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Hitler's Europe Ablaze: Occupation, Resistance, and Rebellion during World War II

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Local resistance to German-led Axis occupation occurred throughout the European continent during World War II, taking a wide range of forms-noncooperation and disinformation, sabotage and espionage, and armed opposition and full-scale partisan warfare. It is a key element in the experience and the national memory of those who found themselves under Axis government and control. But for decades there has been no systematic attempt to give readers a panoramic yet detailed view of the make-up, actions, and impact of resistance movements from Scandinavia down to Greece and from France through to Russia.This authoritative and accessible survey, written by a group of the leading experts in the field, provides a reliable, in-depth, up-to-date account of the resistance in each region and country along with an assessment of its effectiveness and of the Axis reaction to it. An extensive introduction by the editors Philip Cooke and Ben H. Shepherd draws the threads of the varied movements and groups together, highlighting the many differences and similarities between them.True Stories of Resistance in World War II is a significant contribution to the frequently heated debates about the importance of individual resistance movements and thought-provoking reading for everyone who is interested in or studying occupied Europe during the World War II.Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in history--books about World War II, the Third Reich, Hitler and his henchmen, the JFK assassination, conspiracies, the American Civil War, the American Revolution, gladiators, Vikings, ancient Rome, medieval times, the old West, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

506 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 21, 2013

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Philip Cooke

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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
Profile Image for Mike.
816 reviews29 followers
March 15, 2025
This is a good book that provides an over about the resistance to Nazis all across Europe during WWII. None of the chapters is heavily detailed though they are as the author/editor says an up-to-date presentation of the current understanding of resistance following decades of nationalistic narratives and revisionism.
Profile Image for Paul.
1,196 reviews75 followers
January 19, 2014
Good Introduction to Resistance


European Resistance in the Second World War, edited by Philip Cook and Ben Shepherd is an excellent summary of the resistance movements during the war across all theatre in Europe. Let me get all anorakie but this has some excellent end notes at the end of each chapter along with further reading suggestions. This book is first a useful addition for the general reader of history as well as the student of history. It will also help to fire further interest in aspects of resistance which is always important. The chapters are well written by historians who know the subject matter well.

Even if you are interested in only one country and its particular take on resistance the introduction and Chapter one are required reading as they give you the real premise of the book and also many ideas for further investigation. There are always arguments that resistance was not that important in the grand scheme of things but that would be for you alone to formulate as to whether you agree or disagree. But certainly shows that Churchill’s order to his Minister Hugh Dalton to “set Europe ablaze” was important for morale in occupied countries.

Buy this, learn from it and do the suggested reading and make you own mind up.
Profile Image for Fredrick Danysh.
6,844 reviews196 followers
February 28, 2017
Hitler's Europe Ablaze is a collection of essays on the resistance movements in the countries allied to or occupied by Germany during World War II. It provides some useful insight into the resistance movement during the period.
Profile Image for Kevin.
474 reviews24 followers
August 12, 2022
A really good look at a part of WWII that often takes a backseat (unless the focus is on a particular country). Kind of a bummer to find out how much a) the resistance groups failed to militarily impact the situation and b) how many were undercut or brushed aside by their own governments during and after the war. At least there's Tito?
Profile Image for phoebe elizabeth.
4 reviews
April 12, 2023
read for my degree, I enjoyed certain chapters such as the Netherlands. however, there were times when it became too chatty and the information was too dense to make sense and completely lost me
Profile Image for Amy.
1,008 reviews53 followers
September 27, 2022
An interesting, if very dry, examination of the various civilian and paramilitary resistance movements in Nazi occupied territory during World War II. I probably wouldn't recommend it to anyone not interested in reference material for academic reasons, but I did learn a lot about how some resistance movements functioned and - somewhat dishearteningly - how most had little/no effect on the war effort overall.
Profile Image for Andrew.
122 reviews
May 27, 2025
An excellent, if dry, account of resistance movements throughout Europe during the Second World War. Each chapter, focusing on resistance in a particular nation, could easily be an entire book so expect macro-level summaries with the occasional anecdotes to provide a bit of flavour.
14 reviews
February 2, 2019
It was an interesting read to see how the resistance developed and either flourished or failed in different areas.
Profile Image for Wiedźma.
339 reviews26 followers
November 18, 2016
Publikacja "Ruch oporu w Europie 1939–1945" to książka, którą przeczytać można w ramach wprowadzenia do tematu, jakim jest historia ruchów wyzwoleńczych w czasach II wojny światowej. Po szczegóły trzeba jednak sięgnąć do innych prac naukowych. Niemniej jednak jest to napisana przystępnym językiem, wartościowa pozycja, jaką warto poznać.

Całość na: http://wiedzma-czyta.blogspot.com/201...
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