The Nazi Era, Resistance, and the Harnacks
Germany endured dark hours as the threat loomed large. From Berlin to distant hides, people felt the danger, yet many kept silent. Mildred Harnack, born in Milwaukee in 1902, pursued a master’s degree at the University of Wisconsin before meeting German student Arvid Harnack. They soon married and moved to Germany, arriving in a country poised at the edge of upheaval. In the early 1930s, Hitler’s rise was undeniable, and Mildred witnessed a political transformation from within. Her understanding of the regime grew stronger as she read the propaganda that claimed the Nazis would deliver work, freedom, and bread to a nation in crisis. The movement’s momentum culminated in a dramatic consolidation of power by 1932 and beyond, reshaping every facet of life in Berlin and beyond.
Their path intersected with a broader historical arc: the crackdown on dissent, the suppression of books deemed heretical, and the rapid expansion of state control. In 1933, the regime intensified its suppression of intellectual freedom, and a wave of denunciations and detentions followed. Amid this climate, Mildred and Arvid began to operate in secret, forming a resistance network known to insiders as a circle—and later as the Red Orchestra, a name assigned by the Nazis to the largest anti-Nazi group in Berlin by 1940. Their efforts were marked by careful meetings, the exchange of information, and strategic collaboration with others who opposed the regime.
Their story unfolds against a backdrop of shifting political loyalties and the rise of the Nazi movement. The party’s ascent included a slow but steady gain from a fringe party to a dominant force. In the late 1920s and into the early 1930s, propaganda framed the regime as the solution to a nation in distress, promising work, bread, and a new sense of purpose. Yet beneath the surface, the Harnacks and their colleagues faced a state that actively pursued silence, censorship, and punishment for those who spoke out. The 1932 elections reflected the volatile mood of the era, with a dramatic shift in support that highlighted both the allure of national renewal and the fear of repression that followed.
The couple’s professional lives intersected with state power. Mildred faced the upheavals of 1932 when she was dismissed from her position as a translator and professor of American literature. Her political views, though controversial, aligned with a critical stance toward a government that could quickly turn hostile to dissent. A moment from student life stands out: a student asked whether Hitler should be chancellor, and the room responded with a heartfelt tribute as flowers covered a table in farewell. The following year, the regime burned thousands of books, crushing works deemed impure or anti-German. Those were the very works Mildred would later cite in class, inspiring discussions about courage, conscience, and resistance.
From late 1932 onward, Mildred and Arvid leveraged their access to documents through their roles in the Ministry of Economy and other channels to organize a covert network. They called it Circle, a resistance group that grew into the Red Orchestra by 1940, a sprawling network spanning Berlin and beyond. The Nazis, eager to snuff out dissent, resorted to denunciations and mass detentions, sending tens of thousands to concentration camps and subjecting many to brutal interrogations. The Harnacks’ clandestine work sought to share information with others who could counter the regime and aid the broader Allied effort.
Retrospective accounts tell of a life lived at the edge of danger. A young Mildred, captured in photographs from her Wisconsin days, later became a symbol of intellectual resistance. The story of her great-grandmother and the intertwining family histories reveal motives that stretched across generations, including a sense of obligation to speak up when truth was at stake. The narrative moves beyond personal sacrifice to illuminate a larger truth about courage in the face of tyranny. A family’s memory became a bridge to a broader history of collaboration and risk.
The situation grew grimmer as the war intensified. The Circle faced mounting pressure from the Gestapo, and arrests increased as the regime sought to dismantle any coordinated opposition. In Lithuania, the Harnacks were captured while attempting to flee, and harsh interrogations followed. A notorious torturer, his methods were brutal, and the testimonies surrounding these events reveal the cruelty of the period. The investigative record shows how the group endured harsh trials and how, in a few cases, sentences were adjusted under the pressure of higher authorities within the regime.
Among the charges born against the resistance were treason and acts of espionage conducted in collaboration with Allied forces. Mildred’s name became linked with a broader web of spies and informants who fed information to the Allies, sometimes through dangerous channels. After capture, trials were held, and sentences varied depending on the perceived level of involvement and the political climate of the day. The violence of the regime showed no mercy, and the fate of the Circle members reflected the harsh realities faced by those who resisted.
The tale also touches on how postwar memory framed these episodes. In the aftermath, accounts surfaced about how some escaped justice or faced altered fates as a result of shifting alliances during the Cold War. The narrative persists in public memory as a reminder of the dangers of totalitarianism and the importance of resistance, even when the costs are high. The ongoing discussion about Mildred Harnack and her compatriots continues to illuminate the complexities of moral choice in an era of brutality, reminding readers that courage often comes wrapped in quiet acts of defiance.
The Complexity of the Circle and Its Legacy
As the war drew to a close, questions about loyalty, truth, and sacrifice remained central. The Circle, once the largest anti-Nazi effort in Berlin, revealed the power and peril of organized resistance. The legacy of Mildred and Arvid Harnack endures in stories of intellectual courage, the risks taken by those who refused to bow to tyranny, and the enduring belief that knowledge and conscience can challenge even the darkest regimes. The narrative continues to inform historians and readers who seek to understand how fearless acts—and the people behind them—shaped the course of history in Germany and beyond.