particularly inspiring to young people… The graphic novel instills an enduring point: with enough willpower, every single individual can be an agent of change.” —Jewish Long Beach Chronicle 


“The storytelling is very effective in it’s depiction of daily life for the students of the White Rose, their sense of justice mixed with their heady youthfulness... the last few pages hit you right in the heart if not your very soul!” —Impulse Gamer 


“Stories like this give new generations of activists heroes to emulate, and gives readers a window into the past for them to learn from. Let this book... embolden and empower all who want to make a difference in the world for future generations.” —PopCultHQ 


“Freiheit!, which means freedom, showcases, in beautiful grey toned and colored watercolor art, the tale of this small group that was asking their fellow Germans to passively resist the Nazi’s and remember their honor and pride.” —DC Comics

“Put this into the hands of those who want to change the world. It will inspire but it will also spell out that the road to freedom is long and hard – and that many don’t make it to the end.” —Inspire Magazine 


“An inherently absorbing, thoughtful and thought-provoking read from cover to cover, Freiheit! is an appropriate and unreservedly recommended addition to middle school, high school, and community library graphic novel collections for young readers ages 11-18.” —Midwest Book Review 


“This poignant story has been told before in film, theater, and opera. But it feels especially timely in this 112-page graphic novel….The story of the White Rose thrives in this form. A graphic novel is urgent. It combines the visual drama of film with narrative dimensions that film does not possess. Ciponte, a professor of film, shows himself a master of visual storytelling.” —Christian Century 


“Ciponte’s graphics—beautifully shadowed and shaded frames of a meticulously studied era—recreate the heroes, the villains, and those trying to get by, and the somber world they inhabit. The pacing and swift changes of scene propel the reader along like a well-paced suspense film... Freiheit! is a high-quality effort to call a current generation of young Christians to resist, peacefully but eloquently, imaginatively, and resolutely, the regnant evils of their own time.” —Ellen Wilson Fielding, senior editor, Family Life Review

From the Publisher