There has been a lot of discussion of the origins of ISIS, of the complexity of defeating it, of its digital slickness, but little of its pure evil — its desecration of human life and its exaltation of death (even delivered by children).

To dwell on the group’s iniquity — its contempt for humanity — would be to suggest the necessity of its immediate extirpation; and no Western government wants to deploy soldiers to do that. That is a moral capitulation, whatever else it may be.

Of course, ISIS is far from the Third Reich, as Wolffsohn conceded, even if its “absence of consideration for human life” is identical. But the parallels between the White Rose and R.B.S.S. are strong. As the historian told me: “The White Rose knew from the very beginning that they would lose but that their loss was necessary to show that humanity and human dignity cannot be wiped out completely. It’s the same with the Raqqa group.”

The White Rose distributed leaflets, six before its members were executed. The work of R.B.S.S., some of whose members are still in Raqqa, is the digital leaflet. On the existence of that work our humanity hinges.

Alhamza, like most R.B.S.S. members in exile, now lives in Germany, having moved on from Turkey, where the ISIS threat was too great. His younger brother drowned trying to escape Syria. Countless family members and friends are dead. One friend, a doctor, joined ISIS; he needed money. Terror bends most people’s will. But not all.

“It’s been more than two years,” Alhamza told me. “Western powers have held a lot of meetings, made speeches and done nothing, although the Syrian regime crossed every red line. The regime created ISIS. We do not believe the West will help.”

The second White Rose leaflet spoke of how hundreds of thousands of Jews had been killed by the Nazis in Poland while “the German people slumber on in dull, stupid sleep and encourage the Fascist criminals.”

The United States and its allies slumber on. The loss and the risk are all of humanity’s.