Dietrich Bonhoeffer (German, 1906-1945)

German resistance With You There Is Light

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German theologian, pastor and political resistance activist involved in Berlin’s July 1944 plot to kill Hitler.  Bonhoeffer assisted in providing intelligence that led to the uprising. Executed before the war’s end, he left behind diaries and letters written while in prison that testify to an enduring and unwavering faith. Here below is…

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Political Resistance History and Context in the Age of Trump, Part 2 of 4

With You There Is Light

For the liberal elite, Progressives, and #NeverTrumpers, resistance means opposition to the country’s sitting President. Referring to this ray of light in World War II history along with shouting “Nazi” and instilling fear in those who do not think or believe as strongly in another group’s identity politics obstructs the unification of this country.* Journalists…

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Civil Disobedience as Resistance

John_Brown_-_Treason_broadside

 A Series of Posts (Part One of Four) On Political History, Context and President Trump Civil Disobedience As Resistance in America and Europe during the 19th and 20th Centuries “We should be men first, and subjects afterwards.”-Henry David Thoreau, American (1817-1862) “Laws change; our conscience does not.” -Sophie Scholl, German (1921-1943) It is doubtful that Sophie Scholl read the…

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Re-Visiting The White Rose Student Resistance Movement in Munich

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New Munich Student Resistance Installation (LMU, 2/17)     Munich, June 10, 2017. Re-visiting the new installation at the University of Munich (LMU) furthered my commitment to sharing the history of the White Rose student resistance movement. During World War II, siblings Hans and Sophie Scholl, and Alexander Schmorell, began active opposition against Hitler and the Nazi Party.…

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Was Fritz Hartnagel a Nazi?

Herbert Gustav Lehmann German military document World War II

An Often Asked Question Gets Answered Again The last question came from a very bright student at the end of the fifth class I taught at my alma mater on “Sophie Scholl and the German Resistance against Hitler.” She asked, “Was Scholl’s boyfriend, Fritz Hartnagel, a Captain in the Wehrmacht, a Nazi?” During the last…

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Review by Rebecca Odessa, The Wisdom Daily

the-wisdom-daily-book-review

When Hitler came to power in the early 1930’s, Nazi ideology pervaded the German education system, leading to the indoctrination of an entire generation. When war enveloped Europe less than a decade later, that same generation trailed their maniacal leader into the abyss. A small group of Munich students, however, refused to follow. Instead, they…

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Why Civil Resistance Works: Book Review by Alexandra Lehmann

civil-resistance

Why Civil Resistance Works: The Strategic Logic of Non-Violent Conflict by Erica Chenoweth. My rating: 3 of 5 stars. This book’s concept is pretty huge and its far-reaching case studies work to prove it. The author does not, however, clearly outline the criteria for a non-violent resistance’s success. It lacks the mention of the Czech resistance which successfully…

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Hartnagel writes Scholl about Belgian Resistance, 1940

belgium-resists

              “With You There Is Light” contains translated excerpts from Fritz Hartnagel’s letters to Sophie Scholl. In this important historical document, Fritz informs Sophie about Belgium resistance. Antwerp, May 18, 1940. My dear Sophie, […] Yesterday I had enormous luck, if one can speak of luck and not of Providence. I was with…

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