Resistance movement of the Soviet people in occupied territory. Resistance movement against fascism in the Second World War

The partisan movement during the Great Patriotic War was massive. Thousands of residents of the occupied territories joined the partisans in order to fight the invader. Their courage and coordinated actions against the enemy made it possible to significantly weaken him, which influenced the course of the war and brought a great victory to the Soviet Union.

The partisan movement during the Great Patriotic War was a mass phenomenon in the territory of the USSR occupied by Nazi Germany, which was characterized by the struggle of people living in the occupied lands against the forces of the Wehrmacht.

Partisans are the main part of the anti-fascist movement, the Resistance of the Soviet People. Their actions, contrary to many opinions, were not chaotic - large partisan detachments were subordinate to the governing bodies of the Red Army.

The main tasks of the partisans were to disrupt the enemy's road, air and railway communications, as well as to undermine the operation of communication lines.

Interesting! As of 1944, over one million partisans were operating in the occupied lands.

During the Soviet offensive, partisans joined the regular troops of the Red Army.

Beginning of the guerrilla war

It is now well known what role the partisans played in the Great Patriotic War. Partisan brigades began to be organized in the first weeks of hostilities, when the Red Army was retreating with huge losses.

The main goals of the Resistance movement were set out in documents dating from June 29 of the first year of the war. On September 5, they developed a wide list that formulated the main tasks for the fight in the rear of German troops.

In 1941, a special motorized rifle brigade was created, which played a vital role in the development of the partisan movement during the Great Patriotic War. Separate sabotage groups (usually several dozen people) were specially sent behind enemy lines in order to replenish the ranks of partisan groups.

The formation of partisan detachments was caused by the brutal Nazi regime, as well as the removal of civilians from enemy-occupied territory to Germany for hard work.

In the first months of the war, there were very few partisan detachments, since most of the people took a wait-and-see attitude. Initially, no one supplied the partisan detachments with weapons and ammunition, and therefore their role at the beginning of the war was extremely small.

In the early autumn of 1941, communication with the partisans in the deep rear improved significantly - the movement of partisan detachments intensified significantly and began to be more organized. At the same time, the interaction of the partisans with the regular troops of the Soviet Union (USSR) improved - they took part in battles together.

Often, the leaders of the partisan movement during the Great Patriotic War were ordinary peasants who had no military training. Later, the Headquarters sent its own officers to command the detachments.

In the first months of the war, the partisans gathered in small detachments of up to several dozen people. After less than six months, the fighters in the detachments began to number hundreds of fighters. When the Red Army went on the offensive, the detachments turned into entire brigades with thousands of defenders of the Soviet Union.

The largest detachments arose in the regions of Ukraine and Belarus, where German oppression was especially severe.

Main activities of the partisan movement

An important role in organizing the work of resistance units was the creation of the Headquarters of the Partisan Movement (TsSHPD). Stalin appointed Marshal Voroshilov to the post of commander of the Resistance, who believed that their support was the key strategic goal of the spacecraft.

In the small partisan detachments there were no heavy weapons - light weapons predominated: rifles;

• rifles;
• pistols;
• machine guns;
• grenades;
• light machine guns.

Large brigades had mortars and other heavy weapons, which allowed them to fight against enemy tanks.

The partisan and underground movement during the Great Patriotic War seriously undermined the work of the German rear, reducing the combat effectiveness of the Wehrmacht in the lands of Ukraine and the Belarusian SSR.

Partisan detachment in destroyed Minsk, photo 1944

Partisan brigades were mainly engaged in blowing up railways, bridges and trains, making the rapid transfer of troops, ammunition and provisions over long distances unproductive.

The groups that were engaged in subversive work were armed with powerful explosives; such operations were led by officers from specialized units of the Red Army.

The main task of the partisans during the fighting was to prevent the Germans from preparing a defense, undermine morale and inflict such damage on their rear from which it is difficult to recover. Undermining communications - mainly railways, bridges, killing officers, depriving communications and much more - seriously helped in the fight against the enemy. The confused enemy could not resist, and the Red Army was victorious.

Initially, small (about 30 people) units of partisan detachments took part in large-scale offensive operations of the Soviet troops. Then entire brigades joined the ranks of the spacecraft, replenishing the reserves of the troops weakened by the battles.

As a conclusion, we can briefly highlight the main methods of struggle of the Resistance brigades:

1. Sabotage work (pogroms were carried out in the rear of the German army) in any form - especially in relation to enemy trains.
2. Intelligence and counterintelligence.
3. Propaganda for the benefit of the Communist Party.
4. Combat assistance by the Red Army.
5. Elimination of traitors to the motherland - called collaborators.
6. Destruction of enemy combat personnel and officers.
7. Mobilization of civilians.
8. Maintaining Soviet power in the occupied areas.

Legalization of the partisan movement

The formation of partisan detachments was controlled by the command of the Red Army - the Headquarters understood that sabotage work behind enemy lines and other actions would seriously ruin the life of the German army. The headquarters contributed to the armed struggle of the partisans against the Nazi invaders, and assistance increased significantly after the victory at Stalingrad.

If before 1942 the mortality rate in partisan detachments reached 100%, then by 1944 it had dropped to 10%.

Individual partisan brigades were controlled directly by senior leadership. The ranks of such brigades also included specially trained specialists in sabotage activities, whose task was to train and organize less trained fighters.

The support of the party significantly strengthened the power of the detachments, and therefore the actions of the partisans were directed to help the Red Army. During any offensive operation of the spacecraft, the enemy had to expect an attack from the rear.

Sign operations

The Resistance forces carried out hundreds, if not thousands, of operations in order to undermine the enemy's combat capability. The most notable of them was the military operation “Concert”.

More than one hundred thousand soldiers took part in this operation and it took place over a vast territory: in Belarus, Crimea, the Baltic states, the Leningrad region, and so on.

The main goal is to destroy the enemy's railway communication so that he will not be able to replenish reserves and supplies during the battle for the Dnieper.

As a result, the efficiency of railways decreased by a catastrophic 40% for the enemy. The operation stopped due to a lack of explosives - with more ammunition, the partisans could have caused much more significant damage.

After the victory over the enemy on the Dnieper River, partisans began to participate en masse in major operations, starting in 1944.

Geography and scale of movement

Resistance units gathered in areas where there were dense forests, gullies and swamps. In the steppe regions, the Germans easily found the partisans and destroyed them. In difficult areas they were protected from the German numerical advantage.

One of the large centers of the partisan movement during the Great Patriotic War was in Belarus.

Belarusian partisans in the forests terrified the enemy, attacking suddenly when the Germans could not repulse the attack, and then also disappearing unnoticed.

Initially, the situation of the partisans on the territory of Belarus was extremely deplorable. However, the victory near Moscow, and then the winter offensive of the spacecraft, significantly raised their morale. After the liberation of the capital of Belarus, a partisan parade took place.

No less large-scale is the Resistance movement on the territory of Ukraine, especially in Crimea.

The cruel attitude of the Germans towards the Ukrainian people forced people en masse to join the ranks of the Resistance. However, here partisan resistance had its own characteristic features.

Very often the movement was aimed not only at fighting against the fascists, but also against the Soviet regime. This was especially evident in the territory of Western Ukraine; the local population saw the German invasion as liberation from the Bolshevik regime, and en masse went over to the side of Germany.

Participants in the partisan movement became national heroes, for example, Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, who died at the age of 18 in German captivity, becoming the Soviet Joan of Arc.

The struggle of the population against Nazi Germany took place in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Karelia and other regions.

The most ambitious operation carried out by the Resistance fighters was the so-called “Rail War”. In August 1943, large sabotage formations were transported behind enemy lines, and on the first night they blew up tens of thousands of rails. In total, more than two hundred thousand rails were blown up during the operation - Hitler seriously underestimated the resistance of the Soviet people.

As mentioned above, Operation Concert, which followed the Rail War and was associated with the offensive of the spacecraft forces, played an important role.

The partisan attacks became massive (warring groups were present on all fronts); the enemy could not react objectively and quickly - the German troops were in panic.

In turn, this caused executions of the population who assisted the partisans - the Nazis destroyed entire villages. Such actions encouraged even more people to join the Resistance.

Results and significance of guerrilla warfare

It is very difficult to fully assess the contribution of the partisans to the victory over the enemy, but all historians agree that it was extremely significant. Never before in history has the Resistance movement gained such a massive scale - millions of civilians began to stand up for their Motherland and brought it victory.

Resistance fighters not only blew up railways, warehouses and bridges - they captured Germans and handed them over to Soviet intelligence so that they would learn the enemy's plans.

At the hands of the Resistance, the defensive capacity of the Wehrmacht forces on the territory of Ukraine and Belarus was seriously undermined, which simplified the offensive and reduced losses in the ranks of the spacecraft.

Children-partisans

The phenomenon of child partisans deserves special attention. School-age boys wanted to fight the invader. Among these heroes it is worth highlighting:

• Valentin Kotik;
• Marat Kazei;
• Vanya Kazachenko;
• Vitya Sitnitsa;
• Olya Demesh;
• Alyosha Vyalov;
• Zina Portnova;
• Pavlik Titov and others.

Boys and girls were engaged in reconnaissance, supplied brigades with supplies and water, fought in battle against the enemy, blew up tanks - did everything to drive away the Nazis. Children partisans of the Great Patriotic War did no less than adults. Many of them died and received the title of “Hero of the Soviet Union.”

Heroes of the partisan movement during the Great Patriotic War

Hundreds of members of the Resistance movement became “Heroes of the Soviet Union” - some twice. Among such figures, I would like to highlight Sidor Kovpak, the commander of a partisan detachment who fought on the territory of Ukraine.

Sidor Kovpak was the man who inspired the people to resist the enemy. He was the military leader of the largest partisan formation in Ukraine and thousands of Germans were killed under his command. In 1943, for his effective actions against the enemy, Kovpak was given the rank of major general.

Next to him it is worth placing Alexey Fedorov, who also commanded a large formation. Fedorov operated on the territory of Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. He was one of the most wanted partisans. Fedorov made a huge contribution to the development of guerrilla warfare tactics, which were used in subsequent years.

Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, one of the most famous female partisans, also became the first woman to receive the title of “Hero of the Soviet Union.” During one of the operations, she was captured and hanged, but she showed courage to the end and did not betray the plans of the Soviet command to the enemy. The girl became a saboteur despite the commander’s words that 95% of the entire staff would die during operations. She was assigned the task of burning down ten settlements in which German soldiers were based. The heroine was unable to fully carry out the order, since during the next arson she was noticed by a village resident who handed the girl over to the Germans.

Zoya became a symbol of resistance to fascism - her image was used not only in Soviet propaganda. The news of the Soviet partisan even reached Burma, where she also became a national hero.

Awards for members of partisan detachments

Since the Resistance played an important role in the victory over the Germans, a special award was established - the medal “Partisan of the Patriotic War”.

First class awards were often given to fighters posthumously. This applies, first of all, to those partisans who were not afraid to act in the first year of the war, being in the rear without any support from the spacecraft forces.

As war heroes, partisans appeared in many Soviet films devoted to military themes. Among the key films are the following:

"Rising" (1976).
"Konstantin Zaslonov" (1949).
The trilogy “The Thought of Kovpak”, published from 1973 to 1976.
“Partisans in the steppes of Ukraine” (1943).
“In the woods near Kovel” (1984) and many others.
The above-mentioned sources say that films about partisans began to be made during military operations - this was necessary so that people would support this movement and join the ranks of the Resistance fighters.

In addition to films, the partisans became heroes of many songs and ballads that highlighted their exploits and carried the news about them among the people.

Now streets and parks are named after famous partisans, thousands of monuments have been erected throughout the CIS countries and beyond. A striking example is Burma, where the feat of Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya is honored.

The largest military conflict that has occurred in the history of mankind is the Second World War. It claimed the lives of tens of millions of people, destroyed tens of thousands of cities, towns and villages. Many countries and many peoples were drawn into the war. The “culprit” of this event was Nazi Germany, under the leadership of Adolf Hitler.

Before the start of the war, A. Hitler put forward the task: “a complete economic and political transformation of the world,” where each state was assigned its own role in the new world order organized by Greater Germany1. They intended to achieve this new order through the enslavement and colonization of the occupied countries not only of Europe, but of the whole world. In the occupied territories, a policy of national coercion was pursued, depending on the nation’s affiliation with the German nationalities, economic potential and military-strategic significance.

1 Muller N. Wehrmacht and occupation 1941-1945 / translated with him M., 1974.P. 41

The approaches to the enslavement of countries were different, but this did not prevent the emergence of an organized resistance movement. “All forms and all means of struggle from expression of protest to partisan struggle” - this is how the term “Resistance” was interpreted.

The partisan movement played a huge role in the victory over Nazi Germany; many occupied territories took part in the movement. Including Yugoslavia, which made a huge contribution to the victory over the common enemy. The People's Liberation War of Yugoslavia is an integral part of the Resistance movement throughout Europe.

The purpose of the study is to historically reconstruct the formation of the resistance movement in Yugoslavia.

Two main movements began to form a powerful resistance in Yugoslavia: the Serbian monarchist group under the command of Colonel Dragoljub Mihailovic and the communist movement under the command of Josip Broz Tito.

D. Mihailović’s group was called “Chetniks”, taking the name of the Serbian nationalist organization that operated in the First World War against the Turks. The Chetniks existed as a reserve force, called upon in times of need. Kosta Pekanac, the leader of the Chetniks during the First World War, defected to the government of Milan Nedić (prime minister of the puppet collaborationist government created after the occupation of Serbia by German troops) from the beginning of the occupation. From the old organization that joined D. Mikhailovich’s movement, only those who wanted to resist the occupiers remained.

D. Mikhailovich himself considered his people an integral part of the army of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. The movement quickly gained strength and in the early summer of 1941 established contact with the government of Tsar Peter in exile; soon after this, Mikhailovich was first appointed commander of the resistance forces in Yugoslavia, and then minister of defense of the tsarist government in exile2.

The activities of the Chetniks boiled down to the following: groups of people were sent to their places of residence to organize an underground partisan movement throughout the country, where sabotage, sabotage, reconnaissance and explosions were carried out. The main mission was to prepare the people for a general uprising when the Allies landed on the Balkan Peninsula.

Thus, the activities of the Chetniks were mainly limited to small operations and sabotage.

The communist irregular forces took the name "Partisans" and made it synonymous with the word rebels3. In April 1941, following the surrender of Belgrade to the Germans, communist forces organized a partisan movement under the leadership of Josip Broz Tito, who became General Secretary of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia in 1937.

In May 1941, the headquarters of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia moved to Belgrade, where the details of the upcoming uprising were discussed. During May and June 1941, military committees began to be formed, engaged in the acquisition of weapons, ammunition, medicine, uniforms, the recruitment of partisans, and conducting training courses for doctors and soldiers. Small partisan detachments engaged in sabotage and sabotage.

The signal for the Yugoslav partisans was the German attack on the USSR, since Russia for them was the “patron of the Balkan Slavs.” On June 22, 1941, the people of Yugoslavia receive a call from the Politburo of the Communist Party, which calls on the people to enter into open armed confrontation with the occupiers. Already on June 27, the Main Headquarters of the People's Liberation Partisan Detachments of Yugoslavia was created and Josip Broz Tito was appointed commander. Subsequently, the United People's Liberation Front of Yugoslavia was formed, which became the unifying and leading organization for all anti-fascist movements in Yugoslavia.

Initially, the Chetniks and Communists acted as a united front against the occupiers and collaborators. However, in November 1941, contradictions regarding the monarchical views of D. Mikhailovich and the communist views of Josip Broz Tito led to a civil war. In some cases, some Chetnik attacks on the occupiers and their assistants were attributed to the partisans; in others, the Chetniks were credited with successful guerrilla raids. To further complicate the situation, there were also bands of rebels who obeyed no one4.

Thus, the resistance movement in Yugoslavia began to form two distinct movements. The Chetniks sought a policy of underground resistance to the occupiers, and the partisans acted openly and on a large scale.

2 Zimke E.F. German occupation of Northern Europe. 1940-1945. M., 2005. P. 154

Bibliography

1. Zimke E.F. German occupation of Northern Europe 1940-1945/ E.F. Zimke. - M.: Tsentrpoligraf, 2005. - 432 s.

2. Muller N. Wehrmacht and occupation (1941-1944) / Translated from German A.P. Artemova - M.: Voenizdat, 1974. - 387 p.

3. German operations against partisans in the Balkans (1941-1944). [Electronic resource]. Washington, 1951. Access mode: http://militera.lib.ru/h/balkans/02.html (access date 04/11/2016).

The Resistance Movement was one of the significant aspects in the fight against Hitlerism and fascism. Almost immediately after the outbreak of World War II, many residents of European countries volunteered to join the active army, and after the occupation, they went underground. The Resistance movement was more widespread in France and Germany itself. The main events and actions of the Resistance Movement will be discussed in this lesson.

Background

1944- a higher authority was created (Crajova Rada Narodova), which opposed the emigrant government.

1944 G.- Warsaw Uprising. The rebels sought to liberate the city from German occupation. The uprising was suppressed.

France

During the war, there were many anti-fascist organizations in France.

1940- “Free France” was created (since 1942 - “Fighting France”), which was founded by General de Gaulle. The troops of “Fighting France” in 1942 reached 70 thousand people.

1944- an army of French internal forces was created based on the unification of individual anti-fascist organizations.

1944- the number of participants in the Resistance movement is over 400 thousand people.

Participants

As mentioned above, the Resistance Movement was also located in Germany itself. The Germans, who no longer wanted to put up with Hitlerism, created an underground anti-fascist organization "Red Chapel", which was engaged in underground anti-fascist propaganda and agitation, maintained relations with Soviet intelligence, etc. Many members of the underground organization, created at the end of the 1930s. (about 600 people), occupied responsible civil and military positions and positions in the Third Reich. When, in 1942, the Gestapo (German secret police) uncovered the organization, the investigators themselves were surprised at the scale of the work being carried out. The leader of the Red Chapel, H. Schulze-Boysen (Fig. 2), was shot, like many members of the organization.

Rice. 2. H. Schulze-Boysen ()

The Resistance Movement reached particular scale in France. The Free French Committee, led by General de Gaulle, fought against the Nazis and collaborators(having made a deal to cooperate with the enemy) a real war. Armed formations operated throughout France, carrying out military and sabotage operations. When in the summer of 1944 the Anglo-American army landed in Normandy and opened the “Second Front,” de Gaulle led his army to help the Allies and, together with them, liberated Paris.

The situation in Poland and Yugoslavia was quite complex and contradictory. In these countries there were two opposing anti-fascist groups. In Poland such organizations were "Home Army" and "Ludova's Army". The first organization was created by the exile government of Poland and was based not only on the fight against the fascists, but also against the communists. Created in 1942, with the help of Moscow, the Army of the People (People's Army) was the conductor of Soviet policy in Poland and was considered a truly popular organization. There were often skirmishes and conflicts between these two armies.

In Yugoslavia there was essentially a similar situation. On the one hand, the Nazis were opposed by the so-called. "Chetniks"(from the Serbian word “cheta” - combat unit, military detachment) led by General Draže Mihailović, speaking from pro-monarchist positions, and on the other - partisan detachments of the communist Josip Broz Tito, which formed the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia. The Chetniks and partisans not only fought the enemy, but also fought among themselves. Despite this, and VIn Poland and Yugoslavia, pro-Soviet forces eventually gained the upper hand.

The Resistance movement was truly large-scale. It was not only in the occupied countries of Europe, but also in the concentration death camps. Underground anti-fascist organizations existed and operated in them. Many prisoners died trying to raise an uprising in Buchenwald, Dachau, Auschwitz etc., they were burned in crematoria ovens, gassed and starved (Fig. 3).

In total, by the summer of 1944, the total number of participants in the Resistance Movement in different countries numbered about 1.5 million people. It rightfully made its significant contribution to the fight against fascism and to the common victory over the enemy.

Rice. 3. Uprising in the Sobibor death camp. Some participants ()

1. Aleksashkina L.N. General history. XX - early XXI centuries. - M.: Mnemosyne, 2011.

2. Zagladin N.V. General history. XX century Textbook for 11th grade. - M.: Russian Word, 2009.

3. Plenkov O.Yu., Andreevskaya T.P., Shevchenko S.V. General history. 11th grade / Ed. Myasnikova V.S. - M., 2011.

1. Read Chapter 13 of the textbook by Aleksashkina L.N. General history. XX - early XXI centuries and give answers to questions 1-4 on p. 153.

2. Why did Great Britain become the center and “headquarters” of the Resistance Movement?

3. How can we explain the confrontation between various military and political groups in Poland and Yugoslavia during the Second World War?

Occupation regime in enslaved countries. Resistance movement

Nazi "New Order" in Europe

In the occupied countries, where almost 128 million people lived, the occupiers introduced the so-called “new order”, trying to achieve the main goal of the fascist bloc - the territorial division of the world, the destruction of entire nations, and the establishment of world domination.

The legal status of the countries occupied by the Nazis was different. The Nazis incorporated Austria into Germany. Parts of western Poland were annexed and settled by German farmers, mainly "Volksdeutsche" - ethnic Germans, several generations of whom lived outside Germany, while 600 thousand Poles were forcibly evicted, the rest of the territory was declared by the German governor-general. Czechoslovakia was divided: the Sudetenland was included in Germany, and Bohemia and Moravia were declared a “protectorate”; Slovakia became an "independent state". Yugoslavia was also divided. Greece was divided into 3 occupation zones: German, Italian and Bulgarian. Puppet governments were formed in Denmark, Norway, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Luxembourg was incorporated into Germany. France found itself in a special situation: 2/3 of its territory, including Paris, were occupied by Germany, and the southern regions centered in the city of Vichy and the French colonies were part of the so-called Vichy state, the puppet government of which, led by the old Marshal Pétain, collaborated with the Nazis.

In the conquered lands, the occupiers plundered national wealth and forced people to work for the “master race.” Millions of people from occupied countries were forcibly taken to work in the Reich: already in May 1941, over 3 million foreign workers were working in Germany. To strengthen their dominance in Europe, the Nazis instilled collaborationism - cooperation with the occupation authorities of representatives of various segments of the local population to the detriment of the interests of the nation. To keep the peoples of the occupied countries in submission, a system of hostages and massacres of civilians was widely used. The symbols of this policy were the complete extermination of the inhabitants of the villages of Oradour in France, Lidice in Czechoslovakia, Khatyn in Belarus. Europe took refuge in a network of concentration camps. Concentration camp prisoners were forced to do hard labor, starved, and subjected to savage torture. In total, 18 million people ended up in concentration camps, 12 million of whom died.

The policies pursued by the Nazis in different zones of occupied Europe had some differences. The Nazis declared the peoples of Czechoslovakia, Poland, Yugoslavia, Greece and Albania to be an “inferior race” that was subject to complete enslavement and, to a large extent, physical destruction. In relations between the countries of Northern and Western Europe, the occupiers allowed a more flexible policy. In relation to the “Nordic” peoples - Norwegians, Danes, Dutch - it was planned to completely Germanize them. In France, the occupiers first pursued a policy of gradually drawing them into the orbit of their influence and becoming their satellite.

The fascist occupation policy in various European countries brought national oppression to the peoples, an extreme increase in economic and social oppression, and a frantic rampant reaction, racism and anti-Semitism.

Holocaust

Holocaust (English: burnt offering) is a common term referring to the persecution and extermination of Jews by the Nazis and their collaborators after Hitler came to power until the end of World War II.

Anti-Semitic ideology was the basis of the program of the National Socialist Party of Germany, adopted in 1920 and substantiated in Hitler’s book “My Struggle”. After coming to power in January 1933, Hitler pursued a consistent policy of state anti-Semitism. Its first victim was the Jewish community of Germany, numbering more than 500 thousand people. By 1939, the Nazis were using every possible method to “cleanse” Germany of Jews, forcing them to emigrate. Jews were systematically excluded from the state and public life of the country, their economic and political activities were prohibited by law. It was not only the Germans who followed this practice. All of Europe and the United States were infected with anti-Semitism. But in no Western democracy was discrimination against Jews part of a systematic government policy, since it went against basic civil rights and freedoms.

The Second World War turned out to be a terrible tragedy in the history of the Jewish people. After the capture of Poland, a new stage of the Nazis' anti-Jewish policy began. More than 2 million Jews living in this country came under their control. Many Polish Jews died, and the rest of the Jewish population that survived were herded into a ghetto - a part of the city fenced off by a wall and a police cordon, where Jews were allowed to live and fend for themselves. The two largest ghettos were in Warsaw and Lodz. Thanks to the ghetto, the Germans provided themselves with practically Jewish slave labor. Food shortages, diseases and epidemics, and overwork led to a huge mortality rate among the ghetto residents. Jews of all Nazi-occupied countries were subject to registration, they were required to wear armbands or stripes with a six-pointed star, pay indemnities and hand over jewelry. They were deprived of all civil and political rights.

After Germany attacked the Soviet Union, the systematic general extermination of all Jews began. On the territory, 6 death camps were created for the extermination of Jews - Auschwitz (Auschwitz), Belzec, Chelmno, Sobibor, Treblinka, Majdanek. These camps were equipped with special equipment to kill thousands of people every day, usually in huge gas chambers. Few people managed to live in the camp for a long time.

Despite the almost hopeless situation, in some ghettos and camps the Jews still resisted their executioners with the help of weapons that they managed to secretly obtain. The symbol of Jewish resistance was the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising (April - May 1943) - the first urban uprising in Nazi-occupied Europe. There were uprisings in the death camps at Treblinka (August 1943) and Sobibor (October 1943), which were brutally suppressed.

As a result of the Nazis' ruthless war against the unarmed Jewish population, 6 million Jews died - more than 1/3 of the total number of this people.

The resistance movement, its political orientation and forms of struggle

The Resistance Movement is a liberation movement against fascism for the restoration of independence and sovereignty of the occupied countries and the elimination of reactionary regimes in the countries of the fascist bloc.

The scope and methods of the struggle against the fascist invaders and their accomplices depended on the nature of the occupation regime, natural and geographical conditions, historical traditions, as well as on the position of those social and political forces participating in the Resistance.

In the Resistance of each of the occupied countries, two directions were identified, each of which had its own political orientation. There was competition between them for the leadership of the anti-fascist movement as a whole.

The first direction was led by emigrant governments or bourgeois-patriotic groups that sought to expel the occupiers, eliminate fascist regimes and restore pre-war political systems in their countries. The leaders of this direction were characterized by an orientation towards Western countries of liberal democracy. Many of them initially adhered to the tactics of “attantism” (waiting) - that is, they conserved their strength and expected liberation from the outside by the forces of Anglo-American troops.

The situation of the communist parties in the occupied countries was difficult. The Soviet-German non-aggression pact (1939) actually paralyzed the anti-fascist activities of the communists and led to the growth of anti-communist sentiment. By 1941, there could be no talk of any interaction between communists and anti-fascists. Only after Germany's attack on the Soviet Union did the Comintern call on the Communist Parties to resume the anti-fascist struggle. The courageous struggle of the Soviet people against fascism led to an increase in sympathy for the USSR, which also weakened anti-communist sentiments. The decision to dissolve the Comintern, taken in 1943 under pressure from the allies, allowed the communists to act as independent national forces and actively participate in the Resistance movement. Thus, another direction in the Resistance was determined. It was led by communist parties and political forces close to them, who selflessly fought for national liberation and hoped to carry out profound political and social changes after the end of the war. The leaders of this movement relied on military assistance from the Soviet Union.

An important condition for the development of the Resistance movement was the unification of anti-fascist forces. General governing bodies of the Resistance movement began to form. So, in France they united under the leadership of General Charles de Gaulle.

Anti-fascist resistance of the population of the occupied countries took two forms: active and passive. The active form consisted of guerrilla warfare, acts of sabotage and sabotage, the collection and transmission of intelligence information to the allies in the anti-Hitler coalition, anti-fascist propaganda, etc. The passive form of resistance to the occupiers consisted of refusing to hand over agricultural products, listening to anti-fascist radio broadcasts, reading prohibited literature, boycott of fascist propaganda events, etc.

The Resistance movement gained its greatest scope in France, Italy, Poland, Yugoslavia and Greece. In Yugoslavia, for example, the Communist-led People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia at the beginning of 1943 liberated 2/5 of the country's territory from the occupiers. The Resistance Movement played an important role in the fight against fascism and accelerated its defeat.

RESISTANCE MOVEMENT - national liberation, anti-fascist democratic people's movement masses during the Second World War, 1939-45 against Germany, Italy. and Japanese invaders.

With its roots, D.S. was closely connected with the struggle against fascism and the war carried out by the people. masses in the pre-war years (armed battles in Austria, the Popular Front in France, the struggle against foreign interventionists and Francoist rebels in Spain), and was a continuation of this struggle in the conditions of war and fascism. enslavement.

Ch. The goal that united heterogeneous layers of the population in the D.S. was the liberation of the occupied countries from the oppression of the Nazis. aggressors and restoration of national independence. Thanks people. character D.S. fight for the national. liberation was closely intertwined with the struggle for democracy. transformations and social demands of the working people, and in colonial and dependent countries with the struggle for liberation from colonial oppression. In a number of countries, during the D.S. people began and won. revolutions (Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia). In some countries. the revolutions that developed during the D.S. period successfully ended after the end of World War II (China, North Vietnam, North Korea).

D.S. was distinguished by its variety of forms and tactics. The most common forms were: anti-fascist. propaganda and agitation, publication and distribution of underground literature, strikes, sabotage of work at enterprises that produced products for the occupiers, and in transport, weapons. attacks with the aim of destroying traitors and representatives of the Ok-Kupats. administration, partisans war.

The process of the emergence and development of D.S. in different countries did not take place simultaneously. In Slovakia and in some countries where partisanship has become widespread. movement (Yugoslavia, Poland, France, Belgium, Italy, Greece, Albania, Vietnam, Malaya, Philippines), it grew into a national liberation movement. war against the fascists. invaders. Moreover, this outgrowth occurred at different stages of the war, over several years, up to 1944 inclusive.

First period(beginning of the war - June 1941) was a period of accumulation of forces, organization. and the propaganda preparation of the mass struggle, when illegal antifascists were created and strengthened. org-tions.

Already from the first days of the 2nd World War, anti-fascists began in the occupied regions. speeches. In Poland in September - October. 1939 in the fight against Nazi Germany. okku-pats. The troops involved separate military units and small partisans. detachments created by soldiers who escaped captivity and the local population. During the autumn of 1939 - summer of 1940, D.S. covered, therefore, part of Polish Silesia. Since 1940, sabotage spontaneously arose at enterprises and railways. transport, which soon became widespread.

In Czechoslovakia in the initial period of the German-fascist. occupations were an important form of struggle politically. demonstrations, boycott of fascists. press, there was also a strike movement. In Yugoslavia, the first partisans. The detachments that arose immediately after the occupation of the country (April 1941) consisted of small groups of patriotic soldiers and officers, who did not lay down their arms, but went to the mountains to continue the fight. In France, the first participants in the D.S. were workers of the Paris region and the departments of Nord and Pas-de-Calais, as well as other industries. centers. The most common forms of resistance during this period were sabotage at enterprises and railways. transport, etc. One of the first major protests against the occupiers organized by the communists was a demonstration of thousands of students and working youth in Paris on November 11. 1940, on the anniversary of the end of the 1st World War. In May 1941 there was a powerful strike that swept St. 100 thousand miners of the Nord and Pas-de-Calais departments. The peoples of other Europe also rose up to fight against the invaders. state - Albania (occupied by the Italian army in April 1939), Belgium and the Netherlands (occupied by the Nazi German army in May 1940), Greece (April 1941), etc. However, a characteristic feature of D.S. in the first period there was a predominance of elements of spontaneity and still insufficient organization.

Second period(June 1941 - Nov. 1942) is characterized by the strengthening of D.S. in the countries of Europe and Asia. Liberate, the struggle of peoples was led by mass patriots. org-tions - National front in Poland and France, Antifash. People's Liberation Assembly in Yugoslavia, National Liberation Front in Greece and Albania, Independence Front in Belgium, Fatherland Front in Bulgaria. In Yugoslavia, on June 27, 1941, the Communist Party formed the chapter. People's Liberation Headquarters partie. squads. On July 4, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia adopted a decision on armament. uprising On July 7, 1941, armament began. uprising in Serbia, July 13 - in Montenegro, armed at the end of July. the struggle began in Slovenia, in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In Jan. 1942 Polish Workers' Party (PPR), which organized the partisans. detachments and the leader of their weapons. fight against the occupiers. Partiz. The detachments united in May 1942 into the Ludov Guard.

In Czechoslovakia, the first partisans were created in the summer of 1942. groups.

In Bulgaria in 1942, the Fatherland Front was created underground, uniting all anti-fascists. forces and began a wide partisan campaign. anti-fascist war.

In Romania, an anti-fascist program was developed in 1941. fight room people. Under her hand. in the beginning. 1943 Patriotic was created underground. Front.

In Greece he will liberate, the fight was led by the one created in September. 1941 National Liberation Front.

The struggle intensified in other European countries: Norway, Denmark, and the Netherlands. In the 2nd half. 1941 anti-fascists intensified. and anti-war. speeches in Italy protesting against Italy's participation in the war on the side of the Nazis. Germany.

In May 1941, on the initiative of the Indo-Chinese Communist Party, the Viet Minh League for the Independence of Vietnam was founded. In the provinces of Vietnam, partisans formed and fought. squads. D.S. also developed in other regions of Indochina - Laos and Cambodia.

In con. 1942 Anti-Japan was created. Malayan People's Army. Among citizens the population was organized against Japan. union. In these organizations, the Communist Party rallied the workers and peasants of the three main nationalities. groups of Malaya - Malays, Chinese and Indians.

Third period(November 1942 to 1943) is associated with a radical turning point in the war.

D.S. in all occupied countries and even in some countries included in the Fascism. the bloc (including in Germany itself) sharply intensified; completed in basic national association of patriotic forces and unified national nationals were created. fronts. D.S. became more and more widespread. Partisans have reached enormous proportions. movement and began to play a decisive role in anti-fascists. struggle. Based on the partisans. detachments were created by People's Liberation. armies in Yugoslavia, Albania, Bulgaria. The Ludowa Guard acted in Poland, captivating the Home Army units with their example, which was prevented in every possible way by its reaction. leaders. 19 Apr 1943 An uprising began in the Warsaw ghetto in response to an attempt by the Nazis. troops to take out another batch of Jews for destruction. population. New partisans emerged. detachments in Czechoslovakia, Romania. The liberation struggle reached wide scope in France, Italy, Belgium, Norway, Denmark, and the Netherlands.

Arms have acquired a large scale. struggle in China. In the battles of 1943, the national revolutionary. army and other forces China. people were destroyed by more than 250 thousand invaders and their accomplices - the so-called. troops of the puppet "government" Wang Jing-wei, returned the territories of the liberated districts, lost in battles with the Japanese. troops in 1941-42. In Korea in 1943, despite persecution and police terror, the number of strikes and cases of sabotage increased sharply. There are many in Vietnam. partisan detachments expelled the Japanese by the end of 1943. occupiers from many districts in the north of the country.

The fourth period(late 1943 - May - September 1945). Aug 23 1944 anti-fascist occurred. adv. uprising in Romania, which marked the beginning of a radical turn in the history of this country. With the entry of the owls. troops in the territory Bulgaria began (September 9, 1944) armament. Bulgarian uprising people. Aug 1 1944 began the anti-fascist movement that lasted 63 days and ended tragically. Warsaw Uprising 1944. 29 Aug. In 1944, the Slovak uprising began, which played a huge role in the development of the struggle of the peoples of Czechoslovakia against the Nazis. invaders.

In Hungary, in the conditions of the beginning of the liberation of the country, the Soviet Union. troops 2 Dec. 1944 Weng was created. national Independence Front, and 22 Dec. 1944 Temp. national the meeting in Debrecen formed the Provisional. national production

In Yugoslavia it is still 29 November. 1943 National was created. Committee for the Liberation of Yugoslavia, performing the functions of Temporary. revolutionary pr-va, and on March 7, 1945, after the liberation of the country of the Soviets. and Yugoslav armed forces, - democrat. production Legislation was created in Albania. organ - Antifash. national liberation, the council of Albania, which formed the Anti-Fascist national liberation committee, endowed with temporary functions. pr-va.

In Greece, by the end of October 1944, the liberation of the entire territory. continental Greece from German-fascist. invaders.

In France, created in May 1943, the National. On March 15, 1944, the Resistance Council (RCC) adopted the D.S. program, which outlined the urgent tasks of the struggle for the liberation of France and provided for economic prospects. and democratic development of France after its liberation. In the spring of 1944, the military organizations of the Resistance united and created a single French army. internal forces (FFI) numbering up to 500 thousand people, Paris uprising August 19-25. 1944. French. Patriots liberated most of the territory on their own. France, including Paris, Lyon, Grenoble and a number of other large cities.

In Italy, in the summer of 1944, a united partisan force was created. the patriotic army of the Freedom Volunteer Corps, numbering St. 100 thousand fighters.

By the summer of 1944, up to 50 thousand partisans were operating in Belgium.

In France on November 1943 The Free German Committee for the West was formed.

D.S. achieved great success in Asia. In the Philippines people. The Hukbalahap army in 1944, with the active participation of the population, cleared the Japanese. invaders in a number of areas of the island. Luzon, where democrats were held. transformations. However, the progressive forces of the Filipino people failed to consolidate the achieved successes.

In Indochina at the end. 1944 on the basis of the partisans organized in 1941. units, the Vietnam Liberation Army was created.

D.S. became especially widespread immediately after the USSR entered the war against Japan, which led to the defeat of the Soviets. troops of the Kwantung Army (Aug. 1945) and their liberation of the North-East. China and Korea. Victory of the owls. troops allowed the 8th and New 4th armies to launch a general offensive. They liberated us from the Japanese. occupiers of almost all of Northern and part of Central China. Will free, fight whale. people contributed to the defeat of the imperialist. Japan and laid the foundation for the further victorious deployment of the people. revolution in China. In Aug. 1945 saw the victorious Nar. uprising in Vietnam (see August Revolution of 1945 in Vietnam), which led to the creation of an independent Democratic Party. Republic of Vietnam.

In Indonesia on 17 Aug. 1945 the people proclaimed the formation of a republic. There is anti-Japanese in Malaya. adv. the army liberated a number of districts of the country in 1944-45, and in August. 1945 disarmed the Japanese. troops even before the English landing there. armed strength In March 1945, a national meeting began. uprising in Burma, which completed the liberation of the country from the Japanese. occupiers.

D.S., who made a great contribution to the defeat of the fascist bloc, influenced the further development of the national liberation struggle of the peoples of Asia and Africa.