3 September] 1917 – 13 July 1943), also sometimes referred to as Saint Alexander of Munich, was a Russian-German student at Munich University who, with five others, formed a resistance group (part of the Widerstand) known as White Rose (German: Weiße Rose) which was active against the Nazi German regime from June 1942 to February 1943.

In 1921 the family fled from Russia and moved to Munich, Weimar Germany, Schmorell was four years old at the time.

After his military service, the artistically gifted Alexander Schmorell began studies in medicine in 1939 in Hamburg.

In the autumn of 1940, he returned with his student corps to Munich where he came to know Hans Scholl, whom he met through Christoph Probst, his life-long friend.

[2] In June 1942, Schmorell, together with Hans Scholl, began the Nazi resistance movement "The White Rose".

Quoting extensively from the Bible, Aristotle and Novalis, as well as Goethe and Schiller, the iconic poets of German bourgeoisie, the leaflets appealed to what Schmorell and Scholl considered the German intelligentsia, believing that these people would be easily convinced by the same arguments that also motivated the authors themselves.

[8] These leaflets were left in telephone books in public phone booths, mailed to professors and students, and taken by courier to other universities for distribution.

In June 1942, male students at the Ludwig Maximilian University were required to deploy to the Eastern Front over Summer break.

Schmorell, along with Hans Scholl, Willi Graf, and Jurgen Wittenstein, served as medics in the 252nd Infantry Division in the Gzhatsk area of the Russian Front from June to November 1942.

[11] In December 1942, Schmorell, along with Hans Scholl, sought contact with Professor Kurt Huber.

[9] On 18 February 1943, Sophie and Hans Scholl went to the Ludwig Maximilian University to leave flyers out for the students to read.

On 19 April 1943, Alexander Schmorell was put on trial, along with 13 other members of the White Rose group.

Unlike the first trial, where the death sentences had been carried out the same day as the verdict, Alexander's execution was delayed as his family petitioned for clemency.

Think of the millions of young men who have lost their lives out on the field—their fate is the same as mine...In a few hours I will be in a better life, with my mother, and I will not forget you; I will ask God to grant you solace and peace.

Several SS officers had appeared at Stadelheim under orders to observe the execution to see how long it took for each man to die; the SS officers were then supposed to report back to their superiors with suggestions on how to shorten or prolong the suffering of the man being hanged.

"[15] In the execution chamber, the state attorney asked if his name was Alexander Schmorell, to which he replied, "yes",[11] and then the blade fell.

Streets named after Schmorrel ('Alexander-Schmorell-Straßen') are found in Bad Oeynhausen, Westerstede, Grünwald, Halle, Schlangen, Unterhaching, Neuss, and Dormagen.

[16] In Orenburg, Russia, four students every year are awarded the Alexander Schmorell scholarships by the White Rose Foundation.

In 2020, a monument was erected in honor of Schmorell in front of the Medical Faculty building of Orenburg University.

The 2000 NETSKI TV film In Search of the White Rose by Savva Kulish was dedicated to his memory.

For the 100th birthday of Sophie Scholl, German broadcasters Südwestrundfunk and Bayerischer Rundfunk created the @ichbinsophiescholl project where Schmorell was played by David Hugo Schmitz.