BMW used prisoners from concentration camps like Dachau to build their cars and plane engines during the second world war. By the end of the war, almost 50% of the 50,000-person workforce at BMW consisted of prisoners from concentration camps.
2
2
WWII
In 1944 Dutch Resistance members…
In 1944 Dutch Resistance members dressed as German SD (intelligence agents) went into Leeuwarden prison, and walked out with 39 prisoners, and all vanished into the city. No shots were fired, and the Germans never caught anyone.
3
0
During WW2, the winner…
During WW2, the winner of the Tour de France, Gino Bartali, put his fame to a good cause. He hid counterfeit document in his bicycle and smuggled them through Nazi checkpoints. These documents saved over 800 Jews lives.
9
0
A Hungarian chemist during WWII…
A Hungarian chemist during WWII hid his Nobel Prize by dissolving it in acid and leaving it on a shelf due to the Nazi ban on its citizens from accepting the Nobel Prize. After the war, he reconstituted the gold from the acid, returned it to Sweden, and got the medal cast again.
14
0
Notorious mafia boss “Lucky” Luciano…
Notorious mafia boss “Lucky” Luciano aided the WWII effort from his prison cell by ordering his men to protect the East Coast from foreign invasion and convincing his Italian mafia contacts to help the Allies during their invasion of Sicily.
11
0
In a study of 640 dream journals…
In a study of 640 dream journals conducted by Harvard, psychologists determined the dreams of prisoners in WWII POW camps were less aggressive than the standard male population. Rather than visions of extreme violence, the majority of soldiers dreamed of escape, family, loneliness, and home.
10
1
Fish and chips is historically so important…
Fish and chips is historically so important to the UK that in WWI, the British government made safeguarding supplies of them a priority and during WWII, Churchill refused to ration the dish.
6
0
Chef Boyardee of canned Ravioli fame was awarded…
Chef Boyardee of canned Ravioli fame was awarded both the Gold Star order of excellence from the US War Dept. & the Order of Lenin from Russia for supplying rations to allied troops during WWII.
12
0
During WWII, the national speed limit was reduced…
During WWII, the national speed limit was reduced to 35 mph to save gasoline and tire wear. A trip across Utah could take nine hours instead of five.
7
2
In WWII, weather reports were censored…
In WWII, weather reports were censored to prevent enemy submarines from learning about conditions. A football game in Chicago was so covered in fog that the radio announcer couldn’t see the field, but afterwards he was officially thanked for never using the word “fog” or mentioning the weather.
8
1