Across the whole of Nazi-ruled Europe, the experience of occupation was sharply varied. Some countries, such as Denmark, were allowed to run themselves within tight limits. Others, such as France, were constrained not only by military occupation but by open collaboration.

In a historical moment when Nazi victory seemed permanent and irreversible, the question ‘why resist?’ was therefore augmented by ‘who was the enemy?’.

Halik Kochanski delivers an extraordinarily powerful, humane and haunting account of how and why all across Nazi-occupied Europe some people decided to resist the Third Reich. This could range from open partisan warfare in the occupied Soviet Union to dangerous acts of insurrection in the Netherlands or Norway. Some of these resistance movements were entirely home-grown, others supported by the Allies.

Filled with powerful and often little-known stories, this is a fascinating examination of the convoluted challenges faced by those prepared to resist the Germans, ordinary people who carried out exceptional acts of defiance.