World War Two Resistance Movement Poignant in Ally Victory

Oster used the Abwer as the centre of his activities. The commander in chief of the Abwer, Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, was also an anti-nazi and did whatever he could, without arousing suspicion, to protect his resistance group formed within Germany’s own intelligence agency. Canaris appointed Oster to the number two position in the agency as his right hand man. From his post, Oster contacted enemies of the regime and turned them into Abwer agents, it was ironic in the sense that the German intelligence agency had its heirchy fluently working for the allied cause. Oster added several other men to the executive branch of the Abwer based on their anti-Nazi sentiments including, but not limited, to Hans Von Dohnany, a catholic lawyer named Joseph Mueller and a Protestant priest named Dietrich Bonhoeffer. These men together became largely involved in the communication between different circles of the resistance and played a large role in the passing along of intelligence they acquired to the appropriate people who could use it effectively. The executive men of the Abwer, mostly anti-nazi members of the resistance had to tip toe a fine line between risk taking and getting caught as ninety five percent of the Abwer members and intelligence officers were Nazi’s devout to Hitler. These men acted out of their own free will and jeopardised their own lives to give the allies a lot of significant information that aided in their war effort. (Dupuy 1985)

Aside from resistance being alive within the German intelligence agency there was also key resistance within the German military machine itself. Although few extremely important or significant generals/ military men were part of the resistance a great number of lesser officers with men under their command and intelligence at their fingertips did aid certain resistance circles. Among some of the most noted German military men to aid the World War Two nazi resistance are General George Thomas the chief of the economic sector of the German army, General Erich Hoeppner the commander of an armoured division, General Erwin Von Witzleben the commander of the Berlin military district, General Fridrich Olbricht an infantry division commander, General Stulpnagel and General Brockdorf commanders of infantry divisions in Fostdam and General Hening Von Treskow. All being either against Nazism itself or the destruction of Europe caused by Adolf Hitler these men did what they could to provide information concerning troop positions, armoured division positions and whatever other important information they though the allies might be interested in. (Dupuy 1985) (Healey 1990)

In the end, although Polish casualties were much higher, the German forces had lost ten thousand men in dead or wounded. Over seventy percent of Warsaw had been burnt to the ground and one hundred and fifty thousand civilians killed along with eighteen thousand armed resistance fighters.

SS Reichsfuehrer Himmler in retaliation to the uprising issued the order, “Every inhabitant [of Warsaw] should be killed, no prisoners are to be taken. Warsaw is to be razed to the ground and in this way the whole of Europe will have a terrifying example.” Hence in accordance to Himmler’s orders flamethrowers were brought in and the Germans began burning Warsaw to the ground, but still the resistance would not give up. (Maclean 2001) (Landau 1992)

The Polish resistance army, named the Home Army (Armia Krajaiva) in February 1942 was highly organised for an underground army and set up as one of its chief objectives the creation of an efficient intelligence gathering service for both its own needs and that of the allied war effort. Poland had fallen incredibly quickly into Nazi hands and the beginning of the war and this humiliating defeat gave its citizens an extra push towards joining the underground resistance during occupation. The Home Army Intelligence Service was built upon the Polish pre-war intelligence service and

Some topics in this essay:
Home Army, World War, Reichsfuehrer Himmler, Polish Jews, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Soon Beck, Warsaw Poland’s, France Resistance, Intelligence Service, Wilhelm Canaris, home army, resistance movement, intelligence service, dupuy 1985, maclean 2001 landau, german military, world war, landau 1992, 2001 landau, maclean 2001, 2001 landau 1992, 1985 healey 1990, dupuy 1985 healey, german forces, army intelligence service,