A Manichean Quest <\/strong><\/p>\n The prevailing concept today sees the two principles of good and evil as being in constant combat with one another \u2013 in the past, the present, and the future; but this concept gives us only a partial vision of the true situation, according to Denis Schneider, the Atelier\u2019s founder. He goes on to say that in the Grail impulse and in the Faust story there is an aspiration towards transforming evil by realising that it is merely the good which is not in its rightful place and that the good must engage with evil in order to bring about a metamorphosis.\u00a0 \u201cBut the notion of answering evil with good is in its very essence a Christian impulse; it acts as a leaven in evolution.\u201d<\/p>\n Denis Schneider points to what Rudolf Steiner brought as a new impulse; he encourages us to keep ourselves from falling into the good-evil duality by envisioning the situation in the form of a dynamic triad: the Representative of Man strides forward, in perfect balance, between Lucifer (who draws us towards the heights) and Ahriman (who drags us down into the depths). \u201cLet us attempt to imagine the social artists of the White Rose movement by characterising the moral stature of the call to awakening they addressed to their fellow citizens. There was no personal will involved which would have made them feel superior. They had no desire to exert control over the freedom of thought of their fellow human beings.\u201d<\/p>\n My slide presentation was followed by a workshop and conversation resulting in our coming to terms with the relationship between light and darkness. As we drew white roses on a black background, the reality of the play of light and darkness was revealed as if by magic. The darker we made the background, the lighter and brighter shone the white surface of the paper.<\/p>\n Denis then brought to our minds the image of ancient Greek soldiers, who, after having combed their long hair, breathed in the fragrant scent of a red rose to give them courage before battle. \u201cAs for the scent of the White Rose, we can imagine how it imbued the courage of the members of the movement with gentleness.\u201d He also pointed out that the White Rose movement was born in 1943, at the same time that Saint-Exup\u00e9ry was writingThe Little Prince.<\/em>\u201cGentleness in the act of taming, respect for the rhythm of a non-violent approach \u2013 both of which are Manichean traits \u2013 were cultivated in the exchanges between the members. Good embraces<\/em>; evil excludes<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n The Mothers of the Polytechnique Victims<\/strong><\/p>\n The commemorative Plaque in front of the \u00c9cole Polytechnique in memory of the victims of the December 6, 1989 massacre.<\/p><\/div>\n Could the rose impulse have healing qualities? I wondered about this when I learned that the Montreal Polytechnique school, with no apparent connection to the events in Munich, created an Order of the White Rose in 2014. As a healing balm placed on the lingering wounds, these flowers appear at each commemoration of the shooting during which Marc L\u00e9pine, on December 6, 1989, killed 14 young women and wounded several others. Among its other activities, the Order of the White Rose awards scholarships every year to promising young female engineering students.<\/p>\n My work as a journalist led me to interview Monique L\u00e9pine, Marc\u2019s mother, in 2013. \u201cIt took me 17 years to emerge from the mental abyss into which my son had plunged me.\u201d This woman, who is a nurse, said how she cried for years. \u201cTears are the heart\u2019s antifreeze; they keep it from hardening. I had hit rock bottom. I was completely helpless. Then, something supernatural happened.\u201d<\/p>\n The Place du 6 D\u00e9cembre 1989\u00a0in Montreal.<\/p><\/div>\n She took to contemplating the archetype of the Pieta, turning to Mary, who in Michelangelo\u2019s sculpture is depicted suffering over the body of her son. \u201cI prayed to Mary, asking her to ease my suffering and that of all the Polytechnique mothers.\u201d She tells how she set out on a long \u201cjourney of restoration\u201d that led to a spiritual healing. A network of human warmth (loved ones, colleagues, friends, and others) wrapped her in a mantle of caring. These people helped her lift herself up and at the same time, she adds, lift up her son. She had given her name to this son, who, at age 14, changed his name from Gamil Gharbi to Marc L\u00e9pine.<\/p>\n But that is when everything began to change, she explains. Name change; personality change. \u201cWho was he trying to be? I knew my son Gamil Gharbi, but I did not know Marc L\u00e9pine. Why did he commit that terrible act?\u201d Years later, Monique L\u00e9pine became active as an advocate for restorative justice. This citizens\u2019 movement, which works within the penal system, seeks to \u201cmake whole again what has been torn apart by violence.\u201d Through three-way meetings (inmates, victims, community members), the perpetrator is given the freedom to connect with the consequences of his actions, most often by experiencing the impact they have had on others.<\/p>\n Artists<\/strong><\/p>\n Hildegard Kronawitter, president of the White Rose Foundation. (Source: Weisse Rose Stiftung e.V.\/ Catherina Hess).<\/p><\/div>\n Let us return now to Germany. What is the White Rose\u2019s legacy today in 2019? I addressed this question to the White Rose Foundation (Weisse Rose Stiftung) in Munich. The Foundation\u2019s president, Hildegard Kronawitter, responded: \u201cWe have a duty to keep the memory alive, in the spirit of Willi Graf\u2019s farewell letter which said: Continue what we have begun.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n She pointed out that there are some 200 schools in Germany called Geschwister Scholl (honouring the Scholl siblings), and that there is a trend towards naming more schools after other members of the movement: Alexander Schmorell, Christoph Probst, Willi Graf, and more recently, Marie-Luise Jahn. Many cities have a street named in memory of the resistance movement: \u201cFrom time to time we learn that another street has been renamed, especially after Sophie Scholl. Surveys indicate that she is a personality widely recognized and highly valued throughout Germany.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/anthroposophy.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/IMG_4296-1.jpg\")
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