Underground Media In German-occupied Europe on:
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Various kinds of clandestine media emerged under
An important underground press emerged from the
's French-language radio broadcasts, whose coverage lagged several months behind events. Copies of the underground newspapers were distributed anonymously, with some pushed into letterboxes or sent by post.
Since they were usually free, the costs of printing were financed by donations from sympathisers. The papers achieved considerable circulation, with reaching a regular circulation of 40,000 by January 1942 and peaking at 70,000, while the Communist paper, , reached 30,000. Dozens of different newspapers existed, often affiliated with different resistance groups or differentiated by political stance, ranging from nationalist, Communist, Liberal or even
There were a number of underground Dutch newspapers, the first and most notable, however, was (''The Watchword''). was founded in February 1941 by Frans Goedhart, who went by the pseudonym (Peter the Chicken). The first issue of (August 1941) saw a circulation of 6,000, a number that never significantly rose due to security issues. In 1943, Frans Goedhart was captured by Nazi officials and tried in a German court. To conceal his secret identity as Pieter 't Hoen, writers at periodically published articles under his pseudonym. In August 1943, Goedhart was sentenced to death. He escaped three days before his execution, with the help of Dutch officials. Upon his escape, Goedhart returned to his position of editor at the newspaper . 's main objective was to raise national moral and organize the Dutch people against Nazi rule. After the Germans began their occupation, working on an illegal newspaper was punishable by immediate jail time, and in the latter years of the war, death. Before the end of the war, four editors at were sentenced to death, while two escaped to ally countries. Altogether, as many as 1,200 separate newspaper titles were produced by the Dutch resistance during the war. Collectively, the underground press provided a space for free debate about political and religious issues, as well as for planning for after the liberation.
The first underground newspapers in
Belgian War Press
(online archive) at
Journaux clandestins de la résistance
(online archive) at BnF Gallica
Verzetskranten
at Delpher (
Various kinds of clandestine media emerged under German occupation
German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 an ...
during World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. By 1942, Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
occupied much of continental Europe. The widespread German occupation saw the fall of public media systems in France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
, Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
, Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
, Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
, Northern Greece
Northern Greece ( el, Βόρεια Ελλάδα, Voreia Ellada) is used to refer to the northern parts of Greece, and can have various definitions.
Administrative regions of Greece
Administrative term
The term "Northern Greece" is widely used ...
, and the Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
. All press systems were put under the ultimate control of Joseph Goebbels
Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazi politician who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief propagandist for the Nazi Party, and then Reich Minister of Propaganda from 1933 to 19 ...
, the German Minister of Propaganda.
Without control of the media, occupied populations began to create and publish their own uncensored newspapers, books and political pamphlets. The underground press played a "crucial role" in informing and motivating resistance across the continent and building solidarity. They also created an "intellectual battlefield" in which ideas like post-war reconstruction could be discussed. Underground forms of media allowed for information sharing among the oppressed, helping them build solidarity, strengthen morale and, in some cases, stage uprisings.
By country
Belgium
An important underground press emerged from the Belgian Resistance
The Belgian Resistance (french: Résistance belge, nl, Belgisch verzet) collectively refers to the resistance movements opposed to the German occupation of Belgium during World War II, German occupation of Belgium during World War II. Within Be ...
in German-occupied Belgium soon after the defeat in May 1940. Eight underground newspapers had appeared by October 1940 alone. Much of the resistance's press focused around producing newspapers in both French and Dutch language
Dutch ( ) is a West Germanic language spoken by about 25 million people as a first language and 5 million as a second language. It is the third most widely spoken Germanic language
The Germanic languages are a branch of the Indo-Europea ...
s as alternatives to censored or pro-collaborationist newspapers. At its peak, the clandestine newspaper ''La Libre Belgique
''La Libre Belgique'' (; literally ''The Free Belgium''), currently sold under the name ''La Libre'', is a major daily newspaper in Belgium. Together with ''Le Soir'', it is one of the country's major French language newspapers and is popular in ...
'', a title which had first appeared under German occupation in World War I, was relaying news within five to six days; faster than the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
Since they were usually free, the costs of printing were financed by donations from sympathisers. The papers achieved considerable circulation, with reaching a regular circulation of 40,000 by January 1942 and peaking at 70,000, while the Communist paper, , reached 30,000. Dozens of different newspapers existed, often affiliated with different resistance groups or differentiated by political stance, ranging from nationalist, Communist, Liberal or even Feminist
Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
. The number of Belgians involved in the underground press is estimated at anywhere up to 40,000 people. In total, 567 separate titles are known from the period of occupation.
The resistance also printed humorous publications and material as propaganda. In November 1943, on the anniversary of the German surrender in the First World War, the group published a spoof edition of the censored newspaper , satirizing the Axis propaganda and biased information permitted by the censors. The new newspaper was then distributed to newsstands across Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
and deliberately mixed with ordinary official newspapers to be sold to the public. 50,000 copies of the spoof publication, dubbed the " Faux ''Soir''" (literally, the "Fake ''Le Soir''"), were sold.
In 2012, the Centre for Historical Research and Documentation on War and Contemporary Society
The Centre for Historical Research and Documentation on War and Contemporary Society (french: Centre d'Études et de Documentation Guerre et Sociétés contemporaines; nl, Studie- en Documentatiecentrum Oorlog en Hedendaagse Maatschappij), known b ...
(Cegesoma) launched a project to digitally archive all surviving Belgian clandestine publications from both World War I and II.
Channel Islands
TheChannel Islands
The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...
were occupied by Germany in June 1940 and were the only British territory invaded during the war. Although little active resistance occurred, a number of underground publications existed. The most notable was the ''Guernsey Underground News Sheet'', or GUNS, on Guernsey
Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; french: Guernesey) is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency.
It is the second largest of the Channel Islands ...
. The newspaper, directed by Frank Falla and published between 1942 and 1944, reproduced material from BBC news bulletins. Its workers were denounced in February 1944 and deported to concentration camps.
Czechoslovakia
An underground press emerged rapidly inCzechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
after the German annexation and invasion of 1938–39. One of the first was the newspaper (''To Fight'') published by Josef Skalda in Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
. Although it achieved a circulation of 10,000, Skalda was arrested in November 1939 and the publication ceased. Later newspapers included the ''Voice of the People'' and ''National Liberation''.
In 1941, during German occupation of Czechoslovakia
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
, the Czech Resistance
Resistance to the German occupation of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia during World War II began after the occupation of the rest of Czechoslovakia and the formation of the protectorate on 15 March 1939. German policy deterred acts of ...
was in radio contact with the exiled Czech government in London. These radios were strategically airdropped by Allied forces, and by October 1941, all resistance radios had been discovered by the Gestapo
The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe.
The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...
. There were multiple airdrops in 1942 that led to new radio contact between January and June 1942. These secret radio stations were not only used with the sole purpose of communicating with London, but could also reach the Czech people. These secret radio stations would broadcast military intelligence and reports of both Nazi movements and Allied movements. These reports varied, some were true, some were false and served only to raise national morale. Many consider these clandestine radios to be a failure for their lack of reporting on the state of the Jewish population in Czechoslovakia, under Nazi rule.
The Czechoslovak resistance groups were also known to send anti-Nazi pamphlets into Germany, in hopes that anti-fascist Germans would rise up against the Nazi regime. They would hide the small books and other pieces of anti-Nazi literature in tea pouches, shampoo, plant seed packaging, and German tourist pamphlets etc. One of the better known pamphlets was inside the German tourism brochure (''Learn About Beautiful Germany'') which included a map of the Nazi death camps.
Denmark
Following theirinvasion of Denmark
The German invasion of Denmark (german: Operation Weserübung – Süd), was the German attack on Denmark on 9 April 1940, during the Second World War. The attack was a prelude to the invasion of Norway (german: Weserübung Nord, 9 April – 10 ...
in 1940, the Germans did not confiscate the population's radios, removing much of the need for underground media. Only with the 1941 banning of the Communist Party of Denmark
The Communist Party of Denmark ( da, Danmarks Kommunistiske Parti, DKP) is a communist party in Denmark. The DKP was founded on 9 November 1919 as the Left-Socialist Party of Denmark (, VSP), through a merger of the Socialist Youth League and ...
did a significant underground press emerge, with the illegal continued publishing of the Communist Party's paper . At its height, reached a circulation of 130,000, and was the largest underground newspaper in Denmark throughout the German occupation. In respectively December 1941 and April 1942 the major bipartisan papers and followed. In all some 600 different underground papers were published in Denmark.
With the population having access to news from the United Kingdom and Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
through radio, the underground press in Denmark focussed on opinion pieces until 1943, when relations between Danish authorities and the Germans deteriorated. The only paper established in wartime Denmark that is still being published is .
France
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
was invaded and occupied after a disastrous military campaign in May–June 1940. Under the armistice agreement, the country was divided into two zones: an area in the northern half of the country (including Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
) under direct German military occupation and a " Free Zone" in the South ruled by the semi-independent Vichy regime
Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its terr ...
under Marshal Philippe Pétain
Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Pétain (24 April 1856 – 23 July 1951), commonly known as Philippe Pétain (, ) or Marshal Pétain (french: Maréchal Pétain), was a French general who attained the position of Marshal of France at the end of World ...
. Frustration and unrest in both parts led to the emergence of the French Resistance
The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...
which, by 1942, had become a mass movement.
The first French underground newspapers emerged in opposition to German and Vichy control of French radio and newspapers. In the German-occupied zone, the first underground titles to emerge were and , which both began in Paris in October 1940. In Vichy France, the first title to emerge was in November 1940. Few produced issues for both German and Vichy zones, though was an early exception. In early newspaper issues, individuals often wrote under a number of pseudonyms in the same issue to convey the impression that a team of individuals was working on a newspaper. Initially underground newspapers represented a wide range of political opinions but, by 1944, had generally converged in support of Gaullist Free French in the United Kingdom.
The four major clandestine newspapers during the German occupation were , , and . was founded by a group of Parisian students in the summer of 1941. After the invasion of the Soviet Union, these were joined by a number of communist publications including and . These newspapers were anti-Nazi propaganda, but practiced propaganda themselves by misreporting events, and glorifying and enlarging Allied victories. The reporting in these newspapers was often subjective, as they aimed to capture and shape public opinion rather than accurately represent it. The extent to which underground newspapers actually affected French popular opinion under the occupation is disputed by historians.
A small number of underground presses were also active in printing illegal books and works of literature. The most notable example of this was by Jean Bruller
Jean Marcel Adolphe Bruller (26 February 1902 – 10 June 1991) was a French writer and illustrator who co-founded the publishing company Les Éditions de Minuit with Pierre de Lescure. Born to a Hungarian-Jewish father, he joined the French Resi ...
published illegally in Paris in 1942. Its publisher, , became a successful commercial literary publisher in post-war France.
The National Library of France
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, ce ...
(, BnF) began a project in 2012 to digitise surviving French underground newspapers. By 2015, 1,350 titles had been uploaded on its ''Gallica'' platform.
Greece
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
was invaded by Italy in October 1940, but not occupied until after the German invasion German invasion may refer to:
Pre-1900s
* German invasion of Hungary (1063)
World War I
* German invasion of Belgium (1914)
* German invasion of Luxembourg (1914)
World War II
* Invasion of Poland
* German invasion of Belgium (1940)
* G ...
in April 1941. Greece was occupied and divided into German, Italian and Bulgarian zones and a Greek puppet government was created. Greek Resistance emerged rapidly. The left-leaning National Liberation Front (, or EAM) published the country's first underground newspaper, ''Forward'' (), in January 1942.
A group of former army officers, organized into the Army of Enslaved Victors () began publishing a newspaper called ''Great Greece'' (). The Panhellenic Union of Fighting Youths
The Panhellenic Union of Fighting Youths ( el, Πανελλήνιος Ένωσις Αγωνιζόμενων Νέων, ''Panellínios Énosis Agonizómenon Néon'', ΠΕΑΝ, PEAN) was a Greek Resistance organization during the Axis Occupation o ...
(, or PEAN) published an alternative newspaper called ''Glory'' () in both German-occupied Athens and the Bulgarian-occupied Macedonia. The pre-war newspaper '' The Radical'' (), produced by the Communist Party of Greece
The Communist Party of Greece ( el, Κομμουνιστικό Κόμμα Ελλάδας, ''Kommounistikó Kómma Elládas'', KKE) is a political party in Greece.
Founded in 1918 as the Socialist Labour Party of Greece and adopted its curren ...
, was produced as an underground publication. Other newspaper included ''Fighting Greece'' ().
Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
was invaded by Nazi Germany in May 1940 and was conquered in less than a day. The German occupation authority considered Luxembourgers, although largely trilingual in French, German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
and Luxembourgish
Luxembourgish ( ; also ''Luxemburgish'', ''Luxembourgian'', ''Letzebu(e)rgesch''; Luxembourgish: ) is a West Germanic language that is spoken mainly in Luxembourg. About 400,000 people speak Luxembourgish worldwide.
As a standard form of th ...
, to be a Germanic people
The Germanic peoples were historical groups of people that once occupied Central Europe and Scandinavia during antiquity and into the early Middle Ages. Since the 19th century, they have traditionally been defined by the use of ancient and ear ...
and thus suitable for annexation into Germany itself by 1942. A resistance
''A Resistance'' is a 2019 South Korean historical drama film directed by Cho Min-ho, starring Go Ah-sung, Kim Sae-byuk, Kim Ye-eun, Jeong Ha-dam and Ryu Kyung-soo.
Summary
Yu Gwan Sun was imprisoned in Seodaemun Prison since March 1, 1919. ...
emerged with the foundation of the (LPL) in August 1940 and soon grew.
The first underground newspaper, (''Our Homeland''), was published by the LPL but soon ceased publication after its directors were arrested. The main newspaper of the occupation period was the (''The Free Luxembourger''), also printed by the LPL and based on . It was printed in Belgium. was restarted by the late in the war.
Netherlands
Fearing that Dutch exposure to Allied radio programming would turn the Dutch against them, the Nazis called for the confiscation of all radio transmitters soon after the country was occupied in May 1940. By May 1943, they had confiscated nearly 80 percent of Dutch radios, amounting to just over one million sets. With the Nazi grip on the media tightening, many Dutch households hid their radios, receiving illegal broadcasts from the BBC and (Radio Orange) that kept them up to date on Allied forces and their accomplishments on the war front – and in some cases messages that helped them resist Nazi rule. Allied radio broadcasts were so important to the Dutch people that many people began buildingcrystal radio
A crystal radio receiver, also called a crystal set, is a simple radio receiver, popular in the early days of radio. It uses only the power of the received radio signal to produce sound, needing no external power. It is named for its most impo ...
s. Crystal radios were fairly easy to build and could be made quickly in large quantities. Their main advantage was that they required no batteries and could only be heard by those operating them but were very hard to control or tune. During the Dutch famine () of 1944, many people smuggled crystal radios to farmers in exchange for fresh produce.
There were a number of underground Dutch newspapers, the first and most notable, however, was (''The Watchword''). was founded in February 1941 by Frans Goedhart, who went by the pseudonym (Peter the Chicken). The first issue of (August 1941) saw a circulation of 6,000, a number that never significantly rose due to security issues. In 1943, Frans Goedhart was captured by Nazi officials and tried in a German court. To conceal his secret identity as Pieter 't Hoen, writers at periodically published articles under his pseudonym. In August 1943, Goedhart was sentenced to death. He escaped three days before his execution, with the help of Dutch officials. Upon his escape, Goedhart returned to his position of editor at the newspaper . 's main objective was to raise national moral and organize the Dutch people against Nazi rule. After the Germans began their occupation, working on an illegal newspaper was punishable by immediate jail time, and in the latter years of the war, death. Before the end of the war, four editors at were sentenced to death, while two escaped to ally countries. Altogether, as many as 1,200 separate newspaper titles were produced by the Dutch resistance during the war. Collectively, the underground press provided a space for free debate about political and religious issues, as well as for planning for after the liberation.
Norway
The first underground newspapers in occupied Norway
The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany during the Second World War began on 9 April 1940 after Operation Weserübung. Conventional armed resistance to the German invasion ended on 10 June 1940, and Nazi Germany controlled Norway until the ...
were published by the nascent Norwegian resistance movement
The Norwegian resistance (Norwegian: ''Motstandsbevegelsen'') to the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany began after Operation Weserübung in 1940 and ended in 1945. It took several forms:
*Asserting the legitimacy of the exiled government, ...
in the summer of 1940, soon after the conclusion of the Norwegian Campaign. The main purpose of the underground newspapers was to distribute news from BBC Radio, as well as messages and appeals from the Norwegian government in exile
__NOTOC__
Nygaardsvold's Cabinet (later becoming the Norwegian government-in-exile, Norwegian: ''Norsk eksilregjering'') was appointed on 20 March 1935, the second Labour cabinet in Norway. It brought to an end the non-socialist minority Gover ...
.
Some 300 underground newspapers were published in Norway during the war, the biggest of which was (''London New''), and 12,000 to 15,000 people were involved in their distribution. From the autumn of 1941, the Norwegian communists joined the underground press, publishing newspapers such as (''Freedom'').
In October 1942, the German authorities in Norway made it a capital crime to read underground newspapers. Of the people involved in the underground press in Norway, 3,000 to 4,000 were arrested by the Germans, of whom 62 were executed and a further 150 died as a consequence of their captivity.
Poland
There were over 1,000 underground newspapers; among the most important were the (''News Bulletin'') ofArmia Krajowa
The Home Army ( pl, Armia Krajowa, abbreviated AK; ) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) esta ...
and ( ''Republic'' or ''Commonwealth'') of the Government Delegation for Poland
The Government Delegation for Poland ( pl, Delegatura Rządu Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej na Kraj) was an agency of the Polish Government in Exile during World War II. It was the highest authority of the Polish Secret State in occupied Poland and was ...
. In addition to publication of news (from intercepted Western radio transmissions), there were hundreds of underground publications dedicated to politics, economics, education, and literature (for example, (''Art and Nation'')). The highest recorded publication volume was an issue of printed in 43,000 copies; the average volume of larger publication was 1,000–5,000 copies. The Polish underground also published booklets and leaflets from imaginary anti-Nazi German organizations aimed at spreading disinformation and lowering morale among the Germans. Books were also sometimes printed. Other items were also printed, such as patriotic posters or fake German administration posters, ordering the Germans to evacuate Poland or telling Poles to register household cats.
The two largest underground publishers were the Bureau of Information and Propaganda
The Bureau of Information and Propaganda of the Headquarters of Związek Walki Zbrojnej, later of Armia Krajowa ( pl, Biuro Informacji i Propagandy (Komendy Głównej Związku Walki Zbrojnej - Armii Krajowej) - in short: ''BIP''), a conspiracy dep ...
of Armia Krajowa and the Government Delegation for Poland. (Secret Military Publishing House) of Jerzy Rutkowski (subordinated to the Armia Krajowa) was probably the largest underground publisher in the world. In addition to Polish titles, Armia Krajowa also printed false German newspapers designed to decrease morale of the occupying German forces (as part of Action N). The majority of Polish underground presses were located in occupied Warsaw; until the Warsaw Uprising
The Warsaw Uprising ( pl, powstanie warszawskie; german: Warschauer Aufstand) was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from German occupation. It occ ...
in the summer of 1944 the Germans found over 16 underground printing presses (whose crews were usually executed or sent to concentration camps). The second largest center for Polish underground publishing was Kraków
Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
. There, writers and editors faced similar dangers: for example, almost the entire editorial staff of the underground satirical paper (''In our
Our or OUR may refer to:
* The possessive form of " we"
* Our (river), in Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany
* Our, Belgium, a village in Belgium
* Our, Jura, a commune in France
* Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR), a government utility regulato ...
Ear'') was arrested, and its chief editors executed in Kraków on 27 May 1944. ( was the longest published Polish underground paper devoted to satire
Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming ...
; 20 issues were published starting in October 1943.) The underground press was supported by a large number of activists; in addition to the crews manning the printing presses, scores of underground couriers distributed the publications. According to some statistics, these couriers were among the underground members most frequently arrested by the Germans.
See also
*'' Tarnschriften'' – disguised publications in Nazi GermanyReferences
Bibliography
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *Further reading
* * *External links
Belgian War Press
(online archive) at
Cegesoma
The Centre for Historical Research and Documentation on War and Contemporary Society (french: Centre d'Études et de Documentation Guerre et Sociétés contemporaines; nl, Studie- en Documentatiecentrum Oorlog en Hedendaagse Maatschappij), known b ...
Journaux clandestins de la résistance
(online archive) at BnF Gallica
Verzetskranten
at Delpher (
Royal Library of the Netherlands
The Royal Library of the Netherlands (Dutch: Koninklijke Bibliotheek or KB; ''Royal Library'') is the national library of the Netherlands, based in The Hague, founded in 1798. The KB collects everything that is published in and concerning the Ne ...
)
{{Underground media in German-occupied Europe