Christoph Probst

Probst was born in Murnau am Staffelsee. His father, Hermann Probst, was a private scholar and Sanskrit researcher, fostered contacts with artists who were deemed by the Nazis to be "decadent". After his first marriage with Karin Katharina Kleeblatt, Christoph's mother, broke up in 1919, he married Elise Jaffée, who was Jewish.[2] Christoph's sister, Angelika, remembers that her brother was strongly critical of Nazi ideas that violated human dignity.[3] Soon after his second marriage, Hermann Probst, who suffered from depression, committed suicide.[4] How this affected Christoph is unknown, but it helped grow his contempt for Nazi ideologies.

Probst attended boarding school at Marquartstein and Landheim Schondorf. It was here that he met Alexander Schmorell, who soon became his best friend. The boarding school was conducive to fostering Nazi German ideas. After gradutating at age 17, he entered the Luftwaffe. After military service, he began his medical studies with great earnestness. Aged 21, he married Herta Dohrn, with whom he had three children: Michael, Vincent and Katja.[5]

White Rose was the name of a resistance group in Munich in the time of the Third Reich. The activities of the White Rose first started in the June 1942. From end of June until mid of July 1942, Hans Scholl and Alexander Schmorell wrote the first four leaflets. Quoting extensively from the Bible, Aristotle and Novalis, as well as Goethe and Schiller, the iconic poets of German bourgeoisie, they appealed to what they considered the German intelligentsia, believing that these people would be easily convinced by the same arguments that also motivated the authors themselves. These leaflets were left in telephone books in public phone booths, mailed to professors and students, and taken by courier to other universities for distribution. Christoph Probst came rather late into the White Rose as he did not belong to the same student corps as Hans Scholl, Alexander Schmorell and Willi Graf, and stayed for the most part in the background, as he had to think of his family. Probst belonged, along with the Scholl siblings, Graf and Schmorell to the tightest circle, into which university professor Kurt Huber also came. The members of White Rose put together, printed and distributed, at the risk of their lives, six leaflets in all. In January 1943, Probst wrote a seventh leaflet, which he gave to Hans Scholl.[6] The seventh leaflet was never distributed.

On 18 February 1943, Sophie and Hans Scholl went to the Ludwig Maximilian University to leave flyers out for the students to read. They were seen by Jakob Schmid, a custodian at the University who was also a Gestapo informer. Schmid alerted the Gestapo, who locked down the University until the Scholl's could be apprehended. A draft of a seventh pamphlet, written by Christoph Probst, was found in the possession of Hans Scholl at the time of his arrest by the Gestapo. While Sophie Scholl got rid of incriminating evidence before being taken into custody, Hans did try to destroy the draft of the last leaflet by tearing it apart and trying to swallow it. However, the Gestapo recovered enough of it to read the contents of the leaflet. When pressed, Hans Scholl gave up the name of Christoph. As he said in his second interrogation:

The piece of paper that I tore up following my arrest this morning originated with Christoph Probst. He resides in Innsbruck, [and is with] an air force Student Company. I have had a friendly relationship with Probst for several years.

One day, I suggested to him that he should put his thoughts about current events in writing for me. This was after New Year’s 1942/43 when Probst was visiting me in Munich. We talked about this possibility at that time, namely in my apartment. Schmorel [sic], I, and Probst have comprised a circle of friends for years now. Schmorel [sic] was not present at this last meeting. He knows nothing of this entire matter. With regards to political matters, I exercised influence on Probst. Without my influence, he undoubtedly would never have reached these conclusions. I have withheld this acknowledgment for so long because Probst’s wife is currently confined to bed with puerperal fever following the birth of their third child. He told me this himself, namely the last time that we met. I must say that I commissioned Probst to put his thoughts in writing a while ago. The last time we met – at the beginning of January 1943 – he gave me the piece of paper that I tore up today. I must expressly note that I said nothing to Probst about using his written notes for producing leaflets. I similarly assume that Probst was absolutely in the dark about the actions I had undertaken...All other persons with the exception of Probst are in my opinion not guilty.[7]

On February 20, 1943, Probst went to pick up his check before travelling to see his wife Herta and his new daughter, Katja.[8] While in the office to receive his check, he was apprehended by the Gestapo, who asked for him to change into civilian clothes before escorting him to prison.[9] He had asked for clemency during interrogation. He also requested a trial for the sake of his wife and three children, who were aged three years, two years and four weeks old.

On February 22, 1943, Probst, Sophie Scholl, and Hans Scholl were put to a trial headed by Roland Freisler, known as the "Hanging judge" as about 90% of his trials ended in death sentences.[10] After a two hour trial, they were sentenced to death. They were originally scheduled to be executed by hanging in public, but the prison officials were worried that they would be made into political martyrs if their execution was public.[11] Because of this, the execution method was changed to guillotine. Shortly before his death, Christoph asked to be baptized into the Catholic faith. He was baptized a few minutes before his death. They were all beheaded by guillotine by executioner Johann Reichhart in Munich's Stadelheim Prison. Sophie was executed at 5 pm, while Hans was executed at 5:02 PM and Christoph was executed at 5:05 PM. The execution was supervised by Walter Roemer, the enforcement chief of the Munich district court. Prison officials were impressed by the condemned prisoners' bravery, and let them smoke cigarettes together before they were executed.[6]

His wife, Herta Probst, was sick with childbed fever at the time. She was not alerted that he was captured, as the nurses at the hospital did not wish to alarm her. She helped write a clemency petition the same day he was executed.[11]

His grave may be found in the graveyard bordering the execution place, "Am Perlacher Forst".

On 3 November 1999, Christoph Probst was included in the martyrology of the Catholic church.[12] At his 100th birthday in 2019 barracks of the Joint Medical Service of the Bundeswehr, north of Munich were named after him.[13] In Germany, there are a total of 8 schools and residences named after him.

Christoph Probst was portrayed by Florian Stetter in the film Sophie Scholl: The Final Days (2005).

• List of peace activists

• Karin Amann, Thomas Ernst et al.: Die Weiße Rose – Gesichter einer Freundschaft. Arti Grafiche fiorin SpA, Mailand. (in German)
• Lilo Fürst-Ramdohr: Freundschaften in der Weißen Rose. Verlag Geschichtswerkstatt Neuhausen, München 1995, ISBN 3-931231-00-3. (in German)
• Jakob Knab: Die innere Vollendung der Person. Christoph Probst. In: Detlef Bald, Jakob Knab (Hrsg.): Die Stärkeren im Geiste. Zum christlichen Widerstand der Weißen Rose. Essen 2012. (in German)
• Christiane Moll (Hrsg.): Alexander Schmorell, Christoph Probst. Gesammelte Briefe. Lukas Verlag, Berlin 2011, ISBN 978-3-86732-065-8. (in German)
• Peter Normann Waage: Es lebe die Freiheit! – Traute Lafrenz und die Weiße Rose. Urachhaus, Stuttgart 2012, ISBN 978-3-8251-7809-3. (in German)
• Inge Scholl: Die Weiße Rose. Fischer Verlag, ISBN 3-596-11802-6. (in German)
• Robert Volkmann, Gernot Eschrich und Peter Schubert: …damit Deutschland weiterlebt. Christoph Probst 1919–1943. (Christoph-Probst-Gymnasium) Gilching 2000, ISBN 3-00-007034-6. (in German)

• Christoph Probst at Find a Grave