World War II History

The Little Known Impact of the Red Orchestra

The Red Orchestra, or Die Rote Kapelle, was the name given by the Nazi secret police, the Gestapo, to different espionage groups existing in Germany, Switzerland, and the Soviet Union during WWII. These groups were opposed to the ideals which the Nazi party stood for and therefore attempted to sway the German public to counteract the Nazi party and rise up against them. While they never fully succeeded in gaining a heavy following, the different groups did serve to get out information of the atrocities going on within the cities.

The three major groups to take part in this larger organization were the Trepper Group, the Schulze-Boysen/Harnack Group, and The Red Three. While the majority of the individuals in these groups numbered about 100, they still participated in one of the most daring attempts to counter the Third Reich in the most terrifying years, and many gave their lives to their beliefs. There were such few citizens who questioned the authority of Hitler during WWII, and the few who did paid for it with their life. These citizens did more than simply go against his principles, but additionally attempted to get news out of the country and to the Allies. Libertas Schulze-Boysen even succeeded in taking photographs of the Nazi atrocities in an attempt to one day prove Germany’s war crimes, although both her and her husband were caught and sentenced to death before the war ended.

Many of these groups attempted to contact the British and American forces but were met with a myopic lack of interest by both parties at the time which in hindsight was a grave error for the Allies. If many of these documents had been intercepted earlier, the war would have been over much sooner and the Holocaust would not have been as awful as it was. These different groups additionally created an Underground Railroad of sorts and assisted many people who were targeted by Nazis to get away to safety before they were sent away to the many camps. However, even after the war ended, many of the Allied countries still did not openly welcome the members of these groups because of their name (Red Orchestra was misconstrued with Communist leanings) and their ties with the Soviets to begin with. It wasn’t until the fall of the Berlin Wall that these individuals were recognized for everything they did to combat the Nazi regime and how they stood up in the face of Totalitarianism.

This post was contributed by Meredith Walker, who writes about the bachelors degree. She welcomes your feedback at MeredithWalker1983 at gmail.com

Claire Jaspar-Legrand (pictured) aged 65 who had been arrested with her husband Jules Jaspar in Marseilles on 30th November 1942 by the Gestapo. They were suspected members of the “Red Orchestra” spy group .

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