-
Communism
Communists and Socialists carried out anti-Nazi activity through organisations such as Red Orchestra and SOPADE. These were largely unsuccessful as they were too small to threaten the regime. -
Protestant Church
Confessional Church (set up by Niemoller and Bonhoeffer) involved 3,000 pastors in opposition to attempts to Nazify the main Church on the grounds of Church autonomy. This was only about 1/6 of the Church; Niemoller was imprisoned and Bonhoeffer was hanged, thus the Confessional Church was ultimately unsuccessful. -
Catholic Church
The Papal Encyclical (1937) spoke out against the Nazi state's interference with the Church. This was unsuccessful in preventing Nazi tyranny, seeing as it did not speak out against Nazi policies or condemn them on moral grounds. -
Youth
Disaffected young people set up their own groups against the Hitler Youth in the late 1930s. Edelweiss Pirates (working-class) and Swing Youth (middle-class) were non-conforming in their dress and music taste. This was mainly successful against the Hitler Youth, not the Nazi regime as a whole. -
General Beck
Beck was Chief of Staff of the German army from 1935-38. He and his followers had become disillusioned with Hitler's policies. He tried to persuade the German General Staff to resign en masse. This was unsuccessful as he failed, resigned in 1938, and was eventually executed in 1944. -
Invasion of Russia
This caused a resurgence in Communist resistance. Even though this event was significant and the reaction was strong, Communist opposition was short-lived, making it largely unsuccessful. By 1943 most underground groups had been discovered and broken up, making Communism a minor threat. -
Bonhoeffer
Bonhoeffer continued to speak out against the Nazis and played a role in the 1944 bomb plot. Despite this, he was largely unsuccessful in posing a threat to the Nazis as individuals such as himself were rare within the Church. -
Conservatives/Military
The Kreisau Circle was a conservative group led by Helmuth Graf von Moltke. It had contacts with left-wing and military Nazi opponents. This was partially successful as it was the biggest threat to the Nazis during the war, however its effectiveness was limited by its fear of discovery.