The growth of opposition to Hitler including the Edelweiss Pirates, the White Rose Group and the Stauffenberg Plot

The growth of opposition to Hitler including the Edelweiss Pirates, the White Rose Group and the Stauffenberg Plot.

1. The Edelweiss Pirates were a group of rebellious young people that were hard to control as they weren't a single organisation with clear leaders. They had sprung up in Germany during the 1930s, with different groups of them having their own names, including Navajos and the Roving Dudes. They rejected Nazi values and hated being told what to do. They purposely avoided joining the Hitler Youth and some members deliberately got into fights with the Hitler Youth. During the 1940s, they started distributing anti-Nazi leaflets, and also helping army deserters, forced labourers and escaped concentration camp prisoners. But, the Nazis eventually tracked down the groups. Many were arrested, and in 1944, several members were publicly hanged in Cologne.
2. The White Rose Group opposed the Nazis and was led by students from Munich University between the years 1942-43. Among the leaders were siblings Hans and Sophie Scholl. The group protested against Nazi prosecution and discrimination of minorities. Some of the members had taken part in the war and were horrified by German atrocities, including the mass murder of Jews. They used peaceful/non-violent methods and distributed anti-Nazi leaflets to encourage opposition. The group were caught and arrested by the Gestapo and several members, including Hans and Sophie Scholl, were tortured and executed.
3. The Stauffenberg Plot was a bomb plot attempt to kill Hitler. Towards the end of the war, some of the German military were unhappy with Hitler's leadership, believing he would lead Germany to defeat. Claus von Stauffenberg, along with other German officers, made a plan to kill Hitler. Their aim was to kill Hitler and install a non-radical government, including members of the Kreisau Circle. The attempt was on the 20th July 1944; Stauffenberg put a bomb in a briefcase and left it in a meeting room by Hitler's chair. However, someone moved the briefcase, and Hitler was unharmed by the explosion. Most of plotters, including Stauffenberg, were then captured and executed.