WWII Resistance
Archive of articles on the roles played by working class people across Europe to resist the spread of fascism during World War II.
1943-1945: Anarchist partisans in the Italian Resistance
Historical notes on the activities of anarchist partisans in the anti-fascist Resistance in Italy during World War II.
1941-1945: Andartiko - the Greek Resistance
A short history of the Andartiko, Greek Resistance partisans who fought fascist occupation. This article is highly uncritical and we disagree with some of it but reproduce it here for reference.
[b]Its radical, democratic working class spirit was only put down after the Allied victory, by British forces and the Greek ruling class.
1939-1945: Spanish Resistance in France
An account of the activity of Spanish anarchist and anti-fascist exiles in the Resistance in Nazi-occupied France. Tens of thousands were forced to flee Spain following fascist victory in the Civil War.
Forgotten Heroes
1944-1945: Anarchists in the Hungarian Resistance
The anarchists in WWII Hungary who fought in the Resistance to the Nazis and later the Russian occupiers until their suppression by the Communists.
Following the destruction of the Hungarian anarchist movement by the fascist regime of Admiral Horthy, anarchist groups began to re-emerge around the veteran libertarian called Torockoi, who was 80 years old in 1945. The first libertarian action was against occupying German forces by an anarchist student group.
1939-1965: Armed resistance to Franco
An account of the underground guerilla armed struggle of anarchists and anti-fascists against General Franco's regime following the Civil War.
The rattle of the Thompson gun
1939-1945: The Edelweiss Pirates
An account of the German anti-Nazi movement of working class youth who fought against the regime.
Hitler’s power may lay us low,
And keep us locked in chains,
But we will smash the chains one day,
We’ll be free again
We’ve got fists and we can fight,
We’ve got knives and we’ll get them out
We want freedom, don’t we boys?
We’re the fighting Navajos!
Vassev, Manol, 1898-1958
A short biography of Bulgarian anarchist militant, workplace organiser and World War II Resistance fighter. He was murdered by Communist secret police in 1958.
Manol Vassev
Born Jordan Sotirov, 1898 - Kustendil, Bulgaria, died 12 March 1958 - Sliven prison, Bulgaria
1964: Stuart Christie's account of his actions in a Franco assassination attempt
An extract of Stuart Christie's book Granny Made Me An Anarchist which describes his involvement in an attempt to assassinate Spanish dictator General Franco. He describes his experiences from picking up the plastic explosive in France to his arrest by Franco's police in Spain. This extract first appeared in The Guardian newspaper on Monday August 23, 2004
[2,000 words]
White Rose documents
All the leaflets published by the White Rose group of anti-fascists in Germany, including other documents and texts related to the group
Interview with an Edelweiss Pirate - Walter Mayer
Transcript of a short interview with Walter Mayer, a member of the German youth anti-Nazi organisation, the Edelweiss Pirates.
