Servicewoman of Recognition

Born in 1906 in the Philippines, little is known about the early life of Nieves Fernandez. Her professional career as a teacher began before World War II. Historians know the most about her during her actions during the War. In the 1930's, Japan began to expand their territory outside of their borders. This included the invasion of the Philippines. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese forces in 1941, the United States joined the global conflict, triggering full-scale warfare in the Pacific.

The Allied forces stationed troops in the Philippines, and this is when Nieves became involved in the fighting. Nieves was one of the most well-known female guerilla fighters in the Philippines during World War II. She was able to recruit 110 men to train as more guerilla fighters, her unit originally only had three guns and had to rely heavily on homemade grenades, bolo knives, and single-shot pipe shotguns that fired nails from it. She and her men eventually were able to acquire more guns, both Japanese and American made.

Nieves earned herself the nickname of 'Silent Killer' during the War and ended the war with the ranking of Sergeant. Nieves was able to kill 200 Japanese soldiers and had a bounty on her head placed there by the Japanese forces.

After World War II ended, Nieves was honorably discharged from service, it is believed that she lived until the 1990's, staying in the Philippines with her son and grandchildren.

-May 2025

 Born in 1921, Sophia Magdalena Scholl was an outspoken young woman. Sophie was born into a family of liberal politicians who were fierce Nazi critics. 

Sophie had a calm and carefree childhood but had to be moved from city to city due to her father’s political work. She enjoyed school and came by learning new information easily. In 1931, at the age of 12, Sophie, along with the majority of her classmates, joined branches of the Hitler Youth. Her initial excitement to be part of the group quickly fell away when she began to notice that the group’s political ideals clashed with that of her own and her family's. Sophie was a very opinionated girl, who chose her friends carefully to make sure that their values corresponded with her own.

In 1937, a few of Sophie's brothers, who were also disillusioned to the Nazi Party, took part in several Anti-Nazi protests. This led to their arrest, which left a strong impression on a growing Sophie. 

It was at 16 years old that Sophie was first arrested by the Gestapo for her participation in Anti-Nazi organizations. She was released shortly after, but this was the final nail in the coffin towards her views and opinions about the rising power in Germany. 

After graduating from secondary school in 1940, Sophie became increasingly opposed to her country and the growing political climate. In 1942, Sophie enrolled in the University of Munich to study biology and philosophy. It was here that she met like-minded friends who were eager to speak out about Nazism. 

Sophie, her friends, and a few of her brothers began a nonviolent, outspoken organization called the White Rose. This group of students would covertly distribute leaflets that spoke out against the Nazi regime and Hitler's motives. These leaflets were left in public spaces where they would be seen by the largest amount of people: in phonebooks in public phone booths, mailed to professors and students, and handed off to other students so that they could be circulated at other universities. Sophie was a key member of the White Rose, being a woman she was much less likely to be suspected of being involved, making her less likely to be stopped by SS officers. 

Sophie and her brother, Hans, were finally caught distributing these leaflets at Ludwig Maximillian University. The siblings went to this school with a suitcase full of leaflets. The two began leaving them in stacks in hallways that were well travelled. As they were about to leave, Sophie opened the suitcase at the uppermost part of a staircase so that the pages would rain down into the atrium below. A university maintenance person named Jakob Schmid caught them in the act and turned both Sophie and Hans into the Gestapo. 

Sophie was initially presumed to be innocent but assumed responsibility for her actions to protect the other members of the White Rose. During her trial, Sophie stood proudly before the judge and stated that "Somebody, after all, had to make a start. What we wrote and said is also believed by many others. They just don't dare express themselves as we did." 

Sophie was found guilty of treason and was sentenced to execution. She was killed by guillotine on February 22, 1943, at 5:00 pm. Some of her last words were "The sun still shines."

Sophie's legacy has continued long after her death. The White Rose continued to operate covertly. More leaflets were smuggled out of Germany to neighboring countries where Allied planes would drop them from the sky over Germany. After the war ended, years later in 2003 the communication and political science building at the University of Munich was named after Sophie and her brother. She has also been honored on German currency as well as in television, film, and national publications. 

Sophie is now considered one of the most well beloved, influential German people of the twentieth century.

-March 2025