3. Opposition and Resistance in Wartime

Question 1

3 key resistance/opposition groups during wartime

Answer 1

Edelweiss
Swing Youth
White Rose

Question 2

1. Who was the Edelweiss?
2. Why did they oppose the regime?
3. What actions did they take?
4. How effective were they?
5. How did the Nazis respond?

Answer 2

1. W/C youth group
2. Opposed the way the Hitler Youth had taken over the lives of the German youth
3. Rejected Nazi’s in non-political ways (E.g. didn’t discriminate and listened to music)
4. Able to continue their actions until the end of the war
5. Gestapo eventually broke up 28 of their groups and their leaders were publicly hanged

Question 3

1. Who were the Swing Youth?
2. Why did they oppose the regime?
3. What actions did they take?
4. How effective were they?
5. How did the Nazis respond?

Answer 3

1. Upper m/c group
2. Hated uniformity and military style of Hitler Youth. Had interests in American culture
3. Listened to US and British swing and jazz which were banned. Organised illegal dances. Worse English clothing
4. Swing clubs established all over Germany
5. Public dances banned in 1940. Leaders sent to concentration camps

Question 4

1. Who were the White Roses?
2. Why did they oppose the regime?
3. What actions did they take?
4. How effective were they?
5. How did the Nazis respond?

Answer 4

1. Non-violent student/intellectual group
2. Against degradation of Jews and other groups
3. Spread anti-Nazi messages through leaflets, graffiti etc
4. Not very effective but inspired further resistance
5. Leaders killed in 1943

Question 5

1. What was the Red Orchestra?
2. Why did they oppose the regime?
3. What actions did they take?
4. How effective were they?
5. How did the Nazis respond?

Answer 5

1. Umbrella term given to all of the underground communist groups
2. Wanted to remove Hitler form power and replace Nazism with communism
3. Leaflets handed out. 89 underground cells in Berlin where they planned how to remove Nazi rule
4. Not very effective
5. Gestapo effectively destroyed underground networks from 1942-1943

Question 6

How did elements of the army oppose Hitler?

Answer 6

Some members of the army wanted to assassinate Hitler.
Initially tried to be peaceful and persuade senior army officials to arrest Hitler
Made 2 assassination attempts where bomb was planted on Hitler’s plane and bomb was placed in headquarters on East Prussia

Question 7

What did Himmler do in response to the assassination attempts of Hitler?

Answer 7

Rounded up 7000 potential conspirators and 5746 were killed

Question 8

Example of Catholic opposer to the Nazi regime and what they did

Answer 8

Galen
Spoke out in a sermon in 1940 to condemn euthanasia
Led Catholic protests

Question 9

Example of a Protestant opposer to the Nazi regime and what they did

Answer 9

Bonhoeffer
Trained young men to become Christian ministers
Used his church contacts to allow 14 Jews to escape to Switzerland