Exploring Lesser-Known Aspects of World War II

World War II is something everyone knows about, but you don't know everything.

Here are fifty crazy facts about the world's biggest war.

50.

The War That Came Before the War In the 1930s, the world was still hurting from the First World War, and most Western countries didn't want to get involved in another war. But they wouldn't have a choice because plans were already being made by the future Axis Powers. Imperial Japan had been expanding its land for a while, but the Sino-Japanese War of 1937 was its biggest move. This war between China and Japan lasted until the end of World War II and showed how bold Japan was to a lot of people around the world. But Germany wasn't the only Axis power making plans for war.

49.

A PR attack in the 1930s, Germany was not in a position like Japan was to think about starting another war, but that didn't stop them. The terrible effects on their economy of losing the First World War were used by the Nazis as a reason to do what they did. On the one hand, Hitler was putting out a PR offensive to the world, like holding the Olympics. On the other hand, the Nazi leader was also building up his army. In the 1930s, the Nazis put a lot of money into their troops. When they started their march across Europe, everyone was surprised by how strong they had become. But they weren't always called the Nazis.

48.

Damn it, Nasus! The word "Nazi" is now used all over the world as a metaphor for a force of pure evil. But when the National Socialist Party first started preaching hate, they were just called the National Socialist Party. They didn't like being called "Nazis"; they called themselves the Nasus. So how did the word "Nazi" get started? It was made up by a writer named Konrad Heiden. He got the name from a Bavarian word that means dumb or simple-minded. The Nazis didn't seem to notice. But at first, not everything about the Nazis was bad.

47.

A Suitable Symbol: The swastika became a sign of evil when the Nazis carried it around Europe and put it on their war machines. Everyone was shocked, even those for whom it meant something very different. The swastika was first used as a holy sign in ancient times. It got its name from the Sanskrit word for a hooked cross, even though it was usually set up differently. It was used in old cultures from Greece to India, and it usually meant fertility and good luck. Since then, many people who used it in religious ceremonies have asked for it to be taken away because it reminds them too much of the Nazi rule. As the war got closer, some interesting tests started.

46.

Put out the Death Ray! Robert Watson-Watt was a British expert and a leader in radio technology. When people heard that the Nazis were making a death ray, they went to him for help. Could radio waves be used to make a machine that could bring down planes? Watson-Watt looked into it and found that the answer was no, but he didn't waste his time. Watson-Watt's study in the late 1930s led to big improvements in radar technology, which made it easier for British troops to spot German planes and U-boats. But another way to keep from going to war didn't work out so well.

45.

What's the Pinky Promise? Europe's governments were desperate to keep from going to war, so they gave Hitler a lot of things. The most important was that Czechoslovakia gave up land, even though its leaders were not even called to the peace summit. Hitler said he would follow the rules of the pact, but then he didn't. The last straw was when he attacked Poland anyway, which was a "red line" that Britain had set. That was enough for Britain to declare war on Germany on September 3, 1939, which started World War 2. But did Britain have anything to do with it?

.44

Since then, historians have argued about the impact of Neville Chamberlain, who was Prime Minister at the time. His name has become associated with giving up. People who don't like him say he gave Hitler everything for nothing. His supporters say he was just doing what he thought was right, and everyone in Europe was shocked by how cruel Hitler was. But the decision was made quickly. Chamberlain's party got rid of him before the next general election, and Winston Churchill took over as Prime Minister. But Hitler had already been making plans for war for a long time.

.43

The Dark Pact is the 43rd book in the series. Hitler and Stalin couldn't have been more different from each other. One stood for a fascist government, and the other was the current boss of the Communist revolutionaries who took over Russia. But they all shared a dislike of the governments in Western Europe. In the months before Hitler invaded Poland, the two countries made a non-aggression pact that said how they would divide up Eastern Europe. But, like most things Hitler did, it wasn't safe for long. But for now, the war wasn't that big of a deal.

42.

Too much to do At the start of the war, Poland fought hard, but they were up against two bigger, better-equipped countries that were eager to beat them. As the invasion started in September and October of 1939, Poland's troops were destroyed. Not only were more than 500,000 men taken prisoner, but the fight against the Russians on the other front was just as bad. On their eastern front, the Poles lost 50,000 men, while the Russians lost less than a thousand. But it was strange that not everyone agreed on how to react.

41.

Do you want war? After Germany invaded Poland, Britain went to war with Germany, but the front was far away and Britain's first moves were not very impressive. In what became known as the "Phoney War," the Royal Air Force mostly dropped propaganda papers over Germany. Many people in Britain and the United States, which had not yet joined the war, did not want to take part in another one and pushed for isolationism. But Germany and its friends didn't win right away.

40.

Loss in North Russia wanted to take over more land, so it didn't take long before they invaded Finland, which was right next door. This would have given Russia a foothold in Scandinavia and a huge edge in terms of strategy, but the Finns had a different plan. Their army was well-trained, and some of their shooters were the best in the world. It didn't take long for the Soviets to start running. This attack also caused them to be kicked out of the League of Nations. But the Soviets would not give up, and Finland would finally sign a peace agreement. But World War II was about to start the biggest front yet.