The Ties That Bind: The Family Life of Christoph Probst, and Its Influence on His Actions with the White Rose
The Ties that Bind: The family life of Christoph Probst and its
Influence on his actions with The White Rose
Laura Phillips
UH – 120
November 22, 2010
Family is an important part of any childhood development. The environment we grow up in shapes our moral code, our judgments, our thoughts, our actions… the list goes on. How we are raised, the beliefs of our parents, the experiences we have all play an integral part in the formation of a person’s character, of their courage, of their spirit. Christoph Probst was one man who took what he learned from his family to heart, maintaining a strong personality through a difficult era, while risking (and eventually giving) everything he had to stand up for a cause he believed in.
Christoph Probst’s early family life was anything but smooth. Born on November 6, (or 16 or 11 depending on the source) 1919 to Hermann Probst and Karin Kleeblat, Christoph began his schooling at home and at an early age (Karin had a teaching certification). This teaching continued until he was around 10 (Sachs 63). It was through his homeschooling that he learned about cultural and religious freedoms, and their importance.
Hermann Probst, the son of a merchant family, was a “giant of a man who loved his books [and] his families” (Sachs 63). As a private scholar of Asian Culture and Eastern Religions, and Sanskrit researcher, Christoph’s father disapproved of Hitler and his actions yet chose to distance himself from politics. Rather, as an aesthete, Hermann Probst associated himself with the intellects and artists of Munich, including Paul Klee and Emil Nolde, both of whom were eventually banned from Germany (Dumbach 69). Hermann engaged his young son in “profound spiritual-intellectual conversations” which “gave [Christoph’s] natural curiosity ever new sustenance” (Sachs 154). These conversations and experiences would truly explain the great influence Hermann Probst had on his son: he was Christoph’s “great, beloved, and adored
Influence on his actions with The White Rose
Laura Phillips
UH – 120
November 22, 2010
Family is an important part of any childhood development. The environment we grow up in shapes our moral code, our judgments, our thoughts, our actions… the list goes on. How we are raised, the beliefs of our parents, the experiences we have all play an integral part in the formation of a person’s character, of their courage, of their spirit. Christoph Probst was one man who took what he learned from his family to heart, maintaining a strong personality through a difficult era, while risking (and eventually giving) everything he had to stand up for a cause he believed in.
Christoph Probst’s early family life was anything but smooth. Born on November 6, (or 16 or 11 depending on the source) 1919 to Hermann Probst and Karin Kleeblat, Christoph began his schooling at home and at an early age (Karin had a teaching certification). This teaching continued until he was around 10 (Sachs 63). It was through his homeschooling that he learned about cultural and religious freedoms, and their importance.
Hermann Probst, the son of a merchant family, was a “giant of a man who loved his books [and] his families” (Sachs 63). As a private scholar of Asian Culture and Eastern Religions, and Sanskrit researcher, Christoph’s father disapproved of Hitler and his actions yet chose to distance himself from politics. Rather, as an aesthete, Hermann Probst associated himself with the intellects and artists of Munich, including Paul Klee and Emil Nolde, both of whom were eventually banned from Germany (Dumbach 69). Hermann engaged his young son in “profound spiritual-intellectual conversations” which “gave [Christoph’s] natural curiosity ever new sustenance” (Sachs 154). These conversations and experiences would truly explain the great influence Hermann Probst had on his son: he was Christoph’s “great, beloved, and adored
Cited: Dumbach, A. E., and J. Newborn. Sophie Scholl and the White Rose. Oxford: Oneworld, 2007. Print. Sachs, R. H. White Rose History: Coming Together. Vol. 1. Lehi, UT: Exclamation!, 2002. Google Books. Sachs, R. H. White Rose History: Journey to Freedom. Vol. 2. Lehi, UT: Exclamation!, 2002. Google Books. Scholl, I., and D. Sölle. The White Rose: Munich, 1942-1943. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan UP, 1983. Print.