From 1939 to 1945, the world was literally at war. World War II or also known as The Second World War, had almost every country in the world at war. The countries were separated into two groups; Axis Powers and The Allies. Axis Powers consisted of main countries such as Germany, Italy, and Japan. While France, Great Britain, U.S, the Soviet Union, and China were on the Allies. This was also the continuation of the First World War that happened 20 years before World War II.
In 1939, German dictator Adolf Hitler wanted to occupy Poland – and with sheer determination, it primarily initiated the war. The French and British military had Poland’s back and were ready to support them head-on. When Hitler decided to continue with the invasion, he simply ignored the diplomatic efforts made to prevent him from the invasion. That’s why on August 31, 1939, Hitler ordered Nazi soldiers to be hostile against Poland. Great Britain and France then declared war on September 03, 1939. That’s when the Second World Ward had officially started. With over 40,000,000 – 50,000,000 casualties on the course of the war, it makes World War II the bloodiest and largest war in history.
Strange Facts About World War II
With the war written in almost every history book, we would have brief knowledge about what happened and who was involved. But today, there are still several people who are touching this old topic and trying to uncover other mysteries or maybe conspiracies they could think of. So, before you become a conspiracy theorist yourself, here are some strange facts about World War II.
- Nazis Near Development Of Plutonium – If you’re aware of atomic bombs, it’s basically a nuclear weapon. Plutonium is an element that could actually be used to create powerful atomic bombs. Fortunately, during the World War II, the Nazi wasn’t able to fully develop and create Plutonium. A group of 11 Norwegian commandos sabotaged the plant that was trying to produce Plutonium.
- Japanese Death Ray – I know this is something straight out from a movie, but hear us out. The Japanese did pay 1 million yen to a team of scientists to create a “death ray” that could kill humans standing miles away. To be fair, the scientists did advertise that they can actually create one. They based the possible innovation on Nikola Tesla’s invention. However, they were able to create a prototype that can kill a human half a mile, but they need to be standing there for at least 10 minutes. Not so efficient, is it?
- Swastikas Meaning Before Hitler – Today, if you have a Swastika logo hanging around, you’d be flagged with different things, but mainly a Nazi. But did you know it had an entirely different meaning before Hitler took place? It was known for being “conducive to well-being or auspicious.” It also appeared to several spiritual practices before. But when Hitler got a hold of it, he just had to ruin it.
- Russian Soldiers Had More Casualties Than Every British And U.S Soldier – The Battle of Stalingrad, arguably the largest clash of World War II, took more than a handful of soldiers from the Russian company. Though Axis suffered at least 650,000 to 860,000 casualties, the Soviet Union took the largest blow, losing more than 1 million people.
- The Tallest Geman Soldier Surrendered To One Of The Shortest Allied Solider – This may seem a bit comedic, but yes, you read that right. Standing at 7’6, Jacob Nacken simply surrendered to Roberts, who was standing 5’3.
- One Battle Lasted The Entire War – The Battle of the Atlantic was arguably the longest Battle held during World War II. Why? The Battle lasted the entire World War II. That’s roughly around six years.
- Majority Of Soviet Mortality Was Not War-Related – The casualties the Soviet Union took from the war had a fact hidden beneath it. The majority of the men didn’t die in the war. Technically, the babies that were born in 1923 were not the most fortunate. The country they were born and grew up in was at its lowest point. They were literally helpless during those times.
- A Japanese That Crashed Onto The U.S Territory – When Japanese pilot Shigenori Nishikaichi crashed onto Hawaii after he bombed Pearl Harbor. The locals welcomed him with open arms. The locals had no idea what just happened, but Shigenori did take this moment as an advantage. He grabbed a guitar and sang a traditional song for the locals.
- One U.S Division Had Swastika Patches – As mentioned before, Swastika was not the icon we know it today. The truth is, the 45th Infantry Division even had patches of Swastikas sewn on their uniforms. It was a sign of good luck for them. They wore it for at least 15 years, but when Hitler and Nazis rose into power, they quickly discarded the patches and changed them to new ones.
- Friendly Fire Kills One Of The Highest-Ranking American Official – As ironic as it may sound, it’s true. Lieutenant General Lesley McNair was killed by friendly fire when he took part in Operation Quicksilver. He was promoted to General after his death and is currently the highest-ranking officer buried in the Normandy Cemetery.
The War that Created the New World
As we know it, the World Wars that took place in our world history changed and shaped the world we know today. It took a lot of things from us and also brought newer things. But one thing we can be sure of, everyone could a learn a thing or two from what happened. As the stories remain in our history books for a long time, little do we hope we can avoid such adversaries in the future.