Digitizing Willi Graf of the White Rose: A Role Model for the Millennials

Zusammenfassung

For almost two decades, Alverno College has confronted the monumental moral lapse of the Holocaust by hosting an annual remembrance service at which survivors tell their stories. Yet, with the passage of time, their testimonies can seem far away and unimaginable. Moreover, the acts of the perpetrators, bystanders, and victims leave little space for the accounts of resisters such as Willi Graf of the White Rose. How can today’s students relate to his moral courage from so long ago and develop their own? The intent of my contribution is to demonstrate the usefulness of creating digital posters as a means by which students can connect in time and space to role models such as Willi Graf, offering them the opportunity to promote aesthetic engagement and to assess their own ability to recognize the moral dimensions of one’s decisions. Including a self-assessment component allows students to join the narrative and to reflect on the consequences of accepting responsibility for one’s actions. In addition to the educational benefits, digital posters serve as virtual reminders of what ordinary individuals like Graf, a student himself, can do in extraordinary times.