What are some intriguing facts about world war 2

World War II was the greatest conflict in human history in terms of intensity, financial and human resources mobilized and the number of victims. Over the six years of conflict, violence has spread to different continents, resulting in the death of approximately 70 million people.

Concentration camps in the USA

During World War II, ten concentration camps were created in the United States in different parts of the country to house the Japanese-American population. The construction of these concentration camps was the result of the war hysteria that strengthened xenophobia against citizens of Japanese descent.

Unit 731

During World War II, Japan, guided by its xenophobic nationalism and radical militarism, committed a series of war crimes. One of the places where several people were victims of the brutality committed by the Japanese army was the facilities of Unit 731. This unit was created with the name “Kwangtung Army Epidemic Protection and Water Supply Unit” and its primary function was to control of water quality used by the Japanese army based in China.

Quisling Traitor

In April 1940, the Nazis put an end to months of slump and started the invasion of Norway. The invasion of Norway had been authorized after a double postponement of the operation that would lead to the invasion of Holland, Belgium and France. Thus, Norway emerged as an alternative for the Nazis to have control over a strategic air support position that would guarantee access to Sweden's iron production.

The Nazi invasion of Norway came after Hitler was convinced by Admiral Erich Raeder and Norwegian pro-Nazi Vidkun Quisling. When the Nazis invaded Norway, Quisling briefly became head of the collaborationist government, and Quisling's role in convincing Hitler to invade his own country made his surname "Quisling" a noun in the English language to refer to people who are traitors or who turn against their own country.

The massacre of the Kiev Jews

One of the saddest episodes of the entire Second World War was the holocaust, responsible for the deaths of 6 million people, most of them of Jewish origin. Throughout the war, the Nazis created different mechanisms and ways to find and exterminate Jews, especially in Eastern Europe. At first, the Nazis used the Einsatzgruppen, death squads responsible for locating and executing all Jews in the areas in which they worked.

Giant cannons

During the years of the conflict, the Nazi war machine worked doggedly to develop more effective weapons for use in war. The Nazis' megalomania and ingenuity led them to build the largest cannons that were used during World War II.

The cannons were named after Schwerer Gustav and Dora, and their construction was a request from the Nazi command for Krupp - the armaments industry - to build a weapon capable of destroying the French fortifications of the Maginot Line. Krupp's efforts led to the construction of these two cannons, which, in the words of a Nazi general, were an “extremely impressive piece of engineering, but absolutely useless”