WARTIME OPPOSITION Flashcards
WHAT were ‘wild cliques’?
Often criminal gangs of working class young people who resisted the Nazi regime (e.g. the Edelweiss Pirates)
WHAT were the Edelweiss Pirates?
Gangs of working class young people who rejected the disciplined and militaristic culture of the Hitler Youth, and often attacked the Hitler Youth before and during the war
WHERE were the Edelweiss Pirates most prominent?
The Ruhr and Rhineland areas
WHAT is an example of an Edelweiss Pirate group which actively resisted Nazism during the war?
The Cologne group in 1944 became affiliated with a group helping army deserters, escaped prisoners of war and concenration camp inmates
HOW did the Nazis respond to the Edelweiss Pirates?
The Nazi response was increasingly harsh during the war, progressing from banishment to labour camps to public hangings in extreme cases
WHAT was the Swing Youth?
Groups of middle class young people who organised clubs to listen to British and American swing and jazz
HOW did the Nazis respond to the Swing Youth?
- They offended the moral precepts of the regime
- Himmler wanted to send the leaders to concentration camps
WHEN was the White Rose active?
1942-43
WHERE was the White Rose based?
Munich/Munich University
WHO led the White Rose?
Hans and Sophie Scholl
WHAT did the White Rose specifically resist against?
They specifically attacked the treatment of Jewish and Slav people in Eastern Europe
WHAT did the White Rose do?
- Resisted the Nazis during the war, using Catholic influence
- Issued pamphlets and printed anti-Nazi slogans (e.g. ‘Hitler Mass Murderer’)
WHAT was the target audience of the White Rose?
The educated middle class in Munich
HOW did the Nazis respond to the White Rose?
Hans and Sophie Scholl were eventually caught by the Gestapo and executed in 1943
WHAT were the limitations of youth resistance during the war?
- A lot of opposition can be attributed to rebelliousness
- Often failed to be specifically targeted (e.g. Edelweiss targeted the HJ, not the regime)
- Not enough wide-based support (e.g. White Rose limited to Munich)
DID the Catholic Church institutionally oppose the Nazis during the war?
No. It supported Germany’s war aims in 1939 and the plan to invade the USSR in 1941
WHO was Bishop Galen?
- Key opponent to Nazism during the war
- Spoke out against the ‘euthanasia’ programme, leading to its temporary halting
DID the Protestant Church institutionally oppose the Nazi regime?
Not greatly. The only branch to publicly protest the treatment of the Jews was the Confessional Church of Prussia
WHO was Dietrich Bonhoeffer?
- An outspoken Protestant opponent to Nazism since 1933
- Banned from speaking in public in 1940
- Imprisoned in 1943 and executed 1945
WHO are some examples of Catholic and Protestant opponents to the Nazi regime?
- Catholic: Bishop Galen
- Protestant: Bonhoeffer
WHAT were the limitations of Church opposition during the war?
- Opposition was limited to individuals rather than the institutions as a whole
- The Nazi terror machine limited individuals’ opposition
HOW did the communists resist Nazism during the wartime?
- Issued leaflets attacking the regime
- Used cells in key cities
WHAT were the limitations of communist opposition during the war?
- Resistance was undermined 1939-41 after the 1939 Nazi-Soveit Pact
- They had no chance of gaining widespread support (threat from Gestapo and links with USSR)
- Less active resistance as they were just trying to survive
WHAT was the Kreisau Circle?
- A group of elites who opposed Nazism 1942-43
- Focused on intellectual ideas and non-violent resistance
WHO led the Kreisau Circle?
Count Helmut von Moltke
WHEN was the Kreisau Circle active?
1942 - 1943
WHO was Count Moltke?
Leader of the Kreisau Circle, executed in January 1945
WHAT initial resistance plan did army opponents have during the war?
They initially planned to arrest Hitler and contact the British government to negotiate peace
WHO was Stauffenberg?
A soldier with an aristocratic background, who was involved in the July 1944 plot to assassinate Hitler
WHEN was Operation Valkyrie?
July 1944
WHAT was Operation Valkyrie?
Codename for the July 1944 plot to assassinate Hitler.
WHAT was the plan for Operation Valkyrie?
- Plant a bomb in Hitler’s headquarters, and assassinate him
- Stage a military coup and create a provisional government to negotiate peace with the Allies
WHAT were the consequences of Operation Valkyrie?
- Almost 5000 people were executed
- The army lost the last of its independence to the SS
- Beck committed suicide and Stauffenberg was executed
HOW did the public react to Operation Valkyrie?
- There were reportedly widespread feelings of relief that it had failed
- The public supported the idea that they were traitors
WHAT were the limitations of opposition from the army/elite during the war?
- Limited appeal (did not gain public support)
- Loss of independence after the July 1944 Plot
- No unity of purpose among those who resisted Nazism
