The Second World War, which started in 1939 and lasted until 1945, was the period of the bloodiest events in history. What happened during this period, when the whole world came together and the concept of humanity was only mentioned as a word, of course took its place as a dark stain in history. But in addition to all the terrible events that took place during this period, some very interesting things also happened.
History is as much about coincidence as it is about repetition. Some events that took place during the Second World War also occurred as a result of such coincidences. Some of them have been misrepresented, some have been forgotten, and some have been suppressed. Let’s look at the Second World War from a slightly different perspective and see some interesting information about the events that took place during that period.
World War II facts:
- The Nazis almost won the war from where they sat.
- The last Japanese soldier laid down his arms decades after the war.
- There was a bear soldier of rank in the Polish army.
- Nearly half of the airmen died not in combat but on training flights.
- Gandhi sent letters to Hitler for peace before the war even broke out.
- M&M candies were produced specifically for the US army.
- The Nazis didn’t just commit genocide against the Jews.
The Nazis almost won the war from where they sat:
Even though they were mentally ill, it is impossible not to admire the technologies that the Nazis created during this period. One of these was the V-3 gun. The length of this large-caliber gun, the construction of which started in 1942, was exactly 130 meters. The maximum firing range was more than 165 kilometers. The Nazis designed this cannon to hit the British from their hideouts in the Pas-de-Calais region of France. Fortunately, the cannon was destroyed during a bombardment before it could be completed. If it had been used, we would be living in a completely different world today.
The last Japanese soldier laid down his arms decades after the war:
Hiroo Onoda joined the Imperial Japanese Army as a young soldier at the age of 18. After the Second World War started, he received intelligence training and was sent to Lubang Island in the Philippines as an intelligence officer in 1944. When US soldiers came to the island in 1945, Onoda and his three soldiers went to the mountain. During this period, soldiers fighting guerrilla warfare killed more than 30 Filipinos.
Even though they learned from a brochure that Japan had surrendered in 1945, they did not believe it. One of Onoda’s soldiers surrendered, while the other two died in a shootout with the police. Years had passed, but Onoda did not believe that the war was over, despite the informative messages dropped from above by plane. Finally, in 1974, his former commander came to dismiss him on the orders of the Japanese emperor. Hiroo Onoda lived in the Philippine mountains for 29 years for nothing.
There was a bear soldier in the Polish army with the rank:
Poland, part of the Soviet Union, II. Corps soldiers found a bear cub whose mother had been killed by hunters at the train station in Hamadan, Iran. This bear, which was fed milk from a vodka bottle, traveled with them to many different countries. He was enlisted as a soldier so that his supplies would be covered by the army. When the corps arrived in Italy he helped transport ammunition boxes and was given the rank of corporal for his contributions. This bear, which they named Wojtek, became famous in the country with the visits of many generals and statesmen. After the war, he was released to Edinburgh Zoo in Scotland, where he spent his life peacefully.
Almost half of the airmen died not in combat but on training flights:
The aircraft used during World War II were not always technically equipped. Even if the planes were solid, the number of pilots was very few. For this reason, hundreds of thousands of young soldiers were taken to training flights, but unfortunately, some of these soldiers could not even land on the ground, let alone participate in the war. More than 52 thousand known airmen lost their lives during World War II. Nearly 26 thousand of them lost their lives during training flights. More interestingly, approximately 15 thousand of the airmen who died in training were US army soldiers.
Gandhi sent letters to Hitler for peace before the war even broke out:
Mahatma Gandhi, the spiritual leader of the Indian independence movement, correctly interpreted the turmoil in Europe because he was educated in London and understood that a war would break out at any moment. For this reason, he had a secret meeting with the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini for the first time on December 12, 1931, of which only evidence remains today.
As the years passed and he saw that Europe was getting worse, Gandhi realized that the only solution was to meet with German dictator Adolf Hitler and wrote two letters to him, one dated 1939 and the other 1940. Addressing Hitler as “My dear friend” in these letters, Gandhi told him that he was the only person who could stop the world war. However, none of these letters sent from India, which was a British colony at the time, could even leave the country, let alone reach Hitler.
M&M candies were produced specifically for the US army:
M&M, one of the most famous candy brands in the world that we all know today, emerged when the owner of the manufacturer Mars company met the British who ate sugar-coated chocolates during the Spanish Civil War. When the Second World War began and there was a shortage of sugar and chocolate, he put this idea he had seen before into production and introduced these chocolates to the market, which lasted much longer because they were sugar-coated. In fact, it would not be correct to say that they put it on the market, because throughout the war, all products were sent to US soldiers fighting on the front and even sales were prohibited to civilians, excluding black market sales.
The Nazis didn’t just commit genocide against the Jews:
According to Adolf Hitler’s Nazism policy, the number one reason why Germany fell into this situation was the Jews, and therefore the Jews were seen as the first target to be destroyed. But things were not as simple as they thought and they had countless Soviet prisoners in their hands. In addition, there were Roma people, whom they saw as a sub-race, and disabled people who disrupted the pure race. Although it is not certain, close to 18 million people killed by the Nazis were as follows:
- 6 million Jews
- 5.7 million Soviet civilians
- 3 million Soviet prisoners of war
- 1.8 million Polish civilians
- 500 thousand Roma
- 300 thousand Serbian civilians
- 250 thousand disabled people
We talked about interesting information, some of which you heard for the first time, about the events that took place during the Second World War, which was the bloodiest event in history. As important as knowing history is, it is also important to learn from it and not repeat these mistakes again.
If you would like to review other content about the Second World War:
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