Hitler and Nazi Germany - resistance to the regime, 1933 39

Hitler and Nazi Germany
Opposition
to the
Nazis

In today’s class, I am learning to:
• Describe the actions of groups that
opposed Nazi rule in Germany
Opposition to the Nazis

Although the Nazis had control of Germany from 1933
until 1945, some people were involved to actions to
oppose and resist Hitler’s government.

Many different groups
opposed Nazi rule :
• Youth groups
• The Churches
• Workers/ Socialists and
Communists
• German military
Ultimately their actions failed
to stop Nazi policies.

Revolts against Weimar
Opposition
Youth groups

The Edelweiss Pirates were
a youth group that refused
to join the Hitler Youth. They
attacked Nazi officials and
hid deserters from the army.
In 1944, many leaders of
these groups – including 16
year old Barthel Schink –
were hanged after a Gestapo
chief was killed.

The Swing Kids were young
people who opposed the
regime by listening to
banned American music
such as jazz.
During WW2, students in the
White Rose group –
including brother and sister
Hans and Sophie Scholl –
distributed anti-Nazi leaflets.

Opposition
The Churches

The churches gave Hitler a
problem – he wanted to
control their actions but
worried Germans would be
angry if he did this.
Instead he tried to reach
deals (Concordat with the
Catholic Church) or to
introduce his own Nazi
church (Reich Church).

If the Catholic Church stayed
out of politics then the Nazis
agreed to leave alone their
organisations.
However the Nazis broke
their agreement, arresting
many priests, often on made
up charges. They also tried
to remove crucifixes from
Catholic classrooms.

In 1937, Pope Pius XI issued
a document titled With
Burning Grief which was a
public attack on Nazism.
Many German Catholics
such as Bishop von Galen
spoke against Nazi policies
such as euthanasia. Catholic
parents demanded to keep
crucifixes in schools too.

The Confessional Church
was set up to stop efforts to
Nazify the Protestant
Church. One of its founders,
Martin Niemoller, had
initially supported Hitler but
later opposed his actions.
Niemoller and others were
later sent to concentration
camps such as Dachau.

As well as keeping the
Nazism away from all parts
of the Protestant Church,
the Confessional Church also
publicly opposed Nazism.
This included letters sent
directly to Hitler, criticising
actions such as anti-
Semitism. The Nazis in turn
confiscated church funds.

Another Nazi opponent was
Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
A member of the
Confessional Church, he
trained pastors and
encouraged them to criticise
Nazism. He was banned
from preaching and later
died in Flossenburg
concentration camp.

Jehovah's Witnesses
refused to perform the
Hitler salute, or stopped
their children joining the
Hitler Youth. They also
refused to be conscripted
into the army.
Many Witnesses were
arrested (up to 10,000) or
fired from their jobs.

Opposition
Workers / Socialists
and Communists

Non-Nazi political parties
were banned in Germany
after July 1933 but some still
worked against Hitler.
The Social Democrats set up
a group which organised
underground groups in
Germany, involved in
activities such as distributing
leaflets and propaganda.

The Communist Party also
worked against Nazi rule.
This included acts of
sabotage or spying (giving
information to the USSR).
They also distributed various
anti-Nazi materials.
Many members were
arrested and killed or sent to
concentration camps.

Most members of the
German working class did
not vote for the Nazis.
Workers opposed Nazism in
different ways, sometimes
linked to the Communists.
They engaged in strikes and
go-slows in armament
factories. They also
protested about food prices.

Georg Elser was a worker
who famously tried to
assassinate Hitler.
Elser voted Communist and
refused to give the Nazi
salute or vote in referenda.
In November 1939, Elser
planted a bomb designed to
kill Hitler during a speech,
but Hitler left the hall early.

Another famous example of
resistance was from a
shipyard worker. This picture
was taken at a Hamburg
shipyard in 1936.
It was once thought to be a
man called August
Landmesser but now is
believed to be a different
man, Gustav Wegert.

Opposition
German military

Many senior military figures
began to worry about Hitler’s
power, especially as his
foreign policies seemed likely
to cause a war.
A crisis in Czechoslovakia
brought these issues to a
head. Many Generals
opposed such a conflict,
especially Army Chief of Staff
General Ludwig Beck.

Beck spoke at a meeting of
army generals against plans
to invade Czechoslovakia, so
Hitler forced him to resign.
Beck worked with a group of
senior military figures (led
by General Hans Oster) who
favoured a coup to remove
Hitler from power, but this
never happened.

There is also evidence that
the Abwehr – Germany’s
military intelligence
organisation – was involved
in anti-Nazi activities.
The Abwehr was led by
Admiral Wilhelm Canaris.
Canaris was opposed to
Hitler’s persecution of
religious groups.

Canaris supported German
nationalism but thought the
Nazis were gangsters. He is
believed to have given
secrets to UK and US spies.
Canaris also helped Jews to
leave Germany, by giving
them fake papers claiming
they were Abwehr agents.
He was executed in 1945.

Some military leaders were
involved in attempts to
assassinate Hitler (mostly
during World War Two).
The most famous attempt
was on 20 July 1944. A
bomb – planned by the
Kreisau Circle - was set off at
Hitler’s Wolf’s Lair
headquarters, but failed.

Hitler and Nazi Germany - resistance to the regime, 1933 39

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Hitler and Nazi Germany - resistance to the regime, 1933 39