The Athens Uprising
While the regular United States military surrendered to the Nazis after the atomic bombing of Washington, many regular civilians, including former GIs, chose to fight back. One rebellious city was Athens in the state of Tennessee. Before the war, the town had a vibrant gun culture and it was as American as any other town. Now, both would be put to the test.
The GIs took leadership in the rebellion and raised the American flag on their headquarters in the old McMinn County Jail. They led the town in a chorus of 'The Battle Hymn of the Republic', a ironic song for the Southern locality, but after the Nazi occupation, the North/South divide didn't exist anymore.
When the Germans, including the collaborationist mayor and sheriff, appeared in the city to disarm the populace on the 1st of August 1946, the rebels opened fire. The fighting was vicious, with the rebels using Molotov cocktails against the invaders. The Germans were temporarily driven out and the mayor and sherrif were both hanged as traitors.
However, the next day, the Germans returned with flamethrower units and a Tiger tank. The city was also bombed from the air by the Luftwaffe. The rebels were completely outgunned and most fled the city. Afterwards, Athens was obliterated by German demolition teams and erased from all maps. A concentration camp would be built where it once stood.
A similar uprising in nearby Etowah was similarly crushed.
The rebel headquarters, with the American flag prominently displayed.
Locals prepare to fight the Nazis
BASED ON
en.wikipedia.org