133
votes
When did the allies find out about the killing of Jews during WW2
Information regarding mass murders of Jews began to reach the Allied leadership soon after the invasion of the Soviet Union in late June 1941. The volume of those reports increased with time. This was ...
- 77.2k
128
votes
Accepted
Why didn't Wehrmacht soldiers refuse to kill civilians?
Saying that no Wehrmacht soldier ever refused to kill civilians or PoWs is wrong, there are documented instances of this happening. It's just that this did not happen often enough to make a difference....
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88
votes
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Were Hitler's anti-Jewish sentiments known at all to those who voted him to power in 1933?
I think your question is best answered by addressing an underlying presumption. Namely: your 21st century eyes and your living in a society that considers hate speech to be antisocial are misleading ...
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86
votes
When did the allies find out about the killing of Jews during WW2
I want to offer a personal perspective: I am German. I learned about the Holocaust in school. I visited concentration camps. I have friends who lost family in concentration camps. I watched ...
- 915
75
votes
Accepted
Was Hitler exclaiming "Heil Hitler!" himself when saluting?
Short Answer
Despite the claims of some sites, I can find no evidence that Hitler himself said 'Heil Hitler', and it would make no sense for him to do so as the words were more than a greeting: they ...
- 108k
73
votes
Why didn't Wehrmacht soldiers refuse to kill civilians?
Concerning your questions, beyond the original "why didn't they refuse" one: the massacres definitely caused psychological problems for many soldiers, even the SS - to the point that Himmler ...
- 2,689
65
votes
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Was the use of captured tanks an effective strategy for Germany?
First, lets clear up some misconceptions:
In the early war Germany was at the forefront in the development and use of tanks
No. It wasn't. German tanks were not superior to allied tanks. Allied ...
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63
votes
Is it true that Germans in World War 2 did not suffer punishment for refusing genocidal orders?
This matter is entangled with one of the disputes within Holocaust studies, although it isn't the point of the dispute. That began with Christopher Browning's book Ordinary Men (1992), which is a ...
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62
votes
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Who was the most successful German spy against Great Britain in WWII, from the contemporary German perspective?
From the "contemporary German perspective", the answer is doubtless "Alaric", Juan Pujol García, known to the British as "Garbo". He was paid a total of US$340,000 and awarded the Iron Cross, second ...
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54
votes
Was the Wehrmacht a mechanized army?
You are correct. Parts of the Wehrmacht were mechanized, but the vast majority was foot infantry with horse drawn logistics. Most soldiers walked towards Moscow, and back.
World War II German ...
- 22.5k
52
votes
Was Switzerland really impossible to invade during WW2?
No country is impossible to invade. Andorra could invade the USA.
The question you should have asked was "Was Switzerland Impossible to Conquer during World War II?".
The answer is no ...
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52
votes
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Could a German insult Hitler without being arrested?
Well, not officially.
Insulting the Führer or insulting Hitler, any laws for that?
'Insulting the Führer' was often interpreted as being a Lèse-majesté, codified from the beginning of the 2nd Reich in ...
- 80.7k
50
votes
Accepted
Did German submarines communicate with allied convoys during battle?
Purely fictional. I have never heard of such an incident and, as with the large, bright red insignia painted on the conning towers, it puts the submarine in unnecessary danger for no advantage.
In ...
- 55.5k
49
votes
Accepted
Did Joseph Goebbels really say this about German opposition in 1933?
No, most probably not. On that day Goebbels was silent in public, and the entire text looks made up.
Proving a negative is very difficult, and currently this 'funny propaganda meme' lacks an accurate ...
- 80.7k
48
votes
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Did a unit of 40 men hold off Rommel's "ghost division" for 18 days?
This appears to be a distortion of the Battle of Bodange, May 10th, 1940. The 5th company of the 2nd Battalion of the 1st Regiment of Chasseurs Ardennais (about 120 men) delayed elements of the 1st ...
- 55.5k
47
votes
Accepted
In WW2, why did Germany sink allied supply convoys instead of capturing them?
The options that submarines had were, in practice, limited to sinking Allied shipping and leaving the area as quickly as possible to avoid detection. U-boats had a disadvantage compared to destroyers (...
- 108k
44
votes
Accepted
Was Switzerland really impossible to invade during WW2?
Ok, since I think I finally got your real question (as I see it):
I'm simply asking if the defense of Switzerland during WW2 was overrated. Many people claim that the country was impossible to occupy,...
- 1,083
44
votes
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How was the Luftwaffe able to destroy nearly 4000 Soviet aircraft in 3 days of operation Barbarossa?
The Soviets were caught by surprise and suffered massive casualties as a result. See this Wikipedia article. Lots of aircraft were destroyed on the ground, not the air.
The first attacks began at ...
- 6,298
40
votes
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What pretext did Hitler use to justify Operation Barbarossa?
Radio broadcast to the German people
Hitler gave his reasons to the German people via a radio broadcast on the morning of June 22nd, 1941.
At 0500 GMT, an hour after the invasion began, the Nazi ...
- 108k
39
votes
When did the allies find out about the killing of Jews during WW2
Like this Swedish front page from December 18, 1942 it was known. The headline says "Planer på att utrota judarna förverkligas" (Plans to exterminate the Jews put into action). It speaks of hundreds ...
- 2,066
39
votes
Accepted
Did the Nazis identify as being Fascists? How exactly did they view themselves?
There is a confusion of terminology at work, here. First of all, you have to understand what the terms involved were not: They weren't the "loaded" terms we recognize them as from today's point of ...
- 14k
39
votes
Accepted
Why did other German political parties disband so fast when Hitler was appointed chancellor?
Three steps to observe:
Hitler was given the chancellory
Election in 1933
Reichstag fire & Enabling decree
First the really unwanted elements were beaten up, imprisoned or just killed. Then a ...
- 80.7k
39
votes
What was the state of the German rail system in 1944?
Could an SS officer get from Auschwitz to Berlin by train in July/August/September 1944?
Yes. Per the many comments to your question they'd repair the rails as they'd get destroyed. Trains might get ...
- 22.9k
38
votes
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What was the planned line of succession for the Nazi Party in the event that Hitler died?
For almost the entire war, Hermann Göring was Hitler's designated successor. He had been the second most powerful man in the Reich since the Nazi takeover, and had done much of the practical work of ...
- 31.9k
37
votes
When planning Barbarossa, did Germany conceive of the Soviet migration of heavy industry?
I'm wondering if Hitler or others conceived of this possibility when they were planning Barbarossa?
(Note: much of this is derived from Wikipedia, I don't have the referenced sources.)
It seems they ...
- 55.5k
36
votes
Accepted
Why did Hitler send Manstein's army (and not some other) to Leningrad in the summer of 1942?
As Pieter commented, the 11th Army and much of its heavy artillery moved to Leningrad, but much of its infantry did not.
Armies and army corps are administrative units to coordinate hundreds of ...
- 55.5k
34
votes
Accepted
Nuremberg Laws - Did they affect existing marriages between Jews and Non-Jews?
It is very rare for new laws to apply retroactively, even Hitler's Nuremberg Laws. In this case, the prohibition of mixed marriages did not apply to couples who were already married. However, as the ...
- 77.2k
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