Pastors who resisted the neo-Pagan religion of the Nazis were jailed. Many were eventually led to the gas ovens of the concentration camps. Millions of Jews and Christians were executed. The sad state of the liberal Protestant churches led Germany to this holocaust. Although there were enough evangelical Christian leaders strategically positioned throughout Germany in the 1930s to resist Hitler; only a few stood against him.
"Not many Germans lost much sleep over the arrests of a few thousand pastors and priests or over the quarrelling of Protestant sects. And even fewer paused to reflect that under the leadership of Rosenberg, Borman and Himmler, who were backed by Hitler, the Nazi regime intended to destroy Christianity in Germany, if it could, and substitute the old paganism of the early tribal Germanic gods and the new paganism of the Nazi extremists. As Bormann, one of the men closest to Hitler, said in 1941, 'National Socialism and Christianity are irreconcilable.'"
As the methods of oppression by the Nazis grew worse, the resistance movement justified previously unimagined types of disobedience. For Niemöller and the resistance, the plan to assassinate a tyrant was a matter of obedience to God. They reasoned that Hitler was anti-Christ; therefore they decided to join the underground plan to eliminate him. Niemöller remained a key figure in the resistance movement until his arrest and imprisonment. In 1937, Niemöller preached his last sermon in the Third Reich knowing that he was soon to be arrested:
"We have no more thought of using our own powers to escape the arm of authorities than had the Apostles of old. No more are we ready to keep silent at man's behest when God commands us to speak. For it is, and must remain, the case that we must obey God rather than man."
Under orders from Hitler, he was imprisoned and finally transferred to the infamous Dachau concentration camp until the end of the war in 1945. He emerged from his years of detention as a towering symbol of the Church's struggle. In his travels to America, he addressed over two hundred audiences, sometimes with the concluding words that have become famous:
"First, they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak for me."
Niemöller did much more than speak out, however, as did his friend Dietrich Bonhoeffer. As a consequence, Bonhoeffer lost his life and Niemöller lost eight years of his freedom.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
(February 4, - , ) was a German and who worked for the ecumene and strongly opposed the policies of . He was eventually executed.
Dietrich was born in , Germany (now Wroclaw, Poland) into a middle to upper class family, the son of a doctor. At a very young age, before began, he decided to become a . His parents supported his decision and he started to spend a lot of time studying the . When he was old enough he attended college and seminary and became a minister. He studied theology in Tubingen and in .
He returned to Germany in , where he lectured on theology in Berlin and wrote several books. A strong opponent of fascism, he fled to when rose to power in . He returned after Martin Niemöller and formed the anti-Nazi , only to have his seminary closed down at the outbreak of . The also banned him from preaching. During this time, Bonhoffer worked closely with numerous opponents of Hitler.
During World War II, Dietrich played a key leadership role in the Confessing Church, which opposed the policies of . Initially Dietrich fought to gain strong support from the state church against Hitler's treatment of the s, but after countless instances of refusal to take action he took the initiative to help start the confessing church. While the confessing church was not large, it represented the only church in Germany that was in opposition to Hitler's practices.
After he realized that diplomatic means to stop Hitler were impossible, he decided that was the only solution. He joined a hidden group of high-ranking officers who were trying to have Hitler killed. Bonhoeffer was arrested in April 1943 after money that was used to help Jews escape to was traced to him. He was charged with conspiracy and imprisoned for two years in Flossenbürg. After the unsuccessful attempt on Hitler's life on , , connections of Bonhoeffer to the conspirators were discovered, and he was executed by just three weeks before the liberation of the city. His execution was carried out even though the Germans knew that they were going to lose the war. They did not want the end of the war to save Bonhoeffer from death.
He is considered a for his faith and was later absolved of any crimes by the German government. His books Ethics () and Letters from Prison () were published posthumously.
In his theological writings, he states that Christianity should abandon the "religious premise": not the need for explanation of the world or man's need for salvation are central, but the acting in the world in imitation of Jesus.
COMMUNIST AND SOCIAL DEMOCRAT OPPOSITION
It is estimated that over 30,000 Communist and/or Leftist sympathizers lost their lives during the Nazi Regime's hold on power, many of these individuals suffered not just for their political association with the Nazi's political nemesis but because they actively participated in resistance to the regime. Yet despite their obvious role in resistance, little is known of their actions and motivations in general. The role of Communist resistance to the Nazi regime has often been minimized by scholars. The Communist Resistance has often been dismissed as either being completely abolished by Hitler during his rise to power, or as providing an insignificant level of opposition to the regime. Although elements of truth can be found in these notions, they are not completely accurate.
The view that the Communist were abolished as a representative force stems from the KPD’s (German Communist Party) structural demise shortly after Hitler's rise to power. The KPD did continue to operate underground for a period until its leadership was almost completely liquidated. Many communist, those who may or may not have been official members of the KPD survived and eventually developed a presence of resistance in Germany. However, legally the KPD did cease to be a force after Hitler entered into power.
The Nazis found their lucky charm in the guise of a Dutch Communist by the name of Marius van der Lubbe. On 27 February 1933 the German Reichstag was set on fire. Mr. van der Lubbe, was apparently apprehended at the scene but few people actually believe he was the true culprit. It is most probable that he was set up in some type of ruse. Mr. van der Lubbe had been arrested several days earlier in a bar after exclaiming to the patrons that he had been engaged in arsonist attacks on public buildings. The size and pattern of the fire suggested to many that other hands were at play. Three Bulgarian Communist were also later implicated in the plot, but later cleared of charges due to a lack of evidence. It most probable that SA storm troopers engineered the fire. Goering was later said to have boasted about Nazi responsibility for destroying the Reichstag.
In any event the Reichstag fire became the means by which the Communist as well as most other political organizations would meet their demise. Hitler seized upon the Reichstag Fire to produce a sense of hysteria among the German Public. The regime claimed that a bolshevist revolution was underway in Germany and that communist were attempting to seize power. Hindenburg, then still acting president was pressured into taking action by Hitler and some conservative members of the Reichstag, there was also a likely pressure from industrialist who had long viewed the Communist as a threat. On the day following the fire, Hitler convinced Hindenburg to sign a decree suspending the constitutional rights on civil liberties, the decree stated that:
Restrictions on personal liberty, on the right of free expression of opinion, including freedom of the press; on the rights of assembly and association; and violations of the privacy of postal, telegraphic and telephonic communications; and warrants for house searches, orders for confiscation as well as restrictions on property, are also permissible beyond the legal limits otherwise prescribed
Following the decree Nazi Storm troopers swarmed throughout the streets rounding up communist, destroying party offices, shutting down presses and instilling a sense of terror into the hearts of thousands. Not only was Hitler able to illegalise his main opposition but he was able to produce a climate of fear that induced a percentage of the population to vote National Socialist.
In any event the legal representation of the German Communist Party came to a swift and sudden end. Hitler compounded his hold on power in March of 1933, by following the decree with the “Enabling Act” This act enabled Hitler’s cabinet to legislate all future laws. Although the act was supposedly intended to last only four years it became the means by which Hitler would rule throughout the war years, a constant state of martial law. Having the power to constitute law, Hitler used the Act to redesign voting procedures, illegalise opposition groups and establish control over all institutional structures.
Much of their legal and structural demise can be viewed as self inflicted. The Communist like many other groups are held at least partially responsible for Hitler’s rise to power and his subsequent political victory. Had they been able to see past political differences with the Social Democrats they may have been able to crush the Nazi machine at its’ roots. Accountability can be cast on all political parties in Germany. In retrospect we can argue endlessly as to who merits more fault. Communist can be blamed for adding to chaotic conditions in the street warfare that
helped breed insecurity among the German populous, they can also be blamed for refusing to cooperate with the Social Democrats in forming an alliance against the Nazis during the early elections. The SPD leadership in turn can be held accountable for not utilizing its numbers to call for an immediate assault on Nazi members, that its' reliance on legality helped pave the way for Hitler’s intrigue and manipulations. As William Shirer pointed out in his History of the Third Reich:
No class or group or party in Germany could escape its’ share of responsibility for the abandonment of the democratic republic and the advent of Adolf Hitler. The cardinal error of the Germans who opposed Nazism was their failure to unite against it
There are number of explanations as to why Hitler achieved victory despite modest showings in the polls. The KPD as was mentioned before, due to political rivalries with other parties failed to form a unified stand against Hitler. Had the KPD cooperated with the more “moderate” Social Democrats a substantial blow may have been struck to the National Socialist during the elections of November 1932. The Nazi Party had only 33.1% of the vote when Hitler became chancellor, against the Communists’ 16.9% and the SPD’s 20.4%. Thus the greatest opportunity for productive resistance, namely a legal one was lost to the Communist and Social Democrats as well. Had the SPD and KPD been able to overcome their differences a much stronger political voice may have been able to prevent Hitler’s substantial winnings. Alas, that was not the case. Once Hitler was in power he quickly destroyed the official German Communist Party.
Even if the Communist and Social Democrats had been able to overcome there differences and formed a substantial voting block they still may not have been able to fend off the Nazi rise to power. The National Socialist did have popular support, we must remember the conditions in which the Nazis rose to power. Communism remained for many Germans an invasive concept, it challenged their cultural and religious traditions. For many it was strictly associated with Bolshevism in the Soviet Union and viewed as a threat. Hitler’ s rhetoric offered an alternative too many Germans. He appealed to many in the working class because his rhetoric offered a sense of equality via race and culture. He appealed to many in Labour because he gave lip service to Labour issues and often presented the German “working man” as heroic. Hitler, managed to appeal to both sides of the class struggle, he gained support from industrialist by advocating a fierce resistance to Communism.
Hitler appealed to Labour because he was able to replace concepts of class struggle with race. By placing a foreign, or Jewish face on certain aspects of industry he was able to create a scapegoat. Hitler could appeal to everyone’s senses because he had no scruples. Propaganda replaced reality. He could promise anything because under the martial state he would initiate, he would not be held accountable. Hitler was able via rhetoric to appeal to everyone's needs. Communism could not promise the immediate rewards, which National Socialism offered. Thus National Socialism presented a great challenge to the Communist and Socialist parties. As Peter Hoffman points out:
In this situation the Communist promised class warfare and a better, but distant future; the Nazis on the other hand, promised work, bread, and good order; since they also presented themselves as good patriots, many believed in them rather than the Communist who, it was feared would bring revolution and Civil War
The Communist resistance, did however continue despite Hitler’s ability to destroy the official parties of opposition. It continued operating through the actions of individuals and small resistance cells. Large-scale organizations were no longer possible and efforts to form a unified front with other party organizations and resistance cells may not have been the wisest approach. Large collaborative resistance cells were prone to infiltration by the Gestapo. The National Socialist Regime had a firm grip on the German Community, resistance on the smallest levels was punishable by death. It is here that one must evaluate what is significant about resistance in Germany. The fact that more Germans did not resist Hitler’s rise to power and his subsequent policies reflects darkly on German Society as but this in no way should shadow the merits of those who did.
Unfortunately, many historians discredit the memory of resisters by evaluating them solely on their numbers relative to the population as a whole. This is true of assessments made of various resistance cells (conservative, leftist, military, religious, etc.). Failures are often stressed, we are faced with question that focus on why they did not succeed instead of how they managed to persevere. In recent years this tendency has evolved into outright attacks on the moral integrity of the Resistance Movement as a whole. This is evinced by the Works of Daniel Goldhagen in his Hitler’s Willing Executioners and Theodore Hamerow’s On the Road to the Wolf's Lair. Goldhagen has dismissed all Germans as conditioned by a virulent form of Anti Semitism. Hamerow has demonstrated negative views of resisters, seeing them as little more than opportunists. Although many of these Historians express views pertaining mostly to those bourgeoisie elements involved in the July 20 Plot, they discredit the memory of leftist resistance as well by not even seriously addressing their role in underground resistance cells. Goldhagen does not mention them at all and Hamerow briefly mention the Communist Resistance with one can be perceived as a type of condescending tone. The following is an excerpt from On the Road to the Wolf’s Lair.
During the early years of the Third Reich die-hard supporters of the parties active in the republican government, mostly Communist and Social Democrats, tried to maintain an underground opposition in Germany. From time to time chalked slogans denouncing the Hitler dictatorship would appear on a wall or sidewalk, Anti- Nazi pamphlets would occasionally be smuggled in from abroad and circulated surreptitiously,... even small clandestine meetings would be organized to discuss and criticize Government policies. By the middle of the decade, however, these faint attempts at organized political disaffection had come to an end. That was due in part to a ruthlessness of the Gestapo, but mostly it reflects in the growing acceptance of the Nazi Order.
Hamerow in his efforts to focus on German support of the regime minimizes the efforts of resisters. Although he acknowledges Gestapo brutality, he presents the acts of resisters in a distorted light. An occasional slogan written on a wall or sidewalk could result in imprisonment or in a concentration camp or expedient death. One case in point is that of Erich Dubel, a German worker executed in 1940 for writing Communist slogans and Social Democratic symbols on a factory wall. The acts of individuals and small resistance cells is highly significant when seen by the light of a totalitarian state. We must keep in mind that the Germany of the 1930’s and 40’s was much different from the democracies in later decades. Large public demonstrations like the ones the United States experienced in the 1960’s were unfathomable. The fact that anyone persevered to resist directly the government in any form is highly significant, particularly an expression of left-wing political dissent.
The significance of resistance should be measured according to its context. Resisters should not simply be viewed as a minimal expression of a larger population but as individuals facing the pressures of a conformist majority within a totalitarian society. Germany was a supreme form of totalitarianism, despite Nazi popularity there were also strong elements of fear. Political dissenters were under no illusion as to the consequences of their actions. The concentration camps and prison were filled with individuals arrested for the slightest discursions.
Between 1933 and 1945 about three million Germans were held at some stage in a concentration camp or prison for political reasons, some only for a few weeks, Some for the whole twelve Years
Actions by Communist Resisters takes on even more significance when once considers that they were the earliest targets of the Third Reich. Their Politics were viewed by many as threatening due to notions of the “Red Menace” thus they could count on little support from public opinion. They were in a sense deduced to a status of bandit by the Regime. They were demonised by many in the population to extents that superseded even the paranoia of McCarthyism. There pamphleteering and acts of public dissent identified them as members of a supposedly aggressive bolshevist force. It took deep levels of bravery to continue protesting the regime. As Prof. F. L. Carsten Points out:
Their unwavering loyalty to the cause of Socialism or Communism is indeed one of the few positive features in German History during the years 1933 - 45. Even during the war this activity continued on a minor scale, and many hundreds more had to pay with their lives for their convictions
Scholarship relating to the Communist Resistance is not only hampered by evaluations that focus on size but on Post-War History. The fact of the matter is little research was conducted on the actions and motivations of communist during the Third Reich. Much of this stems from the conditions of the Cold war directly following Germany's defeat. The bottom line is, research focusing on communist resisters was not popular. The allied influenced society, which sprang up after the war in Germany and abroad may have viewed such research endeavours as not profitable. Communism was to many, even in academic circles anathema. Subsequent discoveries on Stalin's double handed dealing with Hitler further shadowed the memory of Communist Resisters. They were often associated with Stalin's agenda and at best they were approached awkwardly by American and European Scholars. They were in the minds of many another side of the totalitarian coin. They were still demonised despite their noble efforts. At best they were viewed as misguided. The problem of viewing resisters based on their “successes,” and population is compounded by the polarized world of Cold War Politics. Thus focus was placed instead on the actions of the July plotters. These after all were for the most part anti-Communist and identifiable with the Western Political scene in subsequent decades after the war. Historical analysis of Leftist activity in Germanys Third Reich for the most part ends with the KPD’s structural demise. At best Communist Resistance is mentioned only in passing. Reality presents a slightly different picture.
The Left remained active throughout the war. Like most resistance cells in the Reich, efforts were made on an individual or small organization level. The fact that much of communist resistance emanates from small-scale groups does not necessarily reflect a lack of participants but results mainly for functional purposes. Small organizations had a much greater likelihood of avoiding infiltration and detection. In the German Resistance to Hitler, Prof. F. L. Carsten agrees:
As soon as they extended beyond a certain point or tried to start activities on a larger scale they became the victims of the Gestapo...after about 1936 it was more generally realized that only very small groups had a chance of surviving and that the range of their activities had to remain extremely limited if they did not wish to share the fate of their predecessors.
Due to the conditions of living in Hitler’s Germany, resistance cells could only function on a small scale. Communist took significant steps in combating the regime. These acts were not limited to propaganda, allied collaboration and clandestine meetings but included direct acts of resistance. Communist acts of resistance were among the first carried out against the Nazi regime. Opposition activities were carried out on the individual scale as well as by organized resistance cells. Although documentation of resistance cells is scarce due to the nature of their clandestine operations, Gestapo records and other sources do provide us with some interesting accounts.
Herbert Baum, a Jewish electrician with Marxist beliefs had organized a group of factory workers in Berlin. The group extensively distributed Anti-Nazi literature and committed acts of industrial sabotage. Baum is most noted for his arsonist attack on a Nazi Art exhibit titled “Soviet Paradise”. The exhibit was intended to make a mockery of Socialism by presenting Soviet life in a negative light, Using a chemical agent, Baum and several of his compatriots burned the artworks and attempted to destroy much of the exhibit. In any other society this could be viewed as a typical act of vandalism but within the conditions of Nazi Germany, this was a significant act of political opposition. Public acts like the one’s conducted by Baum and his followers are significant because they represent direct acts of resistance. Baum’s actions extend beyond small anonymous actions and represent a collective consciousness of opposition. As a result of their activities Baum and his associates met their death in Moabit prison.
It is interesting to note that some of the earliest assassination attempts made on Hitler were engineered by Communists. Such actions have been overshadowed by the famous attempt of July 20, 1944 conducted by the Stauffenberg circle. Almost five years earlier, George Elser a Communist and former member of the Red Front Fighters’ League was among the first to seriously make an attempt on Hitler’s life. Elser came very close to success. On November 8 1939, Elser placed a bomb in the panelling of a column in a the Burgerbraukeller restaurant where Hitler was to make a commemorative speech regarding the 1923 Putsch. The restaurant had political significance for the Nazis since it was one of their early centres of organization. Unfortunately Hitler arrived earlier than scheduled and managed to provide his monologue in less time than was his custom. After delivering his speech he immediately exited the building escaping death by 13 minutes. The bomb did detonate and eight Nazis were killed, many more were injured.
Elser was apprehended and found to be carrying a “Red Front” membership card in his coat. Surprisingly Elser had managed to survive most of the war in a concentration camp, (Hitler had planned on holding a symbolic trial after the war), unfortunately, he was murdered at war’s end by the Gestapo. Although Elser was acting individually his actions are significant. Resistance on even the smallest scale is important because it commemorates the power of the individual to oppose conformity. There is little doubt that Elser’s actions set an example for future attempts. His actions although soliciting little sympathy from the general public at large, struck a chord among various opponents of the regime. Individual acts set the path for larger actions, even if such actions are unsuccessful they present an alternative for humanity.
Like, Elser there were a large number of individuals who either based on their socialist convictions or out of opposition to Nazi tyranny chose to resist. Many of these individuals were active in the Communist Party and subsequently joined up with Underground operative cells after the KPD’s official demise. Although the Communist and Social Democratic Parties were rivals many of the underground groups were comprised of Socialist/Communist from both parties. Despite continuing political differences some resistance groups were actually comprised of components from both camps. One such group merits particular attention that was the organization known as “Neu Beginnen”.
Neu Beginnen was formed by Walter Lowenheim in 1929 and has been described as being a “Leninist” organization. The group organization had taken its’ name from one of its’ publications (Beginning afresh) The Group’s original membership was predominantly from the Social Democratic Party but began a swing leftward that entailed an increased number of communist who had grown wary of the KPD’s reliance on USSR influenced dogmatic approaches. Prior to the Nazi seizure of power, Loweheim originally hoped to use the organization to infiltrate the KPD, SPD and other organizations and gear their leadership toward a “truer” path of Socialism, based on Lenin's views. Many of the members who had formerly been active in the Social Democratic Party were seeking a more traditional Marxist approach.
The organization was extremely active in the publication of underground literature during the Nazi regime. Neu Begginnen presses were noted for producing illegal political works disguised as popular literature. The group constituted a large network that enabled resisters from various cells to maintain contact. The organization was able to provide a substantial underground system of operation because of its original clandestine purpose (infiltrating other organizations, etc.), and managed to stay active up until 1939 when most of its’ members were apprehended and interned in concentration camps. Neu Begginnen mainly concerned itself with establishing a unified network of communication but hesitated from pushing for mass action against the regime. It was Lowenheim’s hope that through dissemination they would be able to educate the working classes as to the evils of the regime while at the same time starting a base from which they could stir workers into industrial sabotage.
Eventually the group became involved in attempting to form a united coalition of resisters under a “German Popular Front” Attention began to focus on a political objective after the fall of Hitler.. Although they began to seek a larger base they had no intention of a direct violent approach. They wished to continue oppositional actions against the regime while planning a new government after Hitler’s fall.
To this end the political organization of the German Popular Front has been formed to include past and present members of Germanys left wing parties. This organization leads the struggle against dictatorial principles and, after the fall of Hitler, will be prepared to take over the government of the German Republic with a sound program designed to rescue the German people from the political and economic chaos created by Hitler
As was mentioned previously, the resisters were facing an antagonistic majority, That majority was receiving a steadfast diet of National Socialist Propaganda. Before a mass militant operation could be conceived, opinions would have to be swayed. Again, this brings us to the point that Communist resisters are often viewed as insignificant when compared with the numbers of Nazi supporters. Once we accept the fact that dissenters were the minority we must then consider their significance in that context. In that light, we see just how pertinent their use of propaganda was.
The Communist Resistance in Germany was not insignificant. It may have erred and it may have been unsuccessful in forming a strong enough base from which it could launch more aggressive acts but it left an element of hope. To measure the actions of the opposition in light of the majority’s conformity would be misguided. The movement is significant regardless of its size or successes. Had there been no form of opposition in Germany future generations would have only one element “Nazism” from which to affirm their identity. Without the representation of opposition in a society, evils can be perceived as truths. Historical scholarship can save a place for moral contrasts. The lone dissenter must always be noted, if we are to continue a moral inventory of society. It may sound cliché’ but examples must be set for the future regardless of their victories or losses.
Even the "National Committee for a Free Germany", may not have been as completely Soviet dominated as was previously believed. The organization, which was indeed formed by the Soviet Intelligence as a means to carry out espionage involved hundreds of German POW’s who were captured during the Russian campaign. It subsequently recruited members within Germany via these POW’s and expatriates. What philosophical motivations guided these individuals is extremely difficult to determine from a Post-war perspective. Many probably were so disgusted with their own Nation's activities that they cared little for national sentiments but many more probably viewed the Marxist ideal as offering a solution to war and bloodshed. The Communist Resistance had little lean way for philosophical argumentation regarding the true nature of Socialism when faced with the nemesis of Nazism.
The Communist Resistance faced severe obstacles in their endeavours. Not only were they attacked early on during Hitler’s rise to power but they were alienated from other segments of German Opposition. Once efforts were carried out to contact other units of dissent the efforts of communist were often rebuffed. Stauffenberg distrusted them immensely and perhaps with some cause. There organization due to its political structure was often infiltrated by Gestapo agents. This was the case when members of the July plotters did attempt to finally initiate a collaboration. Julius Leber and Adolf Reichwein, to key leaders in Stauffenberg’s circle were arrested after meeting with leaders of the Communist Resistance, apparently a Gestapo agent had managed to infiltrate the meeting, etc. In any regard they found little support from outside sources. Even the Soviet Union failed to provide adequate support until they had been invaded. The Soviet Communist leadership had argued that Hitler and Fascism would help bring about the downfall of Capitalism thus enabling the Revolution of the Proletariat within Germany. Due to this perception, support to the resistance was not forthcoming. Stalin’s pact with Germany (Yale Project) during the Poland invasion also deleted support from among the Communist membership.
THE OPPOSITION OF THE ARMY AND THE FOREIGN OFFICE
Abwehr
The Gestapo was Hitler's secret police, its mandate gave it complete power within the borders of Germany. We can compare it to the mandate given to the FBI when the FBI was first created. The FBI was not allowed to carry out operations outside the United States, which job fell to the CIA and other agencies. In Germany the Gestapo was like the FBI, and the Abwehr was like the CIA. The Abwehr was the intelligence-gathering agency that operated on a world level. It was headed by Navy Admiral Wilhelm Canaris.
There was animosity and distrust between the Gestapo and the Abwehr. The Gestapo was loyal to Hitler, the Abwehr was behind the conspiracy to assassinate Hitler. The Gestapo followed their leader blindly. The Abwehr understood that Hitler would destroy Germany if they didn't destroy him first.
The Abwehr was made up of the nobility of Germany and Austria, who were steeped in the tradition of the German military as opposed to Hitler's SS and the Gestapo. The Abwehr wished Germany and Austria to regain the power and influence they had before the fall of the Austro-Hungarian empire, a fall that was the first step taken by the NWO in their attempt to create a world government. They knew Hitler was their enemy, and a conspiracy was put into action as far back as 1938 to assassinate him.
They placed a bomb beneath his desk. It exploded, but did not kill him.
After the attempt to assassinate Hitler failed, many of the Abwehr conspirators escaped Europe and eventually were brought to the United States. These men worked with the United States government to create both the CIA and Navy Intelligence as we know it today. The Abwehr men came into the United States before the end of WWII, therefore they had made inroads into the U.S. government long before the influx of German scientists and other high-ranking German officers were brought into this
country. When the Gehlen group was brought over, many former Gestapo were part of it. Most of these men were given new identities, sometimes even new faces and fingerprints. By 1955, the United States military and intelligence services had become the new battleground for the Gestapo and the Abwehr. The feud that had started in Germany was being carried on at a higher level within the U.S.. government and around the world.
The leaders of the Abwehr had discovered the reason that Churchill and Roosevelt would not help them assassinate Hitler. Briefly put, the three leaders along with Stalin, were controlled by the same international cabal. We now call this cabal the New World Order, and we know that it is made up of International Bankers and the corporations they control. This group gained its foothold in the United States in 1913 when it took over control of the United States currency by establishing the Federal Reserve Bank. They went on to finance the Russian revolution, WWI and WWII. All of these were necessary steps on the path to a one-world government.
The NWO international bankers controlled Hitler. Hitler controlled the Gestapo. When the Gestapo came to the U.S.., they were controlled by the NWO through the various agencies and foundations that had been established by the NWO to carry out its plan.
The Abwehr arrived first, and they were instrumental in setting up the CIA. Even though it only operated under their control for the first few years, the Abwehr was able to put in place a covert arm of the CIA that has operated independently of the CIA ever since. These men and their physical and ideological descendants, are the sworn enemies of the NWO and their present-day Gestapo lackeys. They still operate out of the covert CIA and a secret Navy that exists within the Navy.
Hitler & Stauffenberg, and other military personnel at the wolf's lair
The Resistance needed the army to stage a successful coup. It was through the army that direct access to Hitler could be obtained. It was also the army that had the power to successfully overthrow the Nazi government. Although many among the military leadership were loyal to Hitler, some officers were opposed to National Socialism.
Army opposition to Hitler began during the early days of his rule. The fact that Hitler was Austrian, lower middle class, and had achieved only the rank of a corporal during his military service was frowned upon by many officers. Army leaders were also leery of Hitler's SA troops, which they viewed as a threat to their own power. Hitler managed to alleviate some of these fears during the "Night of the Long Knives", when he purged most of the SA leadership thus guaranteeing his own control over SA troops. Most SA organizations were either disbanded or infused into the SS. The SA posed a problem for Hitler. Ernst Rohm, the SA's leader, insisted on incorporating the German army into the SA's organizational framework. This distressed many of the army's leaders. Hitler, who needed the military to establish total control, realized the problem Rohm presented. Hitler needed Rohm out of the way in order to solidify his command and win the army's support.
The Army was in no way won over by Hitler immediately. During the "Night of the Long Knives" Hitler not only purged the SA, he also took the opportunity to murder other governmental, military and civilian opponents. Two such victims were General Schleicher and his assistant General Ferdinand von Bredow. Thanks to a military cover up in which Schleicher was implicated in a supposed attempted coup, many in the military turned a blind eye to the murders. Yet Hitler's actions were not forgotten by all. The Fritsch Affair also created a degree of tension between Hitler and members of the military. General Fritsch, a well-respected general, was dismissed from his office under fraudulent allegations of homosexuality. Fritsch's continued outspokenness over Schleicher’s and von Bredow’s murders was a leading factor in his dismissal. Most of the other generals realized that the charges were the result of setup, and never forgot Hitler's intimidation techniques.
Despite existing tensions, Hitler's subsequent policies gained the support of many within the military. However, there were still those, like General Ludwig Beck who were opposed to his aggressive war policy. Beck believed that Nazi militarism would eventually lead to Germany’s ruin. Others, like Major General Henning von Tresckow were appalled by the atrocities that occurred during the Reich’s eastward expansion. Dissent also developed within the Abwehr (military intelligence) and the Foreign Service. Eventually dissenters began to seek one another out through a network of resistance cells. A major resistance group under the leadership of General Tresckow developed on the Eastern Front. Tresckow soon formulated plans to kill Hitler. One of the earlier plans was "Operation Flash", an attempt to detonate a bomb on Hitler's plane. Unfortunately, Tresckow and his collaborators failed to pull off this and subsequent attempts.
While General Tresckow planned Hitler's’ assassination, Ludwig Beck was becoming a principle leader in the civilian resistance back in Berlin. Beck, upon his retirement from the military, joined up with other resisters in the civilian sector. They formed a resistance cell that included members from the churches, Foreign Service, intelligence agencies, and even members of the German Social Democratic and Communist parties. The Berlin resisters spent much of their time theorizing about the type of government that would replace National Socialism once Hitler's regime was toppled. Since their political orientations ranged from the conservative to the left wing, the resisters did not always see eye to eye. In general, they seemed to be aiming for a type of Christian socialism.
General Friedrich Olbricht and Count Stauffenberg. became the prime movers in the July 20 plot to kill Hitler. A pre-existing government defence plan known as Operation Valkyrie was earmarked by the plotters for implementation in a coup. The plan involved the reserve army's suppression of a possible uprising of foreign labourers. The plotters hoped to kill Hitler and then make it look as though they were seizing control to prevent a coup. After many difficulties the plan was initiated when Stauffenberg detonated a bomb in the Wolf’s Lair. Hitler survived and the plan ultimately failed. Other problems complicated matters. There was a lack of support among the generals, and major technical and communication difficulties between the conspirators . Following the failed coup Beck, Olbricht, Stauffenberg, and many others were immediately executed. Hundreds more were murdered following a series of staged trials.
Some scholars argue that the plotters were concerned with avoiding Germany’s total defeat, as opposed to stopping Nazi atrocities. Those who argue this point emphasize that the attempt was only taken toward the end of the war. However, many of the plotters had attempted to combat National Socialism well before July 20, 1944. It is essential to remember that the resisters within the military had little support within and outside Germany. The concept of utilizing "Operation Valkyrie" developed as more military personnel joined up with their cause. Furthermore, the Holocaust did not reach full bloom until the expansion eastward began. General Tresckow and others had complained to military officials as they witnessed atrocities being committed in the East by members of the Einsatzgruppen and the SS death squads. Tresckow formulated plans to kill Hitler as early as 1941. He was the leading organizer in "Operation Flash", an attempt to bomb Hitler's plane in the Summer of 1942. Carl Goerdeler, the former mayor of Leipzig, resigned in 1937 after a statue of the Jewish composer Felix Mendelssohn, was removed from its position in front of Lepzig's main concert hall.. As early as 1938 members of the resistance tried to contact British and American officials to warn them of Hitler's future war policy. Adam von Trott zu Solz, a member of the German Foreign Service travelled to England and the United States in hope of gaining support for the resistance cause. He was invariably turned away by British and American leaders who were suspicious of the Resistance's motivations.
There can be little doubt that many of the conspirators desired to save Germany. However, it would be unjust to interpret their patriotic sensibilities as being equitable with Nazi aims. Furthermore, it is unjust to paint a monolithic image of the conspirators as being indifferent to the plight of Jews and other victims. Aversion to Nazi policies of genocide and patriotic concerns were for many conspirators, intrinsically bound. The Resistance was comprised of individuals with different concerns, but they did share one common agenda - the destruction of the Nazi regime. General Tresckow’s and other plotters often made allusions to the cosmic battle of Good and Evil in explaining their motivations.
Many of the conspirators were attempting to show “another Germany.” Such a symbolic image was essential for future generations of Germans. An example would be needed to show that opposition existed among Germans. Without, their supreme sacrifice, future generations would only have Nazism as a point of reference. The resisters, by taking a stand against Nazism, insured that an example of human resiliency would exist for the future. They demonstrated that individual ethics can override nationalistic bonds. It is unfortunate that their actions have often been misrepresented.
OPPOSITION OF THE NAZI YOUTH
The Kreisau Circle
Claus von Stauffenberg, Dr. Carl Goerdeler and General Beck were the main plotters against Hitler. Their cause was to remove the nazi regime, and all of their actions were directed for that purpose. But if the plot had succeeded, how the plotters would have built the new Germany? How would they get rid not just of the nazi system, but of the nazi ideology? How would they clear the nazism not only from the German life, but from the German heart?
The resistance documents proved that the plotters wrote plans for that matter. There were many writers, including the conservative Goerdeler and the socialist Leber. But the group that planned the "after Hitler" Germany seriously was a group called the "Kreisau circle". they wrote a plan for a constitution that included subjects like economy, foreign policy, justice, religious, culture, education and even the trails against the nazi war criminals. The Kreisau constitution was accepted partly by many of the resistance leaders, including Stauffenberg (Goerdeler and Leber opposed it). If the plot would have succeeded, it had been more than possible that much of it would have been adapted by the new anti-nazi government.
The story of Kreisau began with one brave and idealistic man. Helmuth James count von Moltke was from an ancient and respectable noble German family. One of its members was Field Marshal Helmuth Von Moltke, that was one of the most brilliant generals of the 19th century. Helmuth James von Moltke was a pacifist, and he had a deep belief in freedom, democracy and equality. He learned law and became an international lawyer. He had English blood in him, and he saw himself as a citizen of Europe. Moltke had many friends in England, and one of them described him as a realist man, with a good sense of humour, but with unshaken determinism about his beliefs and purpose. For example, when he thought that the small farmers near his home need help, he gave them much of the lands of his estate, despite the objection of the other nobleman in the area.
When he worked as a lawyer in Berlin, he tried to help his Jewish customers to escape from Germany. One time he went even to the Gestapo HQ in Vienna, in order to help two of them! Before the nazis came to power, in the times of the economic crisis, Moltke organized bodies he called "Labour camps". In these places ,he thought, young people from all the classes could work and understand each other. According to Moltke's vision, these people would learn to respect other human beings and will help to create a better society.
When the nazis came to power, they cancelled Moltke's labour camps because the education people got there didn't fit their ideology. Because of that and many other reasons Moltke became a determent and uncompromising anti-nazi. He hated the nazi ideology that was the opposite of all his opinions and beliefs. For example, when Mussolini was in Berlin, all the streets were covered with flags. The workers came to Moltke's office to put a flag, but he threw them out of the door. After that he convinced all the other people in the building to follow him, and this building was the only one without a nazi flag!
In the summer of 1940 Moltke met Peter Yorck count von Wartenburg. The later, that was Moltke's relative, was a young man of the nobility that studied law and economy. Yorck, like Moltke, was a determent anti-nazi, but he didn't felt himself as a citizen of the world but as a German patriot. Moltke, Yorck and their wives became close friends. Another friend of Moltke was Adam von Trott, that studied economy, political science and philosophy in Oxford. Trott was a member of the resistance movement and he Moltke and Yorck to it. The three friends created the movement called late the Kreisau circle.
Another men joined the circle soon after that: professor Adolf Reichwein -socialist philosopher, the priest Dr. Eugene Gerstenmaier, two jesuit priests: father delp and father Rocs, the priest Dr. Herald Polchau- the minister of tagel prison in Berlin, Hans Peters- professor to philosophy, Paulus Von Husen- an international lawyer, Horst Von Einziedel- an economist, Hans Lukaschek- the president of Silesia and Dr. Theodor Stelzer that was an active in the movement for the unification of the protestant church. The socialist leaders of the resistance: Haubach, Leber and Mierendorff joined the movement later.
All of these people were called the Kreisau circle. Dr. Gerstenmaier, one of the only members that was spared after the war, wrote about the circle:
"The members of Kreisau dealed just with political, economical, judicial, and cultural problems that will stand in the way of a new German government that will be formed after Hitler. Military problems didn't interest them. They were not military leaders, and they didn't have military force under their command. Their duty was to think. Their mission- to write a plan for a new order based on law, their intention- destruction of the nazi ideology, their purpose- to rebuild Germany in the spirit of Christianity and social justice and to combine it in a united Europe..."
Fitzgibon/ 20th July- page 80
In the winter of 1941-1942 they wrote their plans. But before we will deal with them, lets mention the other aspects of the circle. It was connected to the resistance movement through Trott. In the beginning, Moltke and most of the members objected a violent coup against the regime. The situation changed when they heard about the mass murder of the Jews. After that most of the members did their best to support Beck and Goerdeler in the coup plans, but Moltke didn't believe that a coup in possible. After the arrival of Stauffenberg, he did his best to support the coup. Moltke and Stelzer fought the regime in other ways: both of them saved an unknown amount of Jews in Norway, and they saved the life of a Norwegian priest. When Moltke worked as a judicial advisor in the army, he did his best to prevent terror acts against the citizens of occupied countries. The Kreisau plans were finished in the August 1943.
After the Kreisau constitution was finished, the duty of the circle was over. many of its members, especially Gerstenmaier, Yorck and Trott, that supported the coup in that time, took an active part in it. Moltke was arrested in December 1943, after he warned a man that was wanted by the Gestapo. He sent letters from the jail condemning 20th July coup, but it doesn't fit his declarations before it. Most historians think that the letters were intend to a reader from the Gestapo.
Stauffenberg liked the Kreisau plans, and he agreed to accept them as a basic plan for the new Germany. But now the part of the ideologists was over. The time for action had come.
THE WHITE ROSE MOVEMENT
In 1943, the first and last spontanic rebel in the days of the third Reich was burst. This wasn't an organized and well-planned revolt like the attempts of the resistance movement in Berlin and in the different fronts. It was a spontanic rebel of young people, students and professors that had enough from the tyranny and evils of the nazi regime. The group that stood behind the rebel was a resistance group of students called the "white rose". The group acted in the university of Munich and its main leaders was three anti-nazi and idealist students: Hans Scholl, Christof Probst and Alex Schmorell- medicine students, and Sophie Scholl, Hans' sister that studied philosophy and biology. The spiritual guide of the group was a professor to philosophy, psychology and musicology called Kurt Huber. To the main five people joined another medicine student- George Wittenstein, that was the only one of them who had survived the war against the nazi regime. Behind this six leaders there were many students and professors in Munich university and in other universities in Germany, and George Wittenstein tells that they were something like three hounded men and women.
This is the story of a small and idealistic resistance group. Not like the main resistance movement, their activities were hopeless, but they sure proved great heroism and courage among the group's members.
Our story begins in one young man, named Hans Scholl. His childhood was similar to the childhood of many boys that had grown under the influence of the nazi regime. When he was a boy, he joined Hitler's youth with his sister Sophie, who even became a leader. The enthusiasm of Hans and Sophie had changed to a great disappointment, especially when they saw their Jewish friends humiliated and thrown out of society. Hans tried to "change the movement from inside". The reactions of the movement's leaders was swift: Hans was thrown out of Hitler's youth, and even stood before a court. He was arrested for a while and after his release, he became a determinant anti-nazi. He became more strong in his opinions after the nazi humiliation and violence against the German Jews, and the terror in the occupied countries. When he started to learn religion and philosophy, his anti-nazism turned into an idealist ideology. Except the Humanistic subjects, Hans was very interested in medicine, and he had enrolled to Munich's university and started to learn it.
In his first months of learning, Hans established a group of intellectual medicine students, that used to talk about humanistic subjects until the small hours of the night, and even to invite professors, writers and musicians from outside to lecture. In that time, politics was not discussed in the group's meeting.
The group that turned later into the "white rose" started to develop itself in that time. All the members of Hans' group were anti-nazi, but they were deep in their beloved world of humanistic and medicine, and politics didn't interest them. But the mass deportation of the Jews and the terror against the occupied peoples changed the situation, and the students realized that this is the time to act.
The first base to the "white rose" was created by Hans Scholl and another medicine student called Alex Schmorell. Schmorell was a German that his family came from Russia. His father was a German and his mother was Russian. As a half Russian, he developed a deep hatred for the racist nazi regime, who saw the Slavic races as sub humans. He was Hans' good friend and together they started in their first political activity. In the summer of 1942 they wrote four leaflets, and they left them in many places. The leaflets were dropped in public telephone cabins and mailed to students and professors all over Germany. In this way, the anti-nazi ideas of the two friends was spread in universities all over the country. Some leaflets found their way to the Gestapo, and the secret police started to wonder about their source.
We may think that spreading leaflets is an easy job, but that's was not true. The nazi dictatorship didn't suffer any opposition and the punishment was death. There were many spies of the secret police. The Gestapo was able to listen to any phone call or open any letter, and its agents were searching passenger trains, so even carrying the leaflets in trains was a risky thing to do. The students that carried the leaflets to different places in train just "hoped for the best". In any case, the problem was solved in an interesting way. The leaflets were given to female students, who were less checked by the Gestapo.
After the creation of the first leaflets, Hans' sister, Sophie, enrolled to the university to learn biology and philosophy. She was an anti-nazi brave young women, and a devoted pacifist. She soon discovered the "white rose" and wanted to join too. In the beginning Hans didn't want Sophie in, in order to defend her, but he surrendered after a short time. Sophie had joined the "white rose" and became one of its leaders. Another medicine student named Christof Probst joined the group in that time. He wasn't so politically involved like the others, and he didn't wrote the leaflets himself. Christof was the only one who was married, and he had three children. Another students that joined the growing group were Trawte Lefrantz- Hans' girlfriend, Gizla sheriling, Heinrich Gutter and many others.
After the group was finally formed, Hans thought that he must give it a name. He called it the "white rose". The origin of the name is not clear, but the historian Zeller wrote that the colour white represented pureness.
The leaflets that was written by the group were titled as the "leaves of the white rose". They attacked the nazi regime and mentioned its crimes, from the mass extermination of Jews and the murder of the Polish nobility and intellectual elite, to the dictatorship and the elimination of the personal freedom of the German people. The leaflets contained quotes from great philosophers and writers like Goethe, Nobalis, Aristotle and Law Tso, and they were written in a very high level. It was clear that they were written to intellectual public, and especially to students and professors.
The white rose tried to claim that they not spies of the allies, as the following quote from one of their leaflets proved:
"We emphatically point out that the white rose is not in the pay of any foreign power. Although we know that the national socialist power must be broken by military means, we seek the revival of the deeply wounded German spirit".
The leaflet continues with a suggestion:
"Do not forget the minor scoundrels of this system. Note their names, so that no one may escape... We shall not be silent- we are your bad conscience. The white rose will not leave you in peace!"
Taken from: "points of view- memories of the white rose/ Dr. George Wittenstein".
In the summer of 1942 the nazi establishment sent all of the medicine students, including our heroes, to the Russian front, to work in field hospitals. In the train they met another person that will be important in the future events. Willy Graf was a medicine student that was sent to the front as a soldier. He was an anti-nazi, and he was so against the regime that he removed from his lists the telephone of any friend that joined Hitler's youth. He became a good friend of Hans and Alex, and when they returned to Munich he became an important member in the group.
The white rose members spent three months in Russia, and they left it with great anger. They spent a few days in Warsaw, and were shocked to see that the city were destroyed completely although it surrendered without resistance. Wittenstein was really shocked when he visited the Warsaw Getto. He saw how the Ukrainian soldier can shoot in the Jews for a box of cigarettes, and how the S.S gourds humiliate the people of the Getto without any provocation. He succeeded to photo the horrific events. Thanks to Alex Schmorell, that spoke fluent Russian, they could communicate with the Russian workers and farmers. Alex punished a gourd that hit a Russian farmer and almost stood before a military court because of that. Hans gave his tobacco box, a very rare an expensive thing, to a Jewish worker that he met. Everyone felt for the Poles, Russians and Jews and they realized that just a military lost could save them and Germany. Wittenstein wrote that this was a very hard decision for a man that loves his motherland, like he and his friends loved Germany.
When our heroes returned to Germany they tried to bring more members to their small group. They felt that the national moral is very low because of the lose in Stalingrad, and the allies air raids on the German cities. In that time, another man joined the group. Professor Kurt Huber, 50, lectured on philosophy in Munich university. He was an excellent teacher, and he always lectured about forbidden subjects. When he lectured about Leibnitz, he used his ideas to attack the regime, and he even gave a lecture about the Jew philosopher Spinoza, what was strictly forbidden under the nazi regime. Huber joined the group and was involved in the writing of the leaflets. He became the spiritual guide of some of the members.
In 13th July, 1943, the nazi governor of Bavaria, Paul Gisler, that was known as a brutal and barbaric nazi criminal, called all the students in Munich to a special rally. In his speech he said the all the male students that can't serve in the army must work in factories, and the female students must give their contribution- bring a child for Hitler every year! Gisler said that the women that are not attractive enough to find a boyfriend can have sex with his body gourds, and he promise that they will have "a great time".
The Bavarians are known in their rude sense of humour, but this was too much. All the female students left the room in protest, and when Gisler ordered to arrest them, the male students rebelled. The nazi student leader was taken as a hostage, and Gisler was thrown out of the room with his gourds, while the students were throwing things at him!
This wasn't enough to the mad students. They ran in the streets of Munich and, in first and last time in the days of the third Reich, made street demonstrations. Leaflets that called the German youth to overthrow the regime were given freely in the streets by the white rose and other students. Students wrote "Hitler out!" and "Freedom!" on walls, and swastikas were covered in black spray. In the first time, a open rebel was burst against the nazi regime. The white rose members realized that this is the time to raise their activity, and they spread a last, long leaflet. The leaflet was written by professor Kurt Huber, and it was one of the most beautiful leaflets written by the white rose:
"...Freedom and honour! For ten years Hitler and his accomplices have abused, distorted, debased these noble German words... and cast the most precious values of the nation to the swine. During this ten years destruction of all material and spiritual values they showed what freedom and honour mean to them. This horrible blood bath which they have caused throughout Europe has opened the eyes of even the most naive and simpleminded German... The name of Germany will be dishonoured forever, lest German youth finally rise to smash his tormentors and invoke a new, intellectual and spiritual Europe.
Stalingrad's dead implore us! rise up, my people, the fiery beacons beckon!"
taken from: "Points of view- memories of the white rose/ Dr. George Wittenstein"
But after the high came the final fall. In 18th February, 1943, Hans and Sophie entered the university with a bag containing many leaflets. After they spread many of them in the halls and lecture rooms, they climbed to the roof and thrown all the content of their bag to the university yard. A senior genitor saw them and told the Gestapo. Soon, Hans and Sophie were arrested.
Hitler's reaction was swift. The "people's court" was opened in Munich. The defendants were Hans Scholl, Sophie Scholl, and Christof Probst. The Gestapo was very cruel to them, and Sophie came to the court with a broken leg. The friends were very brave. Sophie asked to the judge Freisler: "We have lost the war! everyone knows it! Why you are so coward and can't recognize that?!". The judge Freisler (you will read a lot about this man in the last chapter), wrote in the sentence that::
"Hans Fritz Scholl, Sophia Magdalena Scholl, and Christof Hermann Probst are accused that in the time of war they spread leaflets calling for the sabotage of the war effort and armaments and for the overthrow of the national socialist way of life of our people, have propagated defeatist ideas, and have most vulgarly defamed the Fuhrer (Hitler), thereby giving aid to the enemy of the Reich and weakening the armed security of the nation.
On this account their are sentenced by DEATH.
Their honour and rights as citizens are forfeited for all time."
Points of view- memories of the white rose/ Dr. George Wittenstein
In the same day, Hans, Sophie and Christof marched in their last way to the Guillotine. Few seconds before the execution Christof shouted: "We will meet each other in a few minutes!", and Hans responded: "Long live the freedom!". The knife of the Guillotine answered them. Their death was the death of the "white rose".
Alex Schmorell tried to escape to Switzerland, but returned because of deep snow. He was betrayed by a former girlfriend and was arrested during an air raid in Munich. He was sentenced to death along with Wily Graf and Professor Huber. Hundreds of people that were connected with the "white rose" were arrested and sentenced to different jail punishments. The only man that stayed alive after the war was George Wittenstein, that was hid by his brave commander in the army. He was tried to court again after he tried to help a Jewish woman to escape from Germany, but he succeeded to disproved the accusation and he was set free. He was sent to the Russian front, got wounded and came back to Germany.
After his return to Germany, he took part in the only successful and unknown coup against the nazi regime. Few days before the allies cultured the city, Dr. Repeat Grengaros, a minor officer, stole weapons and established the "Bavarian freedom movement". He and his soldiers occupied the communication facilities of Munich. They arrested the governor of Bavaria and other important nazi leaders. In the final battle against the S.S and the other nazi forces many soldiers got wounded or even died. They put white flags on all the important buildings in the city, and gave her to the Americans without a battle. In this way, a bitter battle on Munich was prevented and lot of citizens were saved. unfortunately, this brave and important act was forgotten and books doesn't mention it (Wittenstein told about it in his memories). After the war, George Wittenstein had continued to study medicine and became a doctor. Few years after he got a prize from the Government of west Germany on his bravery and heroism and the White Rose's fight against the lawless nazi regime.
Cultural Resistance of Youth: Edelweiss Pirates & Swing Youth
Although many youngsters opposed Nazism in the early days of the regime; youth opposition grew as the war progressed. While Joseph Goebbels and other party members repeatedly claimed victory on the Russian Front; evidence provided by returning soldiers and BBC broadcasts presented another story. However, due to Hitler's early liquidation of political opposition groups, there was little in the way of a public forum for dissent. Yet opposition did reveal itself outside of the public forum; it found an outlet in the rebellious expressions of youth.
As the years progressed and youngsters in Germany entered into their late teens, the Hitler Youth lost its rebellious charm. Young people grew disenchanted with its conformity. Many of them sought camaraderie in non-sanctioned youth groups. Cliques like the Swing Youth and gangs like the Edelweiss Pirates appeared in cities and towns throughout Germany. The Edelweiss Pirates were actually composed of multiple gangs. These working-class youth were easily distinguishable from other youngsters by their colourful manner of dress (shorts, checkered shirts and neck scarves) and irreverent behaviour. The Edelweiss Pirates were known to attack Hitler Youth units as they patrolled parks and other areas. Often confrontations between the two groups resulted in the exchange of gunfire The Pirates became more political toward the end of the war. The SS imprisoned many and some were executed.
The Swing Youth scene was comprised mainly of Jazz aficionados who liked to emulate American fashions. Often these youngsters exhibited liberal attitudes that the regime found intolerable. Under the orders of Heinrich Himmler, many Swing Youth were incarcerated.
Helmuth Hubener Group
Under the leadership of Helmuth Hubener, the group (Gehard Duwer, Helmuth Hubener, Karl-Heinz Schnibbe, & Rudi Wobbe) distributed illegal transcriptions of BBC broadcasts and antigovernment leaflets. Most of these youngsters, with the exception of Gehard Duwer, were members of the Church of Latter Day Saints. The fact they were members of a minority religious sect in Nazi Germany may have influenced their actions, but they appear to have been primarily motivated by Helmuth’s obsession with the truth. The leaflets they distributed called attention to Nazi war crimes and protested Germany's foreign and military policies. The Gestapo eventually caught up with Helmuth, and he was executed by guillotine on October 27, 1942. His compatriots received long prison sentences.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
- William L. Shirer, The Rise and fall the Third Reich (Simon and Schuster, New York, 1960) p.234-239.
Christian History, "Dietrich Bonhoeffer," Issue 32 (Vol. X, No.4), p.20.
- Class notes and sources
- Access To History – Germany: The Third Reich 1933-45 (Geoff Layton)
- www.thehistorynet.com
- www.schoolhistory.co.uk
-
Dimensions, Vol. 12, No. 2, 1998
- www.joric.com/Conspiracy/Moltke
- Richard Overy’s Hitler & The Third Reich