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Quantifying Resistance

Part of the book series: Studies in Economic History ((SEH))

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Abstract

This chapter provides a comprehensive description of the data and sources that lie at the heart of the research undertaken and reported in this book. It notes that the collection of court records, from which the Quantifying Resistance database was constructed, the Resistance as High Treason project (Widerstand als Hochverrat), was the first of its kind to combine material stored in the archives of the Federal Republic of Germany and Austria with previously inaccessible files from the former German Democratic Republic, Czechoslovakia and Soviet Union. In this chapter, one finds details of how the Quantifying Resistance database was constructed, the judgement calls made by the authors in its construction, and how key variables should – and should not – be interpreted.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The number of cases and defendants who appear in the Widerstand als Hochverrat series are as follows (defendants in parenthesis): People’s Court 1743 (5549); Supreme Court 80 (314) and Supreme Military Court 60 (168). During the Third Reich, cases of high treason were held before the following courts: People’s Court (August 1934 to April 1945), Supreme Court or Reichsgericht (January 1933 to July 1934), Higher Regional Court or Oberlandesgericht (January 1933 to April 1934) and the Supreme Military Court or Reichskriegsgericht (1934–1945). After August 1934, most cases of high treason came directly under the jurisdiction of the People’s Court, explaining the numerical preponderance of the People’s Court.

  2. 2.

    The personal files can be found at Bundesarchiv BArch R 3001. The NSDAP membership cards can be located on microfilm at Bundesarchiv BArch NSDAP Zentralkartei 31 XX and Bundesarchiv BArch NSDAP Ortskartei 3200. Full details can be found in the reference list.

  3. 3.

    We used four citizenship categories: (i) citizens living within Germany’s borders before the end of 1937 (Altreich), (ii) citizens incorporated within the German Reich after March 1938 (Reichsdeutsche), (iii) foreigner and (iv) stateless. The largest group was Altreich: 2764 (63.13%), followed by Reichsdeutsche: 1417 (32.36%), foreigner: 112 (2.56%) and stateless: 85 (1.94%).

  4. 4.

    Our analysis includes 78.72% of all the cases in Widerstand als Hochverrat and 74.67% of defendants. Approximately 15–20% of cases had incomplete court files.

  5. 5.

    The classification for Germany was problematic because there was a lack of continuity following the collapse of Imperial Germany (Kaiserreich). State and electoral boundaries overlapped. Free States were created, abolished or merged into other territories during the post-war period, and boundaries constantly changed. In the period 1924–1933, the Weimar Republic had 35 electoral districts (Wahlkreise) and 16 constituency associations (Wahlkreisverbände). We were able to get a breakdown of the vote for the main parties in each of the 35 electoral districts. In the case of Austria, we used data from the nine federal states (Bundesländer).

References

Primary Sources

    (A) Archive Files

      (i) Widerstand als Hochverrat

      (ii) Bundesarchiv

      • Bundesarchiv, Case Files of the Volksgerichtshof, VGH/Z H 286.

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      • Reichsministerium der Justiz, Personalakten, R 3001

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      • The surname of the judge and signature number in parenthesis: Albrecht [50165, 50167], Bruner [52916], Coninx [53671], Crohne [53759], Diescher [54191], Diester [54196], Engert [55261, 55265], Freisler [56247], Granzow [57872], Greulich [57983], Grosspietch [58154], Hartmann [59107, 59108], Illner [61600], Köhler [63914], Lämmle [65592, 65593], Löhmann [66929], Merten [68165, 68166], Schaad [73551], Springmann [76972], Stier [77504], Thierack [78253], Zieger [81308, 81309].

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      • The NSDAP membership cards can be located on microfilm at Bundesarchiv BArch NSDAP Zentralkartei 31 XX and Bundesarchiv BArch NSDAP Ortskartei 3200. The surname of the judge and signature number in parenthesis: Diescher [ZK 31XX E0111], Diester [ZK 31XX E0112], Freisler [OK 3200 E0079], Illner [OK 3200 J0013], Köhler [OK 3200 J0013], Merten [OK 3200 O0067], Schaad [OK 3200 T0003], Zieger [ZK 31XX T9157].

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      (iii) Dokumentationsarchiv des österreichischen Widerstandes

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      Author information

      Authors and Affiliations

      1. Department of Economics, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA

        Wayne Geerling

      2. Department of Economics, Monash University, Caulfield East, VIC, Australia

        Gary Magee

      Authors
      1. Wayne Geerling
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      2. Gary Magee
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      Appendix 2.1: Variables Used in the Quantifying Resistance Database

      Appendix 2.1: Variables Used in the Quantifying Resistance Database

      2.1.1 Personal and Familial Characteristics and Experiences

      Citizenship

      • Altreich: citizens living within Germany’s borders before the end of 1937

      • Foreigner

      • Reichsdeutsche: citizens incorporated within the German Reich after March 1938

      • Stateless

      Criminal History

      • Previous Convictions

      • Previous Convictions: Malicious Gossip

      • Previous Major Political Convictions: High Treason, Treason

      • Previous Minor Political Convictions: Defamation

      • Previous Minor Political Convictions: Illegal Meetings and/or Writings

      • Previous Minor Political Convictions: Public Disorder

      • Previous Minor Political Convictions: Resisting State Authorities

      • Previous Non-Political Convictions: Other Crimes

      • Previous Non-Political Convictions: Property Crimes

      • Previous Non-Political Convictions: Sexual Offences

      • Previous Non-Political Convictions: Violent Crimes

      • Previous terms of imprisonment

      Education (Highest Educational Achievement)

      • High School Advanced

      • High School Medium

      • Primary

      • Tertiary

      Marital and Familial Status

      • Divorced

      • Engaged or married (de jure and de facto)

      • Has children: number

      • Widowed

      Occupation

      • Blue collar

      • Business/property owner

      • Employed

      • High ranking state official

      • Main occupation

      • Military

      • No particular occupation

      • Not in the labour force

      • Political cadre

      • Professionals

      • Secondary occupation

      • Senior military

      • Service sector

      • Student

      • Unemployed

      • Vocational training

      • White collar

      Personal

      • Age at indictment

      • Came of age during the 1918–1919 revolution

      • Came of age during the period of hyperinflation

      • Chronic health problems

      • Date of birth

      • Denied entry or expelled from Hitler Youth or League of German Girls

      • Émigré

      • Family member killed during the war

      • Gender

      • Immediate family engaged in anti-regime activities

      • Mischlinge: defendant had partial Jewish ancestry

      • Parents alive

      • Place of birth

      • Place of residence

      • Served in WWI

      • Served in WWII

      • Spent time outside the Reich in a private capacity

      2.1.2 Characteristics of Charges and Trial

      Charges

      • Major High Treason: Crimes Abroad

      • Major High Treason: Foreign Broadcasts

      • Major High Treason: Illegal Organisation

      • Major High Treason: Illegal Writings

      • Major High Treason: Separatism

      • Major High Treason: Subversion of Police or Armed Forces

      • Major High Treason: Undermining the Fighting Spirit of the German Armed Forces

      • Major High Treason: Violence Against Hitler

      • Minor High Treason: Aiding and Abetting

      • Minor High Treason: Conspiracy to Commit High Treason

      • Minor High Treason: Failure to Report

      • Treason

      General

      • Case Number

      • Co-defendant/s cooperated with the authorities during the investigation and/or trial

      • Date of arrest

      • Date of indictment

      • Defendant cooperated with the authorities during the investigation and/or trial

      • Group resistance

      • Juvenile co-defendants

      • Juvenile defendants

      • Number of defendants

      • Senate number

      • Violent resistance

      Location of Crime (Altreich)

      • Baden-Wuerttemberg

      • Bavaria North West

      • Bavaria South East

      • Brandenburg (Berlin)

      • Brandenburg II

      • Crime committed in a German region

      • East Prussia

      • Hessen

      • Lower Saxony and Bremen

      • Pomerania-Mecklenburg

      • Rhineland North

      • Rhineland South

      • Saarland

      • Saxony

      • Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia

      • Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg

      • Silesia

      • Westphalia

      Location of Crime (Austria)

      • Burgenland

      • Carinthia

      • Lower Austria

      • Salzburg

      • Styria

      • Tyrol

      • Upper Austria

      • Vienna

      • Vorarlberg

      Location of Crime (Outside Territories)

      • Belgium

      • Czechoslovakia

      • Denmark

      • France

      • Luxembourg

      • Netherlands

      • Norway

      • Poland

      • South and South Eastern Europe: Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Romania and Yugoslavia

      • USSR: includes Baltic States

      2.1.3 Verdict and Sentencing

      Convictions

      • Date of sentencing

      • Major High Treason: Crimes Abroad

      • Major High Treason: Foreign Broadcasts

      • Major High Treason: Illegal Organisation

      • Major High Treason: Illegal Writings

      • Major High Treason: Separatism

      • Major High Treason: Subversion of Police or Armed Forces

      • Major High Treason: Undermining the Fighting Spirit of the German Armed Forces

      • Major High Treason: Violence Against Hitler

      • Minor High Treason: Aiding and Abetting

      • Minor High Treason: Conspiracy to Commit High Treason

      • Minor High Treason: Failure to Report

      • Treason

      • Violent Crime

      President of People’s Court

      • Bruner

      • Freisler

      • Haffner

      • Rehn

      • Thierack

      Presiding Judge

      • Albrecht

      • Bruner

      • Bünger

      • Coenders

      • Coninx

      • Crohne

      • Diescher

      • Diester

      • Doorberg

      • Driver

      • Engert

      • Fikeis

      • Freisler

      • Granzow

      • Greulich

      • Groβpietsch

      • Hartmann

      • Illner

      • Jenne

      • Köhler

      • Lämmle

      • Linz

      • Löhmann

      • Makart

      • Mengelkoch

      • Merten

      • Müller

      • Niethammer

      • Pietsch

      • Presiding Judge a member of the Nazi Party

      • Presiding Judge an old party comrade (Alte Kämpfer)

      • Preussner

      • Rehn

      • Rheinisch

      • Schaad

      • Schauwecker

      • Springmann

      • Stier

      • Thierack

      • Zieger

      Sanction

      • Acquitted/dismissed

      • Death

      • Penitentiary

      • Prison

      • Term of imprisonment

      2.1.4 Resistance Groups

      Austrian

      • Across Party Lines

      • Armed Resistance/Partisans

      • Austrian Communist Help Organisation

      • Austrian Trotskyists

      • Catholic/Conservative/Legitimists

      • Communist Party of Austria

      • Other Socialist

      • Revolutionary Socialists of Austria

      • Social Democratic Party of Austria

      • Viennese Mischlingsliga

      • Youth

      German

      • Anarchist

      • Black Front

      • Buendische Youth

      • Catholic

      • Communist Help

      • Communist Party of Germany

      • Communist Party of Germany (Opposition)

      • Émigré

      • Leipzig Meuten

      • National Conservative

      • Other Communist Splinter

      • Other Socialist

      • Separatist

      • Social Democratic Party of Germany

      • Socialist Workers Party of Germany

      • Trade Union

      • Trotsky

      • White Rose

      • Youth

      • 20 July

      2.1.5 Environmental Factors

      Membership of Organisations (Austrian)

      • Austrian Nazi

      • Christian Social

      • Communist

      • Fatherland Front

      • Groups dedicated to protecting the Austrian Republic

      • Home Guard

      • Legitimist

      • National Conservative

      • Pan-German Nationalist

      • Social Democrat

      Membership of Organisations (German)

      • Anarchist

      • Black Front

      • Centre Party

      • Communist

      • Free Corps or Association of Front Soldiers

      • German Nazi

      • Groups dedicated to protecting the Weimar Republic

      • Hiking

      • National Conservative

      • Non-Political and Non-Religious

      • SA or SS

      • Social Democrat

      • Socialist

      • Trade Union

      • Trotskyist

      • Youth Street Gang

      Religion

      • Catholic

      • Evangelical

      • Mormon

      • Religious Convictions

      2.1.6 Historical Influences

      Arrest Date

      • Weimar Period (up to 4 March 1933)

      • 5 March 1933 to 14 July 1933

      • 15 July 1933 to 2 May 1934

      • 1 September 1939 to 8 May 1945

      • Barbarossa to Stalingrad (22 June 1941 to 2 February 1943)

      • Stalingrad to D-Day (3 February 1943 to 6 June 1944)

      • Post D-Day (7 June 1944–)

      Sentencing Date

      • Weimar Period (up to 4 March 1933)

      • 5 March 1933 to 14 July 1933

      • 15 July 1933 to 2 May 1934

      • 1 September 1939 to 8 May 1945

      • Barbarossa to Stalingrad (22 June 1941 to 2 February 1943)

      • Stalingrad to D-Day (3 February 1943 to 6 June 1944)

      • Post D-Day (7 June 1944–)

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      © 2017 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

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      Cite this chapter

      Geerling, W., Magee, G. (2017). Sources. In: Quantifying Resistance. Studies in Economic History. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-6008-3_2

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      • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-6008-3_2

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      • Print ISBN: 978-981-10-6007-6

      • Online ISBN: 978-981-10-6008-3

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