At the age of 14, in 1905, Charles de Gaulle wrote a short story titled “General De Gaulle” in which he imagined himself leading the French Army to victory over Germany “sometime in the 1930s.”
WW2
During WW2, Norwegians mostly resisted…
During WW2, Norwegians mostly resisted the German occupation nonviolently. They would refuse to go to German-owned businesses, pretend to not speak German, and refuse to sit next to Germans on public transport.
In WWII there was a Nazi sailor who…
In WWII there was a Nazi sailor who flushed his toilet incorrectly, causing his submarine to flood with seawater. The sub was forced to surface in view of the British who then attacked, resulting in the vessel’s destruction, 4 Nazi deaths, and 46 Nazis captured.
In 1941 the President….
In 1941 the President of Haiti declared war on Japan, Germany, Italy, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania. Only Romania bothered to declare war on Haiti in return.
In 1940, the Nazis sent 12 spies…
In 1940, the Nazis sent 12 spies to Britain to pave the way for an invasion. However, the plan failed due to the ineptitude of the agents. None of them were that fluent in English and they lacked basic knowledge of British customs.
1,418 entrance steps (one for each day…
1,418 entrance steps (one for each day the Soviet Union fought in the WWII) of the new 95m-tall “Main Cathedral of the Russian Armed Forces” are forged from melted-down hardware seized from Nazi troops.
Desmond Doss, a WWII medic, was teased…
Desmond Doss, a WWII medic, was teased for his choice to not harm the enemy or wield a weapon. He would go on to win the Medal of Honor for saving more than 50 men after a mortar attack, and the heroics were made into the award winning movie “Hacksaw Ridge”.
The BBC created a Radio Soap…
The BBC created a Radio Soap Opera during WWII specifically for the American market. It was propaganda designed to get the USA to end its neutrality. One of the aims of the show was to appeal to those with a ‘limited mentality’. It ended up being a popular radio show in the US.
Chase Bank and J.P. Morgan & Co…
Chase Bank and J.P. Morgan & Co helped Germany in WWII by allowing Nazi sympathizers to purchase Marks (known as Rückwanderer) with dollars to fund the war effort. The banks also turned over their client lists to the Nazis who in turn used it to recruit spies in the US.
During WWII, the US government recalled…
During WWII, the US government recalled all paper currency circulating in Hawaii and replaced it with notes stamped with “HAWAII”. In the event of a Japanese invasion of Hawaii, all currency captured would be easily identifiable and would be rendered worthless.