Why wasn't there significant resistance in Germany post WWII

by Limbo365

I've read about the Werewolves and know there were large numbers of hard core Nazi's were operating throughout Germany. I've always been curious as to why we never hear of any significant resistance movement operating after the war

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There were a few factors at play:

  1. The Werewolves were not really truly designed as a post-war resistance group. There may have been some attempts to use it as such, but it was really designed as a stay-behind network to support the conventional Nazi military forces (basically it was an attempt to make a Nazi version of the various Partisan groups that operated in the places the Nazis had occupied, under the belief the larger Nazi state would hold out). These groups were formed at a time that there just wasn't much in terms of weapons, supplies, or personnel to spare, so again despite the image of die-hard Nazi commandos ready to strike, most of them were people who weren't at the front for various reasons, equipped with the hand-me-down weapons that had been too bad to sent to the Volkstrum with the rest of the hand-me-downs.

  2. One of the reasons I like the movie "Fury" is because it captures the almost post-apocalyptic nature of Germany in 1945. Things are broken. Basic services are gone. Towns, cities, villages are smashed etc, etc, etc. The only order, basic services, and indeed even food is available through the occupying powers. This made resistance really unattractive, as while the resisters could offer an amazing future of continued nazism.....they couldn't offer food, or heating, or clean water, medical care, security, housing etc, etc, etc.

  3. The Allies and Soviets expected way more resistance than the Germans planned, or prepared to realistically offer. The Soviets reopened some of the Nazi concentration camps (not strictly as concentration camp, but certainly not as fun resort spots) as a place to leave people they considered "dangerous" (read: pretty much anyone but especially very die-hard Nazis, or people suspiciously Nazi-like). The west took special security measures such as the US Army Constabulary Force specifically to go after post-war resistance groups. It was not an environment that a prospective Nazi guerrilla was especially safe existing in.

  4. Germany was defeated. D.e.f.e.a.t.e.d. DEFEATED. Beaten, done, tot, kaput, etc, etc. I am being hyperbolic for humor, but also to prove a point:

Norwegian resistance groups could look on the horizon and see someday, maybe the Western Allies (or even Soviets maybe) would return and there would again be a Norway without Nazis.

The potential Nazi guerrilla? No one. There was literally no other Nazi country that was going to ride to its rescue (outside of maybe Japan, but I don't know of any historical record for people holding out the hope the IJN was going to show up in 1949 or something having swept the Allies from the sea). Germany was occupied by would could be argued to be the largest military forces in history (between the Soviets, and the Western Allies, if you don't take nuclear arms into account that's likely a larger concentration of relative military power than has ever been assembled).

This just wasn't the sort of place, time, or set of circumstances that made resistance viable.

So to summarize:

  1. German resistance efforts were poorly planned, manned, and equipped.

2.Germany was broken as a state and most of it's people lived, or died on the good graces of the occupying powers, while the Nazi resister could offer literally nothing in exchange for support

3.The Allies and Soviets were very well prepared for a resistance movement way more component than the Germans had prepared

  1. Nazis had no realistic shot at "winning" and the Nazi state was entirely de-legitimized by it's defeat.

In a lot of ways the average German just wanted to move on, and get back to a place where they went to work each day, came home to warm food, and slept in their own bed. The occupying powers realistically offered this, the remaining Nazis did not.