Christoph Probst German student, member of the anti-fascist organization 'White Rose' Date of Birth: 06.11.1919 Country: Germany

1. Biography of Christoph Probst
2. Education and Resistance
3. Involvement with White Rose
4. Arrest and Execution

Biography of Christoph Probst

Christoph Probst, a German student and member of the anti-fascist organization "White Rose," was born on November 6, 1919, in Murnau am Staffelsee, Bavaria, Germany. He grew up in a family that valued cultural and religious freedom, thanks to his father Hermann Probst, a scholar of Sanskrit. Christoph's father had a failed first marriage and later married a Jewish woman, who became the mother of Christoph and his sister Angelika. Angelika later recalled that Christoph held critical views towards Nazi ideas that insulted human dignity.

Education and Resistance

Christoph attended boarding school in Marquartstein and later in Schondorf am Ammersee. His education did not reinforce Nazi ideological principles among the students. At the age of 17, Probst joined the military service and, upon being discharged, he enthusiastically pursued the study of medicine at Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich. At the age of 21, he married Herta Dohrn, with whom he had three children.

Involvement with White Rose

While studying at the university, Christoph became a member of the "White Rose," a student anti-fascist organization founded in June 1942. He found himself in a close circle of students who opposed the policies of the Third Reich, including the Scholl siblings, Willi Graf, Alexander Schmorell, and Professor Kurt Huber. All six of them actively distributed self-produced leaflets among other students, risking their lives to fight against Nazism. Although Christoph did not write any leaflets during his membership in the White Rose due to family responsibilities, he contributed to the design of the seventh edition.

Arrest and Execution

In February 1943, Christoph's involvement in the organization became undeniable evidence for the Gestapo when Hans and Sophie Scholl were caught distributing leaflets by a university custodian. Despite requesting clemency for the sake of his wife, who was seriously ill with postpartum sepsis, and their three children during the interrogation, Christoph, along with Hans and Sophie Scholl, was sentenced to death by guillotine on February 22. The sentence was executed on the same day at Stadelheim Prison.

Despite remaining in the shadows during his time with the White Rose, Christoph Probst's commitment to resisting the Nazi regime and fighting for freedom and dignity lives on as a testament to his bravery and sacrifice.