Resistance The underground war against Hitler, 1939-1945

Hitler's blitzkrieg rolled over nations east and west of the Reich, crushing armies and seizing territory. Daring citizens who endured after their soldiers had been vanquished mounted what seemed hopeless resistance to their new overlords. Individual national histories have documented these efforts, but Kochanski (The Eagle Unbowed, 2012), pulls back to take in both Eastern and Western Europe, revealing a wider perspective on these underground movements. By their very nature, these diverse rebel bands were disjointed, had generally local objectives, and were unique from country to country. They also operated from a wide spectrum of political beliefs and intentions. Kochanski, after first surveying the breadth of Germany's conquests, details the growth of resistance movements in all their manifestations, from sabotage to assassination. Preexisting local disputes, sheer economic necessity, and racist ideologies complicated these responses. She also casts revealing light in chapters devoted to both the Christian and Jewish responses to the Holocaust. In this massive work of research, Kochanski brings together individual stories and larger historical forces to document how ordinary people successfully challenged what seemed overwhelming military might.

A magisterial doorstop of a history that is well worth the effort. Readers whose knowledge of the resistance against Hitler comes from movies must unlearn a lot of misinformation about its contribution to victory (modest), organization (sloppy), security (inept), and level of participation (low). Impressively debunking myths and deconstructing faulty history, Kochanski adds that a resistance movement was active in every conquered nation, and heroism was widespread. However, resistance seemed futile from 1939 until Hitler's June 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union. The Axis had conquered most of Europe. Responding to vicious Nazi treatment, Poles resisted from the beginning, but occupiers in Western Europe exerted a lighter hand, so there was a great deal of collaboration. The earliest organized opposition assisted refugees and then airmen to escape occupied Europe. This was as dangerous as sabotage, with "approximately one person being arrested for each airman who was helped." Matters improved as Wehrmacht defeats in the Soviet Union made Allied victory a possibility, energizing resistance organizations, which learned from their mistakes, although not before a brutally efficient Gestapo devastated them with mass arrests during the summer of 1943. The resistance fighters also benefited when the Nazis vastly expanded forced labor and began their extermination programs. Various movements worked to integrate masses of young people, who suddenly had a motive to resist. Sadly, despite scattered exceptions, the resistance neglected many Jewish populations. Matters improved by 1944, with the Red Army advancing and the Allies landing in Italy and France. Legendary warfare agencies in the U.S. and Britain were dropping a steady stream of supplies and agents into occupied Europe, and most agents survived. Although sabotage dominates many popular accounts, intelligence gathering may have contributed more to victory. Kochanski continues her masterful chronicle beyond Germany's surrender. She capably shows that while resistance organizations dissolved or entered politics in Western Europe, they continued to fight Soviet occupation or civil wars for years in Eastern Europe, Yugoslavia, and Greece. A definitive history and a great read. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.