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)

• 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). 
• 
  Active Rebels: 400,000- 450,000
• Death Toll: 57,000-75,000
  
• Key Movements/Organizations:
• 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
• Italian Communist Party (PCI): Consisted of the majority of partisan fighters
• Partito d'Azione (Pd'A): Liberal, socialist, intellectual leaning partisan fighters
• Italian Socialist Party (PSI): Named after their socialist leader Giacomo Matteotti who was murdered by fascists in 1924.
• Autonomi: Former officers and soldiers who aligned with the Royal Army against fascism
• Clandestine Press:
• Guistizia e Liberta (Justice and Freedom): Established in 1929 as a group of anti-fascist intellectuals who established a network of propaganda.
• L'Unita: Communist newspaper
• Avanti!: Socialist newspaper
• Italia Libera: Paper of the Partito d'Azione (Action Party)
• Intelligence Networks
• 
  Gruppi di Azione Patriottica (GAP): Action groups in urban areas sharing intelligence and clandestine media. They also conducted various acts of sabotage and assassinations.
• Patriotic Action Squads (SAP): Surveillance and logistical operations for resistance pockets
• Allied pockets: Providing communication and intelligence networks with the Allies (most notably the American OSS).
• 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. 
• Key Leaders:
  
• Palmiro Togliatti: Led a fighting unit of partisans known as the Garibaldi Brigades. Returned from exile to help administer Italy's new government.
• 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
• Alcide de Gasperi: Leader of the Christian Democracy movement. He became the prominent leader of the Italian Republic in 1946
• Pietro Nenni: Key figure of the socialist movement. His partisans were known as the Matteotti Brigades.
• Sandro Pertini: Key figure in the anti-fascist movement who later became president of Italy in 1978-1985.  
• Key Events:
• 
  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.
• June 1926: Mussolini outlaws all opposing political parties and trade unions to establish his total authoritarian state (thus sending all resistant movements underground). 
• 1929: Establishment of the Guistizia e Liberta underground movement led by Carlo Rosselli from exile. 
  
• 1940-1942: Mussolini quickly loses popular support after numerous defeats during WWII. 
• March 1943: Large scale strikes take place in Milan and Turin against the fascist government (the first since the 1920s).
  
• 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.
• Sept 1943: Germany occupies Italy, overthrows Badoglio's government, frees Mussolini, and creates a puppet government known as the Italian Social Republic.
• Sept 1943: The CLN is established as the national resistance pocket, with support from the Allies. 
• Winter 1943-1944: The Italian Civil War. Partisan pockets begin open fighting against Nazi sympathizers, primarily in the mountain regions. 
• March 1944: The Fosse Ardeatine Massacre: Following a partisan attack in Rome, the Nazis respond by killing 335 Italian hostages. 
• June 1944: Allies enter Rome, however the fighting continues in the north.
• Winter of 1944-1945: Partisans suffer terrible losses at the Battle of Ravenna due to paused fighting from the allies.
• 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
• 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
• 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

• 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). 
  
• 
  Active Rebels: 25,000-30,000 (9,000 partisans)
• Death Toll: 2,700-3000
• Key Movements/Organizations:
• 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. 
• Fatherland Front: The Political side of the resistance that brought together various leftist organizations against the Axis government.
• People's Liberation Army (NOVA): The military wing of the Fatherland Front.
• 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. 
• Clandestine Press:
• BCP Pirate Radio "Hristo Botev": Illegal radio broadcasts which communicated with Moscow
• Worker's Cause: The most popular underground publication of Communist propaganda
• Fatherland Front: The main pamphlet of the Fatherland Front political movement
• Intelligence Networks:
• Boynite Grupi: Intelligence gathering groups based out of Sofia and other urban cities. Also coordinated propaganda, sabotage, and assassinations
• Key Leaders:
  
• 
  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.
• Tsvyatko Radoinov: Another key leader of the BCP who coordinated paratrooper landings to organize the resistance's military wing. 
• 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. 
• Dobri Dzhurov: Another partisan commander who went on to become minister of defense for the next 28 years. 
• Kimone Georgiev: Leader of the Zveno political movement, who played a crucial role in the 1944 coup d'état of the Axis government. 
• Key Events:
• June 1941: The Bulgarian Communist Party calls for armed resistance following Germany's invasion into Soviet Union.
• July 1942: The Fatherland Front is established, uniting many resistance movements into one network.
• 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. 
• August 1943: Tsar Boris III dies, leading to a power vacuum in the government, which the Fatherland Front takes advantage of.  
• Late 1943-1944. Increase in partisan warfare, sabotage, and assassinations.
• December 1943: Massacre of Yastrebino. The Nazis executed several children and adults in a small village for their partisan activity. 
• September 1944: Soviet Union declares war on Bulgaria. Following the retreat of the Nazis, the Red Army easily invades and occupies Bulgaria
• September 1944: The Fatherland Front overthrows the Axis government before the Soviet Union does thus ending their partnership with Germany. 
• 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

• 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).
  
• 
  Active Rebels: 40,000-60,000
• Death Toll: 12,000
• Key Movements/Organizations:
• 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.
• 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
• The Military Underground: Established by former Slovak military officials headquartered in the city of Banska-Bystrica. 
• Partisan pockets: Guerilla groups that operated in the mountains supported by the Soviets. It consisted of a mixture of POWs, Jews, and Slovak civilians.
• Clandestine Press:
  
• Voice of Liberated Slovakia (Underground publication that exposed the corruption of Tiso and the failing Axis war on the eastern front).
• Broadcast radio from the liberated city of Banska-Bystrica
• Intelligence Networks:
• 
  Kept close contact with the allies providing intel on German movement as well as planning for their own resistance
• Escape Routes:
• 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. 
• Airmen routes: The partisans assisted with downed Allied airman, shot over Bratislava taken their refuge in Banska-Bystrica or further east to escape. 
• Key Leaders:
• General Rudolf Viest: Chief military commander of the Czech government in exile. Oversaw various factions of the resistance.
• Col Jan Golian: Key leader of the Slovakian Uprising from the city of Banska-Bystrica.
• Karol Smidke: Key leader of the SNC, communist resistance
• Jan Ursiny: Key leader in the Civic/Democratic resistance wing
• Viliam Zingor: Lead partisan movements to harass German supply lines
• Key Events:
• March 1939: Jozef Tiso becomes dictator of the newly established Slovakia, which leads to a government-in-exile that calls for resistance from within.
• 1942: Mass deportations of Jews begin across Slovakia.
• 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)
  
• 
  Spring/Summer 1944: Resistance and partisan pockets begin military operations and sabotage against their totalitarian government.
• Aug 1944: Nazi Germany invades Slovakia after various partisan activity. Tiso is not happy, but must go along with it as a puppet leader.
• 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). 
• 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. 
• 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.
• April 1945: Soviets capture Bratislava and drives the Nazis out of the region
• 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

• 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). 
  
• Active Rebels: 5000 (very minimal resistance)
• 
  Death Toll: 100-500
• Key Movements/Organizations:
• The Magyar Hungarian Front: Anti-German Coalition of various resistance factions formed in 1944
• Independent Smallholders Party: Anti-Communist party that sought an end to the alliance with Germany 
• Hungarian Social Democratic Party: Workers and unions party, in support of a democratic not communist society.
• Hungarian Communist Party: Had the most effective resistance pockets and various partisan groups
• The Conservative Elite: A group of prominent ministers who secretly began negotiations with the western allies.
• Military Committee of liberation: Former military commanders led by General Janos Kiss. Sought to stage an armed uprising in Budapest.
• Clandestine Press:
• Communist underground leaflets from the (KMP) urging resistance
• The Hungarian front also distributed illegal pamphlets calling for national independence free from German influence
• Intelligence Networks:
• British connections with the SOE and OSS to provide key intel on troop movement and oil refineries
• Escape Routes/Safe Houses
• Neutral Legation Ties: Escape routes thru neutral Switzerland, Sweden, and the Vatican
• Wallenberg Network: Evasion system coordinated by Hungarian diplomat Raoul Wallenberg which saved thousands of political and Jewish refugees thru forged documents and safe havens
• Key Leaders:
  
• 
  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.
• 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 
• Emile Bajcsy-Zsilinszky: Key figure that organized the Independent Smallholders Party, an anti-communist party seeking a break from the German coalition. 
• General Janos Kiss: Key leaders of the military committee of liberation who plotted an uprising in Budapest 
• Laszlo Rajk: Leader of the Hungarian Communist Party 
• Zoltan Tildy: Another key figured of the Independent Smallholders Party who briefly became prime minister after the war
• Key Events:
• Nov 1940: Hungary officially joins Axis powers after received territory from Czechoslovakia and northern Transylvania
• 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.
• April 1941: The Hungarian invasion of Yugoslavia (supported by the German army)
• June 1941: The Hungarian army joins Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa
• 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
• 
  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"
• 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. 
• May 1944: The official Hungarian front is established as a united coalition of resistance factions (including the communists)
  
• 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
• Oct-Dec 1944: Heightened Hungarian partisan activity as the Red Army continues it's advance on occupied German territory in central Europe
• Oct-March 1944: The Arrow Cross party (loyal to the Germans) begins a wave of brutality against political opponents, Jews, and Romani.
• Dec 1944: Resistance leaders Gen Kiss and Endre Bajcsy-Zsilinszky are executed by the Germans
• 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

• 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). 
• 
  Active Rebels: 5,000-10,000 (Anti-Fascist, anti-communist)
• Death Toll: 100-1000
  
• Key Movements/Organizations:
• National Democratic Bloc: Unification of all resistance groups to facilitate a coup
• 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.
• National Peasants Party (PNT): Opposed Antonescu and pushed for withdrawal from the war. Led by Iuliu Maniu
• National Liberal Party (PNL): Democratic party that pushed for a coup
• 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.
• Clandestine Press:
• Propaganda leaflets warning of the dangers of communism, while hanging on to the hope of the arrival of the American army.
• Radio Free Europe: Uncensored radio that provided the western perspective on the war
• Escape Routes:
• Jewish Aid Networks such as the Gordonia and Dror that provided humanitarian aid to Jewish refugees and organized their migration to Palestine
• Crossing the Danube gorge and river into Yugoslavia
• Key Leaders:
• 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.
• Iuliu Maniu: The political leader of the National Peasants Party. He also kept close communications with the western allies.
• Dinu Bratianu: Leader of the National Liberal Party
• 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.
• Key Events:
  
• 
  Sept 1940: King Carol II is forced to abdicate while Gen Ion Antonescu establishes a fascist dictatorship and joines the Axis alliance.
• June 1941: Romania joins the Germans on their Operation Barbarossa.
• Nov 1942: The Romanian army is completely slaughtered by the Soviets at the Battle of Stalingrad.
• Jan 1943: Iuliu Maniu begins his PNT resistance operation by establishing communications with the western allies
• 1943-1944: Anti-fascist sentiment begins to escalate due to the failing war on the eastern front. 
• June 1944: The National Democratic Bloc is established under the leadership of Maniu and King Michael
• 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.
• 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.
• Feb 1945: King Michael is forced to appoint a Communist leader as new prime minister. 
• 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

• 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)  
• Active Rebels: 30,000-50,000
• Death Toll: 2,000- 5,000
  
• Key Movements/Organizations: 
• 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. 
• Central Leadership of Home Resistance (UVOD): Was the political wing of the underground resistance movement which included mostly leaders of the former social democracy
  
• Czechoslovakian Communist Party (KSC): Performed industrial sabotage, distributed propaganda, and partisan organization
• Jan Cizka partisan brigade was the largest partisan group in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia
• Clandestine Press:
• Into the Fight (V Boj): Earliest publication of underground resistance press.
• Czech Courier: Secret publication of resistance propaganda
• BBC Radio: Broadcast over pirate radio to boost morale and get uncensored news from the allied front.  
• Intelligence Networks:
• 
  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.
• The Three Kings: A highly effective intelligence and sabotage group of three Czech military officers (Josef Balaban, Josef Masin, Vaclav Moravek)
• The Schmoranz Group: Intelligence wing of the ON
• Escape Routes:
  
• Eastern Route: Smuggling POWs and Jews into Slovakia and the Balkan region. 
• Key Leaders/Heroes
• Edvard Benes: Former prime minister who worked in London to manage the government in exile and encourage resistance from within. 
• Col Frantisek Moravec: Head of Czech Military intelligence in London who organized Operation Anthropoid
• General Josef Bily: Founder and commander of the ON military wing of resistance 
• Officer Jozef Gabcik and Jan Kubis: Para-trooped into Czechoslavakia to assassinate Reinhard Heydrich in Operation Anthropoid. 
• Key Events:
• 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.
• March 15, 1949: Germany occupies the Czech Lands and establishes the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. 
  
• April 1939: The Obrana Naroda military resistance wing is established.
• 
  Oct 1939: The UVOD political resistance wing is established.
• Oct 28, 1939: Widespread protests and demonstrations coordinated by students leads to heavy consequences by the Germans
• 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".
• May 27th, 1942: Operation Anthropoid. Special paratroopers Jozef Gabcik and Jan Kubis successfully assassinate Reinhard Heydrich. 
• 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. 
• June 1942: The assassins Gabcik and Kubis are tracked and killed in a firefight with the Nazis.
• 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
• 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. 
• 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

• 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)
• 
  Active Rebels: 100,000 
• Death Toll: 4,000-5,000
  
• Key Movements/Organizations:
• 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.
• Austrian Communist Party: Largest group of resistance and partisan fighters. These partisan pockets coordinated various sabotage efforts in the northern mountainous regions
• Socialists Democratic Workers Party (SDAP): The political faction of the resistance that coordinated propaganda and intelligence networks
• 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
• Intelligence Networks:
• 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.
• O5 Intelligence: Also established communications links to the allies most notably Fritz Molden who served as a courier through Switzerland
• Clandestine Press:
• Soldier's Council: Communist propaganda that called for protests, sabotage, and provided negative spin on German battle operations.
• Escape Routes/Safe Houses:
• O5: Helped Jews and soldiers escape by creating false identification documents
• Righteous Among the Nations: People who risked their lives to hide and help Jews escape
• Western Route into neutral Switzerland
• Southern Route into Slovenia
• Key Leaders/Heroes:
• Father Henrich Maier: Led the conservative Cassia Spy Ring to provide key information to the allies
• Fritz Molden: An important O5 courier relaying messages and information with the allies
• Hans Sidnoius von Becker: Important leader of the O5 who worked to unite the various factions
• Roman Karl Scholz: Leader of the Austrian Freedom Movement. Was later arrested and executed in 1944.
• Alfred Rabofsky: Leader of the Communist youth group which coordinated various acts of resistance and sabotage. Was also captured and executed in 1944.
• Major Carl Szokoll: Key military leader of the resistance who was involved in the July 20 plot to assassinate Hitler
• Key Events:
  
• 
  Late 1938: Early resistance groups began to establish such as the Catholic-Conservative and communist movements
• 1941: The Cassia Spy Ring begins it's crucial intelligence gathering with the Allies
• Aug 1943: The Peenemunde Bombing: The allies bomb Nazi weapons facilities using the intel provided by the Cassia Spy Ring
• Aug 1943: Franz Jagerstatter is executed for refusing to join the Nazi Army. He becomes a symbol of the resistance
• Nov 1943: Moscow Declaration by which the allies recognize Austria as an independent state free from German influence.
• 1944: The O5 symbol is famously chalked on the St. Stephens Cathedral as a rallying cry for resistance.
• 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. 
• Winter 1944-1945: Gestapo cracks down on resistance pockets executing key leaders such as Father Maier, Roman Scholz, and Alfred Rabofsky.
• 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.
• April 13, 1945: Soviet Army captures Vienna
• April 27, 1945: Austria establishes a provisional government
• May 5 1945: US army liberates the Mauthausen concentration camp  
• 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

• 
  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)  
• Active Rebels: 800,000 involved in various degrees of political resistance
• Death Toll: 15,000-70,000
  
• Key Movements/Organizations:
• 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.
• Social Democratic Party (SPD): Established underground networks of resistance, such as the Iron Front, seeking to return to a democratic state
• Trade Unionists: Groups of labor unions that carried out non-violent protest, civil disobedience, and degrees of resistance
• The White Rose: A non-violent group of university students distributing anti-war and anti-fascist leaflets led by Sophie Scholl.
• 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.
• Clandestine Press:
• White Rose Leaflets were anti-Nazi publications distributed among students at the University of Munich
• Disguised writings distributed by the German Communist Party which posed as standard publications, but had hidden anti-Nazi rhetoric within.
  
• Intelligence Networks:
• 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
• The Red Orchestra: The Communist/Soviet intelligence faction from within Germany who provided intel to Moscow while also distributing the disguised propaganda. 
• Escape Routes:
• 
  The Dutch-Paris line: Escaping thru the Comet line into Belgium, Paris, the Pyrenees mountains, and into neutral Spain
• The Swiss Route: Escaping southward into neutral Switzerland
• The Northern Route: Escaping via sea to neutral Sweden or the United Kingdom. 
• Key Leaders:
  
• 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)
• 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.
• 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).
• 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.
• Major Henning von Tresckow: Organized several assassination attempts of Hitler including the failed 20 July plot. 
• Key Events:
• 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.
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  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.
• Nov 1939: Georg Elser initiates a bomb attack in a Munich Beer hall, killing 8 people, however Hitler leaves prior to the explosion.
  
•  Aug 1941: Bishop von Galen's gives a passionate sermon against Nazi policies such as euthanasia which gains public attention and support.
• 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
• Feb 1943: Rosenstrasse Protest is coordinated by hundreds of German women whose Jewish husbands have been deported. 
• 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.
• 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
• 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).