Helmuth von Moltke was a man of outstanding and unwavering character who valued human life above all else.  In a time where resistance meant imprisonment and execution, few men dared to have the audacity to stand up against the Nazi Regime.  Moltke, because of his compassion and character, did everything in his power to stand in the way of an otherwise unmovable force.

Today, it is easy to question why Hitler was not assassinated during his reign in power and why people were not able to foresee the tragic events that would take place when he came into power.  Only a small few men and women were able to forecast what would become of Germany, and one of those men was Moltke.  He read the book that Hitler published before he came into power which directly hinted at his intentions, be that explicitly or implied.

Once the war began, Moltke took heavy into action, being both involved with the small resistance congregation known as the Kreisau Circle, as well as utilizing his position in the ranks of the Nazi Regime.  Some of the things that Moltke accomplished were noticed, but most went unnoticed which is why he was able to continue for as long as he did.  Moltke went out of his way as much as he could to preserve human life.  He tirelessly worked to maintain protection of neutral countries, however getting in the way of Hitler’s agenda proved to be nearly impossible.  Hitler controlled the big decisions in all aspects of German life, including the military.  Protection of prisoners was something that Moltke prioritized, specifically Soviet and Polish prisoners around what seemed to be impossible circumstances, to delay killings of prisoners.  This is a true testament to the man that he was and the values that he stood for.

One other notable effort that Moltke made in his involvement with the resistance was informing other countries of the immensity of social oppression in Germany.  For one reason or another, other countries continued to enable the totalitarian Nazi regime and disregarded rumors of heinous crimes against humanity as just that, merely rumors.  Moltke reached out to Britain in particular by writing letters.  In these letters he communicated the way that a group of youths had just been decapitated after being caught planning a form of resistance.  Despite this fact, other countries like Britain still remained uninvolved in bringing Hitler’s rein to a halt.  Soon thereafter, it was too late for intervention and all out warfare ensued.

Perhaps the most important take away from everything that Moltke did is the fact that he did everything in his power to save people who he did not know.  The reason that not many people did what he did was because the resistance was accompanied with death and it was almost inevitable to get caught and killed slowly.  Despite this fact, Moltke made an ultimate sacrifice because he had the courage to stick up for the things he held most valuable.  The common theme between him and many other leaders of the Nazi Resistance was that many of these actions of impeding progress went unnoticed, making their actions even more honorable.

Eric Shaver

9/18/15

Col. Sunnen

Res. In Nazi Germ.

Adam Von Trott

Amidst the rise of an oppressive a powerful world force, resistance often times meant certain death. The rise of power by Nazi Germany proved to be one of the most devastating forces against humanity, and the irony of the situation was that foreign nations did not know the extent of this evil power until it was far too late. Adam Von Trott was one of few individuals who noticed a need for leadership and decided to take action. Coming from a family who provided Germany with higher civil servants, Trott knew that he was going to have a role in serving his country at a very young age. His priorities were made clear by the way that he traveled and educated on the horrors of the Nazis. Unfortunately, by lack of luck and poor timing, his attempts to eliminate Hitler and spread the news were mostly ineffective.

Skilled with a strategic mindset, Hitler eliminated all forms of opposition. While Hitler was dictating Germany, Adam Von Trott was dexterously working on notifying other countries of the horrors in Germany.   He was well qualified for this role as he had studied at Oxford and was a Rhodes scholar. Trott took action in the way that tried convincing other countries, specifically England (June and July 1939), that an approach of appeasement towards the Nazi regime would end in terror, especially with the development of new war technologies. Lord Halifax served as Foreign Secretary and hosted Trott to hear what he had to say about Nazi Germany. Ultimately, the conversations that Adam Von Trott and Halifax had were insignificant in the overall scheme of events. Trott also traveled to America, specifically Virginia Beach, to spread the word about the Nazi regime. Because of the tension between Germany and the United States, Trott was often times trailed; for fear that he might be a spy. While his message may have resonated with few, there was little significant evidence of action to correlate with his efforts.

A few problems with the resistance were lack of unity, lack of communication, and lack of manpower. Many people believed that Hitler’s reign of power would be much shorter than what it ended up being. To the naïve people who believed this, resistance simply meant brainstorming on what type of government to install following Hitler’s absence. To Trott, however, the only reasonable way of an affective resistance was by assassinating Hitler. Trott saw the depths of evil within Hitler and fully understood that without him gone, there would be no change. Being caught helping aid any sort of resistance meant imprisonment and either a firing squad death, or death by hanging. Communication was limited in the way that meetings could be interrupted or overheard at any point in time. This lack of privacy was a common theme during this time period. For example, there was a ban on cooking any sort of meat on Sundays in order to aid Nazi soldier’s food supply. In order for Trott to formulate a sufficient amount of personnel, he needed explicit trust. This was a difficult problem to overcome.

Adam Von Trott was a humanitarian hero. He was able to save lives and buy time for individuals from the Nazi powers. His efforts may seem insignificant due to the massive amount of casualties; however, he risked and gave his life for the wellbeing of others who were unrightfully persecuted.