True Stories of the Resistance in World War II

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.

Philip Cooke is senior lecturer in the School of Humanities at the University of Strathclyde. He is the author of many works on the Italian resistance, including The Italian Resistance: An Anthology and The Legacy of the Italian Resistance. He is also joint editor of the quarterly journal Modern Italy. He lives in Glasgow, Scotland.

Ben H. Shepherd is a reader in history at Glasgow Caledonian University. He specializes in the military history of Germany and Austria during the first half of the twentieth century, with particular focus on the origins and conduct of counterinsurgency warfare. He is the author of War in the Wild East: The German Army and Soviet Partisans and Terror in the Balkans: German Armies and Partisan Warfare. He is also coeditor of the collection War in a Twilight World. He lives in Glasgow, Scotland.