Questions tagged [world-war-two]
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, China, the USSR, and the USA. The conflict began with the German invasion of Poland and formally ended with the American victory over Japan.
1,618
questions
11
votes
1
answer
2k
views
In which town of Europe (Germany ?) were this 2 photos taken during WWII?
These two photographs have been in my family for many years.
I am almost sure they were taken during WWII, most probably in Germany. I have no idea by whom.
No information at the back of the ...
0
votes
0
answers
147
views
Did Yakuza attack US soldiers post-WWII?
According to this link Did any Yakuza fight for Japan during WWII? on Quora, a poster said "The Yakuza in post WW2 Japan formed groups that killed US occupying soldiers that they found abusing or ...
- 109
5
votes
2
answers
320
views
Did the situation described in Imitation Game ever happen?
In the movie Imitation Game, there is a scene where a message is decrypted. In this message, a German submarine says he's going to attack a ship: the decoders decide not to warn the ship because they ...
- 6,794
-1
votes
0
answers
63
views
Is there a history of Canadian soldiers in Northern Ireland during WW2?
I can’t find any history of Canadian Soldiers being in Northern Ireland during WW2, yet my Canadian father married my Irish mum in Belfast in Dec 1943. My Dad died in 1965 when I was 13, now at the ...
- 21
7
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Why did the Fallschirmjäger have such terrible parachutes?
German Fallschirmjäger had pretty bad parachutes. They used the RZ rig which has the parachutist hanging, dangling actually, from his back on one line. It was dangerous to use, and prevented the man ...
- 22.5k
7
votes
1
answer
2k
views
How did Oswald Mosley escape treason charges?
Oswald was a Nazi sympathizer that went to the Berghof and met Hitler and Eva Braun. Germany was a country that Britain had open hostilities against. Oswald
fraternized with the enemy.
Being what it ...
- 483
19
votes
2
answers
5k
views
Did US troops insist on segregation in British pubs?
Can anyone refresh my memory on this? Wikipedia is no help, as I cannot remember the name of the incident, and any search terms would be too wide.
I understand it involved attempts by USA troops to ...
- 8,091
3
votes
1
answer
287
views
Did Patton actually predict the German 'Winter offensive' to Allied leadership, as portrayed in 'Patton'?
From the movie, the full quote is,
There's absolutely no reason for us to assume the Germans are mounting a major offensive. The weather is awful, their supplies are low, and the German Army hasn't ...
2
votes
2
answers
251
views
Did any German generals question the wisdom of Störfang (June 1942 attack on Sevastopol), right before Case Blue?
Currently reading Where the Iron Crosses Grow: The Crimea 1941-44 by Forczyk which is now looking at the attack on Sevastopol in June 1942: Störfang, led by Manstein.
This is an odd battle by German ...
1
vote
0
answers
231
views
How extensively was German communication decrypted during the 1930s & 1940s?
RE: Marxists.org
In letter 288 of this Stalin-Roosevelt correspondence archive Stalin talks about faulty information from George Marshall about the Balaton offensive. This was long after the German ...
0
votes
1
answer
201
views
How did the position of German settlers change when they went to occupied Poland?
I've read in Architects of Annihilation that the average size of the land-plots received by settlers was 25 hectares, what sort of plots did they have before? How did they feel about moving, was it ...
- 109
2
votes
1
answer
165
views
What tensions arose between locals and the administrators of forced labor POW camps in the US for captured German WWII soldiers?
A 1983 interview of a 71-year-old Kansas farmer named Andy Olson was recently reprinted in a small daily called the Council Grove (KS) Republican. Mr. Olson was one of the many Kansas farmers who used ...
- 679
1
vote
3
answers
269
views
Why did the Nazis bother distinguishing Jews on the basis of statehood and citizenship (if they saw a "world of races" and not of states)?
All quotes below from Snyder (Black Earth, 2015, bold font added by me):
When the survival of the state was in question, Antonescu slowed the persecution of Jews. Hitler, who actually believed in a ...
- 1,141
6
votes
0
answers
194
views
Did the Soviets learn about the SS tattoos only in late 1945 (and why so late)?
Antony Beevor, in the context of late April 1945 / early May 1945 in Berlin:
The French NCO claimed that they were forced labourers who had been press-ganged into uniform by the Germans when the Red ...
- 1,141
-3
votes
1
answer
81
views
Sources / books from WW1 veterans before WW2? [closed]
can you suggest any books that look into how WW1 veterans reacted in the impending run-up to ww2? Or names of people to look into. It doesn't have to be the entire focus of the book.
I am interested ...
-4
votes
1
answer
196
views
Why did Nazi Bishop François Auvity escape all punishment, both criminal and ecclesiastical, after the Liberation of France? [closed]
Why did Nazi Bishop François Auvity escape all punishment, both criminal and ecclesiastical, after the Liberation of France by the Allies, and how could his criminal role remain hushed up for EIGHTY ...
1
vote
0
answers
154
views
What problems did the USA's transatlantic communication face during World War II?
I would be interested to know which means of communication (transatlantic cable?) were affected by the war compared to the pre-war period.
Were new means of communication discovered/developed?
I ...
- 11
7
votes
2
answers
3k
views
How can I obtain a record of my fathers' medals from WW2?
My father was a Private First Class in the HQ BTRY 793rd Field Artillery Battalion of the US Army. His military occupation was Salvage Technician 194 and was inducted in January 1943. Where can I find ...
- 79
3
votes
1
answer
414
views
Is this Groß-Deutschland 1938-1948 poster real (and produced/published by Nazi Germany)?
Source
I found the anticlockwise swastikas strange.
The poster is supposed to be from 1938.
Some Reddit comments suggest this (or a very similar poster) is fake.
(The above poster appears in the movie ...
- 1,141
6
votes
2
answers
249
views
How important were Soviet raw material supplies for Nazi Germany in the first two years of WW2?
During the first nearly two years of WW2 (from September 1939 to June 1941), the Soviet Union was among the largest suppliers of raw materials (oil, rubber, grain, iron ore, etc.) for Nazi Germany.
...
- 601
0
votes
0
answers
61
views
What's the best way to research personal military records of a soldier that served in the 101st Airborne Division during WWII?
I'm trying to conduct research on an soldier that served in Company B, 327th Glider Infantry Regiment, 101ST Airborne Division in WWII. I have his name and birthday but no additional identifying ...
- 141
0
votes
1
answer
399
views
What has happened to proximity fuzes after World War 2?
Arguably one of the most important military inventions of World War 2 was the proximity fuze. It greatly increased the lethality of artillery shells, since an airburst has a higher chance of covering ...
- 101
-2
votes
1
answer
173
views
What were the areas of European countries in 1936 and 1949?
Are there sources (e.g. gazetteers or encyclopedia) that list the precise areas of the different European countries in ~1936 (before Germany's Anschluß with Austria), and again in ~1949 (after the ...
- 1,293
1
vote
1
answer
206
views
What were the postwar non-military uses of the Rolls-Royce built Merlin Engines in Britain?
The Rolls-Royce Merlin Engine powered some of the most famous airplanes of World War II, including the Spitfire, the Hurricane, the Mosquito, the Mustang, and the Lancaster.
By the end of its ...
- 185
4
votes
2
answers
2k
views
How important was the US steel industry to the allies during World War II?
The United States steel plants were humming at the beginning of the second world war, due to a growing auto industry, and a decent economy as the U.S. raced out of the Great Depression.
With that ...
- 185
6
votes
3
answers
3k
views
Why were medium bombers so low in numbers in Allied air forces?
The medium bombers of WWII are numerous. We could mention for the Americans the B-18, B-23, B-10 to which could be added the famous B-25 Mitchell and B-26 Marauder. In the British air force, they were ...
- 6,794
21
votes
1
answer
5k
views
What is this glyph on Feb 23 1940 in a Finnish military calendar?
I have the scan of a February 1940 calendar (inside a military booklet?) from a Finnish soldier during the Winter War. On the Friday 23, there is some kind of glyph (it looks like the Swedish Three ...
- 313
6
votes
1
answer
286
views
Were there public executions of Nazi collaborators in the Netherlands?
The Last Vermeer is an entertaining but not entirely accurate film about the forger Han Van Meegeren. Opening in May 1945, at the end of the Second World War, Nazi collaborators are show being ...
- 1,358
1
vote
1
answer
131
views
Why was Jean Chiappe given the job of High Commissioner of the Levant in 1940?
Jean Chiappe was a right-wing civil servant who got fired from his job as police prefect during a scandal in 1934. In 1940, the Vichy French gave him the job of high commissioner to the Levant, which ...
1
vote
0
answers
95
views
Clarification on WW 2 US Army Discharge Papers (General Orders)
I am attempting to do some research on my paternal grandfather whom served in WW2. He was honorably discharged in AUG 46 and I have a copy of that paperwork. I know he served as a part of the 26th ...
- 111
2
votes
2
answers
407
views
When and where did the Allies use starvation tactics in WW2?
There's a paper that claims in relation to the Nuremberg trials:
The American‑run tribunal hearing the case affirmed the legal “propriety of attempting to reduce [a place controlled by the enemy to] ...
- 5,529
-1
votes
2
answers
185
views
Why didn't the promise of the imminent Green Revolution forestall German territorial ambitions just before World War 2? [closed]
Many Germans, even before World War I, believed that Germany needed to occupy Lebensraum or living space in other countries to achieve resource security. Also in the early 1900's scientists around ...
- 101
4
votes
0
answers
231
views
Does this WWII photo show a double-track railway?
Recently I found a Bellingcat article titled Solving World War II Photo Mysteries With Open Source Techniques. They close the article by saying:
There are still many more images in the IBCC archives ...
- 301
9
votes
2
answers
2k
views
What exactly was the position of ‘Party Minister’ assigned to Martin Bormann in Hitler’s will?
In Hitler’s last will and testament, he assigns all the different offices and functions prior to that held by him and the members of his cabinet to new office-holders-Dönitz became Reichpresident, ...
- 1,373
13
votes
5
answers
10k
views
Did Allied bombers return from enemy airspace with undropped bombs?
First episode of new TV series "Masters of the Air" depicts the U.S. 100th Bomb Group’s first combat mission to bomb U-boat pens in Bremen on June 25, 1943. Historical sources I can find ...
- 231
4
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Which four countries were the Teutonic coalition?
I'm reading the Memoirs of the Second World War and just came across the expression "Teutonic Coalition." Is Sir Winston Churchill referring to the Axis? Who are these members? Here's the ...
- 41
0
votes
0
answers
193
views
The Crown, and social attitudes in nightclubs during WW2 in London?
In The Crown Season 6 episode 8, the depiction of a basement nightclub in the Ritz Hotel in London seems highly inaccurate.
In Matthew Sweet's West End Front the bar beneath the Ritz is described as a ...
5
votes
2
answers
383
views
How did Royal Navy tactics change after the sinking of HMS Prince of Wales?
On 10th December 1941, the Royal Navy battleship HMS Prince of Wales, and escorting battlecruiser HMS Repulse were sunk near Malaysia by a force of Imperial Japanese bombers. This was a powerful ...
- 892
0
votes
0
answers
160
views
Where can I find WW2 fuel consumption data for the key participants?
Does anyone know where I can find military fuel consumption data by the key countries involved in World War II? It would be highly appreciated if you could advise on the well-organized database.
- 11
1
vote
0
answers
133
views
What uniform is in this picture? and when the unit would have been active?
I believe it belongs to the Caribbean Regiment (British Islands), but I heard most of the records no longer exist. I also think they fought during WWII, but I’m not sure the person in uniform would ...
- 11
1
vote
0
answers
167
views
What proportion of UK civilians killed in the first and second world wars were women and children?
I recently learnt that the number of UK civilians killed in the first world war is around 2,000. This seems surprisingly low but understandable when we realize that the UK wasn't subject to a land ...
- 2,610
1
vote
0
answers
266
views
Is there evidence that Mauthausen Concentration Camp commander Franz Ziereis’s son shot prisoners of the camp?
In the Spanish film the photographer of Mauthausen there is a scene of a party held to celebrate the birthday of the son of Mauthausen Concentration Camp commander (Franz Ziereis).
In the scene the ...
- 21
5
votes
1
answer
494
views
What does CBI mean in block 36 of discharge form WD AGO Form 53-55?
I have recently received a copy of my uncle's WWII discharge form (WD AGO Form 53-55) and cannot find a source that defines the destination acronym of "CBI" listed in Block 36.
Does anyone ...
- 51
6
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Why weren’t resettled Germans compensated for their confiscated land in Prussian Pomerania after WWII?
My great-aunt and her two children were expelled from their family farm in the Prussian Province of Pomerania, at Rummelsburg (now known as Miastko), near Wernershof (now Gołębsko). They were given no ...
- 77
14
votes
1
answer
3k
views
How do I locate information on a B-17 shot down over Poland?
A friend's father was a nose gunner in a B-17 during WWII. In 1945, he was shot down near Poznan, Poland, survived the crash and was captured by the Soviets. My friend provided the following ...
- 141
3
votes
0
answers
146
views
Are there data/sources on the usage of Swiss German before/after WWII?
Today remarkably across German-speaking countries Switzerland keeps a very high level of usage of dialects other than Standard High German (SHG). Although non SHG-dialects are also commonplace in ...
- 441
3
votes
0
answers
314
views
Factcheck: Did Australia request 200.000 17 year old girls from Germany in 1946?
This text was written in a newspaper published in Bodø, Norway on the 2nd of August 1946. It translates to approximately:
"Girls as war compensation.
Australia is among the countries that have ...
1
vote
0
answers
197
views
What is this kind of supply package called?
81 hundred pounds of ammunition, or other supplies.
The landing craft contains a package which the narrator describes as '81 hundred pounds of ammunition'. What is this kind of package called? It ...
- 111
4
votes
0
answers
112
views
Was there a separate vote on the Bulgarian demand for Western Thrace at the Paris Conference of 1946?
Although Bulgaria had withdrawn their troops from Greece in order to get an armistice in Oct 1944, Bulgaria reiterated their demand for Western Thrace (that its troops had vacated in '44) at the Paris ...
- 5,529
3
votes
1
answer
370
views
Was possession of a radio forbidden in Greece in 1930s?
In the 2016 British TV series The Durrells which is based on a true story, the British family moves to the Greek island of Corfu.
In the last episode just months before the start of World War II a ...
- 259