Widerstand - German Anti-Nazism

For my research paper, I will be researching the Widerstand, or the German resistance to the Nazi Socialist party in World War II.

This protest involves a lot of literature; mainly journals and reports made by resistance factions and German news. The Anti-Fascist movement was a big movement in much of Eastern and Northern Europe between the 1920s and 1950s. Hitler's rise to power was a catalyst for huge resistance from anti-fascist groups and a literary revolution in Germany and Austria.

I will be focusing on mainly the German resistance, and mainly the literature that was produced as a result of the protest, not much of the actual protest actions of violence and resistance (though, if you do some research, was actually bad-ass and super helpful to the allies). The literature reads a lot like the Articles of Confederation from colonial America, and reflects a kind of secrecy and call for revolution. The literature is persuasive, and varies from propaganda to objective reports, so this protest is very interesting.

The protest originated after World War I, and actually started in Austria, looking in at Germany's ruins and clean-up after losing the war. As fascism seemed logical to the desperate and poor Germans, the Austrian neighbors realized that the rise of Fascism could be destructive. The movement spread into Germany, but was silenced by the majority of destitute Germans looking for a way out. Soon enough, Hitler rose to power in Germany, and Fascism (Nazism) showed the world what destructive powers it had.

The identity behind this protest is mainly the anti-fascist Germans during World War II, but that group represents humanitarians in a large way. The movement originates from wanting to stop destructive power from influencing countries' decisions. The resistance identity is important in general, because without it, countries like Germany, France, Spain, and even the US would not exist. This specific group of resistors is important because they were a huge help to the allies. They did, in fact, use literature to persuade a number of Germans. There were second thoughts, not only from citizens, but celebrities. When the allies began to defeat Germany, morale took a heavy blow within the country. Not to mention the non-literature aspects of the resistance, like intelligence for allies and military help from the inside. T

his group was a strong protest identity, and is so interesting to me, since I actually have distant family that was involved in it.