Here is part 4 of 25 Interesting Facts About World War 2. For other parts, click these links: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.
1-5 Interesting Facts About World War 2
1. During World War II, President Dwight D. Einsenhower predicted that people would try to deny the holocaust ever happened, and therefore ordered people to take as much photographs of the Nazi crimes as possible in order to avoid such attempts. – Source
2. During World War 2 because of food shortage and post-war factors, The Shiba Inu nearly became extinct. All Shiba Inu dogs today are bred from the only three surviving bloodlines. – Source
3. World War II broke out before the VW Bug could go into production, so the Germans used Volkswagen parts to produce the Volkswagen Kübelwagen and the “Schwimmwagen” instead. The Schwimmwagen was basically an amphibious military version of the Beetle, and over 14,000 of them fought in WW2. – Source
4. In World War II, during the invasion of the Netherlands, Princess Juliana and Prince Bernhard evacuated to Canada. When Princess Juliana’s child was born, the Governor General of Canada declared the Princess’ quarters extraterritorial so that the newborn was eligible for the line of succession. – Source
5. Around 20 million Chinese civilians died in World War 2. – Source
6-10 Interesting Facts About World War 2
6. David Niven was the only British star in Hollywood to enlist during World War 2. When suspicious American guards asked during the Battle of the Bulge who had won the World Series in 1943, he answered “Haven’t the foggiest idea … but I did co-star with Ginger Rogers in ‘Bachelor Mother’!” – Source
7. Ben L. Salomon was A dentist in the US Army who during World War 2 was shot 24 times while defending an aid station from the Japanese. Although he killed up to 98 attackers, allowing the wounded to be evacuated, his Medal of Honor was delayed because medical officers were not supposed to bear arms against the enemy. – Source
8. Modern U.S swinging started during World War 2 amongst fighter pilots who shared wives as a bonding ritual, with a tacit understanding that the 2/3 of husbands who survived would look after the widows. – Source
9. Over 20,000 Americans service members deserted during World War 2. Pvt Eddie Slovik was executed to serve an example to others, the only service member executed for desertion since the Civil War to this day. – Source
10. London only reached its pre-World War 2 population level in January 2015. – Source
11-15 Interesting Facts About World War 2
11. The iconic ‘scream’ made by World War 2 dive bombers is produced by two separate acoustic devices mounted to the wings, known as a ‘Jericho Trumpet(s)’ and serve no purpose beyond intimidation. – Source
12. Producers for Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory had a hard time finding enough little people for the role of Oompa Loompas because the Nazis killed so many of them in WW2. – Source
13. During World War 2, Nazis rigged skewed-hanging-pictures with explosives in buildings that would be prime candidates for Allies to set up a command post from. When Ally officers would set up a command post, they tended to straighten the pictures, triggering these “anti-officer crooked picture bombs.” – Source
14. During World War 2, US code breakers could not decipher the Japanese code “AF” but suspected it was Midway, so the base there sent an uncoded message about a water supply problem. The US then caught a Japanese message that AF had water problems, allowing the US pacific fleet to immediately prepare for battle. – Source
15. Kyoto was originally at the top of the atomic bomb target list during WW2, but was personally removed by U.S. Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson. He had previously been to Kyoto on his honeymoon. – Source
16-20 Interesting Facts About World War 2
16. After World War 2 cuttings from Washington DC’s cherry trees originally a gift from Japan were sent back to Japan to restore the Tokyo collection decimated by US bombing during the war. – Source
17. During World War 2, allied forces sunk three ships carrying concentration camp survivors by accident, killing around 10,000 survivors. – Source
18. Hitler’s plan for Moscow after capturing it during WW2 was to kill all its residents and replace it with a lake. – Source
19. Around 20% of Poland’s population died in World War 2, the highest percentage of any nation. – Source
20. The township of Thierville, France suffered no losses in country’s last five wars: WW1, the Franco-Prussian War, WW2, the First Indochina War, and the Algerian War. All the soldiers who took part in these wars returned home. – Source
21-25 Interesting Facts About World War 2
21. Stanisława Leszczyńska was a polish midwife who was incarcerated at Auschwitz during World War 2. Leszczyńska was advised to euthanize the newborns she delivered. She did not comply, did not kill a single child, and delivered over 3,000 children. – Source
22. Germans accidentally bombed themselves during the onset of World War 2 and then used propaganda to blame the French and British while threatening five-fold retaliation. – Source
23. In 1943, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Philadelphia Eagles merged into one team known as the “Steagles” because of depleted rosters during World War 2. – Source
24. By the end of World War 2, 1.6 million Canadians (total population 11 million) had served in the military. Canada also had the fourth-largest air force and fifth-largest naval surface fleet in the world. – Source
25. Nazis exterminated approximately 3,500,000 Soviet Prisoners of War during World War 2, classifying them as ‘sub human.’ – Source
