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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 and the Yugoslav Partisans. The Communist resistance was among the fiercest since they were already organised and militant even before the war and their ideology was in many respects directly opposite of that of the Nazis.

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).

Organization

After the first shock after the Blitzkrieg, people slowly started to get organized, 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). Organization 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 organized 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).

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 organizations, 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
    • 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
  • Forgery of documents

Famous resistance operations

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).

Operation Anthropoid was another famous resistance move during the WWII. It was the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich in 1941, 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.

Resistance movements during World War II

Notable individuals

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) 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.

Dramatisations

See also

World War II resistance movements

Motståndsrörelser under andra världskriget

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Resistance during World War II".

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