Top 50 Early Music Composers

In the weeks leading up to Christmas season, I always get into a classical music phase. I think it's the madrigals or Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite that really set the tone. However watching the film Amadeus during the holidays as kids also probably had something to do with it. I love the instrumental peaceful quality of classical music. Dating back to the medieval chants, the Renaissance madrigals, and the common practice of Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and even Modern eras. It has such a timely mystical quality to it like entering some fantasy world of old. I especially enjoy to listen to classical music when I'm reading or writing. 

I've made several dives into classical study before, but have yet to post anything here in this blog (aside from my Top 50 Musicians list of which several classical composers are included). I've been wanting to compile this list for some time now, as a historical study of the most influential classical musicians. However as I prepared my study it occurred to me that I should probably divide the list into two categories; the Early Music Era (500-1600, which includes Medieval and Renaissance music) and the Common Practice Era (1600-1900s, which includes the classical tradition). The music of the early age was defined by a system of church modality, and later evolved into common era of tonality (which included major and minor keys). Both periods provide beautiful orchestral/vocal/and tonal arrangements that are considered the foundation of music as we know it today. 

I actually just recently discovered the majestical wonder of medieval and Renaissance music. The Gregorian chants and madrigal music is quite angelic as if you're floating in some form of heavenly abyss. It's important to understand that musical notation was not properly developed until the 800-900 AD. Prior to this the music of the ancients were memorized melodies without any real written sequence. By the medieval age, musical theorists developed a system of notation (like a mathematic formula or an alphabet) to be able to read musical notes. This was the beginning of musical composition where a piece of music could now be shared and preserved thru history. 

From that point on, early musical composition evolved in various regions and styles. There were distinct circles of theorists/composers known as schools that contributed to the study and practice of music. This includes the medieval French schools of St. Martial, Notre Dame, Ars Nova, and Ars Subtilor and the Italian school of Trecento (1100-1300s). The transition to renaissance music was developed by the Burgundian School and the Franco-Flemish School in the early 1400s. It further evolved in Italy during the 1500s with the development of the iconic court compositions known as madrigals. This provided new harmonious layers of choral and vocal arrangements and the beginning of a secular sound, free from the church. 

This list is by no means a ranked 50 as I still consider myself quite a novice in the dept of Medieval and Renaissance music. It's rather a list of the 50 most important/influential composers of the early musical eras. Of course I'll be putting the more famous ones at the top of the list however. I intend to better understand their musical style, nationality, time-frame, and most famous compositions. Who knows maybe someday I can make a revised version of this list as I have often done before with my Top 50 Music and Movies list. So without further ado here are the 50 most significant musicians of the early era (including honorable mentions).

Honorable Mention

• Heinrich Finck
• Baude Cordier
• Kassia
  
• John Bull
• Leonel Power
• Solage.
• Arnaut Daniel
• Alexander Agricola
• Adam of Saint Victor
• 
  Adémar de Chabannes
• Hermann Finck
• Maddelena Casulana
• Mesomedes of Crete
• Seikilos
• Bertran de Born
• William IX, Duke of Aquitaine
• Minnesänger Gottfried von Strassburg
• Hartmann von Aue
• Reinmar von Hagenau
• Chrétien de Troyes
• F. Andrieu
• Grimace
• Jehan Vaillant
• P. des Molins
• Jacopo da Bologna
• Richard Davy
• Matthaeus Pipelare
• Juan del Encina
• Robert Fayrfax
• Baldassare Donato
• Costanzo Festa
• Luis de Milán
• Antonio de Cabezón
• Peter Aberlard
• Moniot d'Arras
• Stephen of Liege
• Sebastián de Vivanco
• Giaches de Wert
• Jacob Regnart
• Tuotilo of St. Gall
• Hartker of St. Gall
• Wipo of Burgundy
• Pierre Certon
• Neidhart von Reuental
• Blondel de Nesle

Greatest Early Composers

50. Notker Balbulus

• Years: 840-912
• Nationality: Swizz (Saint Gall)
  
• Musical Style: Early Medieval Carolingian Period. Gregorian Chants. 
• Life: He was a monk at the Abbey of Saint Gall and one of the most influential in developing charts and compositions of their liturgical chants. He was referred to as Balbulus the stammerer due to his speech impediment. 
• Famous Compositions:
• Antiphons for the Office (Liturgical chants)
• Saint Gall Manuscripts

49. Costanzo Festa

• 
  Years: 1485-1545
• Nationality: Italian (Milan)
  
• Musical Style: Early Italian Renaissance. Franco-Flemish influenced. Motets and Masses. 
• Life: He was born near Milan and worked as a singer and composer for Pope Leo X in Rome. He also spent time performing in the courts of Ferrara and Milan where he became influenced by the Franco-Flemish style. He was thus famous for integrating the Italian sound with the Franco-Flemish sound during the early Renaissance. 
• Famous Compositions: 
• Missa L'homme armé — a mass based on the popular “L’homme armé” melody.
• Motet: Ave Maria — highly expressive, often recorded. 
• Motet: Gaude Maria virgo — Marian motet showcasing imitative polyphony.
• Hymn: Pange lingua gloriosi — choral hymn setting.
• Secular madrigals — though fewer survive, they show early Italian text-painting techniques.

48. Walther von der Vogelweide

• Years: 1170-1230
  
• Nationality: German
• Musical Style: Medeival Era. Monophony. Single Melodic lines of strophic form. 
• Life: He was a wandering poet and singer who performed in various courts throughout medieval Germany and Europe. He performed in the courts of Vienna under Duke Frederick I, Philip of Swabia, and even Frederick II of the Holy Roman Empire. He remained popular throughout his lifetime for his poetic love songs but also his political commentary. His musical troubadours were later preserved via his manuscripts. 
• Famous Compositions:
• Palastinaleid (Most popular song on Spotify)
• Under der Linden
• Ich saz uf eime steine
• Ir sult sprechen willekomen
• Nu alrerst lebe ich mir werde

47. Andrea Gabrieli

• 
  Years: 1532-1585
  
• Nationality: Italian (Venetian)
• Musical Style: High Renaissance; Polychoral Style. Motets and Madrigals.
• Life: He spent much of his life in Venice and was an organist at St. Mark's Basilica in 1585. During this time he studied under the father of Venetian Music, Adrian Willaert. He spent some time in Munich which he later incorporated into his musical style. He is often credited with inventing the ceremonial sound of Venice. His nephew Giovanni Gabrieli also went on to be a great musical composer of the High Renaissance. 
• Famous Compositions:
• Missa Pater Peccavi
• Ricercar VIII
• Communion: O Sacrum convivium a 5 (Number one on Spotify)
• Jubilate Deo (Polychoral motet)
• Angelus ad Pastores ait (polychoral motet)

 46. Bernart de Ventadorn

• 
  Years: 1130-1200
• Nationality: French (Limousin) 
  
• Musical Style: Medieval era. Troubadour poet and singer. Cansos (lyrical love songs)
• Life: He was born of modest class and wrote love songs that quickly won over noblewomen. He later entered the service of the noble patron Eleanor of Aquitaine and traveled with her to England for some time. His fame reached great height throughout France and England due to the popularity of his love songs which were later preserved via manuscripts.
• Famous Compositions:
• Can vei la lauzeta mover (Most famous piece on Spotify)
• Can l'erba fresc
• Non es Meravelha s'eu chan
• Lo tems vai e ven e vire

45. John Wilbye

• 
  Years: 1574-1638
• Nationality: English (Suffolk)
• Musical Style: English madrigals and poetry; balanced polyphony
  
• Life: He worked under the patronage of the noble Elizabeth Kitson in Suffolk, where he performed many brilliant works of madrigal music. Most of his work was done for the private audience of the wealthy family and their friends however he did publish two famous works of madrigal compositions.  
• Famous Compositions:
• First Set of Madrigals (1598)
• Adeieu sweet Amaryllis
• Flora gave me fairest flowers
• Happy, o happy he
• Second Set of Madrigals (1609)
• Draw on, Sweet Night (Number one on Spotify)
• Weepe, O Mine Eyes

44. Johannes Ciconia

• 
  Years: 1370-1412
  
• Nationality: Franco-Flemish (Liege)
• Musical Style: Medieval; Early Renaissance. Bridging the new Ars Nova polyphony sound from Medieval to Renaissance.
• Life: Born in Liege, he studied the musical traditions in France and Belgium before traveling to Italy where he began performing in courts and chapels. He performed motets and secular songs and became popular in Venice, Padua, and Pavia for infusing the northern sound with the Italian sound of the early renaissance.
• Famous Compositions:
• Per Quella Strada latea del cielo (most popular song on Spotify)
• O Felix templum (ceremonial motet)
• Gloria tibi Trinitas (sacred Ars Nova song)
• Sus un fontayne
• Una panthera
• Stenae

43. Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck

• 
  Years: 1562-1621
• Nationality: Dutch (Amsterdam)
  
• Musical Style: Keyboard music and variations with harmonic polyphony 
• Life: He is often referred to as the Orpheus of Amsterdam where he was organist of the Oude Kerk (Old Church of Amsterdam) at age 15. He became famous for his performances and also became a teacher where many traveled to learn from him during the Dutch Golden Age. He was a crucial architect of the keyboard music that led the transition from the Renaissance style into the Baroque style. 
• Famous Compositions:
• Pseaumes de David, Livre 2. No 30 (Number 1 on Spotify)
• Variations on “Mein junges Leben hat ein End”
• Echo Fantasia in D
• Chromatic Fantasy
• Fantasia Cromatica
• Toccatas and Ricercars
• Organ Chorale Variations

42. Adam de la Halle

• 
  Years: 1245-1295
  
• Nationality: French (Arras)
• Musical Style: Medieval; Troveres (poet-composer). Performed monophonic and polyphonic music. Motets, and theatrical satires. (blended music with drama performces)
• Life: He was active in both the courts and ecclesiastic centers of France well regarded for his musical compositions. His music has a playful and dramatic style which was later utilized in theatrical stage works, an early precusor to operas. 
• Famous Compositions:
• Jeu de Robin et Marion (Medieval stage play. Considered the first French musical comedy)
• De ma dame vient
• Mount me Fu Gries de la bele
• Kom, du ljuva hartevan (Come you Sweetest Maid)- most popular on Spotify
• Rose, liz printempts verdure

41. Luca Marenzio

• 
  Years: 1553-1599
  
• Nationality: Italian (Brescia)
• Musical Style: Supreme colorist. Madrigals. Harmonic shifts. 
• Life: He was a court composer and chapel performer throughout Italy, performing for the Cardinal of Rome, the Medici of Florence, and eventually came under the patronage of the Pope of Rome. 
• Famous Compositions:
• Baciami Mille Volte a 5 Voci (number 1 on Spotify)
• Solo e pensoso” (one of the era’s jewels, text by Petrarch)
• Cruda Amarilli
• Ahi, dispietata morte
• O voi che sospirate a miglior donne
• Books 1–9 of his 5-voice madrigals

40. Walter Frye

• Years: 1420-1474
• Nationality: English
• Musical Style: Early Renaissance. The Contenance Angloise tradition. Smooth leading voices with harmonic textures.
• Life: Very little is known about his biography and when or where he was born. It is believed he performed at the Ely Cathedral from 1433-1466 where he garnered admiration and fame for his musical quality. His music was discovered after his death, via his manuscripts. 
• Famous Compositions:
• Missa Flos Regalis (one of his more complete mass settings)
• Missa Nobilis et Pulchra
• Missa Summe Trinitati — a three-voice mass.
• Motet: Ave Regina Caelorum — very popular; his Ave Regina appears in three contemporary paintings.
• Chanson / Song “Tout a par moy” — secular piece widely circulated.
• Ballade “So ys emprentid” — Number one on Spotify.

39. Cipriano de Rore

• Years: 1515-1565
  
• 
  Nationality: Flemish (Modern day Belgium)
• Musical Style: High Renaissance, Franco-Flemish School Madrigals, Motets, Masses. Expressive
• Life: Born in Flanders he studied in Venice under Adrian Willaert (the founder of the Venetian school). He spent time in courts and chapels throughout Italy, merging the Flemish style with the Italian style to create a new more expressive form of madrigal. 
• Famous Compositions:
• Ancor Che Col Partire
• De le Belle Contrade d'Oriente (One of his most famous madrigals)
• O Sonno
• Misa Vivat Felix Hercules (Sacred Works)
• Infelix Ego (Sacred motet)

38. Antoine Brumel

• 
  Years: 1460-1512
  
• Nationality: French
• Musical Style: Franco-Flemish School; High Renaissance. Grand scale sacred works.
• Life: Heavily influenced by Josquin des Prez, Brumel worked in various French musical chapels suh as Chatres Cathedral, Notre Dame in Paris, and the Este Court in Ferrara. Not too much is known about his life, however his reputation increased after his death due to his many written compositions. 
• Famous Compositions:
• Missa Et Ecce Terrae Motus
• Lamanetations of Jeremiah
• Magnificat Tone I
• Missa de Beate Virgine
• Sicut lilium (One of his most famous Motets, and number one piece on Spotify)

37. Jean Mouton

• Years: 1459-1522
• Nationality: French 
• Musical Style: High Renaissance Polyphony; Franco-Flemish School. Motets, masses, and chansons. 
• Life: He worked in the French royal court under King Louis XII and Francois I and became one of the most important composer in France during his time. He was the teacher of Adrian Wallaert who later became known as the Father of the Venetian School. 
• Famous Compositions:
• Salva nos, Domine
• Nesciens Mater
• Quis dabit oculis nostris (Lament on the death of Queen Anne of Brittany)

36. Francisco Guerrero

• 
  Years: 1528-1599
  
• Nationality: Spanish (Seville)
• Musical Style: Spanish Renaissance Polyphony. Mass and motet arrangements. 
• Life: He studied under the great Spanish composer Cristobal de Morales and at the age of 18 he became the choir master of the Jaen Cathedral. He later became music director of the Seville Cathedral. He spent time traveling to Italy and the Holy Land of Jerusalem, before being ransomed by pirates. He spent his final years in poverty however his mass and motet compositions lived on.
• Famous Compositions:
• Maria Magdalena (motet. Number one on Spotify) 
• Ave Virgo Sanctissima (motet) 
• Missa Surge Propera (mass)
• Missa Congratulamini Mihi (mass) 

35. Thomas Morley

• Years: 1557-1602
• Nationality: English (Norfolk)
• Musical Style: English Madrigal. Secular and sacred music. Also influenced by Italian Madrigals.
• Life: At a young he became a chorister at St. Paul's Cathedral in London. He later worked closely with the renown musician William Byrd and the Chapel Royal. He published various important works of musical theory as well as compositions of English Madrigals performed for the Elizabethan court. One of his defining features in his music was the fusion of English and Italian madrigal style. 
• Famous Compositions:
• I Heard a Voice from Heaven (His number one track on Spotify)
• “Now is the Month of Maying” — his most famous madrigal, light and festive.
• “Sing We and Chant It” — madrigal, often performed at early music festivals.
• “April is in my Mistress’ Face” — another popular madrigal.

34. Ludwig Senfl

• 
  Years: 1486-1542
  
• Nationality: German/Swiss (Basel)
• Musical Style: Late Renaissance; German Franco-Flemish  Tradition. Polyphonic sacred and secular music. 
• Life: He was born in Basel, Switzerland and studied under the famous German composer Heinrich Isaac in the court of Habsburg. He later worked in Vienna as a composer of the Imperial Chapel whilst serving the Habsburg dynasty. He composed both Catholic and Protestant works of sacred motets. 
• Famous Compositions:
• Ach Elslein, Liebes Elselein Mein (Most Popular piece on Spotify)
• “Ach, dass ich Wassers gnug hätte” – German lied, one of his most recorded secular pieces.
• Motet: “O Maria, heil’ge Mutter” – sacred polyphony.
• Mass settings – several for 4–6 voices, demonstrating his contrapuntal skill.
• “Responsorium de Sancto Spiritu” – a liturgical motet.
• German lieder collections preserved in manuscripts and early printed editions
• Im Maien- catchy piece.

33. Nicolas Gombert

• Years: 1495-1560
• Nationality: Franco-Flemish (Belgian/France)
  
  
  
• Musical Style: Late Renaissance, Franco-Flemish school. Dense Polyphony, hypnotic quality. Sacred music of masses and motets.
• Life: He worked at the Imperial Habsburg under the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V. He served at the Spanish royal courts and became musical director at the Cathedral of Toledo. During this time he was accused of a sexual scandal with a choir boy and he was imprisoned. Despite this scandal he composed a number of influential works of Late Renaissance music. 
• Famous Compositions:
• Magnifcat Primi Toni- His most popular piece on Spotify
• Motet: “Usquequo Domine” – one of his most famous motets, showcasing dense imitative polyphony.
• Missa “Hercules Dux Ferrariae” – a well-known mass setting.
• Motet: “Veni Sancte Spiritus” – typical example of his continuous polyphonic style.
• Motet: “Super flumina Babylonis” – another frequently recorded piece.
• Many other sacred motets, often for 5–6 voices, which display his contrapuntal mastery.

32. Gilles Binchois

• Years: 1400-1460
• Nationality: Franco-Flemish
• Musical Style: Early Renaissance; Burgundian school. Merged the English school with the French style.
• Life: Served in the Burgundian court under Philip the Good for 30 years. Served as a soldier and a musical composer. He worked alongside other great composers such as Guillaume Du Fay and John Dunstaple. He achieved fame throughout his life, with many compositions of sacred music.  
• Famous Compositions:
• “De plus en plus”
• “Triste plaisir” (His most popular song on Spotify)
• “Je loe amours”
• “Mon seul et souverain désir”

31. Orlando Gibbons

• Years: 1583-1625
• Nationality: English
• 
  Musical Style: English Madrigal School. Keyboard. Polyphony. Sacred works. 
• Life: He was born into a musical family near Cambridge and became a choral singer and organist for the Gentlemen of the Chapel Royal in 1605. He continued to study music at Oxford and was later appointed chief organist at Westminster Abbey in 1623.
  
• Famous Compositions:
• “The Silver Swan” — most famous madrigal
• “This Is the Record of John” — verse anthem
• “O Clap Your Hands Together” — full 8 voice anthem
• Short Service & Second Service — choral works for evensong
• Pavans — for viol consort, beautifully contrapuntal and expressive. Number one on Spotify. 
• Keyboard / Virginal Fantasias — solo keyboard works showing his contrapuntal skill.

30. Philippe de Vitry

• Years: 1291-1361
• Nationality: French
• Musical Style: Ars Nova; transition from Medieval to Renaissance
• Life: Served in the court of King John II of France and various other royal patrons. He was a poet, composer, and musical theorist who developed the style of Ars Nova (which began the transition from Medieval to Renaissance style that included a more complex rhythmic sequence). Many of his compositions were lost however most of his sacred works remained intact. 
• Famous Compositions:
• Cum statua/Hugo
• Petre Clemens/Lugentium
• Garrit gallus/in nova fer Neuma
• Veni Creator Spiritus

29. John Dowland

• Years: 1563-1626
• Nationality: English (London)
• Musical Style: Late Renaissance. English Madrigal and lute pieces.
• Life: He was born in London but studied extensively in both Italy and Germany. He also served for the Danish King Christian IV as his court composer. John Dowland was most renown for his lute performance and compositions, which became an iconic instrument of court composers during the Renaissance. 
• Famous Compositions:
• Lady Rich, Her Galliard
• Frogg Galliard
• Lachrimae Antiqua
• Melancholy Galliard
• Now O Now I Needs Must Part (Madrigal)

28. Cristóbal de Morales

• 
  Years: 1500-1553
• Nationality: Spanish (Seville)
  
• Musical Style: Renaissance polyphony; Spanish sacred music tradition. Also influence by Franco-Flemish style. 
• Life: Born in Seville, Spain he worked for various cathedrals in Palencia, Seville, and Toledo. Whilst in Rome he partnered and was influenced by the Franco-Flemish composer Pierre de La Rue. He was an early figure in the Spanish renaissance and influeced later great Spanish composers such as Tomas Luis de Victoria and Francisco Guerrero. 
• Famous Compositions:
• Parce Mihi Domine (Spare me Lord)- His most popular piece on Spotify
• The Magnificats (Song of Mary. 8 ecclesiastical modes)
• Missa Mille Regretz (his best known mass)
• O Magnum Mysterium
• Missa pro Defunctis (Requiem Mass)

27. Jacob Clemens non Papa

• Years: 1510-1555
• Nationality: Franco-Flemish (Modern day Belgium
• Musical Style: Franco-Flemish school. Sacred music masses, motets, and secular chansons. 
• Life: Born in Flanders he worked in various churches in the region, including in France. Little is known about his life, however he was highly regarded as a musical composer. He was referred to as "Non Papa" to distinguish him from the pope of the time, Clement VI. He is most regarded for his musical adaptations of the psalms in Dutch known as the Souterliedekens.
• Famous Compositions:
• Adieu délices de mon cœur- Most popular piece on Spotify
• Sanctus
• Ego flos campi
• Veni Electa Mea
• Carole, Magnus Eras
• Souterliedekens (Dutch psalm settings) — extremely important and historically popular; he set many psalms in Dutch for domestic singing
• Salvator Noster Dilectissimi — 5‑voice motet
• Tristitia Obsidet Me

26. Carlo Gesualdo

• Years: 1566-1613
  
• Nationality: Italian
• Musical Style: Neapolitan Madrigal tradition. Highly Chromatic, expressive, with elements of despair and ecstasy. Harmonic shifts. 
• Life: He was a noble Prince of Venosa well versed in musical composition. However he lived a scandalous life after he murdered his wife and her lover after discovering them having an affair.  
• Famous Compositions:
• Moro, lasso, al mio duolo (Madrigal)
• Beltà, poi che t’assenti (Number one on Spotify)
• Tenebrae Responsoria Tristis est Anima Mea (Another beautiful song)
• Se la mia morte brami
• O Dolce mio tesoro

25. Michael Praetorius

• Years: 1571-1621
• 
  Nationality: German
  
• Musical Style: Late Renaissance/Early Baroque. German Protestant movement. Sacred and secular music. Blends Italian Polychoral elements with German elements
• Life: Served as Kapellmeister for the Duke of Brunswick at Wolfenbüttel. He spent much time developing theory and compositions that would later influence musical academies throughout Germany. His encyclopedia Syntagma Musicum became a crucial source of Baroque musicology. He worked mostly in Lutheran churches and composed various popular Christmas arrangements such as Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming. His version is arguably the most well known harmonization of the famous carol. 
• Famous Compositions:
• “Puer natus est nobis” – a motet for Christmas, widely performed.
• “Es ist ein Ros’ entsprungen” – arrangement of the famous German carol. Number one on Spotify. One of my all time favorite Christmas hymns of old. 
• Polychoral works such as Canticum B. Simeonis – works for multiple choirs and instruments. 
• Terpsichore (1612) – a collection of over 300 instrumental dances; extremely influential for early Baroque dance music.
• Chorale settings – numerous Lutheran chorale arrangements for voices and instruments.

24. Giovanni Gabrieli

• 
  Years: 1555-1612
  
• Nationality: Italian (Venice)
• Musical Style: Late Renaissance. Venetian School. Transitional to Baroque music. 
• Life: He was a nephew and student of his uncle Andrea Gabrielle (who was a student of Adrian Willaert). Just like his uncle he became an organist at St. Mark's Basilica and helped advance the Venetian style of instrumentation with polychoral tradition. He was a key figure in bridging the transition from Renaissance to Baroque style. 
• Famous Compositions:
• In Ecclesiis (His most popular piece on Spotify)
• Sonata Pian e Forte (One of the first pieces of music to incorporate sound dynamics)
• Sacrae Symphoniae (collection of motets and canzonas)
• O magnum mysterium
• Jubilate Deo

23. Léonin

• 
  Years: 1150-1201
  
• Nationality: French
• Musical Style: Medieval Era; Notre Dame School. Pioneer of Two-Voice Organum
• Life: Served as a cleric and composer at Notre Dame Cathedral during it's construction. Not much is known about his life, other than his post at Notre Dame and that he was the predecessor and teacher to Perotin. His manuscripts were preserved by the English musical theorist, Anonymous IV. 
• Famous Compositions:
• Viderunt Omnes (Number one piece on Spotify)
• Alleluia, Pascha Nostrum
• Haec dies
• Resurrexi
• Gloria

22. Hans Leo Hassler

• Years: 1564-1612
• Nationality: German
• Musical Style: Late Renaissance/Early Baroque Composer. Germanic Polyphonic tradition also influenced by Italian madrigals. 
• Life: Born in Nuremberg, Germany from a musical family he studied music in Venice, Italy. He brought back the Italian madrigal style and infused it with the German style to create an original sound. His innovative work as a court composer and organist helped bridge the transition from Renaissance to Baroque music. 
• Famous Compositions:
• Verbum caro factum est (widely performed motet)
• Dulcis amor Jesu
• O Jesu Christe, wahres Licht
• Ich Liebe dich
• Cante Domino canticum novum (most popular piece on Spotify)

21. Clément Janequin

• Years: 1485-1558
• Nationality: French
• Musical Style: Parisan Chanson Tradition. Progammatic chansons. Lively, rhythmic melodies
• Life: He worked in Paris throughout his lifetime for various musical patrons. He developed a distinctive style of secular music that often told stories of historical battles and victories. His music has a lively and catchy quality to it which made him quite popular during his lifetime. 
• Famous Compositions:
• Au joly jeu (most popular piece on Spotify)
• La Bataille (mimics battles sounds with voices)
• La Chant des Oyseaux (mimics bird songs)
• Ce qu on fait au bon vin (jovial drinking song)
• Mille regretz

20. Francesco Landini

• 
  Years: 1325-1397
  
• Nationality: Italian
• Musical Style: Italian Trecento; ballate, secular. Vibrant melodies renown for the "Landini cadence.  
• Life: He was blind at an early age but had a strong sense for music and became a prominent singer, organist, and composer. He worked at Florence at the start of the cultural renaissance with other poets and artists. He was celebrated throughout his lifetime for his vibrant, expressive, and joyful music. 
• Famous Compositions:
• Ecco la primavera (most popular piece on Spotify)
• Non avra ma pieta
• O primavera
• Kalenda Maya

19. Thomas Weelkes

• Years: 1576-1623
• Nationality: English
• Musical Style: Renaissance. English Madrigal School. Anglican church and playful music.
• Life: He achieved credibility as an organist and choir master at the Chichester Cathedral. He performed and wrote many compositions of playful and expressive renaissance madrigals. His character is often described with instances of wild and drunken behavior that often got him in trouble. However despite his outlandish character his music is highly regarded. 
• Famous Compositions:
• As Vesta Was from Latmos Hill Descending (Iconic English madrigal)
• Lament and Elegy, Death Hath Deprived me (Most popular piece on Spotify)
• The Triumps of Oriana
• Thule, the Period of Cosmography

18. Johannes Ockeghem

• 
  Years: 1410-1497
  
• Nationality: Franco-Flemish
• Musical Style: Early Renaissance. Franco-Flemish School. Complex Polyphony. Masses, motets, and chansons
• Life: Rose to prominence in French royal chapels, playing for various kings. Developed a new format of musical composition with more complex polyphony with smoother voices and extended notes.  He frequently worked alongside fellow French composer, Anotine Busnois. He was highly regarded throughout his lifetime and influence the great French composer, Josquin des Prez.
• Famous Compositions:
• Missa proclationum (most popular piece on Spotify)
• Intermerate dei mater
• Missa cuisvis toni
• Intermeratea dei mater
• Fors seulement (chanson)

17. Adrian Willaert

• 
  Years: 1490-1562
• Nationality: Flemish (modern day Belgium)
  
• Musical Style: High Renaissance. Founder of the Venetian School. Pioneer of antiphonal music known as Cori Spezzati, which was broken up choruses. 
• Life: Studied under Jean Mouton in Paris, where he first learned the Franco-Flemish school of music. He later traveled to Italy to work for various nobles and later ascended to the post of musical director at St. Mark's Basilica in Venice. From this point on he established his reputation as the top composer of Venice, creating a new style of madrigal music. He influenced other great Italian composers such as Cipriano de Rore, Andrea and Giovanni Gabrieli. 
• Famous Compositions:
• Da Le Belle Contrade d'Oriente
• Vecchie letrose non valete niente
• Magnificat sexti toni
• Surge, Illuminare
• Se la face ay Pale 

16. John Dunstaple

• Years: 1390-1453
• Nationality: English
• Musical Style: Early Renaissance. Pioneer of the English Countenance (distinctive style of sweet musical polyphony). 
• Life: Worked under the patronage of the Duke of Bedford and the Duke of Gloucester where he got involved in politics, ecclesiastic, as well as astrology, and mathematics. He also spent some time where he worked with other famous composers such as Guillaume Du Gay and Gilles Binchois (considered the Big Three). He is regarded as one of England's most famous early musical composers alongside William Byrd and Thomas Tallis. 
• Famous Compositions:
• Missa Rex seculorum”
• “Quam pulchra es” (Most popular piece on spotify)
• “Alma redemptoris mater”
• Veni Sancte Spritus

15. Pierre de La Rue

• 
  Years: 1452-1518
  
• Nationality: Franco-Flemish (modern day Belgium)
• Musical Style: High Renaissance. Deep and darker polyphonic style.
• Life: He spent a good portion of his musical career serving the Habsburg-Burgundian courts and chapels primarily the Grand Chapelle (under Philip the Fair and Emperor Charles V). He spent some time traveling across Europe performing, however is one of the few Renaissance composers who did not visit Italy. His music is unique for it's darker deeper quality
• Famous Compositions:
• O Salutaris hostia (most popular on Spotify)
• Jam Sauche
• Absalon, fili mi
• Requiem (one of the earliest polyphonic requeims)

14. Antoine Busnois

• Years: 1430-1492
• Nationality: Franco-Flemish (Burgundy)
• Musical Style: Early Renaissance. Burgundian School. Sacred music with also dance-like chanson and court music. 
• Life: Served in the court of Charles the Bold (Duke of Burgundy). He also worked as a chapel musician composing secular and sacred music. He achieved great recognition during his time, and influenced Jacob Obrecht as well as the great French Renaissance musician, Josquin. 
• Famous Compositions:
• Amours amours amours (Most popular piece on Spotify)
• Alleluya
• De tous bien plein
• L'Homme arme (secular piece)
• Je ne puis vivre (lively court love song)

13. John Taverner

• Years: 1490-1545
• Nationality: English (Lincolnshire)
• Musical Style: English Renaissance. Florid style, Early Tudor school. 
• Life: He studied music at the Cardinal College of Oxford where he became choir director. He then became a target of Henry VIII's protestant reformation, and was forced to leave his post, however managed to escape persecution. He spent his final years in solitude, polishing his wonderful musical compositions. He is considered the last great Catholic English musician prior to their complete reformation. 
• Famous Compositions:
• In Nomine: (Most popular song on Spotify)
• Missa Gloria tini Trinitas
• Western Wyned Mass
• Missa Cornoa Spinea
• Missa O Wilhelme

12. Jacob Obrecht

• 
  Years: 1457-1505
• Nationality: Franco-Flemish (Ghent)
  
• Musical Style: Early Renaissance. Franco-Flemish school. Sacred masses, motets, and secular songs
• Life: Born in Ghent he worked in various courts and cathedrals throughout the Low Countries and later Italy. He was influenced by the works of Busnois and other great Burgundian composers. He was highly respected during his time, however many of his works were lost. He also influenced one of the greatest French renaissance composers, Josquin des Prez. 
• Famous Compositions:
• Largire nunc mitissime (most popular piece on Spotify)
• Missa O'lume Ecclesie
• Missa Caput
• Missa sub tuum praesidium 

11. Guillaume Dufay

• Years: 1397-1474
• Nationality: Franco-Flemish
• 
  Musical Style: Burgundian School. Early Renaissance. The Crossroads between medieval and renaissance music. Known for masses, motets, chansons, and court dance music. 
• Life: He was a choirboy at Cambrai Cathedral in France before moving to Italy to serve in the papal court of Rome. He became highly regarded for his musical performances and held a post at Cambrai Cathederal in that latter part of his life. He is considered a pivotal figure that influenced and lead the transistion from medieval to renaissance music. 
  
• Famous Compositions:
• Salteraello (Italian for "jump" this was a popular dance song played in the royal courts during the Renaissance heavy with flute, violin, and the lute. Very catchy upbeat song and the most popular piece on Spotify)
• Ave Maris Stella
• Vergene Bella (Another upbeat court dance song)
• Missa L'Homme Arme (one of his most famous sacred masses)
• Missa Se La Face ay Pale

10. Heinrich Isaac

• Years: 1450-1517
• Nationality: Austrian (Holy Roman Empire)
• Musical Style: Franco-Flemish Style with Italian and German influence. Masses, Motets, and secular songs.
• Life: Well traveled and cultural composer who began under the Habsburg court of Innsbruck before traveling to Florence. Whilst in Florence who was a patron of Lorenzo de' Medici and began merging the German sound with the Italian sound. He was highly respected throughout his lifetime and wrote many compositions that influenced future musicians.  
• Famous Compositions:
• Missa Presulem ephebeatum (most popular on Spotify)
• Innsbruck, ich muss dich lassen (famous German secular song)
• Maudit Soyt
• Hymn to the Virgi

9. Pérotin

• 
  Years: 1180-1225
  
• Nationality: French (Paris)
• Musical Style: Medieval polyphone. Notre Dame School. One of the architects of multi-voiced, rhythmic polyphony known as organum. 
  
• Life: He was influenced by Leonin and succeeded him as principle musical composer at the Notre Dame Cathedral. Although not much is known about his life, his manuscripts were later recovered and published by the English musical theorist known as Anonymous IV. He is best known for developing the scale of the organum from dual voices to multiple voice harmonies. 
• Famous Compositions:
• Beata Viscera (Most popular piece on Spotify)
• Viderunt Omnes
• Sederunt Principes
• Alleluia, Nativitas
• Rest est admirabilis

8. William Byrd

• 
  Years: 1540-1623
  
• Nationality: English
• Musical Style: Late Renaissance. Sacred, Anglican, consort, masses, madrigals, and keyboard solo works. 
• Life: He was a pupil of the great Thomas Tallis. Byrd was a devout Catholic during Queen Elizabeth's religious persecutions however was spared due to his great music. He became a Gentleman of the Royal Chapel and wrote for both Protestant and Catholic branches. Considered the greatest keyboard composer of the Renaissance and one of the greatest English early composers alongside John Dunstaple and Thomas Tallis. 
• Famous Compositions:
• Ave Verum Corpos (Most popular piece on spotify)
• Mass for Four Voices
• Mass for Five Voices
• Mass for Three Voices
• Ave verum corpus
• Laetentur caeli
• Emendemus in melius

7. Hildegard von Bingen

• Years: 1098-1179
• 
  Nationality: German
• Musical Style: Medeival. Early sacred chant tradition. 
  
• Life: Benedictine abbess at the convent of Ruperstberg, Germany. She is considered one of the first great female musicians, who claims to have had spiritual visions throughout her lifetime. She was considered a polymath of medicine, science, philosophy, poetry, and musical composition. She later served as an advisor to nobles and popes. She invented her own language with symbolic meanings to interpret her mystical visons. wrote many meditative hymns and chants that are recognized today as some of the greatest works of the medieval era. She is one of the only musical composers on this list to have been canonized as a saint. 
• Famous Compositions:
• Ordo Virtutum: liturgical drama and one of the earliest forms of morality plays
• O vis asternitatis
• Spiritus Sanctus Vivifancs (most popular on Spotify)
• O Rubor Sanguinis Antienne (another lovely piece)
• Ave Generosa
• O Euchari in leta via
• O Virtus Sapiente

6. Orlando di Lasso

• Years: 1532-1592
• 
  Nationality: Franco-Flemish (Mons-modern day Belgium)
  
• Musical Style: Late Renaissance. Sacred motets, masses, madrigals, chansons. Blended Italian, French, and German styles into expressive smooth polyphonic pieces
• Life: Spent some time traveling thru France, England,  the Low Countries, and Germany. He eventually settled in Munich, where he landed the post of kapellmeister at the Bavarian court. He was well admired throughout his lifetime and worked with other prominent composer such as Andrea and Giovanni Gabrieli. He wrote over 2000 compositions throughout his career and is regarded as one of the leading musical figures of the late Renaissance. 
• Famous Compositions:
• Lagrime di San Pietro (Most popular piece on Spotify)
• Tristis est anima mae (popular motet)
• Si du malheur
• Adoramus te, Christe
• Matona mia cara (Italian madrigal)
• Tant que vivray

5. Tomás Luis de Victoria 

• 
  Years: 1548-1611
• Nationality: Spanish (Castilian)
  
• Musical Style: Spanish High Renaissance. Sacred Polyphonic vocal music. 
• Life: He began as a chorister in Avile where he was influenced by the music of Cristobal Morales. He later studied in Rome where he met and worked with the great Palestrina. During this time he became a priest, which led his emphasis on sacred music. He is considered one of the most famous Spanish composers of the Renaissance best known for his variation of O Magnum Mysterium. His music was often very intense and dramatic, ideal for the Offices of the Dead, funerals, prayer reflection, and during Holy Week. 
• Famous Compositions:
• O Magnum Mysterium: His version is the most popular. This is another of my favorite pieces of Renaissance music.
• Officium Defunctorum
• Jesu Dulcis Memoria
• Ave Maria
• O Vos Omnes
• Tenebrae Responsories (Holy Week Hymns- most notably the Amicus Meus Osculi me Tradidit Signa)

   
4. Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina

• 
  Years: 1525-1594
• Nationality: Italian
  
• Musical Style: Late Renaissance. Roman School. Sacred Polyphony, masses, and motets.
• Life: Spent most his life working in Rome. In 1551 he was appointed maestro di cappela at St. Peter's Basilica by Pope Juius III. He specialized in masses and motets and wrote over 250 throughout his respected career. His music is considered the ideal of the Renaissance and popular among musical theorists for his "Palestrina style"- use of counterpoint polyphony. His music sounds like a chorus of angels pulling you up into heaven. 
• Famous Compositions:
• Missa Papae Marcelli: Most popular piece on Spotify, quite angelic.
• Sicut cervus: lyrical motet
• O Bone Iesu 
• Ave Maria

3. Josquin Des Prez

• Years: 1450-1521
• Nationality: France (Northern France/Belgium)
  
• Musical Style: Franco-Flemish School. Invented a new form of imitative and expressive Polyphone. Mostly vocal works of masses, motets, and secular chansons.
  
• Life: He began his life as a choir-boy at Saint-Quentin where he quickly gained an admiration and reputation for music. He rose the ranks to work in the musical courts of Milan and then to serve at the papal chapel in Rome. He later found musical work at the prestigious court of Ferrara. He achieved fame during his lifetime which was quite rare for a Renaissance musician. He is regarded as one of the greatest Renaissance composers, the Michelangelo of Music. 
• Famous Compositions:
• Ave Maria. Virgo Serena (One of his most famous and beautiful motets)
• Misere mei, Deus
• Missa Pange Lingua
• Missa L'Homme Arme Super voces Musicales
• Illibata Dei Virgo Nutrix
• Inviolata integra et casta es Maria
• Tu solus qui facis mirabilia
• Mille Regretz
• El Grillo

2. Guillaume de Machaut

• Years: 1300-1377
  
• Nationality: French
• Musical Style: Medieval; Ars Nova movement. 
• Life: Served as musical director at the Reims Cathedral which offered him stability to work on musical compositions. He was also close with the French nobility and royalty such as King John of Bohemia. He is regarded as a central figure of Medieval music, particularly the Ars nova style. Many of his pieces sound quite familiar as if I have heard them before in some medieval film. 
• Famous Compositions:
• Douce dame Jolie (most popular piece on Spotify. Very familiar tune)
• Messe de Nostra Dame (earliest complete polyphonic works)
• Rose liz, printempts, verdure
• Ma fin est mon commencement
• J'aim sans penser (another recognizable tune)

1. Thomas Tallis

• Years: 1505-1585
  
• Nationality: English
• Musical Style: English Renaissance (Tudor school). 
• 
  Life: As a child he became a choir member of the Chapel Royal before becoming one of the Tudor's favorite musicians. He served as court composer for King Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary I, and Elizabeth I. His elaborate choral arrangements are considered the definitive English Renaissance music. He influenced many other English musicians after him such as William Byrd. Many of his peices incorporate that lovely angelic and transcendent Renaissance sound.   
• Famous Compositions:
• Spem in alium (40 part motet)
• If Ye Love Me (beautiful tune that is most popular on Spotify)
• Lamentations of Jeremiah
• Sancte Deus
• O Nata Lux
• O sacrum convivium
• Hear the Voice and Prayer

Historical Study: WWII Resistance (Internal Axis States)

The final category of WWII resistance I will focus on is the resistance that occurred within the Axis nations. While the principle Axis powers were Germany, Italy, and Japan there were several other nations in central Europe that got on board with the fascist ideology. This included Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and Slovakia. These nations established an allied network that fought alongside Germany on the eastern front. Meanwhile Austria and Czechoslovakia were completely annexed into Nazi Germany government without any opposition. Austria welcomed the annexation in what is known as the Anschluss, while the public opinion was more divided in Czechoslovakia.  

However even within these totalitarian fascist regimes there were pockets of resistance. Even Germany, the center of it all, had internal networks of sabotage, espionage, and escape routes. There were approximately 42 plots to assassinate Hitler during his time in power. The resistance within Germany especially began to escalate towards the end of the war as victory seemed far less likely, (which was relevant in the failed July 20 plot). Consider the risk these people took to coordinate these defiant efforts. They were not only committing treason against the government, but also at odds against the general public. The majority of the public was brainwashed and completely onboard with fascism (especially in Germany). Many citizens would gladly turn in a traitor, not out of legal duty but out of delusional pride for their Fuhrer. 

Italian Resistance (Resistenza)

1. Joined Axis Powers: September 27, 1940. (The resistance against Mussolini began as soon as he established his fascist government in 1922. It continued after Mussolini was ousted from power in 1943, and the Nazis established a puppet government). 
2. 
3. Active Rebels: 400,000- 450,000
4. Death Toll: 57,000-75,000
   
5. Key Movements/Organizations:
6. National Liberation Committee (CLN): Formed in 1943 in Rome as the centralized anti-fascist organization. This was established in coordination with the Allies, against the newly established Italian Social Republic
7. Italian Communist Party (PCI): Consisted of the majority of partisan fighters
8. Partito d'Azione (Pd'A): Liberal, socialist, intellectual leaning partisan fighters
9. Italian Socialist Party (PSI): Named after their socialist leader Giacomo Matteotti who was murdered by fascists in 1924.
10. Autonomi: Former officers and soldiers who aligned with the Royal Army against fascism
11. Clandestine Press:
12. Guistizia e Liberta (Justice and Freedom): Established in 1929 as a group of anti-fascist intellectuals who established a network of propaganda.
13. L'Unita: Communist newspaper
14. Avanti!: Socialist newspaper
15. Italia Libera: Paper of the Partito d'Azione (Action Party)
16. Intelligence Networks
17. 
18. Gruppi di Azione Patriottica (GAP): Action groups in urban areas sharing intelligence and clandestine media. They also conducted various acts of sabotage and assassinations.
19. Patriotic Action Squads (SAP): Surveillance and logistical operations for resistance pockets
20. Allied pockets: Providing communication and intelligence networks with the Allies (most notably the American OSS).
21. The Mafia (Operation Underworld): Although they were not a united front, they did provide a network of intelligence, safe-houses, and guides with the Allies, primarily as they landed in Sicily. 
22. Key Leaders:
    
23. Palmiro Togliatti: Led a fighting unit of partisans known as the Garibaldi Brigades. Returned from exile to help administer Italy's new government.
24. Ferruccio Parri: Military leader of the Partio d'Azione. Also co-founder of the Justice and Liberty movement. Became Prime Minister of the first pro-war government in 1945
25. Alcide de Gasperi: Leader of the Christian Democracy movement. He became the prominent leader of the Italian Republic in 1946
26. Pietro Nenni: Key figure of the socialist movement. His partisans were known as the Matteotti Brigades.
27. Sandro Pertini: Key figure in the anti-fascist movement who later became president of Italy in 1978-1985.  
28. Key Events:
29. 
30. June 1924: Assassination of socialist leader Giacomo Matteotti by Mussolini's blackshirts. This serves as a call to arms for resistance against the fascist regime.
31. June 1926: Mussolini outlaws all opposing political parties and trade unions to establish his total authoritarian state (thus sending all resistant movements underground). 
32. 1929: Establishment of the Guistizia e Liberta underground movement led by Carlo Rosselli from exile. 
    
33. 1940-1942: Mussolini quickly loses popular support after numerous defeats during WWII. 
34. March 1943: Large scale strikes take place in Milan and Turin against the fascist government (the first since the 1920s).
    
35. July 25, 1943: The King of Italy (with support from the Grand Council) decide to remove Mussolini from power by arresting him. Marshal Badoglio becomes prime minister and quickly breaks the Axis treaty to align Italy with the Allies.
36. Sept 1943: Germany occupies Italy, overthrows Badoglio's government, frees Mussolini, and creates a puppet government known as the Italian Social Republic.
37. Sept 1943: The CLN is established as the national resistance pocket, with support from the Allies. 
38. Winter 1943-1944: The Italian Civil War. Partisan pockets begin open fighting against Nazi sympathizers, primarily in the mountain regions. 
39. March 1944: The Fosse Ardeatine Massacre: Following a partisan attack in Rome, the Nazis respond by killing 335 Italian hostages. 
40. June 1944: Allies enter Rome, however the fighting continues in the north.
41. Winter of 1944-1945: Partisans suffer terrible losses at the Battle of Ravenna due to paused fighting from the allies.
42. April 25,1945: Liberation Day. The CLN in northern Italy calls for a major uprising to liberate cities in Milan and Turin before the arrival of the allied army
43. April 25, 1945: Mussolini captured by Italian communist partisans. He was executed and his body was hung upside down in the town square of Milan to demonstrate the fall of fascism
44. Axis-Government Overthrown: April 1945. Following the overthrow of Mussolini, several interim governments were put in place. Alcide de Gasperi oversaw the creation of the Italian Republic by 1946. The new Italian government was heavily influenced by the Western allies of the United States and United Kingdom. Communism was quickly routed out so that the nation would not fall under Soviet control. 

Bulgarian Partisan Resistance

1. Joined Axis Alliance: March 1, 1941. (Tsar Borris reluctantly decided to join the Axis powers hoping to regain territory loss during WWI. Hitler rewarded this alliance with territorial expansion for Bulgaria in Macedonia, Yugoslavia, Romania, and Greece. Despite their partnership however Bulgaria's military aid was limited and they did not take part in the German invasion of eastern Europe). 
   
2. 
3. Active Rebels: 25,000-30,000 (9,000 partisans)
4. Death Toll: 2,700-3000
5. Key Movements/Organizations:
6. Bulgarian Communist Movement (BCP): The majority of the resistance was this Communist organization that was supported by the Soviet Union. It was an armed partisan movement partaking in guerilla warfare. Smaller groups within the movement coordinated acts of sabotage and assassinations. 
7. Fatherland Front: The Political side of the resistance that brought together various leftist organizations against the Axis government.
8. People's Liberation Army (NOVA): The military wing of the Fatherland Front.
9. Zveno: Small group of radical nationalist authoritarians (against fascism and communism). While they sought to establish their own form of ideology, they eventually sided with the majority of the communists. 
10. Clandestine Press:
11. BCP Pirate Radio "Hristo Botev": Illegal radio broadcasts which communicated with Moscow
12. Worker's Cause: The most popular underground publication of Communist propaganda
13. Fatherland Front: The main pamphlet of the Fatherland Front political movement
14. Intelligence Networks:
15. Boynite Grupi: Intelligence gathering groups based out of Sofia and other urban cities. Also coordinated propaganda, sabotage, and assassinations
16. Key Leaders:
    
17. 
18. Georgi Dimitrov: He was the leader of the Bulgarian Communist Party, although he was exiled in the Soviet Union. He conducted radio communications and pamphlets to guide the resistance against the Axis government.
19. Tsvyatko Radoinov: Another key leader of the BCP who coordinated paratrooper landings to organize the resistance's military wing. 
20. Anton Ivanov: Led a partisan unit in the mountains which caused great devastation for the Nazis, but was later captured and executed in Yastrebino with other children. 
21. Dobri Dzhurov: Another partisan commander who went on to become minister of defense for the next 28 years. 
22. Kimone Georgiev: Leader of the Zveno political movement, who played a crucial role in the 1944 coup d'état of the Axis government. 
23. Key Events:
24. June 1941: The Bulgarian Communist Party calls for armed resistance following Germany's invasion into Soviet Union.
25. July 1942: The Fatherland Front is established, uniting many resistance movements into one network.
26. March-May 1943: Members of parliament and the Orthodox Church led a widespread protest against Jewish deportations which ultimately postponed and saved 50,000 Bulgarian Jews. 
27. August 1943: Tsar Boris III dies, leading to a power vacuum in the government, which the Fatherland Front takes advantage of.  
28. Late 1943-1944. Increase in partisan warfare, sabotage, and assassinations.
29. December 1943: Massacre of Yastrebino. The Nazis executed several children and adults in a small village for their partisan activity. 
30. September 1944: Soviet Union declares war on Bulgaria. Following the retreat of the Nazis, the Red Army easily invades and occupies Bulgaria
31. September 1944: The Fatherland Front overthrows the Axis government before the Soviet Union does thus ending their partnership with Germany. 
32. Axis Government Overthrown: Sept 9, 1944 (Following the arrival of the Red Army into Bulgaria, the government was transitioned into a coalition of communists, nationalists, and the Zveno factions. Kimone Georgieve became the first prime minister, eager to implement his Zveno ideology, however he was quickly supplanted by the Bulgarian Communist Party. By 1947 all coalition factions were outsed and replaced entirely by the Communist faction, which was essentially a puppet state of the Soviet Union). 

Slovakian Resistance/Partisans

1. Joined Axis Alliance: March 14th, 1939 (The western portion of Czechoslovakia was annexed by the Germans, known as the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. The eastern portion became a newly established independent state known as of Slovakia. It was a puppet government led by Jozef Tiso).
   
2. 
3. Active Rebels: 40,000-60,000
4. Death Toll: 12,000
5. Key Movements/Organizations:
6. The Slovak National Council (SNC): A unification of all resistance groups within Slovakia formed in 1943 at the Christmas Agreement. Their primary goal was to reunite Czechoslovakia into a democratic state once again.
7. Slovak Communist Wing (KSS): Their primary goal was to overthrow Tiso's Nazi puppet regime and establish a communist state allied with the Soviet Union
8. The Military Underground: Established by former Slovak military officials headquartered in the city of Banska-Bystrica. 
9. Partisan pockets: Guerilla groups that operated in the mountains supported by the Soviets. It consisted of a mixture of POWs, Jews, and Slovak civilians.
10. Clandestine Press:
    
11. Voice of Liberated Slovakia (Underground publication that exposed the corruption of Tiso and the failing Axis war on the eastern front).
12. Broadcast radio from the liberated city of Banska-Bystrica
13. Intelligence Networks:
14. 
15. Kept close contact with the allies providing intel on German movement as well as planning for their own resistance
16. Escape Routes:
17. The Working Group: Underground Jewish resistance effort to halt Jewish deportations thru bribery, negotiations, and sabotage. Also provided intel on Auschwitz and other Holocaust details to the allies. 
18. Airmen routes: The partisans assisted with downed Allied airman, shot over Bratislava taken their refuge in Banska-Bystrica or further east to escape. 
19. Key Leaders:
20. General Rudolf Viest: Chief military commander of the Czech government in exile. Oversaw various factions of the resistance.
21. Col Jan Golian: Key leader of the Slovakian Uprising from the city of Banska-Bystrica.
22. Karol Smidke: Key leader of the SNC, communist resistance
23. Jan Ursiny: Key leader in the Civic/Democratic resistance wing
24. Viliam Zingor: Lead partisan movements to harass German supply lines
25. Key Events:
26. March 1939: Jozef Tiso becomes dictator of the newly established Slovakia, which leads to a government-in-exile that calls for resistance from within.
27. 1942: Mass deportations of Jews begin across Slovakia.
28. Dec 1943: The Christmas Agreement. All factions of Slovakian resistance unite to overthrow the Axis government. This marks the establishment of the Slovak National Council (SNC)
    
29. 
30. Spring/Summer 1944: Resistance and partisan pockets begin military operations and sabotage against their totalitarian government.
31. Aug 1944: Nazi Germany invades Slovakia after various partisan activity. Tiso is not happy, but must go along with it as a puppet leader.
32. Aug 29,1944: The Slovak National Uprising begins. In response to Germany's invasion the SNC initiates their organized uprising. They are able to liberate the city of Banska-Bystrica as their new government headquarter. (This becomes the 2nd largest uprising against Nazi, after the Polish Warsaw Uprising). 
33. Sept-Oct 1944: Uprising suppressed by the Nazis. After 2 months of fighting the Nazis recapture the city of Banska-Bystrica, causing the resistance to flee to the mountains to continue their guerilla warfare. 
34. Nov-Jan 1945: The Nazis respond to the uprising and continued partisan fighting with the Kremnicka and Nemecka massacres. This results in the death of approximately 2000 partisans, Jews, and their families.
35. April 1945: Soviets capture Bratislava and drives the Nazis out of the region
36. Axis Government Collapse: May 1945. (With the end of WWII, Czechoslovakia is reunited and restored as an independent nation, with heavy Soviet influence. It becomes one of the Eastern Bloc satellite states throughout the Cold War. In 1989 the Velvet Revolution broke free from USSR control and the region once became two independent states in Czech Republic and Slovakia.) 

 Hungarian Resistance

1. Joined Axis Powers: Nov 20, 1940 (Right-wing dictatorship led by Miklos Horthy who shared anti-communist sentiment with the Axis powers. Sought to acquire land in northern Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, and Romania. Germany eventually invaded in 1944 to turn it into an occupied nation). 
   
2. Active Rebels: 5000 (very minimal resistance)
3. 
4. Death Toll: 100-500
5. Key Movements/Organizations:
6. The Magyar Hungarian Front: Anti-German Coalition of various resistance factions formed in 1944
7. Independent Smallholders Party: Anti-Communist party that sought an end to the alliance with Germany 
8. Hungarian Social Democratic Party: Workers and unions party, in support of a democratic not communist society.
9. Hungarian Communist Party: Had the most effective resistance pockets and various partisan groups
10. The Conservative Elite: A group of prominent ministers who secretly began negotiations with the western allies.
11. Military Committee of liberation: Former military commanders led by General Janos Kiss. Sought to stage an armed uprising in Budapest.
12. Clandestine Press:
13. Communist underground leaflets from the (KMP) urging resistance
14. The Hungarian front also distributed illegal pamphlets calling for national independence free from German influence
15. Intelligence Networks:
16. British connections with the SOE and OSS to provide key intel on troop movement and oil refineries
17. Escape Routes/Safe Houses
18. Neutral Legation Ties: Escape routes thru neutral Switzerland, Sweden, and the Vatican
19. Wallenberg Network: Evasion system coordinated by Hungarian diplomat Raoul Wallenberg which saved thousands of political and Jewish refugees thru forged documents and safe havens
20. Key Leaders:
    
21. 
22. Admiral Miklos Horthy: Despite being an authoritarian dictator who sided with Germany he was against the deportation of Jews and was able to delay the project for some time which saved many.
23. Miklos Kallay: Prime minister who organized the "Kallay Two Step" operation which appeased German authorities while established communication and partnership with the western allies. He also sought to delay the deportation of Jews which led to the Nazi invasion 
24. Emile Bajcsy-Zsilinszky: Key figure that organized the Independent Smallholders Party, an anti-communist party seeking a break from the German coalition. 
25. General Janos Kiss: Key leaders of the military committee of liberation who plotted an uprising in Budapest 
26. Laszlo Rajk: Leader of the Hungarian Communist Party 
27. Zoltan Tildy: Another key figured of the Independent Smallholders Party who briefly became prime minister after the war
28. Key Events:
29. Nov 1940: Hungary officially joins Axis powers after received territory from Czechoslovakia and northern Transylvania
30. April 1941: Prime minister Pal Teleki commits suicide in protest of Hungary joining the Axis alliance and invading Hungary. It is seen as a bold act of defiance.
31. April 1941: The Hungarian invasion of Yugoslavia (supported by the German army)
32. June 1941: The Hungarian army joins Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa
33. Jan 1943: Anti-war sentiment increases after the Hungarian army is nearly annihilated by the Soviet army during the Ostrogozhsk-Rossosh Offensive near the Don River in Voronezh
34. 
35. 1943-1944: With the tide shifting on the eastern front, prominent Hungarian leaders secretly begin negotiations with the western powers known as the "Kallay Two Step"
36. March 1944: Germany discovers Hungarian's secret talks with the western-allies and invades the country to get their agenda back on track, especially pertaining to the deportation of Jews. 430,000 Jews are quickly deported to Auschwitz in this period. 
37. May 1944: The official Hungarian front is established as a united coalition of resistance factions (including the communists)
    
38. Oct 1944: With the support of Horthy, General Kiss plotted a coup in Budapest but once again the plot was discovered and exposed by the Nazis. This forced Horthy to resign and live in exile
39. Oct-Dec 1944: Heightened Hungarian partisan activity as the Red Army continues it's advance on occupied German territory in central Europe
40. Oct-March 1944: The Arrow Cross party (loyal to the Germans) begins a wave of brutality against political opponents, Jews, and Romani.
41. Dec 1944: Resistance leaders Gen Kiss and Endre Bajcsy-Zsilinszky are executed by the Germans
42. Axis Government Overthrown: April 4, 1945 (Budapest is captured by the Soviets, and thus begin their occupation of Hungary. The Communist state slowly consolidates power within Hungary to establish a puppet regime that is influence by the USSR. Hungary thus became a satellite state of the Eastern Bloc until the fall of communism in 1989). 

Romanian Resistance

1. Joined Axis Powers: Nov 23, 1940 (In the summer of 1940 Romania lost territory to the Soviet Union, Bulgaria, and Hungary in various diplomatic trades. This lead to a fascist coup d'état led by General Ion Antonescu and his Iron Guard. As official dictator of Romania, Antonescu quickly aligned Romania with the Axis powers alliance). 
2. 
3. Active Rebels: 5,000-10,000 (Anti-Fascist, anti-communist)
4. Death Toll: 100-1000
   
5. Key Movements/Organizations:
6. National Democratic Bloc: Unification of all resistance groups to facilitate a coup
7. The Royal Palace Group: A resistance pocket that was loyal to the abdicated monarchy of King Michael. They sought to overthrow the fascist dictatorship as well as prevent a Soviet take-over.
8. National Peasants Party (PNT): Opposed Antonescu and pushed for withdrawal from the war. Led by Iuliu Maniu
9. National Liberal Party (PNL): Democratic party that pushed for a coup
10. Romanian Communist Party (PCR): Although severally persecuted by Antonescu, they sought to overthrow his dictatorship. Various Communist partisan divisions were formed on the eastern front such as the Tudor Vladimirescu and Horea, Closca si Crisan.
11. Clandestine Press:
12. Propaganda leaflets warning of the dangers of communism, while hanging on to the hope of the arrival of the American army.
13. Radio Free Europe: Uncensored radio that provided the western perspective on the war
14. Escape Routes:
15. Jewish Aid Networks such as the Gordonia and Dror that provided humanitarian aid to Jewish refugees and organized their migration to Palestine
16. Crossing the Danube gorge and river into Yugoslavia
17. Key Leaders:
18. King Michael: Despite being a figurehead under Antonescu, the King became a rallying symbol of the resistance and helped organize the fateful coup in 1944. He had Antonescu arrested and brought a swift end to the fascist regime, reverting back to a democratic state.
19. Iuliu Maniu: The political leader of the National Peasants Party. He also kept close communications with the western allies.
20. Dinu Bratianu: Leader of the National Liberal Party
21. Gemeral Constantin Sanatescu: Military commander who oversaw the coup at the behest of King Michael. He served as prime minister following the overthrow of Antonescu.
22. Key Events:
    
23. 
24. Sept 1940: King Carol II is forced to abdicate while Gen Ion Antonescu establishes a fascist dictatorship and joines the Axis alliance.
25. June 1941: Romania joins the Germans on their Operation Barbarossa.
26. Nov 1942: The Romanian army is completely slaughtered by the Soviets at the Battle of Stalingrad.
27. Jan 1943: Iuliu Maniu begins his PNT resistance operation by establishing communications with the western allies
28. 1943-1944: Anti-fascist sentiment begins to escalate due to the failing war on the eastern front. 
29. June 1944: The National Democratic Bloc is established under the leadership of Maniu and King Michael
30. Aug 23, 1944: The Royal Coup d'état occurs where King Michael publicly arrests Antonescu and announces over the radio that his regime has come to an end. This brings an abrupt end to Romania's partnership with the Nazis.
31. Aug 1944: As the Nazis begin their retreat, the Soviets enter Romania and begin an occupancy. The Romanian army joins the Soviet fight against the Nazis.
32. Feb 1945: King Michael is forced to appoint a Communist leader as new prime minister. 
33. Axis Government Overthrown: (Aug 23, 1944. Following King Michael's Coup, the fascist regime is overthrown and joins forces with the allies. Antoenscu is arrested and later tried and executed for war crimes. The fate of Romania however is heavily influenced by the Soviets. Petru Groza becomes the prime minister and abolishes the monarchy. Romania thus becomes a satellite state of the eastern bloc until 1989). 

Czech Resistance

1. Occupied by Germany: March 15h, 1939 (In the Munich Agreement of 1938, the Sudetenland western territory of Czechoslovakia was ceded to Germany. A few months later the Nazis completed the full annexation of Czechoslovakia without any violent resistance. The Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was established- led by Konstantin von Nuerath)  
2. Active Rebels: 30,000-50,000
3. Death Toll: 2,000- 5,000
   
4. Key Movements/Organizations: 
5. Defense of the Nation (Obrana naroda ON): Was the underground military established by former military officers of the democratic state. The group was heavily infilitarted by the Gestapo. 
6. Central Leadership of Home Resistance (UVOD): Was the political wing of the underground resistance movement which included mostly leaders of the former social democracy
   
7. Czechoslovakian Communist Party (KSC): Performed industrial sabotage, distributed propaganda, and partisan organization
8. Jan Cizka partisan brigade was the largest partisan group in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia
9. Clandestine Press:
10. Into the Fight (V Boj): Earliest publication of underground resistance press.
11. Czech Courier: Secret publication of resistance propaganda
12. BBC Radio: Broadcast over pirate radio to boost morale and get uncensored news from the allied front.  
13. Intelligence Networks:
14. 
15. British Special operations (SOE/MI6): Highly trained operatives parachuted into the occupied region to collect intelligence and perform sabotage such as the famous Operation Anthropoid.
16. The Three Kings: A highly effective intelligence and sabotage group of three Czech military officers (Josef Balaban, Josef Masin, Vaclav Moravek)
17. The Schmoranz Group: Intelligence wing of the ON
18. Escape Routes:
    
19. Eastern Route: Smuggling POWs and Jews into Slovakia and the Balkan region. 
20. Key Leaders/Heroes
21. Edvard Benes: Former prime minister who worked in London to manage the government in exile and encourage resistance from within. 
22. Col Frantisek Moravec: Head of Czech Military intelligence in London who organized Operation Anthropoid
23. General Josef Bily: Founder and commander of the ON military wing of resistance 
24. Officer Jozef Gabcik and Jan Kubis: Para-trooped into Czechoslavakia to assassinate Reinhard Heydrich in Operation Anthropoid. 
25. Key Events:
26. Sept 30, 1938: The Munich Betrayal. A big portion of Czechoslovakia (the Sudetenland) is ceded over to Nazi Germany by Britain and France as a means to appease Hitler. Czechoslovakia gets no say in the matter.
27. March 15, 1949: Germany occupies the Czech Lands and establishes the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. 
    
28. April 1939: The Obrana Naroda military resistance wing is established.
29. 
30. Oct 1939: The UVOD political resistance wing is established.
31. Oct 28, 1939: Widespread protests and demonstrations coordinated by students leads to heavy consequences by the Germans
32. Sept 1941: Reinhard Heydrich replaces von Nuerath as Chief Reich Administrator to begin a period of brutal repression and martial law against any resistance. His reign of terror brings him the nickname the "Butcher of Prague".
33. May 27th, 1942: Operation Anthropoid. Special paratroopers Jozef Gabcik and Jan Kubis successfully assassinate Reinhard Heydrich. 
34. June 1942: The Nazis have severe reprisals for this assassination where 13,000 Czech conspirators were executed (known as the Second Heydrichiad). This included the complete destruction and massacre of the villagers in Lidice and Lezacky. 
35. June 1942: The assassins Gabcik and Kubis are tracked and killed in a firefight with the Nazis.
36. 1943-1944: As the war begins to turn for the Nazis on the eastern front, the Czech resistance and partisan factions begin to re-escalate. The Soviets provide heavy support to the communist partisan pockets
37. May 5, 1945: The Prague Uprising. Following the death of Hitler and surrender of Berlin, the Czech resistance finally coordinates it's resistance. Despite the war being all but over the Nazis resisted the insurgency with plans to destroy the city. The uprising went on for 4 days, until finally an armistice was agreed upon. 
38. Axis Government Overthrown: May 1945 (Following the Prague Uprising and the end of WWII, the Nazis ended their occupancy of the Czech lands. The two regions of Slovakia and Czech were reunited into the previous state of Czechoslovakia. While it remained an independent state it was a puppet Soviet state of the Eastern Bloc. This lasted until the fall of communism in 1989 which it then became the Czech Republic). 

Austrian Resistance

1. Date Occupied: March 12, 1938 (The Anschluss. It's important to understand that the majority of the annexation was welcomed by the Austrian public, however there was still resistance at the onset, and it continued to increase throughout the war)
2. 
3. Active Rebels: 100,000 
4. Death Toll: 4,000-5,000
   
5. Key Movements/Organizations:
6. O5: The Austrian resistance code name and symbol. The O represented Osterreich (Austria), while the 5 represented the fifth letter in the alphabet E. Thus it spelled out OE for Osterreich. It became the umbrella organization to unite all various factions.
7. Austrian Communist Party: Largest group of resistance and partisan fighters. These partisan pockets coordinated various sabotage efforts in the northern mountainous regions
8. Socialists Democratic Workers Party (SDAP): The political faction of the resistance that coordinated propaganda and intelligence networks
9. Catholic/Monarchist: The conservative branch of resistance that sought to return to an independent state free of German influence. Maier-Messner-Caldozoni was the most notably group
10. Intelligence Networks:
11. The Maier-Messner-Caldozoni Group (The Cassia Spy Ring): The Catholic-conservative group led by a group of priests who provided the allies with valuable blueprint information on rocket missile and tiger tank production.
12. O5 Intelligence: Also established communications links to the allies most notably Fritz Molden who served as a courier through Switzerland
13. Clandestine Press:
14. Soldier's Council: Communist propaganda that called for protests, sabotage, and provided negative spin on German battle operations.
15. Escape Routes/Safe Houses:
16. O5: Helped Jews and soldiers escape by creating false identification documents
17. Righteous Among the Nations: People who risked their lives to hide and help Jews escape
18. Western Route into neutral Switzerland
19. Southern Route into Slovenia
20. Key Leaders/Heroes:
21. Father Henrich Maier: Led the conservative Cassia Spy Ring to provide key information to the allies
22. Fritz Molden: An important O5 courier relaying messages and information with the allies
23. Hans Sidnoius von Becker: Important leader of the O5 who worked to unite the various factions
24. Roman Karl Scholz: Leader of the Austrian Freedom Movement. Was later arrested and executed in 1944.
25. Alfred Rabofsky: Leader of the Communist youth group which coordinated various acts of resistance and sabotage. Was also captured and executed in 1944.
26. Major Carl Szokoll: Key military leader of the resistance who was involved in the July 20 plot to assassinate Hitler
27. Key Events:
    
28. 
29. Late 1938: Early resistance groups began to establish such as the Catholic-Conservative and communist movements
30. 1941: The Cassia Spy Ring begins it's crucial intelligence gathering with the Allies
31. Aug 1943: The Peenemunde Bombing: The allies bomb Nazi weapons facilities using the intel provided by the Cassia Spy Ring
32. Aug 1943: Franz Jagerstatter is executed for refusing to join the Nazi Army. He becomes a symbol of the resistance
33. Nov 1943: Moscow Declaration by which the allies recognize Austria as an independent state free from German influence.
34. 1944: The O5 symbol is famously chalked on the St. Stephens Cathedral as a rallying cry for resistance.
35. July 20, 1944: Although the plot mostly was coordinated in Germany, many key Austrian leaders took part in it's organization. intent to seize control of Vienna. 
36. Winter 1944-1945: Gestapo cracks down on resistance pockets executing key leaders such as Father Maier, Roman Scholz, and Alfred Rabofsky.
37. April 1945: Operation Radetzky plans to stage a revolt in Vienna, however the plan is discovered and the collaborators are executed before the event can unfold.
38. April 13, 1945: Soviet Army captures Vienna
39. April 27, 1945: Austria establishes a provisional government
40. May 5 1945: US army liberates the Mauthausen concentration camp  
41. Date Liberated: April 27, 1945 (The Second Republic of Austria is established ending the Anschluss. Similar to Germany the region is divided into western and Soviet occupying forces. However by 1955, Austria achieves full independence free from Soviet influence).  

German Resistance

1. 
2. Axis Government: Jan 30, 1933. (Hitler becomes chancellor of Germany and establishes an authoritarian-fascist-dictatorship. The resistance to the extreme ideology of Nazism began immediately within. Although it was harshly dealt with via political purges and secret police. Throughout the Nazi regime, there were 42 assassination attempts on Hitler)  
3. Active Rebels: 800,000 involved in various degrees of political resistance
4. Death Toll: 15,000-70,000
   
5. Key Movements/Organizations:
6. Communist Party of Germany (KPD): Earliest rival to the Nazi's rise to power, and continued underground resistance during the establishment of the fascist government.
7. Social Democratic Party (SPD): Established underground networks of resistance, such as the Iron Front, seeking to return to a democratic state
8. Trade Unionists: Groups of labor unions that carried out non-violent protest, civil disobedience, and degrees of resistance
9. The White Rose: A non-violent group of university students distributing anti-war and anti-fascist leaflets led by Sophie Scholl.
10. Military Resistance: A union of military and political leaders who coordinated a plot to assassinate and overthrow the Nazi regime, known as the 20 July Plot. It was led by Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg.
11. Youth Movements against the Hitler Youth such as the Edelweiss Pirates and Leipzig Meutun.
12. Clandestine Press:
13. White Rose Leaflets were anti-Nazi publications distributed among students at the University of Munich
14. Disguised writings distributed by the German Communist Party which posed as standard publications, but had hidden anti-Nazi rhetoric within.
    
15. Intelligence Networks:
16. The Abwehr Network: Military intelligence within the German army, led by Wilhelm Canaris and Hans Oster. Passed information to the Allies as well as the 20 July conspirators
17. The Red Orchestra: The Communist/Soviet intelligence faction from within Germany who provided intel to Moscow while also distributing the disguised propaganda. 
18. Escape Routes:
19. 
20. The Dutch-Paris line: Escaping thru the Comet line into Belgium, Paris, the Pyrenees mountains, and into neutral Spain
21. The Swiss Route: Escaping southward into neutral Switzerland
22. The Northern Route: Escaping via sea to neutral Sweden or the United Kingdom. 
23. Key Leaders:
    
24. Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg: The most iconic hero of the German resistance he courageously attempted to assassinate Hitler and lead the overthrow of the Nazi government (The entire scene is portrayed in the film, Valkyrie)
25. General Ludwig Beck: Famous German general who resigned out of protest when Hitler began his aggressive military campaigns in 1938. He also played a key role in the 20 July plot.
26. Sophie Scholl: Organized the student resistance movement known as the White Rose. She was later captured and executed for passing out anti-Nazi propaganda (Portrayed in the 2005 film Sophie Scholl: The Final Days).
27. Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Influential Lutheran pastor who boldly began to preach against Nazism. He helped collaborate with various resistance groups which eventually led to his execution.
28. Major Henning von Tresckow: Organized several assassination attempts of Hitler including the failed 20 July plot. 
29. Key Events:
30. Early 1933: As the Nazis come to power, all forms of left resistance, primarily Communists are imprisoned and outlawed. This marks the beginning of the armed resistance for the communist parties.
31. 
32. Sept 1938: The Oster Conspiracy. Military officials plan a coup from within prior to the Munich Agreement. However the deal is a total success for Hitler (acquiring portions of Czechoslovakia) and the plan is withdrawn due to Hitler's sudden boost in popularity.
33. Nov 1939: Georg Elser initiates a bomb attack in a Munich Beer hall, killing 8 people, however Hitler leaves prior to the explosion.
    
34.  Aug 1941: Bishop von Galen's gives a passionate sermon against Nazi policies such as euthanasia which gains public attention and support.
35. 1942-1943: Sophie Scholl begins her White Rose leaflet operation at the Univeristy of Munich. The key leaders are eventually captured and executed by the Nazis
36. Feb 1943: Rosenstrasse Protest is coordinated by hundreds of German women whose Jewish husbands have been deported. 
37. March 1943: Operation flash is another assassination attempt coordinated by Colonel von Tresckow to detonate a time bomb on Hitler's plane. However the bomb never detonates due to cold temperatures.
38. July 20, 1944: Colonel von Stauffenberg detonates a bomb within Hitler's Wolf Liar and then initiates Operation Valkyrie to take over the Nazi government. The plan nearly succeeds until it is realized that Hitler survived the blast. It was the most organized coup d'état effort and results in the death of thousands of prominent military and political leaders within Germany
39. Government Abolished: May 8, 1945 (Following the death of Hitler and the fall of Berlin, Germany officially surrendered. The nation was divided into four zones to be controlled by the Soviet Union on the east, and the United States, Britain, and France on the west. By 1949 the nation split into two separate sovereignties; West Germany controlled by the allies, and East German controlled by the Soviet Union. East Germany became the outpost of the Soviet eastern bloc. Both nations were re-united in 1990 marking an end to the Cold War and the Soviet Union).