during second world war

Who were the edelweiss pirates?

• Who: Working-class youth groups (boys and girls) aged 14–17.

• What they did:
  

  • Rejected Hitler Youth discipline.

  • Wore distinctive clothes, listened to banned music, daubed anti-Nazi slogans.

  • Some attacked Hitler Youth patrols and helped army deserters.

• Response: Nazis arrested and executed leaders; in 1944, 13 Pirates were publicly hanged in Cologne.

Who were the white rose group?

• Who: University students (including Hans and Sophie Scholl) and Professor Kurt Huber in Munich.

• What they did:
  

  • Distributed anti-Nazi leaflets condemning war crimes and urging resistance.

  • Opposed the murder of Jews and loss of freedoms.

• Response: Arrested in 1943, tortured and executed by guillotine after a show trial.

What was the July bomb plot

• Who: German army officers led by Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg.

• What they did:
  

  • Planted a bomb in Hitler’s headquarters (Wolf’s Lair) in an attempt to kill him and overthrow the regime.

  • Plot failed – Hitler survived with minor injuries.

• Response: 5,000 people executed, including Stauffenberg; led to a major crackdown on army dissent.

20th July 1944

What were death squads?

• Special SS killing units formed by Heinrich Himmler.

• Murder of over 1.5 million people.

• Babu Ayr in Ukraine over 33000 people shot in 2 days