Resistance During World War II - Forms of Resistance

Forms of Resistance

Various forms of resistance were:

• Non-violent
  • Sabotage – the Arbeitseinsatz ("Work Contribution") forced locals to work for the Germans, but work was often done slowly or intentionally badly
  • Strikes and demonstrations
  • Based on existing organizations, such as the churches, students, communists and doctors (professional resistance)
• Armed
  • raids on distribution offices to get food coupons or various documents such as Ausweise or on birth registry offices to get rid of information about Jews and others the Nazis paid special attention to
  • temporary liberation of areas, such as in Yugoslavia, Paris, and northern Italy, occasionally in cooperation with the Allied forces
  • uprisings such as in Warsaw in 1943 and 1944, and in extermination camps such as in Sobibor in 1943 and Auschwitz in 1944
  • continuing battle and guerrilla warfare, such as the partisans in the USSR and Yugoslavia and the Maquis in France
• Espionage, including sending reports of military importance (e.g., troop movements, weather reports etc.)
• Illegal press to counter the Nazi propaganda
• Covert listening to BBC broadcasts for news bulletins and coded messages
• Political resistance to prepare for the reorganization after the war
• Helping people to go into hiding (e.g., to escape the Arbeitseinsatz or deportation)—this was one of the main activities in the Netherlands, due to the large number of Jews and the high level of administration, which made it easy for the Germans to identify Jews.
• Helping Allied military personnel caught behind Axis lines
• Helping POWs with illegal supplies, breakouts, communication, etc.
• Forgery of documents