Questions related to aspects of World War II (1939-1945 AD). An international conflict whose major participants were the fascist countries of Germany, Italy, and Japan engaged against the allied nations of the UK, France, USSR, and the USA. The conflict began with the German invasion of Poland and ...
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370 views
Why didn't the US choose to demolish Tokyo with an atom bomb?
Tokyo was Japan's capital. Why didn't the US choose Tokyo to demolish with Atom Bomb?
Bonus Question: What factors decided to bring Hiroshima and Nagasaki on table?
3
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1answer
65 views
The role of the two world wars in the evolution of Fordism
What is the role of the two world wars in the evolution of Fordism ?
I've read that Fordism entered Europe due to the WW I, but I've also read that the Fordism began to be effective after the WW II. ...
0
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1answer
49 views
The effects of war on the workforce
It seems to me that a war have two opposite effects on the post-war workforce :
it decreases the active population because of the deaths
it increases the active population by mobilizing women (who ...
2
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2answers
77 views
Parable of the broken window and 1929 crisis
I've read that, in 1938, economic crisis was taking back, and that it's the war effort that finally closed the 1929 crisis.
Is it not a version of the parable of the broken window ? How a war effort ...
0
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4answers
64 views
What other pairs of wars have had a ~25 year interval?
The I and II world wars are 25 years apart, which is within the length of one generation. This is interesting, because it creates a premise for an entire part of a generation to be both without ...
10
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1answer
178 views
Did the United States have a third atomic bomb to drop on Japan?
On 15 August, six days after the bombing of Nagasaki, Japan announced its surrender to the United States, signing the instrument of surrender on 2 September, officially ending the war.
The question ...
5
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0answers
91 views
What was the Nature of Resistance in 1938 Czechoslovakia?
I wonder if someone might help me. I'm writing a novel. My protagonist is a dual national (English born, German parents) bio chemist contracted to work for Freiburg University 1938. At the time ...
6
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2answers
303 views
Why was Switzerland not attacked during the two World Wars?
Why in WW1 or WW2 or ever nobody invaded Switzerland? All other countries was in some wars. How Switzerland do it and should we learn from them?
I hear that many people with power have money in swiss ...
6
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1answer
105 views
Did American policymakers seriously consider scaling down Lend Lease Aid to the Soviet Union after the battle of Kursk?
In 1941, Senator (and future President) Harry Truman famously said, "If we see that Germany is winning the war, we ought to help Russia; and if that Russia is winning, we ought to help Germany." ...
9
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1answer
116 views
What role did Lucky Luciano play in faciliting South Europe invasion?
On the night of July 9, 1943, 160,000 Allied troops landed on the extreme southwestern shore of Sicily. After securing a beachhead, Gen. George Patton's U.S. Seventh Army launched an offensive into ...
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0answers
54 views
Was Horst Tappert a member of the SS?
According to Spiegel Online sociologist Jörg Becker uncovered a document showing Tappert - 1, 2 - had been a member of the SS, whereas Jan Erik Schulte, an expert on the history of the SS, says ...
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0answers
116 views
Is Wikidpedia's article on Odette Hallowes accurate? [closed]
An article in the Telegraph states that Odette Hallowes
was almost deprived of her George Cross because she could not prove she had been tortured by the Nazis or that she had refused to betray ...
6
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2answers
101 views
Why was Johannes Blaskowitz indicted at the Nuremberg High Command Trial
Johannes Blaskowitz was a German General during WW2. He committed suicide in 1948 while being tried as a war criminal.
His action during the polish offensive seem rather counter to this, to quote ...
6
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0answers
58 views
How successful were Einsatzkommando Tunis and how much was Rommel complicit?
This Einsatzkommando was headed by SS officer Walter Rauff and according to his wikipedia article it had great effect on the local Jewish population. An example is given, a quote from a German TV ...
7
votes
2answers
148 views
What were Rommel's views on the Nazi crimes?
Erwin Rommel is often portrayed as the chivalrous Nazi. I've read on the internet that he once proposed to Hitler that a Jew be appointed a Nazi official, but I'm not able to verify that. What were ...
3
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1answer
71 views
Did the Germans lose the U-Boat war in World war II because of a shortage of quality, rather than quantity?
In the "Battle of the Atlantic," the Germans lost almost 800 of their 1200 submarines (nearly two-thirds) sinking 3,500 Allied merchant ships and 175 warships. ...
10
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2answers
139 views
Could The Soviet Union have continued fighting World War II without Caucasus oil?
In 1942, Germany's Fall Blau was initially aimed at capturing or interdicting shipments of oil from the Caucasus to the rest of the Soviet Union. Even though armies were diverted to Stalingrad and ...
5
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1answer
95 views
GDP per capita during WWII?
Perhaps this is difficult to measure and maybe not even a good metric for anything meaningful, but what was the GDP and GDP/capita for nations around the world immediately before World War II? ...
5
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0answers
165 views
Did Hitler not intend a major war while invading Poland?
A J P Taylor in his book "The Origins of the Second World War" writes,
"Hitler never intended a major war and at most was prepared for only a
limited war against Poland."
"In 1938-39, the ...
8
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3answers
187 views
Did Heisenberg undermine the German atomic bomb by deliberately hiding his expertise from the Nazis?
Source.
In his massive book Heisenberg's War: The Secret History of the German Bomb, Thomas Powers says that Heisenberg, who never became a Nazi and balked at the immorality of building a bomb for ...
2
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5answers
233 views
Can we classify holocaust as Hitler's war time strategic mistake?
Can we classify the Holocaust as one of Hitler's war time strategic mistake?
15
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2answers
94 views
+50
How popular was Mozart in France before WWII and after it?
Another intriguing statement by Robert Paxton:
I was surprised myself to learn that Mozart had been little played in
France before 1940, and that his prominence since 1945 in the French
...
6
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2answers
76 views
Total budget of Nuremberg trial
I am trying to estimate the total budget of the Nuremberg War Criminal trial. Any help with reference, please?
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2answers
124 views
Have historians envisioned how World II would have developed without Churchill as Prime Minister of Britain?
The question isn't about what would have happened in that event. It is: Have one or more recognized historians delved into this question (of what would have happened if Britain had surrendered to or ...
4
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2answers
132 views
Was there more than one way for anti-aircraft fire to shoot down a dive bomber in World War II
I read somewhere that there were two "best" times for anti-aircraft to shoot down a dive bomber (of World War II vintage). One was when the plane was going into the dive. The other was when the plane ...
3
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3answers
142 views
Does Japan have the right to have its own army or navy?
After WW2 as I know Japan capitulated and was disarmed. And as I know Japan was not able to have its own army, and its boundary should be protected by the United States. So, does Japan have the right ...
3
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1answer
78 views
Were some Yugoslav “nationalities” more pro-Axis/Allied than others during World War II
"Yugo" (South) slavia, is actually a motley collection (mixed bag in the American idiom) of groups such as the Serbs, Croats, Slovenes, Dalmations, Macedonians, Bosnians, and others.
During World War ...
5
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2answers
235 views
Could you help me identify this photograph that was taken shortly after World War 2?
Could you help me identify this photograph?
All I know is that it was taken shortly after World War 2.
7
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2answers
127 views
Did the poor performance of the Red Army in the Winter War significantly contribute to German underestimation of the USSR's military capacity?
Wikipedia says in the article on the Winter War:
Perhaps more importantly, the very poor performance of the Red Army
encouraged Hitler to think that an attack on the Soviet Union would be
...
10
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2answers
280 views
Why were there no Internment camps for German-American Citizens in USA during WW2?
I am certainly aware of Japanese-americans being detained in Internment camps , after the attack on Pearl Harbor , and subsequent declaration of war on United States , by the empire of Japan.
About ...
15
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3answers
885 views
How was the United States able to produce excellent tanks in 1942?
Most military histories of the war in North Africa, and especially those produced from a British point-of-view, emphasise the greenness of the American troops which landed there in 1942. There is a ...
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0answers
26 views
Was Ley ever married to Rudolf Hess's sister?
A book I am reading claims that Robert Ley was married to a Margarita Hess, Rudolf's sister. But I am finding it surprisingly hard to find an independent confirmation of this fact - or even to find ...
2
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0answers
47 views
How did Churchill and Stalin intend to translate the percentages in the “Percentages agreement”?
In "percentages agreement", Stalin and Churchill allegedly divided Southeastern Europe to sphere of influences of the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union. According to Churchill's account quoted by ...
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2answers
150 views
Plans to depose, disgrace, or assassinate Hitler
Have there come to light any plans either by the allied forces or those within the Third Reich to depose/disgrace/assassinate Hitler himself, rather than just plans to crush his forces?
8
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4answers
285 views
Why did the Germans fall behind the Americans in the development of the atomic bomb after an initial lead?
I actually know certain facts about this matter, but am seeking guidance in interpreting these facts into "theories."
1) Theory 1, Economic: The Americans spent something like $2 billion (in money of ...
0
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1answer
60 views
What caused Yugoslavia to switch sides early in World War II?
In 1940,-41 Germany was able to enlist the support of Roumania, Hungary (the latter at the expense of the former), and Bulgaria, in the Balkans. Yugoslavia initially signed on with Germany, then soon ...
5
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0answers
71 views
What role did the Ancient Samurai heritage play on Modern Japan during WW2?
Some of the policies adopted by the WW2 japanese army , seem to be along the lines of the ancient samurai code of Bushido. Policies such as extreme loyalty to the emperor , honor unto death and ...
6
votes
1answer
102 views
WWII boat-looking bus
What was the purpose of this WWII boat-looking bus?
Description says:
Royal Navy officers 'aboard' 'HMS SPURIOUS MARK II' - a bus converted to resemble the island of an aircraft carrier. The ...
4
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1answer
73 views
Did the Germans use a “Verdun”-like strategy at Stalingrad?
In February 1916, the Germans might have captured the fortress of Verdun (France), quickly through an all-out assault. Instead, the German General Falkenhayn initially elected to make an artillery ...
2
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1answer
141 views
How historically accurate Life is Beautiful is when it comes to Jewish extermination?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_Is_Beautiful
It is portrayed, in the movie, how that protagonist jew is sent to extermination camp in Italy.
I thought jews in Italy are not usually sent to ...
8
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2answers
178 views
Were there any successful attempts by the Allies to “turn” groups of Axis soldiers?
Toward the end of World War II, Germany had to utilize non-German soldiers, some of them from occupied countries like Poland and the Ukraine. At places like Omaha Beach, Normandy, individual Poles ...
6
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2answers
217 views
Has any other book in history been as “prescriptive” as Mein Kampf?
Hitler's signature work, "Mein Kampf," was written while he was in prison (!), following the failure of his so-called "Beer Hall Putsch" in Munich in 1923.
In the book, he laid out in excruciating ...
5
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1answer
142 views
Was the battle of Stalingrad “unique” in the annals of history?
I'm referring to the fact that BOTH sides ordered their troops to fight for the city "to the last man and last round." (Hitler). The Soviet Union's General Vasili Chuikov echoed this by saying "We ...
3
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3answers
193 views
Is this true that the Soviet Army soldiers had no helmets in the beginning of WW2?
Is this true that the Soviet Army was so poorly equipped by the WW2 that soldiers had no helmets?
6
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1answer
63 views
where can I find digitised versions of Japanese war documents in original Japanese?
I was wondering where can I find digitised versions of Japanese war documents in original Japanese?
I can read Japanese but I cannot seem to find any primary sources that relate to the Japanese army ...
2
votes
2answers
111 views
Was India's independence inevitable after Cripps Mission?
In 1942, the British government had sent Sir Stafford Cripps to negotiate with the Congress. According to most sources (though this was not made public at that time), the Cripps Mission had proposed ...
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1answer
68 views
Was it impossible for the Germans to arrange a plane to East Asia for Subhas Bose?
Bose's journey from Germany to Singapore by submarine was a well-remarked incident of World War II history. But what was the need for the Germans or the Italians to use a submarine to transfer a ...
3
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3answers
163 views
Was the death toll in the atomic bombing of Japanese territory greater than was expected by the US?
It is known that the US tried to justify their atomic bombing of Japanese cities by claiming they were aimed at military targets such as a plant and a bridge. Yet the bombs destroyed much more than ...
6
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1answer
197 views
Did Erwin König Exist?
Erwin König Was a sniper supposedly killed by Vasily Zaytsev in the Battle of Stalingrad. The diary of Vasily Zaytsev mentions killing Erwin Konig, and there is a sniper scope in Russia, but there is ...
11
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2answers
105 views
percentage of British and American troops involved in direct combat with enemy in World War II
How large a proportion of British and American troops were involved in direct combat with the enemy in World War II? What was the casualty rate among those men?
