Opposition to the Nazi Regime

The Nazi regime restricted people’s rights and tried to silence all criticism. Arrests and disappearances were frequent, and law courts - when they operated - imposed severe penalties on those who spoke out of turn. As the Nazis’ persecution of Jews and other groups intensified, some individuals condemned what was happening. They acted at great personal risk and many were imprisoned and even executed.

The Bishop of Munster, Clemens von Galen, was a rare example of a churchman who spoke out. He preached from his pulpit against the Nazi policy of so-called 'euthanasia', which saw the murder, in Germany’s hospitals, of the mentally ill and disabled.

In Nazi-occupied Poland, Photographer Jerzy Tomaszewski helped underground resisters who brought evidence of Nazi crimes to London, where it was published and where campaigners tried to warn of the crimes being committed in Germany’s name.

A handful of diplomats played an honourable role in trying to save Jews. Towards the end of the war, Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg sought to save the lives of Jews in Hungary. He issued protective passports and rented buildings in Budapest where Jews were given shelter.

After liberation, cameramen, journalists and broadcasters recorded what they discovered at the newly liberated concentration camps. At trials of Nazi war criminals, camp survivors spoke up about the persecution they had experienced. Some continue to testify to this day.