Wartime Opposition

Wartime Opposition

Church Leaders:

> Catholic bishop, Clemens Galen, in 1941, led a popular support protest against the Nazi policy of killing the mentally ill and physically disabled. Forcing the Nazis to periodically stop this programme.

> Protestant pastor, Martin Niemöller, formed the Confessional Church, alongside Dietrich Bonhoeffer, to oppose the Reich Church.

> Bonhoeffer preached against the Nazis until the Gestapo stopped him in 1937. He became involved with army intelligence opposed to Hitler and helped Jews escape from Germany. He was arrested in 1942 and hanged in April 1945.

Resistance groups: the best-known resistance group was the White Rose movement, led by Hans and Sophie Scholl. They distributed anti-Nazi literature across Germany. The Scholls were executed in February 1943.

The Army:

The only real group with any chance of overthrowing the Nazis was the army. However, as the war progressed the army became increasingly integrated with the Nazi regime. Even with this, there was five major attempts by senior officer officials to assassinate Hitler from June 1940 to December 1943.

The closest opportunity came in the July 1944 bomb plot. Where Colonel Claus von Stauffenburg left a leather bag under a table in Hitler's headquarters in east Berlin in an attempt to kill him. The plot failed on all fronts and Hitler retaliated by killling 5,000 people.

Low-level resistance:

> SS and Gestapo were increasingly concerned about the discontent that was caused by bombing raids, shortages and heavy casualties

> Anti-Nazi jokes were a common form of resistance that would not get one in trouble

> Some citizens went as far as hiding food from authorities and refusing to give the 'Heil Hitler' salute

> Some were even brave enough to hide Jews or help them escape

But... one must not exaggerate the amount of resistance or opposition to the regime or war effort. Support for the war remained strong during its duration.