The discovery of a Nazi-era guillotine in a Bavarian museum warehouse has triggered a national debate about whether it should be put on display.

The guillotine was used to kill at least 1,000 opponents of the Nazi regime.

One of the last living members of the White Rose resistance movement, whose leaders were among those sentenced to death and executed in February 1943, is opposed to its display.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Franz Josef Muller, 89, told the British online Daily Mail that under no circumstances should entertainment be made of the violent deaths of his friends, the siblings Sophie and Hans Scholl.

“I think of them every day,” he said.

But Hildegard Kronawitter, head of the White Rose Foundation, told the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper that “the instrument of death should be displayed, but in a suitable setting,” in the context of the Nazi abuse of justice.

Any exhibit could be useful in conveying the brutality of the regime, but must be done with the utmost sensitivity, Karl Freller, director of the Foundation of Bavarian Memorials, told the Sueddeutsche. Everything must be done to avoid sensationalism, he said, adding that members of the White Rose Foundation should be closely involved in the decision-making.

White Rose members wrote and disseminated flyers describing abuses by the Nazi state — including the murder of Jewish civilians in Eastern Europe, a subject that few if any resistance movements tackled. The Scholls were arrested after a janitor at their Munich university spied them distributing leaflets and informed on them. Seven members of the movement and 1,000 others were put to death by the guillotine, according to Kronawitter.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount