By Ethan Wolfe & Evan Temples
Background Knowledge
World War II was a war that stretched 6 years from 1939-1945 in which the Allies (Britian, the U.S.A, France, and Russia) fought against the Axis Powers (Nazi Germany, Italy, and Japan). The Nazis were a fascist (a political faction beleiving in 1 leader or dictator commanding total control) polititcal party, that used the Jewish race as a scapegoat for Germany's problems. Much of the resistance against the Nazis came from communists (communism is a political theory derived from Karl Marx, advocating class war and leading to a society in which all property is publicly owned and each person works and is paid according to their abilities and needs.) who were angered by Germany's betrayal of the USSR (the communist russian government) when Germany invaded Russia when they launched Operation Barbarossa.
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US Marines raise flag at Iwo Jima
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Thesis
Taking A Stand In History
Corsican resistance fighters examining German weapons (an MG 34 machine gun and its magazine, a Mauser 98 rifle) taken during the military operations to liberate the island.
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Our project, which is about organized groups that resisted the Nazis during World War II, is connected to the theme of "Taking a Stand in History" for a number of reasons. The Nazis set conditions, both in Germany and the many countries it occupied, that any kind of protest against Nazi socialism or the murdering of Jews was strictly prohibited and punishable by death or imprisonment. Most people chose not to resist. The members of Nazi resistance groups, from partisans to poster pastors, were truly brave individuals who risked their lives in choosing to stand up to Nazism. These groups took a stand in history, fighting a flawed system when getting caught meant execution. When so many around them were doing nothing, it took great bravery to take a stand, and to fight for what was right.
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Process Paper
We chose the topic of Nazi Resistance groups because we wanted to do a project on World War II and with the theme of "taking a stand in history," Nazi Resistance groups would be the way to go. To conduct our research we went to the library and checked out various books that covered Nazi Resistance groups. After we had gotten the information from them, we checked online sources to get more information. We chose to do a website because we felt pretty confident in our web-building skills, so we would be able to create a website that would not only effectively convey the message and information we were trying to get across, but also look good. Our project fits into the theme of "taking a stand in history" because the Nazi Resistance groups were willing to stand up to the Nazis when so much was at risk and so many did nothing. To take a stand took courage - the members knew that if they were caught, they would not be treated as prisoners of war; they could be tortured, killed, or have their loved ones killed. Joining a resistance group was a dangerous act, but if the members had not done it, war could have been a lot more costly, and may have even ended in the Allies' defeat.