Opposition, Resistance & the End of the Nazi State (AQA A Level History: Component 2: Depth study): Revision Note

Summary

• Opposition to the Nazis came from various parts of German society and increased as the War went on

  • This included young people, religious leaders, political opponents, and members of the military

  • Opponents went as far as to try and assassinate Hitler, and very nearly succeeded in a bomb plot in July 1944

• However, there was never widespread and open opposition to the Nazis, despite the complete destruction of German cities and the deaths of millions of people

The White Rose and student opposition

The White Rose

• The White Rose Group was led by siblings Sophie and Hans Scholl and supported by Professor Kurt Huber

  • It was based around Munich University and was formed after Hans had witnessed the treatment of Jewish and Slavic people on the Eastern Front

  • They printed and distributed anti-Nazi leaflets that emphasised the importance of individuals refusing to comply with the Nazis

  • The White Rose Group also painted slogans on walls

• Sophie, Hans and four other White Rose members were arrested and beheaded by the Nazis in 1943

A Call to All Germans!

The war is approaching its destined end. As in the year 1918, the German government is trying to focus attention exclusively on the growing threat of submarine warfare, while in the East the armies are constantly in retreat and invasion is imminent in the West. Mobilisation in the United States has not yet reached its climax, but it already exceeds anything the world has ever seen. It has become a mathematical certainty that Hitler is leading the German people into the abyss. Hitler cannot win the war; he can only prolong it. The guilt of Hitler and his minions goes beyond all measure. Retribution comes closer and closer.

An extract from a White Rose leaflet that was printed in January 1943

The Edelweiss Pirates

• Used the symbol of the edelweiss flower 

• Had different names depending on where they came from:

  • Members in Essen were called ‘Travelling Dudes’

  • Members in Cologne were called ‘Navajos’

• Resented the military discipline of the Hitler Youth

• Wanted a sense of freedom similar to the youth in Britain and the USA

• By 1939, there were only 2,000 Edelweiss Pirates compared to eight million Hitler Youth

The Swing Youth 

• They admired American culture, especially music:

  • played jazz music(opens in a new tab) from their record players

  • gathered together to smoke and drink alcohol

• Organised illegal dances of up to 6,000 members:

  • the 'jitterbug' was a favourite dance

• Heinrich Himmler disliked the Swing Youth’s focus on jazz music because it was associated with Black people

• They presented more cultural opposition rather than a genuine threat to the Nazi regime

Opposition from the churches

Catholic opposition 

• Around 400 priests were sent to Dachau Concentration Camp for speaking out

• Catholic services still continued, but people were scared to oppose the Nazis

• The Pope’s ‘With Burning Anxiety’ statement was read out in churches

• Hitler ordered crucifixes to be removed from Catholic churches, which was met with fierce opposition:

  • Of the 43 crucifixes removed from schools in the Mühldorf district in Bavaria, 42 were returned by the police

• One of the most famous acts of Catholic opposition to the Nazis was by Bishop von Galen when he delivered a sermon against the T4 euthanasia programme

  • He delivered the speech in August 1941, when tens of thousands of disabled adults and children had already been murdered by the Nazis

  • Galen argued that all life is sacred and that only God has the right to take it

  • Although Hitler was furious with Galen, he was not arrested or executed because he was such a well-known and respected Catholic bishop

• The 1939 census of Germany showed that 23 million people still considered themselves to be Catholic

Protestant opposition

• The Pastors' Emergency League (PEL) was the main source of opposition from Protestants:

  • Formed by Pastor Martin Niemöller

  • They opposed the formation of the Reich Church

  • They believed that Jewish people should be able to become Christians

• The PEL created the Confessional Church in 1934:

  • Around 6,000 pastors joined, and only 2,000 pastors were part of the Reich Church

  • Around 800 pastors were sent to concentration camps for opposing the Nazis

• The 1939 census of Germany showed that 43 million people still considered themselves to be Protestant

Opposition from the army and civilian critics

Political Opponents

• After the Nazis banned the Social Democratic Party (SPD) in 1933, they continued to oppose Hitler from abroad

  • Its leaders formed SOPADE, which stands for Social Democratic Party in Exile

  • From Prague, then Paris and then London, they produced anti-Nazi leaflets and newspapers

  • They helped coordinate opponents inside Germany

  • They produced reports on public opinion within Germany

Communist Opposition

• The Nazi invasion of the USSR in 1941 led to increased communist resistance in Germany

  • Some communist opponents worked directly for the USSR and passed on information to Moscow

  • Others were independent and gathered information about Nazi persecution and war crimes

    • They then distributed leaflets containing this information to try and turn people against the Nazis

• The Gestapo were successful in their attempts to infiltrate many communist groups

  • This meant many were imprisoned or executed before they could cause the Nazi government any serious problems

  • The Gestapo referred to radio operators as 'pianists' and to the spy networks as 'orchestras'

  • This led to communist resistance groups being referred to as the 'red orchestra'

The Kreisau Circle

• This group contained powerful and influential Germans such as:

  • army officers

  • university professors

  • conservatives

• The Kreisau Circle met several times between 1942 and 1943

• They discussed their opposition to Hitler, including if they should assassinate him

  • The group did not attempt to kill Hitler

• The Kreisau Circle was discovered by the Gestapo and broken up

The Beck-Goerdeler group

• This group contained two key people:

  • Carl Friedrich Goerdeler

    • The mayor of Leipzig from 1930 to 1937

    • He resigned due to disagreeing with Nazi policies

  • Ludwig Beck

    • A former general in the Army

    • He resigned due to disagreeing with Hitler's aggressive foreign policy in 1938

• The group:

  • communicated with the British to create a plan to remove Hitler

  • attempted to kill Hitler in:

    • March 1943

    • November 1943

  • Designed the July Bomb Plot in 1944

The July bomb plot, 1944

• Also known by its codename, Operation Valkyrie

• By the summer of 1944, many army officials lost trust in Hitler’s leadership

  • They believed that killing Hitler would give Germany a better negotiating position with the Allies

• On 20th July, army officer Claus von Stauffenberg brought a briefcase containing a bomb into the key military headquarters of Wolf’s Lair, Rastenburg

• Hitler survived the assassination attempt

  • Stauffenberg placed the briefcase behind the large wooden leg of the conference table

    • The wooden table leg absorbed the majority of the blast

    • Four men were still killed in the explosion

• After the incident, Hitler ordered the execution of 4,900 Germans

  • Stauffenberg and Beck were executed in 1944

  • Goerdeler was executed in 1945

The Führer Adolf Hitler is dead!

I. An unscrupulous clique of party leaders without frontline service have exploited this situation to stab the fighting front in the back and to seize power for their own selfish ends.

II. In order to maintain law and order in this situation of acute danger, the Reich Government has declared a state of martial law and has transferred executive power to me, together with the supreme command of the Wehrmacht.

III. 1. I hereby transfer executive power with the right of delegation to the territorial commanders, in the home territory to the Commander of the Reserve Army, while simultaneously appointing him Supreme Commander in the home territory.

Part of a telex sent by Claus von Stauffenberg in the hours following the explosion. Stauffenberg and the other plotters attempted to seize control of the government in the hours following the bombing, but it soon became clear that Hitler had survived.

The Nazi state by 1945

• In 1939 and 1940, Hitler and the Nazis were undoubtedly very popular with large numbers of the German population

  • Unemployment had disappeared

  • Military victories against Poland and France had reversed the anger and humiliation many had felt over the First World War

• However, by 1945, the war had brought unimaginable levels of death and destruction to Germany

  • The relentless bombing had flattened Germany's cities and led to deaths and injuries of millions of civilians

  • The entire infrastructure of the country lay in ruins, and German industry lhad been destroyed

  • Around 6.5 million Germans had been killed or were missing, many on the Eastern Front

  • In these circumstances, only the most fanatical Nazis remained supporters of Hitler

How significant was opposition to the Nazi regime in wartime?

• As the shortages, deaths and hardships grew, people increasingly turned against the Nazis

  • Opposition came from various parts of society: the military, religious leaders, political opponents and the youth

• However, given the extent of the shortages and suffering, opposition remained limited, and the Nazis remained firmly in control

  • The majority of Germans appeared to remain loyal to the Nazis

  • Perhaps most were too focused on trying to survive or were scared of the consequences of opposing the Nazis