These included the non-violent resistance of Hans and Sophie Scholl, two leaders of the White Rose student group.[50] However, resistance groups and those who were in moral or political opposition to the Nazis were stalled by the fear of reprisals from the Gestapo. Fearful of an internal overthrow, the forces of the Gestapo were unleashed on the opposition.[lower-alpha 2] The first five months of 1943 witnessed thousands of arrests and executions as the Gestapo exercised their powers over the German public.