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.

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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 ...
Barry's user avatar
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Did WWII Delay Indian Independence?

During WWII, Gandhi said that Indians should adopt a compromising attitude towards the British due to the stresses of war. Did this prolong the (near) inactivity of the Indian National Movement? Or ...
Graviton's user avatar
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Tito's partisans loyalty

Why was Tito able to rally the loyalty of so much of the young people in ex-Yugoslavia, and the royalist Draza Michailovich (Драгољуб "Дража" Михаиловић) was not? The so-called chetnicks, loyal to the ...
vonPetrushev's user avatar
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2 answers
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Percentage of the draft pool that were conscripted during WW2 and Vietnam

During the times of these conflicts I'm pretty sure the eligible ages to be drafted were from 18 - 25. During these times what percentage of US males between those ages were drafted. I'd like to be ...
CSharper's user avatar
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Chiang's allies were "a kidnapper, a hooligan and a bully" but which was which?

Chiang Kai-shek complained bitterly about his allies Britain, the United States and the Soviet Union (the latter admittedly not at war with Japan till the very end). But when he stated that China's ...
Tea Drinker's user avatar
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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 ...
Tom Au's user avatar
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How do functionalists explain the fact that Holocaust continued until the very end of the war?

While I haven't read Goldhagen or scholars with a similar viewpoint directly, I frequently encounter the following argument that seems very Goldhagenite to me: "The Germans tried to murder Jews up ...
mart's user avatar
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Was the attack on Pearl Harbor totally unexpected?

According to "British Intelligence in the Second World War: Security and Counter-Intelligence", by Francis Harry Hinsley and C.A.G. Simkins, Tricycle, a British double agent, complained that the FBI ...
Aarão Xisto Salazar's user avatar
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Was WWII Systemic Drug Use by Axis and Allies Supported By Scholarship?

Both sides in WWII widely used addictive drugs in an attempt to boost the performance of their soldiers and sometimes even their leadership. The American Military institutionalized this practice in ...
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Why did American public opinion move away from isolationism in 1940-41?

In Lynne Olson's recent interview in the New York Times dealing with her book Those Angry Days she notes that isolationism was "finished" by late 1941 and that a "sea change" occurred in American ...
Tea Drinker's user avatar
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Who deposited German fuel drums on a Japanese air base in the Kuril Islands in 1943?

The Imperial Japanese Navy operated two all-weather, heated, lit runways on Matsuwa Island in the Kuril island chain. This island is littered with German fuel drums manufactured in 1943. It also has ...
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When did Soviet authorities first plan/conceive of migrating their industry if war broke out?

This comes from a related question. It seems Germany never conceived of the possibility that Russia might migrate its heavy industry to safe locations beyond the Urals. So now I want to know if Soviet ...
DrZ214's user avatar
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If the UK received the highest amount of Marshall Aid, why was it broke?

After WW2, Marshall Aid was distributed across Europe to facilitate the rebuilding of countries devastated by the war. West Germany received a large amount of this, and soon had a thriving economy. ...
Stumbler's user avatar
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What happened to the German WW II debt?

During WW II German and Czech banks were forced to buy the German war bonds. What happened with these bonds? Were they ever paid?
Dan's user avatar
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How many German expellees returned to the Hungarian People's Republic?

During and immediately after World War II, millions of ethnic Germans were forcibly expelled from the countries of eastern and central Europe. Hungary was a somewhat reluctant participant in this ...
Psychonaut's user avatar
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How important was the Suez Canal to the Allies during WWII?

The Suez Canal allows one to travel from the Mediterranean or North Atlantic to the Indian Ocean without having to circumvent the continent of Africa. A ship traveling from the UK to India could ...
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Was Marshal Foch predicting WW2 20 years in advance just a coincidence?

The Allied Supreme Commander at the end of WW1, Ferdinand Foch, seemingly predicted at the signing of the Treaty of Versailles hostilities with Germany recurring in the future. His prediction for the ...
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Nazism and Jewish persecution awareness during the WW2 years [closed]

I've always wondered how is it possible that an entire nation and beyond (Germany) wasn't aware of the Jewish persecution during the WW2 years or, if they were, that they did nothing to stop it. Were ...
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Was there a German embassy open in 1941 Lisbon?

I'm researching Lisbon, 1941, for a historical novel. I've searched for info on the web already, and so far found nothing specific. I need to know if there was a German embassy: thus, other than ...
Linda Joy's user avatar
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Is it true that there were American POWs in Soviet captivity after the Second World War?

In a book titled The Forsaken: An American Tragedy in Stalin's Russia, the author Tim Tzouliadis asserted in Chapter 23 ("Citizen of the United States of America", Allied Officer Dale) that ...
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During WW2, did the USSR re-gauge railways in conquered areas?

Basically, Germany uses 1435 mm gauge train track while Russia used 1524 mm. I recently came across this question about the Germans re-gauging the track that they could during their invasion of Russia....
DrZ214's user avatar
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When was General Douglas MacArthur made aware of the Manhattan Project?

Considering the US government's low opinion of General MacArthur* even before he almost performed a military coup in the 1950s: Was Douglas MacArthur ever made aware of the Manhattan Project before ...
LateralFractal's user avatar
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885 views

How common was the German desire for revenge for the humiliation of 1918 armistice?

The author of the article "How Peace Kept WWI Alive" (here in English) at spiegel.de writes about the relationship between the two World Wars. The article says (emphasis added) that The experience ...
Ron Larsen's user avatar
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Did Germany have treaties imposed upon it after WWII that mirrored the weight of the Treaty of Versailles?

After WWI, the treaty of Versailles became the rallying cry for more extreme political forces in Germany, as it's terms were blamed for the countries hardships, and as an insult to the country itself. ...
md nth's user avatar
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Did Germans and Soviets count casualties differently at the Battle of Kursk?

I've been reading a good bit on the Soviet-Axis war of World War 2 as of late. Something that continually strikes me is the large variation in casualties for any given operation or battle that ...
LowLevelSoCal's user avatar
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How was Switzerland able to stay neutral during WWI and WWII?

It is amazing Switzerland was able to stay neutral. It is not just a matter of choice and only up to Switzerland. Each side of the warring faction can take this hard stand "If you are not for me, then ...
curious's user avatar
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What did General McAuliffe actually say at Bastogne?

Well documented during the Battle of the Bulge in late 1944 was McAuliffe's response to the German demand for surrender: Nuts! Many years ago, an ex-101st Airborne trooper who said he was in the ...
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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, Dalmatians, Macedonians, Bosnians, and others. During World War ...
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Scaffoldings on Taj Mahal?

I recently came across this picture (removed now, look at wiki article instead), saying that it is a scaffolding erected during WW2 over Taj Mahal to protect it from Japanese Air Force. Even the ...
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What happened to the Soviet emissaries at the siege of Budapest?

Before the siege of Budapest, the Soviets sent two emissaries to the German to offer them a chance to surrender. According to one version of the story (recounted on the English Wikipedia, see the end ...
domotorp's user avatar
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Did the Germans have enough bombers to conduct "strategic" bombing of the Soviet Union?

The Germans have been criticized for not using strategic bombing against Soviet factories, oil fields, etc. to suppress Soviet weapons production. On the other hand, it is hard to argue with the ...
Tom Au's user avatar
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What effect did the Mafia have during World War 2?

I have heard that the Mafia cooperated with different governments in WW2. How extensive was this cooperation and was it effective?
Ian Ringrose's user avatar
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961 views

Which Allied forces held the French-Italian border from Operation Dragoon to the end of WWII in Europe?

Since the Germans and their puppet state the Italian Social Republic continued to hold northern Italy almost to the end of the war, it was necessary for the Allies to man the fortifications on the ...
John Dallman's user avatar
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Was the Waffen-SS an elite force? [duplicate]

I often hear that the SS were "the elite troops of the Reich" and I seriously doubt it without being able to explain why it wasn't despite having read two entire books on the Waffen-SS. I think it's ...
Sami's user avatar
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In the British Invasion of Greece, what happened to the British troops who were not captured?

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/british-forces-arrive-in-greece I also was wondering what happened to the soldiers who were not caught, if any? Where did they go, and what happened to ...
maddie's user avatar
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How did the forces required for invading Norway compare to those actually used for invading North Africa?

During World War II, Churchill envisioned a possible Allied invasion of northern Norway called Operation Jupiter. This idea was "tabled" (postponed) in 1941, because Britain felt that it lacked the ...
Tom Au's user avatar
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Why could the Soviet Baltic fleet not break out of the Gulf of Finland

In this question one answer states that the Soviets' Baltic fleet was stuck in the Gulf of Finland due to an anti-submarine net and mines. But the Mediterranean has plenty of narrow gulfs and straits, ...
SPavel's user avatar
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Why did the French "surrender" all of its troops during the armistice in World War II?

After losing the Battle of France, in 1940, France concluded an "Armistice," basically a "cease fire in place," with Germany. (The borders were adjusted so the Germans were given ...
Tom Au's user avatar
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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?
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Did Germany lose World War II when/because "kill ratios" started moving "against" her?

In the first major action between the Germans and Americans, at the battle of Kasserine Pass , the Germans inflicted casualties against (mostly) the inexperienced Americans at the rate of about 5 to 1....
Tom Au's user avatar
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What was the most important cause of the Second World War? [closed]

What was the most important cause of the Second World War? Obviously there was the Treaty of Versailles which played a significant part; the War Guilt Clause, Reparations, Disarmament and territorial ...
nderjung's user avatar
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Where is signed original Donitz's authorization to German representatives to ratify "Instrument of surrender signed at Berlin"?

Where is the signed original of Reichspräsident Dönitz's authorization to German representatives to ratify the "Instrument of surrender signed at Berlin" stored today? Is a facsimile of the original ...
Roman Pokrovskij's user avatar
6 votes
3 answers
641 views

Did the Germans attempt the easier or harder of two possible objectives in the Caucasus?

During the summer and fall of 1942, German Army Group A advanced into the Caucasus pursuant to Fall Blau. This consisted of two armies, the First Panzer Army and the Seventeenth Army. The advanced ...
Tom Au's user avatar
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Why was Operation Felix cancelled?

Operation Felix was the seizure of Gibraltar (a British naval base at the tip of the Mediterranean Sea) by the Nazis during World War 2. The Nazis believed if they could take control of Gibraltar, ...
Jake's user avatar
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2 answers
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What was the lowest available population to the Soviet Union in WW2?

According to official census data, Soviet Union had around 168 million people in 1939, and around 196 million in 1941 (annexation of Baltic states and part of Poland). Germany (Third Reich) had around ...
rs.29's user avatar
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What color triangles did the different religious groups (those not Jews or JWs) wear in Nazi concentration camps?

I was recently reading through Anton Gill's 1989 book "The journey back from hell" regarding the experiences of concentration camp survivors. On p.31 of this book he mentions that There were ...
Ron Larsen's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
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How (and why) did Hitler create "the world's largest traffic jam?"

This is not a reference to "current events" but to Fall Blau the 1942 attack on the southern Soviet Union by Army Group South. The campaign started smoothly enough, with the approach to (and capture ...
Tom Au's user avatar
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Was the attempt to take Stalingrad a distraction to the original objectives of the German Sixth Army during Case Blue in 1942?

If the objective of Sixth Army was to close the Volga to Russian shipping while simultaneously protecting the left flank of the Caucasus forces, then attacking Stalingrad could be seen as a ...
kevin king's user avatar
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How common was it for Red Cross personnel to fight (in both World Wars)?

How common was it for Red Cross medical personnel to take part in military action on the battlefields (in both World Wars)? How was this received by the combatants (friendly and enemy)? The question ...
sds's user avatar
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How did the supplies shipped in winter over the "Road of Life" to Leningrad compare to those at other times of the year?

A key factor in the survival of Leningrad during its 900 day siege was the "Road of Life" built across a frozen Lake Ladoga during the winter months of 1941, 1942, and 1943, and lasting nearly half a ...
Tom Au's user avatar
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