This section explores opposition in Nazi Germany, failed assassination plots, the regime’s downfall by 1945, and its enduring impact on post-war German society.
Nature of Wartime Opposition
Student Groups: The White Rose
The White Rose was one of the most notable student resistance movements during Nazi Germany:
Founded by students including Hans and Sophie Scholl at the University of Munich in 1942.
Motivated by ethical and Christian beliefs, they opposed Nazi ideology and wartime atrocities.
Produced and distributed leaflets denouncing the regime’s crimes and urging passive resistance.
Operated in extreme secrecy, but the Gestapo eventually arrested core members in 1943.
Members faced swift trials by the People’s Court, leading to executions by guillotine.
The White Rose demonstrated that intellectual and moral opposition persisted despite the totalitarian state.
Religious Opposition: Churchmen
Church resistance to the Nazi regime was significant but fragmented and cautious.
Martin Niemöller, a Lutheran pastor, co-founded the Confessing Church, which rejected Nazi interference in Protestant churches. Arrested in 1937, he spent years in concentration camps.
Bishop Clemens August von Galen, the Catholic Bishop of Münster, openly criticised the Nazi euthanasia programme (Aktion T4) in powerful sermons in 1941. His position and popularity shielded him from execution.
While individual clergymen spoke out, the institutional churches often compromised to survive under the dictatorship.
The Army and Elite Opposition
Military resistance was critical in the later war years as the tide turned against Germany.
Groups such as the Beck-Goerdeler Circle, named after General Ludwig Beck and Carl Goerdeler (former mayor of Leipzig), plotted to remove Hitler.
Many high-ranking officers grew disillusioned with Hitler’s reckless military decisions, fearing total destruction.
They sought to negotiate peace with the Allies, but faced enormous risks and challenges coordinating opposition within a paranoid regime.
Civilian Dissent
Civilian dissent took diverse forms, though mostly passive due to repression.
Ordinary Germans engaged in acts such as listening to banned foreign radio broadcasts or telling anti-Nazi jokes.
Workers conducted covert strikes and slowed production.
Secret networks provided assistance to persecuted Jews and forced labourers.
Despite these efforts, widespread fear of the Gestapo and the risk of collective punishment kept civilian resistance limited and fragmented.
Assassination Plots Against Hitler
Early Plots
Plots to kill Hitler existed from the early years of his rule, but security and luck prevented success.
Plans by army officers like Henning von Tresckow in 1943 attempted to detonate bombs near Hitler but failed due to faulty fuses and last-minute changes.
Other conspirators sought to arrest Hitler during military briefings but lacked the opportunity.
The 20 July Bomb Plot (1944)
The most famous and nearly successful attempt was the 20 July Plot.
Led by Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, who planted a bomb in a briefcase under a table during a military conference at the Wolf’s Lair headquarters.
Stauffenberg left the room after arming the device, but the bomb was inadvertently moved behind a heavy table leg, absorbing much of the blast.
Hitler survived with minor injuries; the conspirators failed to seize Berlin due to poor coordination and the regime’s quick response.
Following the failed plot, over 7,000 people were arrested, and about 5,000 executed in brutal reprisals.
The plot highlighted that some sections of the elite were willing to risk their lives to stop the war and Nazi atrocities but faced insurmountable obstacles.
Extent, Motivations, and Limits of Resistance
Extent and Motivations
Opposition came from diverse sections: students, churches, army officers, and civilians.
Motivations varied: moral outrage at war crimes, religious convictions, desire to end a lost war, or political ambitions for a post-Nazi Germany.
Resistance was never widespread enough to threaten Nazi control significantly.
Limits of Resistance
Several factors restricted effective opposition:
Totalitarian surveillance: The Gestapo and SS infiltrated dissenting groups quickly.
Propaganda and indoctrination: Many Germans believed Hitler was the only hope to win the war.
Fear of punishment: Collective punishment meant families and communities suffered for an individual’s actions.
Lack of external support: Allied powers were hesitant to engage with German conspirators until military defeat seemed certain.
Resistance demonstrated moral courage but could not overcome the machinery of terror that enforced loyalty and fear.
The Collapse of the Nazi Regime by 1945
Military Defeat and Frontline Collapse
By early 1945, Nazi Germany faced inevitable defeat:
Allied forces advanced from the west after D-Day (June 1944).
The Soviet Red Army pushed relentlessly from the east, capturing Eastern European territories and moving into Germany itself.
Major cities like Cologne and Hamburg lay in ruins from relentless bombing.
The German military was overstretched, suffering catastrophic losses and desertions.
Collapse of Morale and Civil Order
Civilian morale crumbled under constant air raids, severe rationing, and news of battlefield disasters.
Refugees fled advancing Soviet troops, causing chaos and overcrowding in remaining German-held areas.
Local administrations disintegrated as Nazi officials abandoned posts or committed suicide.
Destruction of Infrastructure
Transport networks were bombed into dysfunction, crippling supply lines.
Industrial centres were obliterated, halting war production.
Food and fuel shortages grew desperate, intensifying public despair.
Hitler’s Suicide
With Soviet troops encircling Berlin, Hitler retreated to his underground Führerbunker.
On 30 April 1945, Hitler committed suicide alongside Eva Braun.
His death marked the symbolic end of the Nazi leadership.
On 8 May 1945, Germany unconditionally surrendered, ending the war in Europe.
Legacy and Consequences of Nazi Rule in Post-War Germany
Division and Occupation
Germany was occupied by the victorious Allies and divided into four zones: American, British, French, and Soviet.
In 1949, this division solidified into two states: Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) and German Democratic Republic (East Germany).
Denazification and Trials
The Allies initiated denazification to remove former Nazis from positions of power.
High-profile war criminals faced trial at Nuremberg (1945–46), exposing the full horror of Nazi crimes.
Many Germans claimed ignorance or downplayed their support, complicating the process of reckoning with the past.
Memory and Remembrance
Survivors of resistance groups, like the White Rose, became symbols of German moral conscience.
Memorials and education programmes were established to ensure the atrocities and resistance were remembered.
In modern Germany, confronting the Nazi past is a crucial element of national identity, shaping democratic values and human rights commitments.
Long-Term Impact
The devastation wrought by the regime influenced post-war politics, driving European integration and the commitment to peace.
The moral lessons of Nazi crimes and the courage of resisters remain a significant subject of study, reflection, and remembrance in Germany and beyond.
This subtopic illustrates how opposition, though limited in impact, showed unwavering bravery in the face of tyranny, and how the regime’s collapse reshaped German history and identity.
FAQ
Despite mounting evidence of military collapse, the Nazi regime retained control through relentless propaganda, terror, and the exploitation of fear. Joseph Goebbels, as Propaganda Minister, manipulated information to maintain illusions of potential victory, blaming setbacks on traitors and “enemies within.” Even as Allied bombings devastated cities, propaganda broadcasts and newspapers pushed myths of miracle weapons and final victories, fostering false hope. Simultaneously, the Gestapo and SS enforced strict discipline: rumours of defeat or defeatist talk were punishable by imprisonment or death. Military police executed deserters and those suspected of sabotage, ensuring compliance by fear. Hitler’s cult of personality also played a role; many Germans, even when disillusioned, clung to the belief that Hitler alone could save Germany. The regime further harnessed the Volkssturm, a desperate levy of older men and boys, to defend cities, showing how far control was maintained by coercion and indoctrination. This combination prevented mass rebellion until unconditional surrender.
The German judiciary under Nazi rule was transformed into an instrument of terror rather than justice. Special courts like the People’s Court (Volksgerichtshof), presided over by fanatical judges such as Roland Freisler, conducted show trials designed to intimidate the public and eliminate dissent. When members of the White Rose were arrested by the Gestapo in 1943, they faced the People’s Court in trials that denied defendants any genuine legal defence. Proceedings were publicised to serve as a chilling warning. Sentences were harsh and delivered rapidly; Hans and Sophie Scholl, along with Christoph Probst, were executed by guillotine only hours after conviction. The judiciary’s role extended beyond the White Rose: it routinely handed down death sentences for even minor acts of sabotage or defeatist remarks. This perversion of law ensured that those who resisted the regime faced not only the secret police but also a legal system designed to crush opposition, reinforcing a climate of fear and silence.
Foreign radio broadcasts, notably from the BBC and other Allied stations, became a crucial source of uncensored news for Germans willing to risk severe punishment. Listening to foreign broadcasts was illegal and labelled “Feindsender hören” (listening to enemy stations), yet many Germans secretly tuned in to learn the true state of the war and events the regime suppressed. Such broadcasts countered the distorted propaganda of the Nazi-controlled media, revealing military defeats, Allied advances, and the realities of the Eastern Front. For some, this access emboldened passive dissent: spreading rumours, questioning official statements, or withdrawing support for the war effort. While not direct resistance in an organised sense, clandestine listening eroded trust in the Nazi leadership and contributed to declining morale. The Gestapo tried to curb this by confiscating radios capable of receiving foreign frequencies and punishing offenders harshly, but demand for truthful information remained strong, showing an undercurrent of scepticism even under totalitarian control.
The failure of the 20 July Bomb Plot in 1944 had profound and devastating effects on any lingering resistance within Germany. In its aftermath, Hitler unleashed a brutal wave of reprisals to root out conspirators and deter further plots. The Gestapo arrested thousands linked, however tenuously, to resistance networks. High-profile figures, including army officers and civilian sympathisers, were executed, often after degrading public trials. The regime tightened security within the military and government: loyalty oaths were reinforced, surveillance increased, and Hitler grew more paranoid, rarely appearing in public or allowing close proximity. For the general public, the spectacle of the plot’s failure and the executions that followed served as a stark warning that any conspiracy was futile and suicidal. Morale among remaining dissenters plummeted, as the network of opposition was decimated. Consequently, the failure not only eliminated key leaders and planners but ensured that by the final months of the war, almost no organised resistance remained capable of action.
Passive or everyday resistance among ordinary Germans, especially in the war’s closing years, was widespread yet subtle. Many citizens expressed quiet dissent through minor acts that undermined the regime’s totalitarian grip. Workers engaged in “Sabotage by slowness”, deliberately slowing production in armament factories or producing faulty equipment, which cumulatively weakened the war effort. Housewives and civilians helped hide deserters or Jews, despite the threat of severe punishment. People circulated banned jokes mocking Hitler and high-ranking Nazis, a dangerous but psychologically liberating form of defiance. Some defied air raid regulations by refusing to leave shelters when ordered, challenging local authority figures. Moreover, listening to foreign radio broadcasts and spreading truthful war news discreetly eroded the propaganda narrative. Such resistance was rarely organised but reflected a growing disillusionment and private defiance. While not decisive in overthrowing the regime, these everyday acts highlighted the gap between outward conformity and inner rejection of Nazi rule, revealing an undercurrent of silent opposition.
Practice Questions
Assess the reasons why opposition and resistance to the Nazi regime were limited in effectiveness during the Second World War.
Opposition and resistance to the Nazi regime were limited due to the state’s extensive surveillance apparatus, notably the Gestapo, which swiftly dismantled dissent. Fear of brutal reprisals, including collective punishment, deterred many from active resistance. Propaganda and indoctrination maintained loyalty among large sections of the population, while wartime conditions and military successes before 1943 suppressed dissent. Additionally, opposition groups were often fragmented with conflicting aims, lacked coordination, and failed to secure external support. These factors combined ensured that opposition, while morally significant, could not mount a serious challenge to Nazi control.
‘The collapse of morale among the German population was the main reason for the Nazi regime’s downfall by 1945.’ Assess the validity of this view.
While the collapse of civilian morale severely weakened the Nazi regime, it was not the sole or main reason for its downfall. The decisive factor was Germany’s military defeat, driven by the overwhelming advance of the Allied and Soviet forces, which destroyed infrastructure and crippled the war economy. Civilian despair intensified due to bombings, shortages, and battlefield losses, hastening internal disintegration. However, without the external military pressure, internal factors alone were unlikely to overthrow Hitler’s totalitarian system. Therefore, military defeat, alongside crumbling morale and leadership collapse, together ensured the regime’s end by 1945.
