Resistance during World War II

During World War II, resistance movements worked against the occupiers in German-occupied Europe. They used many different ways to fight back. Some people refused to help the enemy, some shared secret messages, and some hid pilots whose planes had crashed. A few groups even fought openly to take back towns. In many countries, these movements were known as The Underground.

Resistance groups played an important supporting role by making life hard for the enemy. However, their military effect was limited, and they could not free their countries on their own.

Overall, the success of resistance movements during World War II is usually judged more by their political and moral impact than by their major military role in helping the Allies win.

Assessment

By 1941, British leaders believed that Nazi Germany now controlled much of Europe. They thought only Czechoslovakia, Poland, and China had strong resistance networks. By 1942, resistance groups had formed in most occupied lands. Large groups such as the Soviet partisans and the French Resistance did not seriously slow German operations until late 1943. All resistance movements also relied heavily on help from the Allied powers. Resistance was not only fighting. It also included sabotage, espionage, and helping people escape from the Nazis.

Historians still debate how well the resistance worked overall. Jørgen Hæstrup argued that resistance activities "influenced the course of the War decisively [particularly] in the psychological sector." Evan Mawdsley, however, said that in military terms the resistance did not do much to reach the main goals of the major Allied powers. It rarely won back territory or held German front-line troops in place. J. R. Seeger noted that in some campaigns the resistance was very valuable. On rare occasions it tied down German troops, which helped regular Allied forces in that area. However, this often led to harsh revenge attacks by the Nazis. Mawdsley did recognize that resistance movements played "a significant auxiliary role in the area of sabotage and the gathering of intelligence." He also said they had "great political and moral (and propaganda) importance," which helped them have a lasting impact on collective memory.

The resistance movements in World War II can be divided into two main groups that were politically opposed to each other. The first is the internationalist and usually Communist Party-led anti-fascist resistance. It existed in nearly every country in the world.

The second group was made up of various nationalist groups in countries that were occupied by Germany or the Soviet Union, such as the Republic of Poland. These groups opposed both Nazi Germany and the Communists.

By territory

Some of the best-known resistance movements in Europe were the Albanian Resistance, the Belgian Resistance, and the Bulgarian Resistance, which was led by the Fatherland Front. Others included the Czech Resistance, the Danish Resistance, the Dutch Resistance (especially the "LO" national hiding organisation), the French Resistance, the Greek Resistance, and the Italian Resistance, which was led mainly by the Italian CLN. The Jewish Resistance worked in various German-occupied lands. The Norwegian Resistance and Polish Resistance were also active. The Polish groups included the Polish Home Army, the larger Polish Underground State, which was loyal to the government-in-exile, and the People's Army, which was loyal to the Soviet-backed government. There was also the Slovak National Uprising, Soviet partisans, and the Yugoslav Resistance, which included the Chetniks and the Yugoslav Partisans. Inside Germany itself, politically persecuted people formed an opposition in Germany itself. They had many resistance groups, and many attempts to assassinate Hitler failed. Some people escaped to the Soviet Union or joined the resistance against the Axis in Greece and France.

In the Far East, the Chinese resistance, the Korean Resistance in Japanese Korea and Manchukuo, and the Malayan resistance in occupied Malaya all fought back. Many countries had movements that fought or worked against the Axis invaders. Nazi Germany itself had an anti-Nazi movement. Although Britain was not occupied during the war, the British made careful plans for a resistance movement. The main organisation was set up by the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS, also known as MI6), and it is now known as Section VII. A small, short-term secret commando force called the Auxiliary Units also existed. Other groups, such as the British Special Operations Executive and the American Office of Strategic Services (the forerunner of the Central Intelligence Agency), were formed to set up resistance groups in other countries or to support movements that already existed. Some resistance also fought against Allied forces. In Italian East Africa, after the Italians lost the East African Campaign, some Italian soldiers and settlers joined a guerrilla war against the Allies from 1941 to 1943. The Nazi German Werwolf movement never became very large, but the German Volkssturm played a big role in the Battle of Berlin. The "Forest Brothers" of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania included many fighters who opposed the Soviet occupation of the Baltic States into the 1960s. During or after the war, similar anti-Soviet resistance groups appeared in places like Romania, Poland, Bulgaria, Ukraine, and Chechnya.

Organization

After the first shock of the Blitzkrieg, people slowly started to organize, both in their own areas and across larger areas. This happened especially when Jews and other groups began to be taken away and used as Arbeitseinsatz (forced labor for the Germans). Organizing was dangerous, so most resistance actions were carried out by individuals. The land itself shaped what was possible. Where there were large empty areas, especially hills and forests, resistance forces could organize more easily without being noticed. This especially helped Soviet partisans in Eastern Europe. In more crowded countries such as the Netherlands, the Biesbosch wilderness was used. In northern Italy, both the Alps and the Apennines gave shelter to partisan brigades, although many groups worked right inside the big cities.

Many different kinds of groups existed, doing everything from humanitarian aid to armed resistance. Sometimes they worked together, to different degrees. Resistance usually started on its own, but it was encouraged and helped along by London and Moscow.

Size

Some historians and governments in certain European countries have tried to show that resistance to Nazi occupation was widespread. In fact, only a small number of people took part in organized resistance. In western Europe, this was about one to three percent of the population. In eastern Europe, where Nazi rule was harsher, more people joined organized resistance movements. For example, an estimated 10 to 15 percent of the Polish population did so. Passive resistance, such as refusing to cooperate with the occupiers, was much more common. Greece, Yugoslavia, Poland, and Ukraine had large numbers of people who resisted the German occupation. In western Europe, where German rule was less harsh, there were fewer resistors. However, historian Tony Judt said that in the west, the "myth of resistance mattered most."

Many sources note that the Polish Home Army was the largest resistance movement in Nazi-occupied Europe. Norman Davies wrote that it could fairly claim to be the largest of the European resistance organizations. Gregor Dallas wrote that the Home Army had around 400,000 members in late 1943. The numbers of Soviet partisans were very similar to those of the Polish resistance, and so were the numbers of Yugoslav Partisans. For the French Resistance, François Marcot estimated 200,000 active members and another 300,000 who were deeply involved. For the Resistance in Italy, Giovanni di Capua estimated that the number of partisans reached around 100,000 by August 1944, and rose to more than 250,000 with the final uprising in April 1945.

Forms of resistance

Resistance groups used many different methods. Some used force. Members raided offices to get food coupons and papers such as Ausweise. They also raided birth record offices to remove information about Jews and others the Nazis targeted. Some fighters carried out attacks on enemies. For a time, they helped free areas such as Yugoslavia, Paris, and northern Italy, sometimes working together with the Allied forces. There were uprisings in Warsaw, including the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and the Warsaw Uprising. There were also uprisings in extermination camps such as Sobibor in 1943 and Auschwitz in 1944. Fighting also continued through guerrilla warfare. Small fighting groups, called partisans, fought in the USSR and Yugoslavia. In France, a group called the Maquis fought in the countryside.

Non-violent resistance was also important. It included Sabotage, which means secretly damaging or disrupting the enemy's work. Resistance movements, spy agencies, and military special forces carried out many secret operations. People also went on strikes and held demonstrations. Some took part in espionage, such as sending reports about troop movements and the weather. The underground press printed secret newspapers to fight back against Nazi propaganda. People listened quietly to BBC broadcasts to get news and secret coded messages. Some groups prepared for life after the war. Helping people hide to avoid forced labor or deportation was one of the main activities in the Netherlands. Other help included escape routes for Allied soldiers trapped behind Axis lines and aid to POWs. People also made false documents, helped resistance workers, and gathered supplies for families who had been harmed by Axis forces.

Resistance operations

Resistance groups in German-occupied Europe worked in many ways during the Second World War. Some operations were small, such as the bombs that Ctibor Novák (a Czech resistance member) planted in Berlin in 1939. Others were larger, such as the 1942 attempt to assassinate Reinhard Heydrich, which was carried out as Operation Anthropoid. Groups in Poland, Yugoslavia, Greece, France, Denmark, and elsewhere carried out sabotage, helped people escape, and tried to slow the German war effort. The Home Army in Poland, the Chetniks and Yugoslav Partisans in Yugoslavia, and the Special Operations Executive in Britain all played important parts. Many resistance groups also helped Jewish people hide or escape. Irena Sendler was one brave person who saved many Jewish children from the Warsaw Ghetto. Some uprisings, such as the Warsaw Uprising, ended in failure. Overall, resistance groups helped the Allies by harassing the enemy. However, their military impact was limited, and they could not free their countries on their own.

The first partisan of World War II Hubal and his unit in Poland in winter 1939

A 1941 Soviet poster, inviting disruption of the enemy rear and active resistance at the German-occupied territories

Resistance movements during World War II

During World War II, many countries had resistance movements. These were groups of people who opposed the forces that controlled their lands. This section lists movements from places across Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas, including the French resistance movement, the Belgian Resistance, the Danish resistance movement, the Dutch resistance movement, the Norwegian resistance movement, the Polish resistance movement, the Czech resistance movement, the Italian resistance movement, and the Yugoslav resistance movement.

The groups had different goals and different enemies. Some fought against the occupying forces, such as the Chinese resistance movements and the Philippine resistance movement. Both opposed Japanese control. Others were formed after the war or were opposed to communism. Examples are the Soviet partisan movement, which was active against German forces, and the Japanese anti-imperial resistance, which opposed Japan's empire from within. Some groups were even created to fight against the Allies.

Notable individuals

Documentaries

Confusion was their business is a documentary from the BBC series Secrets of World War II. It is about the SOE (Special Operations Executive) and its work.
The Real Heroes of Telemark is a book and documentary by survival expert Ray Mears. It tells about the Norwegian team that stopped the German nuclear program by destroying its supplies (Norwegian heavy water sabotage).
Making Choices: The Dutch Resistance during World War II (2005) is an award-winning documentary that lasts about an hour. It tells the stories of four people who took part in the Dutch Resistance. Their stories show how they were saved from great danger.

Dramatisations

Many films, plays, and TV shows have been made about resistance during World War II. Some are comedies, such as Allo 'Allo!, a situation comedy about the French resistance that makes fun of Secret Army. Others are serious dramas. L'Armée des ombres, directed by Jean-Pierre Melville, shows the struggles inside and outside the French resistance. Black Book shows betrayals among the Dutch Resistance. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a pastor in the Confessing Church, was killed for his part in the German resistance. Defiance tells the story of the Bielski partisans, a group of Jewish resistance fighters in Belorussia. Het meisje met het rode haar is about Dutch resistance fighter Hannie Schaft, and Sophie Scholl – Die letzten Tage is about the last days of Sophie Scholl's life. The Resistance Banker is based on the life of banker Walraven van Hall, who helped pay for the Dutch resistance.

Other films focus on specific places and events. Battle of Neretva shows events during the Fourth anti-Partisan Offensive, and The Battle of Sutjeska is based on the Fifth anti-Partisan Offensive. Boško Buha tells of a boy who joined the partisans at 15 and became known for destroying enemy bunkers. Chetniks! The Fighting Guerrillas (1943) is a war film about Draza Mihailovic and his fight against the Nazis in Yugoslavia, made by Twentieth Century Fox. Come and See is a Soviet film about partisans in Belarus and the terrible things that happened during the war. Flame & Citron is based on two Danish resistance fighters from the Holger Danske group. The Four Days of Naples is about a popular uprising against German forces in Naples. Kanał was the first film to show the Warsaw Uprising, and The Longest Day includes resistance actions during Operation Overlord. Massacre in Rome is based on a true story about Nazi revenge after a resistance attack. Winter in Wartime is a 2008 adaptation of Jan Terlouw's 1972 novel. Charlotte Gray is thought to be based on Nancy Wake, and A Generation follows two young men involved in resistance with GL.