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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1answer
79 views
What kind of wood was the standard decking for Aircraft Carriers in World War 2?
I know that both Japan and the United States used wooden decks on their WWII Aircraft Carriers. Was there a specific, "ideal" standard type of wood that was utilized by either country? If so, what ...
4
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1answer
209 views
Was “Death Traps” by Belton Y. Cooper historically accurate?
Was the WW2 memoir "Death Traps" by Belton Cooper historically accurate?
34
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8answers
3k views
Why didn't Imperial Japan attack the Soviet Union during World War 2?
Japan and the Soviet Union shared a common border in Manchuria and the German invasion of the Soviet Union weakened the Soviets greatly. In view of the advantages to Japan in seeing the Soviet Union ...
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2answers
232 views
What explanations have been given as to why the Jews were not killed in Italy?
Jews were mass murdered in Germany during World War II. Why did the same thing not happen in Italy?
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5answers
572 views
Were there any war movies made during WW2 that were well regarded by front-line American soldiers?
I've read in a few places that American soldiers during WWII (meaning men who had actually seen combat, not rear echelon troops) preferred light comedy or romance movies to the sanitized propaganda in ...
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2answers
94 views
What was the civil weapons legislation under Hitler?
Was possession of weapons prohibited, encouraged, allowed to members of some organizations, or what?
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1answer
58 views
How were the British and French Mandates in the Levantine area involved in WWII?
We all know the role of Egypt as a British protectorate at the time in WWII and the many battles fought in there. My question is, what is the role of the other British and French possessions in the ...
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1answer
108 views
Was Edward VIII of England forced to abdicate?
I wonder whether Edward VIII was forced to abdicate due to his pro-Nazi views or his romance with Wallis Simpson?
I know that some politicians urged him to abdicate but was there something more ...
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1answer
316 views
Military brothels in WW2
Did any of the other belligerents of WW2 besides Japan and Germany provide their troops with authorised military brothels?
3
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1answer
553 views
Difference between V-5 and V-12 Navy programs during WWII
I was curious if there was a difference between the V-5 and V-12 Navy programs during World War II. I have found a lot of information on V-12 program specifically ...
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6answers
1k views
Why wasn't the Republic of Ireland invaded (by either side) in WW2?
Ireland was neutral in WW2, however it was never invaded (by either side). How come? Why wasn't Ireland invaded by the UK to prevent the Germans invading? Why didn't germany invade ireland? It would ...
7
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1answer
107 views
What were the military justifications for the bombing of Dresden?
I have seen an assertion that Dresden was the only major German city no to put up a protracted resistance to the Soviet Army. The person who asserted this declined to provide references; I still do ...
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5answers
913 views
What was the purpose of Nazi extermination camps?
Why did they spend money and effort to build the infrastructure and organization, collect, transport and house the prisoners while execution on the spot would presumably be easier and less costly? I'm ...
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2answers
668 views
Did Joseph Stalin kill anyone personally?
I read "Stalin: Triumph and tragedy" by Dmitri Volkogonov and (I believe) it said that Stalin didn't kill anyone with his own hands. He signed a lot of "death list", but those are just pieces of ...
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1answer
98 views
What was the reason for the Nazis to support various ethnic minorities over the majority populations? [closed]
What was the reason for the Nazis to support certain ethnic minorities over the majority populations in the conquered territories?
For example, they supported Crimean Tatars against the majority of ...
10
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1answer
295 views
How frequently were homing pigeons used in the World Wars?
It seems that the strategic weight of specially breeded pigeons is much higher than I thought at first, based on the number of pigeons used and the effort to stop them. (In WW2 Germans even trained ...
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15answers
4k views
Why did Hitler attack the Soviet Union when he was still busy fighting the United Kingdom?
This has always bothered me. Everyone knows that having to fight on two opposite fronts at once is bad... and it's also a well known fact that every European country which tried to invade Russia has ...
7
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3answers
233 views
Which city was attacked by Nazi-German war flights in India during WW2?
Nazi-Germany ran a bombing raid over India, in WW2. Which city was bombed, and what effect did it have? i.e how many casualties, or was transport closed down.
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4answers
608 views
About the reasons for the US involvement in WW2 in Europe
From this question: World War II - Have Historians Envisioned How The Axis Powers Might Have Won? I understand that it is unlikely that Germany with its allies could have won WW2 even if they had ...
7
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1answer
160 views
How was beer production affected by the war during WW2?
How did the war affect beer production during World War II? This is a follow-up question to this question at Seasoned Advice, which is gathering interesting food-science answers but which are are ...
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0answers
108 views
Did the US destroy all equipment returned after the war from the USSR? [closed]
According the land lease terms all the equipment shipped to the USSR during WWII had to be returned to the US after the war if not lost in fighting.
But according to some memoirs of Russian sailors, ...
3
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1answer
159 views
Is there a written history on the Sonderkommando Elbe?
I was watching a program called Dogfights where they were talking about the Sonderkommando Elbe and their tactic of ramming Messerschmitt Bf 109's into American bombers is a sort of suicide attack. ...
7
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1answer
176 views
How did diplomats of the Axis powers travel and communicate among themselves in World War II
In World War II, Japan and the European Axis powers had to communicate over strategy and other things. Also, their diplomats must have had to go to their own countries sometimes. After the USSR ...
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2answers
207 views
Was “Blitzkrieg” at least partly intended for trapping the Jews?
I encountered a point of view that the German tactic of "Blitzkrieg", besides purely military purpose to achieve victory as quick as possible, was in fact designed to trap the Jews so that they could ...
6
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1answer
209 views
Why did Operation Market Garden go ahead when the allies knew German armor was in the area?
Montgomery's ill-fated operation to capture the Rhine crossing at Arnhem was ingenious but fatally flawed. Evidence suggests that the Allies knew there were German armoured units in the town a few ...
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1answer
514 views
What is this military patch with the silhouette of a pegasus on it?
I found this patch among my grandfather's things. I know it's a military patch of some sort because it was with his war memorabilia. He served in the European theater during WWII, if that helps at ...
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5answers
944 views
Why did Britain and France not declare war against the Soviet Union when it invaded Poland in WW2?
At the beginning of WW2, although they were slow in actually attacking Germany, Britain and France did declare war against it after Germany invaded Poland. The reason for this was the treaty where ...
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2answers
271 views
Did Churchill and Roosevelt know about the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, or the following secret pacts between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union?
The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact was the non-aggression pact between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany prior to, and during WWII. It seems that the actions of the two countries after the invasion of Poland ...
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2answers
281 views
World Wars and economic crises?
I don't recall where I heard in an interview or read in an article that there is a causation between economic crises and the two world wars, is there is historical truth in that?
For the second war ...
6
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2answers
273 views
Did Japan ever pay Russia a reasonable amount of war reparation after WW2? Why or why not?
Russia had the largest number of casualties during WW2, and Russia had taken many Japanese prisoners. So, why didn't Russia receive a reparation from Japan to help boost Russia's economy after the ...
7
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1answer
193 views
How much oil was spilled by the naval combatants during WW2?
The war at sea took a huge toll during WW2. Has there been an official estimate of how much oil was spilled into the oceans during the world wide conflict?
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3answers
304 views
Rosie the Riveter and “We Can Do It!”
I have read that Rosie the Riveter is a symbol of the American woman who worked in factories instead of men during the Second World War.
She appears to be associated with the slogan “We Can Do It!” ...
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2answers
137 views
UK involvement in Yugoslavia during WW2
What was the role and the level of involvement of the United Kingdom in Yugoslavia during the World War II ?
3
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1answer
78 views
The original Lord Haw Haw's life in exile (Ireland)
I am writing a bio-graphy about my great uncle "Capt Tom Smith" who fought in WW1,WW2 and the Spanish Civil War
During recent interviews the name Norman Baillie Stewart (wiki link) keeps cropping up ...
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2answers
135 views
How is the photography printing on newpaper is possible in the WW2 era?
How is the photography printing on newpaper is possible in the WW2 era?
For example, how is the photo on the newpaper at the below link is possible especially on HD quality?
...
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2answers
354 views
Why was the US so against Japanese aggression in China but did nothing about Germany in Europe?
The US was very vocal against Japanese aggression in China in the 1930's and early 1940's but said nothing against German aggression in Europe. The US finally placed an embargo on sending oil and ...
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5answers
783 views
Why did Hitler not concentrate more on North Africa?
The Germans knew that oil would be crucial to the war and that they would likely need to capture new sources for the war effort.
The main oil-producing regions at the time that might be captured were ...
9
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1answer
131 views
What was the British version of enigma machine
At the time the Germans were using the enigma machine what were the British using to encrypt their messages and was it ever broken?
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0answers
181 views
How did Finland treat Jewish locals during WWII?
First, what facts do I know.
There was no prosecution of Jews in Finland
Jewish POWs were separated in special POW camps for Jews. They were told that Finnish people hate them and they are to be ...
8
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1answer
338 views
In WW2, which midget submarine program was the most successful?
In WW2, which midget submarine program was the most successful? I know at least Great Britain and Japan had midget submarines and used them during the course of the conflict. Which WW2 combatant had ...
4
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1answer
110 views
Was the “Mot Pulk” formation simply a propaganda ploy?
The "Mot Pulk" was a motorized formation used by the Germans during World War II.
Based on when it was introduced (after heavy defeats in the USSR) and the vague descriptions that I've found, it ...
13
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5answers
1k views
Why weren't aircraft carriers utilized during D-day?
Why were aircraft carriers not used during and following D-Day? They could have added a great deal of range to the air support operations.
6
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1answer
257 views
Why were so few Luftwaffe attacks flown against the Normandy beaches on 6 June 1944?
Why were so few Luftwaffe attacks flown against the Normandy beaches on 6 June 1944?
I understand there were roughly 200 aircraft available in France/Belgium, and yet there were only 2 aircraft that ...
3
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1answer
120 views
When did the allies start evacuating from the Dunkirk mole during the Dunkirk evacuation?
I have two dates in mind, 22 May 1940 and and 27 May 1940. It makes more sense that they started evacuating from the mole the 22 of may but I've also heard the 27 from BBC.
The 22 of May was the date ...
7
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1answer
237 views
Did any of the 50 Destroyers swapped for bases with Great Britain in 1940 sink any Axis military vessels?
In 1940 the United States traded fifty mothballed WW1 Destroyers to England in exchange for land rights in areas of the British Empire. Were any of those fifty ships credited with sinking an Axis ...
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3answers
884 views
How was occupied France governed during World War II?
During the occupation of France during World War II, how was the area governed? Specifically, were local governments still allowed and who handled normal police activities? If local Frenchmen did ...
12
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2answers
965 views
Were there any attempts to assassinate Joseph Stalin?
Were there any attempts to assassinate Stalin? I haven't learned of any attempt to kill him, was he so brutal that no one tried to kill him?
12
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1answer
209 views
Did the Germans have a team equivalent to the one from Bletchey Park in the UK during WWII?
There is a lot of information about the British code breakers at Bletchey Park and the work they did for cryptography, computing and the war effort.
Still, I haven't heard a lot about a German ...
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2answers
189 views
What Was the State of German Tank Design In Between the World Wars?
I am reading about the Spanish Civil War in a book by Antony Beevor entitled "The Battle for Spain: The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939". According to Beevor while the nationalists were able to control ...
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2answers
253 views
What was the argument for the Japanese pursuing the Northern Expansion Doctrine during WWII?
The Northern Expansion Doctrine was the idea that Japan should pursue its imperialist objectives through Siberia, which was diametrically opposed by the Southern Expansion Doctrine which was the idea ...
