Opposition and Resistance in Wartime

• What types of people tended to join groups like the Edelweiss Pirates? 


  working-class 14-18 year olds boys. 
• Were pirate groups usually political?  

  Not usually, they were more about being Anti-Hitler Youth.  
• Why were the Cologne Pirates different? 

  They attacked military depots and helped a range of prisoners escape from concentration camps.  
• What happened to the Cologne pirates?


  When caught, they were executed in November 1944.
• What types of people tended to join groups like the Swing Youth? 

  Disgruntled middle-class youth.
• What non-Nazi activities the Swing Youth took part in?

  -Listening to Jazz etc (foreign music)   

  -Wearing ‘English’-style clothing 

  -Girls/ women wore heavy make-up (very American)  

  -Arranging parties/ gatherings to dance and drink  
• Why did the Nazi's oppose the Swing Movement?

  They likened them to ' negroes '.
• Who led the White Rose Group? 

  Siblings: Sophie and Hans Scholl. 
• What type of activities did the White Rose Group partake in? 

  Creating and distributing anti-Nazi leaflets and painting anti-Nazi slogans on buildings. 
• Who influenced the White Rose Group?  

  The Catholic Church, particularly, Bishop Galen. 
• What happened the group’s leaders? 


  They were caught and executed by guillotine in 1943.
• Who was the most widely outspoken member of the Catholic Church? 

  Bishop Galen.  
• Which programme did the Galen manage to temporarily shut down in July 1941?

  The T4 Euthanasia Programme.   
• What happened to Galen? 


  He was too publically important for the Nazis to arrest. While other Catholic priests were imprisoned, Galen managed to avoid this. 
• What was the percentage split of Catholics to Protestants in Germany?  

  40% Catholic to 60% Protestant (give or take e.g. about 1% of the population were Jewish).  
• What was the name of the Protestant anti-Nazi organisation? 

  The Confessional Church.  
• Which Protestant minister spoke out against the Nazi treatment of the Jews amongst other things? 

  Dietrich Bonhoeffer. 
• Why did the Protestant Church not make more protest against the Nazis? 

  The Nazis had merged elements of itself into the Protestant Church knowing that most people were Protestant- therefore the church was never really under attack from the regime.  
• Who were the Kreisau Circle?  

  They were mostly members of the elite, army high command and leading Protestant churchmen such as Bonhoeffer.  
• facts about Operation Valkyrie.  

  -It occurred in July 1944 

  -It was a plot to assassinate Hitler during a meeting 

  -It was led by Colonel Staffenburg 

  -They planted a bomb under a table, it went off but only slightly injured Hitler 

  -Over 5,000 people (most involved, many not) were executed as a result of the plot
• How many Jewish people were saved by ordinary people in the Berlin area? 

  About 22,000 Jewish people.