Figure 1.-- |
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The quick German victories in the early years of the War were so unexpected and so overwealming, there was in most countries initially no though of resistance to their occupiers. Gradually in the West as the nature of the NAZI war effort became apparent did resistance begin to grow. In the East the Germans initiated a campaign of untold barbarity from the beginning. Churchill was a strong proponent from the onset of supporting the formation and supply of resistance groups. The British formed the Special Operations Executive (SOE). The United States formed the Office of Strtegic Services (OSS). As the war began to turn against he Germans, the resistance grew in strength. The Ressistance made major contributions on both the easter and western front. They occupied important numbers of German troops, disrupted supplies routes and communications, and provide critcal intelligence on German operaions.
The quick German victories in the early years of the War were so unexpected and so overwealming, there was in most countries initially no though of resistance to their occupiers.
Gradually in the West as the nature of the NAZI war effort became apparent did resistance begin to grow. In the East the Germans initiated a campaign of untold barbarity from the beginning.
Churchill was a strong proponent from the onset of supporting the formation and supply of resistance groups. The British formed the Special Operations Executive (SOE). The United States formed the Office of Strtegic Services (OSS).
As the war began to turn against he Germans, the resistance grew in strength. The Ressistance made major contributions on both the eastern and western front.
Resiatance groups operated in all the occupied countries. The Resistance was especially important in the Soviet Union where guerrila groups disrupted German supply lines. The Polish resistance was active, but impaired by Soviet actions against non-Communist Polish POWs and resistance groups. Resistance groups tied up imporant German units in Yugoslavia Greece. Resistance groups in France played an important tole in the success of the D-day invasion. The Norwegian resistance played an important role in impaiting the German atomic bomb program. The Danish resistance was able to employ non-violent tecniques tosome affect. The Durch resistance was limited in its ability to stage atrmed resistance, but was an important source of information. Although Italy was an Axis partner, anti-Fascist resistance groups played an important role in th Italian campaign. There was little resistance activity in the Eastern European counties that joined the Axis (Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania).
There are many fantastic individual stories. Admiral Canaris the head of the Abwer (German military intelligence) turned against Hitler. An agent who volunteered to help the Bitish was code named Garbo and helped convince the Germans that the Allied invasion of France would come at Pas de Calais. A French Jewish girl who grew up speaking German in Metz, helped the Allies in their sweep through Germany. [Cohn] The adventures of Allied covert operations are legendary. [Miller]
They occupied important numbers of German troops, disrupted supplies routes and communications, and provide critcal intelligence on German operaions.
Cohn, Marthe with Wendy Holden. Behind Enremy Lines: The True Story of a French Jewish Spy in Nazi Germany (Harmony), 182p.
Miller, Russel. Behind the Lines: The Oral History of Special Operatioins in World War II (St. Martins), 287p.
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