The French Resistance was a group of citizens who fought against the German occupation of France during World War II. They used guerrilla warfare, assassinations, and aiding the escape of Jews and others. The resistance grew and ultimately helped the Allied forces reconquer France. Members risked their lives and were often sent to concentration camps or executed. The resistance received an influx of socialist and communist thinkers after Germany violated its peace treaty with Russia. Despite political concerns, the liberation of France with Allied forces was necessary.
The French Resistance refers to the many groups of French citizens who fought the German occupation of France during World War II. In 1940, French soldiers were overwhelmed by Nazi forces and the government sought peace with Germany. In response, Hitler allowed the creation of a new French government in Vichy France. Yet many Frenchmen were deeply disturbed by being stripped of their world power status and having to live in an occupied country. Notably, Charles De Gaulle, later president of France, fled France for Great Britain, from where he sent out radio broadcasts urging the French to fight the occupation.
Mainly sponsored by the British, the French Resistance first referred to only a few groups across France who fought back, usually through acts of terrorism, guerrilla warfare, assassinations of German soldiers, or by aiding the escape of Jews and others seen as enemies of the Nazis. They also relayed information to the British about the location of army bases and any location or strategic plans of the German army. The members of the resistance were very different in backgrounds and ideals. They ranged from Catholic priests to peasants, businessmen, artists, politicians and everyday workers.
Gradually, small groups of French Resistance fighters united to form a strong underground movement, although many members of the Resistance were still organized in small cells. These groups together were hugely instrumental in subverting the German military inside France and ultimately enabling the Allied forces to reconquer France. For the four years that the French Resistance gained power and forged alliances with various labor groups such as postal and telephone workers, the retribution for being part of the French Resistance was swift and sure.
The Germans did not regard resistance fighters as legitimate soldiers, as France had signed an armistice with Germany. Given this lack of status, members of the resistance, once captured, were not protected by the rules of war for the treatment of POWs. This meant that those in the French Resistance often risked their lives through subversive actions. Captured members, both men and women, were sent to concentration camps or executed.
Numbers in the French Resistance grew as Germany violated its peace treaty with Russia. By the 1930s, the membership of the French socialists/communists had greatly increased. They refused to take action against Germany until Germany invaded Russia. When this happened in 1941, the Resistance received an influx of socialist and communist thinkers, which deeply disturbed American leaders when it came to the idea of liberating France.
However, France was too strategically important to ignore and yield to the Germans, especially since its position could significantly influence how the war was waged by the Germans against England. Thus, despite political concerns on the part of the United States, the liberation of France with Allied forces was necessary, and many felt, the right thing to do. Once the Germans in France were defeated, some members of the French Resistance, particularly former guerrilla units, were made soldiers and became members of the reformed French army.
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