From the beginning, the Star Wars Universe has made it clear that this galaxy far, far away is not too dissimilar to our own. Just like ours, it is a galaxy populated by both heroes and monsters. Over time, it has also been established that not all monsters look as vile as Darth Maul, and not all heroes take the appearance of knights in shining armor. It did this so well that by the time Rogue One: A Star Wars Story came out in 2016, it wasn’t even jarring to see the film’s antagonist, Orson Krennic, wearing an all-white outfit throughout the film.
Heroes and monsters take several forms, and that has been the case since a long, long time ago. Particularly, during rebellions like the ones that took place in Nazi Germany, revolutionaries included everybody from young partisans to middle-aged politicians to elderly priests. Such individuals took part in strikes, organized assassination attempts, and helped hide people who were being persecuted. All of these acts, whether violent or non-violent, were considered treasonous and punishable by death.
Such was the fate for several members of the White Rose Resistance Group, whose parallels with freedom fighters on Ghorman provided another example of how Star Wars, despite the wampas, loth-wolves and Wookies, is not as fictitious as it looks. And especially in the television series Andor, every great speech, every heist, and every revolt against the Empire appears to be a “thank you” to real-life heroes such as those in the White Rose who were willing to risk it all in their fight against fascism.
During World War II, a number of students joined together in Nazi Germany to form what would become the White Rose Resistance Group. Among the many acts of heroism that they participated in was the distribution of several leaflets they hoped would either wake people up to the atrocities being committed by Adolf Hitler or potentially even encourage them to defy the chancellor of Germany with direct action.
The first leaflet printed and distributed by the group called for Germans to block the functioning of Hitler’s movement by sabotaging his efforts in any way possible. This included acts as simple as deliberately slowing down production work in factories where items were being manufactured for the Nazis, which calls to mind the post-credits scene from Andor when we discover prisoners are unknowingly helping to build the first Death Star. Ferrix, a working-class planet where much of season one takes place, is a perfect example of how everyday people can be helping a tyrannical regime, whether consciously, unintentionally, or in ways they choose to ignore. The climax of season one takes place when the citizens band together to say “no more.”
The White Rose understood that there are any number of ways one could rebel, and it did not matter your sex, age, or profession as far as whether you could contribute to the cause. They realized that working-class people were just as capable of making a difference in the fight as anybody else, and Andor reminds us of that again and again. The idea is even expressed by Karis Nemik in his manifesto when he writes, “Even the smallest act of insurrection pushes our lines forward.”
The actions of those on Ferrix is just one illustration of this, and are inspired when Maarva Andor proclaims the people of Ferrix are partly responsible for the Empire’s growth by having ignored or overlooked the threat of it. She explains, “The Empire is a disease that thrives in darkness. It is never more alive than when we sleep.”
This highlights that the goal of her speech – given via a holorecording she made before her death – is to awaken people so that they can act. This is also an objective of the White Rose’s leaflets, which criticized Germans in much of the same way for what they had done during Hitler’s rise to power. In the second leaflet, the White Rose writes:
“Why does the German people behave so apathetically in the face of all these abominable crimes, crimes so unworthy of the human race? Hardly anyone wonders or worries about it. It is accepted as a fact and put out of mind. And once again the German people slumbers on in its dull, stupid sleep and encourages these fascist criminals, giving them the opportunity to carry on with their savageries; and of course they do so.”
In all, seven official leaflets were created by the White Rose, one of which was posthumously produced and distributed (yes, even after their deaths, members of this group were still inspiring people much in the same way Maarva Andor did). But it isn’t just the content of these leaflets that shares parallels with the content of speeches given on Andor. Some of the sets in the show were inspired by real-life places associated with World War II, and in the case of Saw Gerrera’s base in season two, the shooting location was an actual World War II-era Royal Air Force station.
Some of the characters on the television series are also reminiscent of White Rose members. One example is Enza Rylanz of Ghorman, who shares multiple commonalities with one of the White Rose’s most well-known members, Sophie Scholl. Each were young women strongly supported by their fathers for their efforts, but each were accused of being reckless and impatient.
Critics of Scholl claim she and her companions were not as methodical in carrying out their plans as they should have been. Similarly, Rylanz is criticized by people, including the title character, for not being prepared enough to take on the Empire. Even when walking into what she knows is a trap, Rylanz proclaims that she can’t stay silent any longer. Scholl once expressed something similar when explaining, “What we wrote and said is also believed by many others. They just don’t dare express themselves as we did.”
Not every member of the Rebel Alliance wishes to tussle with their enemy the way Saw Gerrera does. They don’t all have the expertise in explosives that Sabine Wren has. But as Andor demonstrates, many of the movement’s key players are at their best when given the opportunity to awaken collective resistance. And they do this by speaking directly to people who seem to have forgotten the power they possess. This includes Mon Mothma encouraging her fellow politicians to show some backbone, as well as Kino Loy inspiring his fellow cellmates.
The show’s best scenes did not contain lightsaber duels or a Jedi lifting an X-wing out of the swamp. Much like the White Rose Resistance Group, the creators of Andor knew the alchemical capability of words and their capacity to inspire an audience. And both understood that expressing those words in a public forum would do a lot more than sharing them behind closed doors.
After they were apprehended, the initial execution sentence for the three White Rose members on trial was public hanging. However, with growing concerns within the Nazi regime that this had the potential to immortalize the rebels as martyrs, they opted instead to use a guillotine. Still in the early phases of its growth, the Empire had not yet come to understand how large a fire can be created from a single spark. It is the Ghorman Massacre that results in the murder of Enza Rylanz and many others that serves as the catalyst to Mothma uniting the scattered rebel cells, which compile the Rebel Alliance that destroys the Death Star.
Scholl’s final words prior to her execution encapsulate what makes the sacrifice of her fictional counterpart so important. “How can we expect righteousness to prevail when there is hardly anyone willing to give himself up individually to a righteous cause?,” Scholl asks. “Such a fine, sunny day, and I have to go, but what does my death matter, if through us, thousands of people are awakened and stirred to action?”
Rebellions throughout history have a lot in common with one another, and a lot of that is because they’ve learned from each other and looked for ways to build upon the work accomplished by their predecessors. Part of the beauty of a show like Andor is it too can awaken people to injustices they may have overlooked and consider what their role might be in creating change. All you can do is hope it does not come at a cost as high as the price paid by Scholl and Rylanz.
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