CIE IGCSE History - Resistance in Nazi Germany

why was there little resistance in Germany?

• difficult to organise due to the Gestapo and informers

• threat of concentration camps or death

• no freedom to assemble

what were the motives of the White Rose group?

• disliked the nature of WW2 and the violence - genocide on the Eastern Front

• motivated by religion and morality

what were the goals of the White Rose group?

• wanted to encourage ordinary Germans to rise up

• wanted to expose the realities of the holocaust and genocide on the Eastern front

what action did the White Rose group undertake?

• made leaflets and distributed them in public areas

• riskiest operation was in daylight at Munich University

who were the key members of the White Rose group and what happened to them?

• Hans Scholl, Sophie Scholl, Christopher Probst - arrested for treason and executed

• also included one university professor

what major achievement did the White Rose group have?

• managed to smuggle one leaflet out of Germany to Britain

• in 1943 a massive airdrop campaign was undertaken by the RAF

when was the white rose group active?

1942-43

when were the Edelweiss pirates mainly active?

1942-1944

what were the motives and goals of the Edelweiss pirates?

wanted to be an anti-Nazi alternative to the Hitler Youth

what class were the Edelweiss pirates?

working-class

what action did the Edelweiss pirates undertake?

• met up in summer - camped, talked, sang

• beat up and ambushed Hitler youth

• some groups sheltered concentration camp escapees and army deserters, attacked military targets

• a small group killed the Head of the Cologne Gestapo - arrested and hanged in 1944

what were the motives and goals of the Swing Youth?

• wanted to have a good time

• wanted to practice non-conformity - didn’t want to submit to Nazi culture - didn’t like the rigidity and strict organisation of it, and the level people’s community

what class were the Swing Youth?

middle class

what actions did the swing youth undertake?

• wore English clothes

• females smoked cigarettes

• spoke in English

• met up in homes to dance to swing and jazz music, which had been banned by the Nazis due to it’s Black origins

• accepted Jews and mixed-race youth

when was the Army Bomb Plot?

1944 - July

what major military loss did the Nazis suffer in WW2 that acted as a turning point?

Battle of Stalingrad - 1942-43; slow retreat begins leading to loss of resources for Home Front

what were the motives of the Army Bomb Plot?

• blamed Hitler for war, suffering in Russia, brutality of war

• thought Hitler was leading Germany to destruction

• didn’t like the ‘war for extermination’ taking place on the Eastern Front

what was the goal of the Army Bomb Plot?

to kill Hitler so the war was fought in a different way or ended

who were the leaders of the Army Bomb Plot?

• General Ludwig Beck - orchestrator

• Dr Carl Goerdeler

• Count Von Stauffenberg (prior Nazi supporter) - enactor

what was the code name of the Army Bomb plot?

Operation Valkyrie

how did Stauffenberg intend to kill Hitler?

with a suitcase bomb

what role in the Army did Stauffenberg have?

Chief of Staff to the Commander-in-Chief of the Home Army

describe the key events leading up to the assassination attempt on Hitler

• 11 July 1944: Bomb taken to a military conference in Bavaria, attempt called off as Himmler not present (wanted to kill him also)

• 15 July: Another conference attended, Hitler leaves early

• 17 July: Arrest warrant issued for Dr. Goerdeler.

what date did Hitler’s assassination attempt take place?

20th July 1944

describe the events of the 20 July 1944

• Stauffenberg attends another conference

• bomb goes off, but has been moved

• Hitler injured but not seriously, or killed

what happened to the conspirators of the Army Bomb Plot?

• all arrested and executed shortly after

• served as a catalyst for 5000 political opponents to be arrested and executed