Many ask was there a WW2 French resistance, the answer is yes. The resistance was made up of armed men and women from the countryside, these were called the Maquis.
Despotic regimes come into power and their most immediate effect is mass murder just as Pol Pot did in Cambodia. The same happened every time the Nazis invaded a new country.
German Invasion
In June of 1940 the Nazi Wehrmacht made their next assault operation this time it was the invasion of France.
Within days the effects of a full occupation was felt by the French people as the swastika flags now hung over the Eiffel Tower.
By the summer of 1940 the Nazis and their collaborationist regime in France introduced laws requiring all French jews to register. They were banned from owning businesses, becoming professors or doctors other professions.
There seems to have been indifference by the French people to the plight of French jews and this can be explained by their defeated spirit since the invasion of the country.
Resistance
Many of the Marquis enlisted in the resistance movement as a result of witnessing an unspeakable horror carried out by the Nazis. They could no longer remain passive.
The first acts of the resistance were simple yet effective means of confusing and debilitating the German occupation.
These were typical guerilla tactics, as the Marquis routinely slashed the tires of German vehicles, cut their phone lines when the lines were visible and the opportunity presented itself.
Dissidence also took the form of circulating a resistance newspaper, “Museum of Mankind”, across the cities in which they were active.
The resistance kept in contact with the Allied forces providing valuable intel and information on German movements in France. This was especially valuable in helping the Allied invasion of Normandy in 1944.
Daily life in the resistance was quiet and organized by secret meetings. The Nazis banned citizens from waiting around in public places to discourage organized dissent.
Forged Documents
Members of the resistance used forged documents to bypass checkpoint security and patrols.
The symbol of the resistance became the Cross of Lorraine.
Nicole Minet
The WW2 French resistance was largely male. As a result there were significantly fewer women in the resistance. However some of the heroic feats were done by women, Nicole Minet for example, captured 25 Nazis singlehandedly.
German Retaliation
The Gestapo in the Nazi-occupied France relied heavily on French collaborators and spies who offered them information about movements of the resistance.
One of the biggest challenges the Marquis faced was a lack of weapons and ammunition. This is perhaps the biggest reason why the French resistance is not well known.
The fact that the Marquis could not get weapons and ammunition to assault the Wehrmacht was made worse by the element of French collaborators. These believed the Third Reich would be successful and there was no point in fighting it.
Collaborators with the Nazis were largely opportunists who sought to enrich themselves by supplying the Gestapo with information about local dissidents.
The resistance paid a price for every successful operation against the Nazi occupiers.
In the city of Vassieux-en-Vercors on July 1944 the German Wehrmacht executed over 200 French including men, women, and children.
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