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Resistance during World War II

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File:PartBelOct44.jpg
Yugoslav partisans entering Belgrade, October, 1944.

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 outright warfare, recapturing towns.

Among the most notable resistance movements were the French Maquis, the Polish Home Army, and the Yugoslav Partisans. The Communist resistance was among the fiercest because they were already organised and militant before the war even began and their ideology was the exact 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 organizations 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).

Organisation

After the first shock after the Blitzkrieg, people slowly started to get organised, 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). Organisation 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 organised undetected. This favored 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 bad
  • Strikes and manifestations
  • Based on existing organisations, such as the churches, students, communists and doctors (professional resistance)
  • Armed
    • raids on distribution offices to get food coupons or Ausweise (various documents) 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 reorganisations 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) - 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 coeur 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.

Other famous resistance operations were the Norwegian sabotages of the German nuclear program (see Norwegian heavy water sabotage).

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 (from the BBC series "Secrets of World War II" is a documentary about the Norwegian sabotage of the German nuclear program

Dramatizations

See also

Categories: