The Professor Who Led a Secret Army – Mildred Harnack | WW2 Resistance скачать в хорошем качестве

The Professor Who Led a Secret Army – Mildred Harnack | WW2 Resistance

Mildred Harnack's story is one of the most extraordinary and tragic of World War 2. Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, this American literature professor moved to Berlin in 1929 and witnessed the rise of Nazi Germany. When she could have fled to safety, she chose to stay and fight. Mildred built the largest underground resistance network in Nazi Berlin—the Red Orchestra—recruiting over 150 people from all walks of life to oppose Hitler's regime. She saved Jewish lives, passed vital intelligence to the Allies, and paid the ultimate price: she became the only American civilian Adolf Hitler personally ordered executed. In this documentary, we explore: Mildred's early life in Milwaukee and education at University of Wisconsin-Madison Meeting and marrying German student Arvid Harnack in 1926 Moving to Berlin in 1929 and teaching at the University of Berlin Being fired in 1933 for not being "Nazi enough" Founding "the Circle" resistance group in 1932-1933 Distributing anti-Nazi leaflets throughout Berlin Using her American passport to travel and build resistance networks Arvid's role passing classified intelligence from the Reich Economics Ministry Helping Jews escape Nazi Germany through forged papers Growing the Circle into Berlin's largest resistance network by 1940 The formation of the Red Orchestra and intelligence operations Warning Stalin about Operation Barbarossa—and being ignored The Gestapo infiltration and arrests beginning August 1942 Her arrest with Arvid on September 7, 1942, during vacation Five months of Gestapo torture and interrogation Arvid's execution by slow strangulation on December 22, 1942 Her initial sentence of six years—then Hitler's personal intervention Retrial and death sentence on January 16, 1943 Her final days translating Goethe in her death cell Execution by guillotine on February 16, 1943, at age 40 Her last words: "And I have loved Germany so much" The Cold War erasure of her story and legacy Modern recognition and memorials in Wisconsin and Germany This is more than a war story—it's a testament to moral courage and the choice to fight tyranny even when the cost is everything. 📚 SOURCES & HISTORICAL REFERENCES: Information compiled from military archives, historical records, declassified U.S. government documents released under the Nazi War Crimes Disclosure Act, German Resistance Memorial Center archives, and scholarly biographies. Primary sources and key references: Donner, Rebecca. "All The Frequent Troubles of Our Days: The True Story of the American Woman at the Heart of the German Resistance to Hitler" (2021) Brysac, Shareen Blair. "Resisting Hitler: Mildred Harnack and the Red Orchestra" (2000) Nelson, Anne. "Red Orchestra: The Story of the Berlin Underground and the Circle of Friends Who Resisted Hitler" (2009) National Archives declassified documents on the Red Orchestra German Resistance Memorial Center (Gedenkstätte Deutscher Widerstand) records University of Wisconsin-Madison archives Wisconsin Public Television documentary "Wisconsin's Nazi Resistance: The Mildred Fish-Harnack Story" (2011) Images used from: Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/) - Public Domain/Historical Archives German Resistance Memorial Center - Historical photographs National Archives - Declassified documents and photographs University of Wisconsin-Madison Archives - Historical photographs Dreamstime.com - Licensed stock images Pixabay.com - Free stock images We strive for historical accuracy. If you notice any errors, please comment respectfully with sources.