A Glimpse of Starlight

Guys guys guys guess what I got tagged with? The Quote Challenge. It’s so perfect for me. I’m so excited. Rather than continue blabbing on somewhat incoherently, I’ll just show you the rules:

• Thank the person who nominated you (the wonderful Shoulda Brought Book—seriously, thank you so much!)
• Nominate 3 new bloggers every day.
• Post a new quote everyday for 3 consecutive days.

We all know which one of those requirements is going to be the hardest. But I’ll get to that later. For now, let’s enjoy the quote part. I decided to make it fun by doing some typography with all or part of the quote and then finishing or explaining the quote beneath. Let’s dive into day one!

Of course, the terrible things I heard from the Nuremberg Trials, about the six million Jews and the people from other races who were killed, were facts that shocked me deeply. But I wasn’t able to see the connection with my own past. I was satisfied that I wasn’t personally to blame and that I hadn’t known about those things. I wasn’t aware of the extent.

But one day I went past the memorial plaque which had been put up for Sophie Scholl…, and I saw that she was born the same year as me, and she was executed the same year I started working for Hitler. And at that moment I actually sensed that it was no excuse to be young, and that it would have been possible to find things out.

~ Traudl Junge

I don’t even know where I found this quote, but it’s stuck with me ever since I did. Here’s the story:

Sophie Scholl was a German teenager during World War II who defied the Nazis by participating in a non-violent resistance group and distributing anti-war pamphlets. She and her teenage brother were executed by the Nazis in 1943.

And Traudl Junge? She was Hitler’s secretary all the way through the end of the war, typing out his will. Although she claimed to have been ignorant of what was really happening and powerless to do anything to stop it if she’d known, when she stopped by a memorial plaque for Sophie, she realized the truth.

She knew what was really going on. And she could have done something. Even though she was a woman and young.

It was no excuse to be young. 

It gives me chills. May we never blind ourselves to the truth and to all the ways we can change the world and stand up for righteousness by telling ourselves we are too young.

That’s no excuse at all.

Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.

~ 1 Timothy 4:12

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Ugh, time for nominations. It’s not that I dislike nominating people. I just don’t know who (whom?) to do. As always, I apologize if you’ve already been nominated, and this is completely voluntary. No pressure. Here we go:

• Victoria
• Sarah @ Light and Shadows
• Sara Letourneau 

What did you think of this quote and the story behind it? Stay tuned for another quote tomorrow!