Discover

A 'resistance movement' is a group or collection of individual groups, dedicated to fighting an invader in an occupied country or the government of a sovereign nation through either the use of physical force, or nonviolence. The term ''resistance'' has political overtones, as people have used it, along with similar terms, to bring support to opposition groups.
Organizations and individuals critical of foreign intervention and supporting forms of organized movement (particularly where citizens are affected) tend to favor the term. When such a resistance movement uses violence, those favorably disposed to it may also speak of ''freedom fighters''. Both phrases -- ''resistance movement'' and ''freedom fighters'' -- can become contentious terms for what other observers might describe as terrorists, though this is controversial as terrorists are often criticised and seen as morally wrong, whereas many see Resistance Movements as legitimate. The popular saying "One person's terrorist is another person's freedom fighter" encapsulates this dichotomy, without clarifying the distinction that freedom fighters must, by definition, be fighting for freedom. Terrorists, as a modern appellation, are not seen as fighting for freedom, whereas Resistance Movements are. Thus, Resistance Movements may employ terror tactics, but not all who use terror tactics are correctly called a Resistance movement.

Contents

Background

US government definition

Examples of resistance movements

post-World War II

World War II

Pre-World War II

Pre-20th century

Notable individuals in resistance movements

World War II (anti-Nazi, anti-Fascist)

Other resistance movements

See also

Background

Resistance movements can include any irregular armed force that rises up against an enforced or established authority, government, or administration. This frequently includes groups that consider themselves to be resisting tyranny. Some resistance movements are underground organizations engaged in a struggle for national liberation in a country under military occupation or totalitarian domination.
Tactics of resistance movements against a constituted authority range from nonviolent resistance and civil disobedience, to industrial sabotage and guerrilla warfare. Or even conventional warfare if the resistance movement is strong enough. Any government facing violent acts from a resistance movement usually condemns such acts as terrorism, even when such attacks target only the military or security forces.
Resistance during World War II was dedicated to fighting the Axis invaders. Germany itself also had an anti-Nazi German resistance movement in this period. Although mainland Britain did not suffer invasion in World War II, the British made preparations for a British resistance movement in the event of a German invasion.

US government definition

According to Joint Publication 1-02, The United States Department of Defense defines a resistance movement as: An organized effort by some portion of the civil population of a country to resist the legally established government or an occupying power and to disrupt civil order and stability.
In strict military terminology, a resistance movement is simply that; it seeks to resist (change) the policies of a government or occupying power. This may be accomplished though violent or non-violent means. It must be noted that a resistance movement is specifically limited to changing the nature of current power, not to overthrow it. The correct military term for removing or overthrowing a government is an insurgency.

Examples of resistance movements

post-World War II

★ Algerian resistance

★ Armenian resistance

★ Basque separatists (ongoing)

★ Black Panther Party

★ Bosnian Resistance

★ Chechen separatists (ongoing)

★ Colombian communist resistance (ongoing)

★ Cuban anti-Batista resistance

★ Cuban anti-Castro resistance (ongoing)

★ Czechoslovakian resistance

★ Greek resistance

★ Environmentalist resistance (ongoing)

★ Hungarian Uprising

★ Human rights resistance (ongoing)

★ Indian Independence movement

★ Iraqi insurgency (ongoing)

★ Irish Republicanism in particular (ongoing)

★ Jewish Zionist resistance to "British occupation" in Mandate Palestine

★ Khalistan (ongoing)

★ Kurdish separatism (ongoing)

★ Lebanese Islamic Resistance (ongoing)

★ Militant Islam (ongoing)

★ National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam

★ Polish resistance

★ Palestinian Resistance (ongoing)

★ Romanian anti-communist resistance movement

★ Somali Popular Resistance Movement in the Land of the Two Migrations (ongoing)

★ Tamil Tigers (ongoing)

★ Tibetan resistance movement

★ Tupamaros

★ Sandinistas

★ South Thailand insurgency (ongoing)

★ Sudanese resistance (ongoing)

★ Viet Minh

★ West Sahara Independence Intifada (ongoing)

★ Ulster Loyalism (ongoing)

★ Zapatistas (ongoing)

World War II

:''See also Resistance during World War II''

★ Albanian resistance movement

★ Austrian resistance movement (O5)

★ Belgian resistance movement

★ Bulgarian resistance movement

★ Burmese resistance movement

★ Czech Resistance movement

★ Chinese resistance movements

★
★ 'Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army'

★
★ Anti-Japanese Army For The Salvation Of The Country

★
★ Chinese People's National Salvation Army

★
★ Heilungkiang National Salvation Army

★
★ Jilin Self-Defence Army

★
★ Northeast Anti-Japanese National Salvation Army

★
★ Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army

★
★ Northeast People's Anti-Japanese Volunteer Army

★
★ Northeastern Loyal and Brave Army

★
★ Northeastern People's Revolutionary Army

★
★ Northeastern Volunteer Righteous & Brave Fighters

★
★ 'Hong Kong resistance movements'

★
★ Gangjiu dadui (Hong Kong-Kowloon big army)

★
★ Dongjiang Guerillas (East River Guerillas, Southern China and Hong Kong organisation)

★ Danish resistance movement

★ Dutch resistance movement

★ Estonian resistance movement

★ French resistance movement in World War II, including the

★
★ Maquis

★ German resistance movements

★
★ The White Rose

★
★ The Red Orchestra

★ Greek resistance movement

★ Italian resistance movement

★ Jewish resistance movement, including Jewish partisans and Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee

★ Latvian resistance movement

★ Lithuanian resistance during World War II

★ Lithuanian, Latvian, and Estonian ("Forest brothers") resistance movements during the Soviet invasion and occupation of the Baltic countries (continued after the end of WWII).

★ Norwegian resistance movement

★ Philippine resistance movement -- the anti-Japanese phase of the Huk movement

★ Polish Secret State and resistance organizations:

★
★ Armia Krajowa (the Home Army), Polish underground army in World War II (400 000 sworn members)

★
★ Narodowe Siły Zbrojne

★
★ Bataliony Chłopskie

★
★ Gwardia Ludowa (the Peoples' Guard) and Armia Ludowa (the Peoples' Army)

★
★ Żydowska Organizacja Bojowa (ZOB, the Jewish Fighting Organisation), Jewish resistance movement that led the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in 1943

★
★ Zydowski Zwiazek Walki (ZZW, the Jewish Fighting Union), Jewish resistance movement that led the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in 1943

★ Slovak resistance movement

★ Soviet resistance movement of Soviet partisans and underground which had Moscow-organized and spontaneously formed cells opposing German occupation.

★ Thai resistance movement

★ Ukrainian Insurgent Army - fought the Poles, the Germans and the Soviets.

★ Yugoslav resistance movements:

★
★ People's Liberation Army – the ''partisans''

★
★ Yugoslav Royal Army in the Fatherland – ''Chetniks''
Planned resistance movements:

★ The Auxiliary Units, organized by Colonel Colin Gubbins as a potential British resistance movement against a possible invasion of the British Isles by Nazi forces, note that it was the only resistance movement established prior to invasion, albeit the invasion never came.

Pre-World War II

★ Irish Republican Army

★ The Rising of East Karelians (1921-1922)

★ Lwów Eaglets

★ Non-Cooperation Movement (1919-1939)

★ Filipino guerilla units after official end of Philippine-American War (1902-1913)

★ Pancho Villa led a resistance movement/rebellion in Mexico in the early 20th century, as did the Zapata brothers.

★ Bolshevik Revolution (1917-1922)

Pre-20th century

★ Carbonari - 19th century Italian movement resisting Austrian or Bourbon rule.

★ Sons of Liberty - Revolutionary patriot group that embraced Republicanism in the United States during the 1760's and 1770's and routinely engaged in acts of violent resistance against British government officials and prominent loyalist sympathizers. The Boston branch of the Sons of Liberty met under the Liberty Tree, from which they would post messages or hang and burn effigies of their enemies.

★ The Underground Railroad - The pre American Civil War slave escape network consisting of volunteers who were dedicated to secretly helping escaping slave reach free states or Canada.

Notable individuals in resistance movements

World War II (anti-Nazi, anti-Fascist)

★ Mordechaj Anielewicz

★ Josip Broz - Tito

★ Edmund Charaszkiewicz

★ Mildred Harnack

★ Jan Karski

★ Henryk Iwański

★ Jean Moulin

★ Christian Pineau

★ Hannie Schaft

★ Claus von Stauffenberg

★ Aris Velouchiotis

Other resistance movements

★ Michel Bakunin

★ Buenaventura Durruti

★ Giuseppe Garibaldi

★ Geronimo

★ Robin Hood

★ William Wallace

★ Lembitu

★ Louis Joseph Papineau

★ Nelson Mandela

★ Nestor Makhno

★ Maria Nikiforova

★ Michael Collins

★ Osceola

★ Red Cloud

★ Joan of Arc

★ Juba

★ Port Militarization Resistance

★ Rummu Jüri

★ Theobald Wolfe Tone

★ Laura Secord

★ Wilhelm Tell

★ William Lyon Mackenzie

★ Aivar Voitka

★ Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale

★ Ülo Voitka

★ Pancho Villa

★ Zapata

See also

★ Rebellion

★ Collaborationism (and Collaboration), the opposite of resistance

★ Covert cell

★ List of guerrillas

★ Nonviolent resistance

★ Polish Secret State

★ Special Operations Executive

★ Anti-fascism

★ Valkenburg resistance - an example of (Dutch) resistance in practise.

★ Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine

★ Fictional resistance movements and groups - Resistance groups and movements depicted in fiction, often based on 'real' resistance groups and movements.