Under the Shadow of the Swastika: Moral Dilemmas of Resistance and Collaboration in Hitler's Europe

Under Shadow of Swastika: Moral Dilemmas of Resistance and Collaboration in Hitler's EuropeStuds Terkel characterized World War II as the good It is a view that still commands assent. Arthur Koestler spoke of World War II as a fight between gray and black. nature of Nazi Germany with its radical violation of what have come to be regarded as civilized values was such that it continues to be viewed as evil that had to be destroyed. Bennett cites Jean Amery's statement that The Swastika...became universal symbol of what is humanly and historically intolerable. Even now few would dissent from this view.Nazi Germany occupied much of Europe. Occupation policies were almost always brutal -- mass executions, torture, deportations, forced labor all were part of Hitler's New Order. In countries occupied by Germany some individuals became collaborators. Motives for collaboration varied. Some acted out of self-interest. Others, such as Vidkun Quisling in Norway, did so because they believed in and supported Nazi ideology. Many saw collaboration as lesser evil compared to its alternatives. In France Marshal Petain and Pierre Laval believed that reaching an understanding with Nazis would moderate excesses, that their collaboration with them would save lives. Yet German demands increased and contamination became unavoidable (p. 56) And Vichy and Nazi Germany shared some views, such as anti-Semitism. Laval coordinated Jewish deportations, and encouraged deportation of children under 16. Civil servants in occupied countries usually stayed on their jobs, as did police forces who, usually willingly, carried out German demands.Resistance movements against German occupation and against collaborators arose as German brutalities increased and as fortunes of war turned against Germany. Bennett notes development of a romantic myth of resistance after war. Popularized in novels, radio, films and TV -- I recall a song by Leonard Cohen glorifying partisan from 1960s -- image of resistance fighter as heroic and morally pure still is widely held. mass bombing of cities -- there is now near universal agreement that bombing of Dresden was wrong -- targeting of civilians and other acts have been questioned, but resistance movements have not received any critical examination. Under Shadow of Swastika holds that while we must recognize the enormous physical and moral courage that it required to engage in underground warfare (p. 27), moral issues about resistance activities need to be examined. For example, use of torture by members of resistance, which Bennett documents in some detail, has not been mentioned in studies about resistance movement. …

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