Resistance during World War II
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Resistance during World War II occurred in every occupied country by a variety of means, ranging from non-cooperation, disinformation and propaganda to hiding crashed pilots and even to outright warfare and the recapturing of towns. Resistance movements are sometimes also referred to as "the underground".
Among the most notable resistance movements were the Polish Home Army, the French Maquis, the Italian CLN, the Greek and Yugoslav Partisans. The Communist resistance was among the fiercest since,their ideology was in many respects the direct opposite of that of the Nazis and they were already organised and militant even before the war.
Many countries had resistance movements dedicated to fighting the Axis invaders, and Germany itself also had an anti-Nazi movement. Although mainland Britain did not suffer invasion in World War II, the British made preparations for a British resistance movement, called the Auxiliary Units, in the event of a German invasion. Various organisations were also formed to establish foreign resistance cells or support existing resistance movements, like the British SOE and the American OSS (the forerunner of the CIA).
There were also resistance movements fighting against the Allied invaders. The German resistance petered out within a few years, while the Baltic states resistance operations against the occupation continued into the 60‘s.
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[edit] Organization
After the first shock after the Blitzkrieg, people slowly started to get organised, both locally and on a larger scale, especially when Jews and other groups were starting to be deported and used for the Arbeitseinsatz (working for the Germans). Organisation was dangerous, so much resistance was done by individuals. The possibilities depended much on the terrain; where there were large tracts of uninhabited land, especially hills and forests, resistance could more easily get organised undetected. This favoured in particular the partisans in Eastern Europe. But also in the much more densely populated Netherlands, the Biesbosch wilderness could be used to go into hiding. There were many different types of groups, ranging in activity from humanitarian aid to armed resistance, and sometimes cooperating to a varying degree. Resistance usually arose spontaneously, but was encouraged and helped mainly from London, the "capital of the European resistance" (also helping communist resistance groups) and Moscow (helping the partisans).
[edit] Forms of resistance
Various forms of resistance were:
- Sabotage - the Arbeitseinsatz ("Work Contribution") forced locals to work for the Germans, but work was often done slowly or intentionally badly
- Strikes and manifestations
- Based on existing organisations, such as the churches, students, communists and doctors (professional resistance)
- Armed
- raids on distribution offices to get food coupons or various documents such as Ausweise or on birth registry offices to get rid of information about Jews
- temporary liberation of areas, such as in Yugoslavia and Northern Italy, occasionally in cooperation with the Allied forces
- uprisings such as in Warsaw in 1943 and 1944
- assassination of members of occupying forces and prominent collaborators (e.g. local pro-Axis politicians and police)
- continuing battle and guerrilla warfare, such as the partisans in the USSR and Yugoslavia and the Maquis in France
- Espionage, including sending reports of military importance (e.g. troop movements, weather reports etc.)
- Illegal press to counter the Nazi propaganda
- Political resistance to prepare for the reorganisation after the war. For instance, the Dutch resistance took part in forming the new government in the Netherlands after the war.
- Helping people to go into hiding (e.g. to escape the Arbeitseinsatz or deportation) - this was one of the main activities in the Netherlands, due to the large number of Jews and the high level of administration, which made it easy for the Germans to identify Jews
- Helping military people caught behind lines get back
- Helping POW with illegal supplies, outbreaks, communication,...
- Forgery of documents
[edit] Famous resistance operations
[edit] 1941
Operation Anthropoid was a resistance move during the WWII to assassinate Reinhard Heydrich, the Nazi “Protector of Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia” and the chief of Nazi's final solution, by the Czech resistance in Prague. Over fifteen thousand Czechs were killed in reprisals, with the most infamous incidents being the complete destruction of the towns of Lidice and Ležáky.
[edit] 1942
In 25 November 1942, Greek guerillas with the help of 12 British saboteurs carried out a successful operation which disrupted the German ammunition transportation to the German Africa Corps under Rommel - the destruction of Gorgopotamos bridge.
[edit] 1943
On April 19, 1943 three members of the Belgian resistance movement were able to stop the Twentieth convoy, which was the 20th prisoner transport in Belgium organised by the Germans during World War II. The exceptional action by members of the Belgian resistance occurred to free Jewish and gypsy civilians who were being transported by train from the Dossin army base located in Mechelen, Belgium to the concentration camp Auschwitz. The XXth train convoy transported 1,631 Jews (men, women and children). Some of the prisoners were able to escape and marked this kind of liberation action from the Belgian resistance movement unique in the European history of the Holocaust. In October the rescue of the Danish jews meant that nearly all of the Danish jews were saved from KZ camps by the Danish resistance. To this day this action is considered one of the bravest and most significant displays of public defiance against the Nazis.
[edit] 1944
An intricate series of resistance operations were launched in France prior to, and during, Operation Overlord. On June 5 1944, the BBC broadcasted a group of unusual sentences, which the Germans knew were code words—possibly for the invasion of Normandy. The BBC would regularly transmit hundreds of personal messages, of which only a few were really significant. A few days before D-Day, the commanding officers of the Resistance heard the first line of Verlaine's poem , Chanson d'Automne, "Les sanglots longs des violons de l'automne" (Long sobs of autumn violins) which meant that the "day" was imminent. When the second line "Blessent mon cœur d'une langueur monotone" (wound my heart with a montonous langour) was heard, the Resistance knew that the invasion would take place within the next 48 hours. They then knew it was time to go about their respective pre-assigned missions. All over France resistance groups had been coordinated, and various groups throughout the country increased their sabotage. Communications were cut, trains derailed, roads, water towers and ammunition depots destroyed and German garrisons were attacked. Some relayed info about German defensive positions on the beaches of Normandy to American and British commanders by radio, just prior to 6 June. Victory did not come easily; in June and July, in the Vercors plateau a newly reinforced maquis group fought 15,000 Waffen SS soldiers under General Karl Pflaum and was defeated with 600 casualties. On June 10 Major Otto Dickmann's troops wiped out the village of Oradour-sur-Glane in retaliation. The resistance also assisted later Allied invasions in south of France in Operations Dragoon and Anvil.
Operation Tempest launched in Poland in 1944 would lead to several major actions by Armia Krajowa, most notable of them being the Warsaw Uprising.
Other famous resistance operations were the Norwegian sabotages of the German nuclear program (see Norwegian heavy water sabotage).
[edit] Resistance movements during World War II
- Austrian resistance (for example O5)
- British resistance movement
- Auxiliary Units (planned British resistance movement against German invaders)
- Albanian resistance movement
- Belarusian resistance movement
- Bulgarian resistance movement
- Burmese resistance movement (AFPFL - Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League)
- Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian anti-Soviet resistance movements ("Forest Brothers")
- Local Lithuanian Detachment (Lietuvos vietinė rinktinė) - anti-Soviet resistance movement created by Povilas Plechavičius
- Czech Resistance movement
- Danish resistance movement
- [|Dutch Resistance|Dutch resistance movement]]
- Estonian resistance movement
- French resistance movement
- German anti-Nazi resistance movement
- The White Rose
- The Red Orchestra
- The Edelweiss Pirates
- The Stijkel Group, a Dutch resistance movement, which mainly operated around the S-Gravenhage area.
- Werwolf, the German resistance against the Allied occupation
- Greek Resistance
- National Liberation Front (ELAS)
- National Republican Greek League (EDES)
- National and Social Liberation (EKKA)
- Hong Kong resistance movements
- Gangjiu dadui (Hong Kong-Kowloon big army)
- Dongjiang Guerillas (East River Guerillas, Southern China and Hong Kong organisation)
- Italian resistance movement
- Jewish resistance movement
- Żydowska Organizacja Bojowa (ZOB, the Jewish Fighting Organisation)
- Zydowski Zwiazek Walki (ZZW, the Jewish Fighting Union)
- Latvian resistance movement
- Lithuanian resistance during World War II
- Malayan resistance movemment
- Norwegian resistance movement
- Philippine resistance movement
- Polish resistance movement
- Armia Krajowa (the Home Army)
- Narodowe Siły Zbrojne
- Bataliony Chłopskie
- Armia Ludowa (the Peoples' Army)
- Gwardia Ludowa (the Peoples' Guard)
- Romanian resistance movement
- Slovak resistance movement
- Soviet resistance movement
- Thai resistance movement
- Ukrainian Insurgent Army (anti-German, anti-Soviet and anti-Polish resistance movement)
- Yugoslav resistance movement
- People's Liberation Army – the partisans (Communist)
- Yugoslav Royal Army in the Fatherland – Chetniks (Royalist)
[edit] Notable individuals
- Mordechaj Anielewicz
- Aris Velouchiotis
- Napoleon Zervas
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer
- Tadeusz Bor-Komorowski
- Stefan Grot-Rowecki
- Manolis Glezos
- Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya
- Luigi Longo
- Jean Moulin
- Christian Pineau
- Hannie Schaft
- Sophie Scholl
- Claus von Stauffenberg
- Josip Broz - Tito
- Nancy Wake
- Pierre Brossolette
[edit] Documentaries
- Confusion was their business (from the BBC series "Secrets of World War II" is a documentary about the SOE (Special Operations Executive) and its operations
- The Real Heroes of the Telemark is a book and documentary by survivalist Ray Mears about the Norwegian sabotage of the German nuclear program (Norwegian heavy water sabotage)
- Making Choices: The Dutch Resistance during World War II (2005) This award-winning, hour-long documentary tells the stories of four participants in the Dutch Resistance and the miracles that saved them from certain death at the hands of the Nazis. Available through Amazon.com, et al.
- Interviews from the Underground:Eyewitness accounts of Russia's Jewish resistance during World War IIdocumentary film and website.
[edit] Dramatisations
- L’Armée des ombres(1969) internal and external battles of the French resistance. Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville
- The Heroes of Telemark (1965) is very loosely based on the Norwegian sabotage of the German nuclear program (the above Real heroes of Telemark is more accurate)
- Secret Army (1977) a television series about the Belgian resistance movement, based on real events
- 'Allo 'Allo! (1982-1992) a situation comedy about the French resistance movement (a parody of Secret Army)
- Massacre in Rome (1973) is based on a true story about Nazi retaliation after a resistance attack in Rome
- Het Meisje met het Rode Haar (1982) (Dutch) is about Dutch resistance fighter Hannie Schaft
- Soldaat van Oranje (1977) (Dutch) is about some Dutch students who enter the resistance in cooperation with England
- The Longest Day (1962) features scenes of the resistance operations during Operation Overlord
- Charlotte Gray (2001) - thought to be based on Nancy Wake
- Sophie Scholl – Die letzten Tage (2005) is about the last days in the life of Sophie Scholl
- My Opposition: the Diaries of Friedrich Kellner (2007) is a Canadian film about Justice Inspector Friedrich Kellner of Laubach who challenged the Nazis before and during the war
[edit] See also
- Collaboration during World War II
- American O.S.S. - Office of Strategic Services
- British S.O.E. - The Special Operations Executive
- British S.I.S. - The Secret Intelligence Service
- British S.A.S. - The Special Air Service
- Anti-fascism
- Collaborationism (the opposite of resistance)
- Covert cell
- Ghetto uprising
- Polish Secret State
- Belgian resistance
- Quotations about resistance
