Resistance

• Communists:

  Small Communist cells in many of the large German cities. Most famously the Red Orchestra (Rote Kapelle), a spy network that successfully infiltrated the gov and military. They transmitted vital information back to Moscow and produced pamphlets attacking the Nazi gov. But, they were destroyed by the Gestapo at the end of 1942.

  Overall, Communist active resistance to the Nazis was limited.
• Christians:

  As Nazi persecution intensified from 1941, evidence suggests that church attendance increased and many churchmen put their own freedom and lives at risk to uphold their beliefs.

  The most damning opposition came from individual clerics, including Bishop von Galen, who delivered three sermons in 1941 which condemned Nazi euthanasia policy. His attacks were so powerful with his congregations, that the authorities recoiled from arresting him and actually stopped the programme.

  But, the churches posed no real active threat to the strength of the Nazi regime.
• Students - the White Rose group:

  • Led by brother and sister Hans and Sophie Scholl
  • Leaflets condemning Nazis distributed around Munich Uni, and then many towns in central Germany
  • The group's security was weak and it was only a matter of time before the Gestapo closed in. February 1943: the 6 leaders were were arrested, tortured and swiftly executed
• Kreisau Circle:

  They were a group of officers, aristocrats, academics and churchmen who met at the Kreisau estate of Moltke, and discussed plans for a new Germany after Hitler.

  By 1944, the Gestapo were aware of them and Moltke was arrested. But, remaining members became supporters of the Bomb Plot of July 1944.

  • Led by Stauffenberg, who believed that the only way to end the Nazi regime was through the execution of Hitler.
  • The plot didn't work as planned, and Hitler only sustained minor injuries
  • About 5000 supporters of the resistance were killed in the aftermath, including Stauffenberg