3.7 The Opposition to the Nazi Regime

Given the terror and oppression by the Nazis, most people were afraid to oppose them. However, there were groups and individuals who risked their lives and freedom to stand up to the Nazis

Iron Front

Prior to the Nazis achieving power the streets were filled with paramilitary groups with their own ideology. Communists and the Nazi SA Stormtroopers often fought each other and both were determined to end democracy. In 1931, one group determined to maintain a democracy was called the Iron Front, a paramiltary force aligned with the Social Democratic Part (SPD). They were opposed to not just the Nazis, but also against Communists and the return of the monarchy. They often fought Nazis and place their symbolic three arrows over the swastika in defiance. They were banned when the Nazis came to power.

The Church

Despite signing the “concordat” with the Catholic Church, Hitler oppressed religious groups. There was some opposition such as reinstalling crucifixes in schools next to the portrait of Hitler but there was little effect. The Catholic Pope, Pius XI, sent a statement condemning Hitler’s breaking of the Concordat in 1937, to be read in all Catholic Churches. The Catholic Church did manage to alt a euthanasia program for the disabled briefly. A priest, Martin Neimoller openly opposed the Nazis and set up the Confessing Church which criticised the official Reich Church. Thousands of Confessing Church leaders were arrested, beaten and sent to concentration camps, including Martin Neimoller himself, although he survived the camps.

Source 2- A quote from Martin Neimoller explaining his feelings about standing up to the Nazis.

“First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.”

More about this quote here

https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/martin-niemoeller-first-they-came-for-thesocialists 

Young People

Further reading about Youth opposition to Nazis

http://www.raoulwallenberg.net/saviors/others/edelweiss-pirates-story/ 

http://mentalfloss.com/article/73451/german-teens-who-rebelled-against-hitler 

August Landmesser

August Landmesser, The Story Of The Man Behind The Crossed Arms 

August Landmesser was a German man known for his silent defiance against the Nazi regime. A 1936 photograph captures him standing with his arms crossed while others around him give the Nazi salute. His act of resistance stemmed from love—he was married to Irma Eckler, a Jewish woman.

Initially a Nazi Party member in hopes of securing employment, Landmesser was expelled in 1935 after his engagement to Eckler. Their marriage was denied under the Nuremberg Laws, but they had a daughter, Ingrid, in 1935. A failed attempt to flee to Denmark in 1937 led to Landmesser’s arrest for “dishonoring the race.” Although acquitted in 1938, he was arrested again months later and sentenced to hard labor.

Eckler was later imprisoned and died in a concentration camp in 1942. Their daughters were placed in orphanages, but Irene narrowly escaped deportation thanks to a family acquaintance. Landmesser, released in 1941, was later drafted into a penal battalion and went missing in Croatia in 1944.

In 1949, August and Irma were officially declared dead, and in 1951, Hamburg posthumously recognized their marriage. Their daughters took their parents' surnames—Ingrid as Landmesser and Irene as Eckler.

Further Reading:

Modern History Transformed: Page 81-84

https://www.sutori.com/en/story/opposition-to-the-nazis--ZnWjWyAiWH7ZmrpU8QkjoFEJ