World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseTraute Lafrenz was born in Hamburg, Germany in May 1919 to civil servant Carl Lafrenz and homemaker Hermine Lafrez, the youngest of three sisters. She studied at the Lichtwarkschule school in Hamburg until coeducation was abolished in 1937, she then transferred to a convent school, graduating in 1938. In the summer of 1939, she studied medicine at the University of Hamburg, followed by a period of work and travel in Pommern (English: Pomerania) near the Baltic coast. In May 1941, she moved to Munich, Germany to continue her studies, where her growing opposition to the Nazi regime led her to join the White Rose resistance group. In late 1942, she returned to Hamburg and distributed White Rose flyers. When White Rose leader Hans Scholl, whom Lafrenz had close contact with in Munich, was arrested on 18 Feb 1943, Lafrenz was placed under investigation by the Gestapo, the German Secret State Police, leading to her arrest on 15 Mar. During interrogations, she was successful in disguising her direct involvement with the White Rose, and thus was given only an one-year prison term. After her release, her direct involvement was discovered, and she was arrested once again in 1945, with a trial date set for late Apr 1945. Allied troops captured the prison in which she was held, and thus saving her from a likely death sentence should her trial had actually taken place. In 1947, she immigrated to the United States. She studied at Saint Joseph's Hospital in San Francisco, California, United States and married ophthalmologist Vernon Page in 1947, taking on his surname. Together they formed a medical practice in Hayfork, California, and then later she was the head of the Esperanza School in Chicago, Illinois, United States between 1972 and 1994. In 2019, she was awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. She passed away in Yonges Island, South Carolina, United States as the last living member of the White Rose group.

Photographs

Traute Lafrenz Timeline