Organized resistance means that people joined together to fight the Nazi system. Resistance groups existed in various political camps. Despite different world views, they were united by the will to end the Nazi terror.

The largest resistance group in Vienna was the Communist resistance. Its members were often former social democrats looking for a new political home. The goal of the Communist Party of Austria (KPÖ) was the restoration of the democratic republic. To this end, activists organized themselves in so-called cells, collected donations to support prisoners or distributed leaflets. 90% of all illegal printed works came from them. They are similar to the KPÖ leaflet seen above - it was distributed by activists in 1938 and called on readers to join the resistance. By 1943, the Gestapo had uncovered most of the groups and arrested over 6,000 communist resistance fighters. They did not succeed in overthrowing the Nazi regime. Nevertheless their stories are evidence that some few people on Austria actively opposed Nazi injustice.

People with Jewish family backgrounds also fought in their ranks. Even if they first and foremost felt to be communists rather than Jews – this was Jewish resistance, too.