Alexander Schmorell

Description

On February 4 – 5, 2012 the Diocese of Berlin and Germany of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia canonized as a saint, the New Martyr Alexander Schmorell. St. Alexander was a member of an underground Nazi resistance group known as the White Rose which used passive, nonviolent resistance to Adolph Hitler and his Nazi party against their violence and extermination of Jews and other minorities. The group was discovered and all were executed by beheading, including St. Alexander at the age of 25 on July 13, 1943.
The new saint was the grandson of an Orthodox priest and with his parents he fled Russia in 1921 in order to escape from the Communists. Alexander was raised in the Orthodox Faith and maintained his faith throughout his life, attending services and reading Scripture. In the summer of 1942, St. Alexander and two of his friend were drafted to serve as combat medics in the Nazi army on the eastern front. While on their military service they witnessed many of the atrocities of the Nazis including the mass execution of Poles, Russians and Jews in shooting pits. Upon their return from duty, Alexander became a key part of the clandestine White Rose which began publishing and distributing a series of six leaflets advocating opposition to the Nazis.