(10 People Likes) What are some little-known facts from World War II that fascinate you?
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To join the SS, some requirements were as :
Must be at least 5’9” in height. Special units such as Mountain Divisions or the Honor Guard required 5’10” or taller.
Must be able to swim, as that was part of the fitness test.
Be single only if you were a young recruit who was just joining, ages 17–23.
Have no dental fillings.
Have 20/20 vision.
The requirements became less strict. However; passing the boot camp was hard. Only 1/3 recruits made it to graduation phase.
FACT 2
On Adolf Hitler’s 50th birthday in 1939, Ferdinand Porsche gifted Hitler with a car.
FACT 3
Hitler’s personal Mercedes Benz 770K Grosser was sold at an auction for $14 million in 2022. 10% of the profit was donated to a Jewish Human Rights Organization.
FACT 4
During WWII, Audi built vehicles for the SS. They used slave laborers. Some time after the war, Audi paid millions in reparations to the survivors, and to the families of the slaves that didn’t survive.
FACT 5
Clothes manufacturer, Hugo Boss, produced uniforms for Adolf Hitler and the SS.
FACT 6
On the 75th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge, the United States Department of Defense released a photo of Leibstandarte SS regimental commander, Joachim Peiper. This sparked an outrage from the public. The SS colonel was complicit in the murder of both American and Soviet POWs.
FACT 7
The (Gaswagen) gas van was made to prevent soldiers feeling responsible for murdering civilians and to stop them from drinking on duty due to the mental trauma they endured.
FACT 8
It was said that when on trial, Adolf Eichmann showed no remorse for being responsible for deporting millions of Jews to death camps because he thought he would only serve a few years in prison, as the trial was held nearly 20 years after the war. Eichmann was ultimately sentenced to death by hanging. He never admitted to being guilty.
FACT 9
Today, Poland and Germany are still looking for Auschwitz SS guards.
FACT 10
Henry Ford (founder of Ford) took contracts from Nazi Germany during the war to build them vehicles. He denied all contracts from Britain. Henry Ford was a supporter of Adolf Hitler. They both kept framed photos of each other on their desks.
FACT 11
There was no physical evidence that suggested Hitler knew or ordered the deaths of millions of Jews. This is popular to Holocaust deniers. After the war, the allies went through all of Hitler’s orders and videos, and couldn’t find any proof of his acknowledgment of the camps. However; there is proof that he passed the Commissar Order in 1941. In Joseph Goebbels’ diary, he wrote that Hitler did order the final solution though.
FACT 12
In 1938, the Allgemeine SS started phasing out black uniforms. In 1942, Reichsführer of the SS, Heinrich Himmler, completely phased out all of the black uniforms.
FACT 13
During the war, some Wehrmacht units received orders to be concentration camps guards due to personnel shortage in the SS.
FACT 14
Once Adolf Hitler came to power, he passed one of the first animal rights laws. This included hunting seasons, banning animal vivisection/tests, and animal rights. He was the first leader to set forth wolf protection laws.
FACT 15
Luftwaffe commander, Hermann Göring was one of many Nazi officers who held a high IQ score. He was fluent in English and had a very light accent.
FACT 16
BMW was one of the biggest companies that kept the German war machine going. They built motorcycles, trucks, and plane engines for Nazi Germany. After the war, they were banned from building vehicles and had to revert to building pots and pans to stay in business. Today, they acknowledge their past and regret it.
FACT 17
In New York, US, there was a street called Adolf Hitler Street.
FACT 18
Adolf Hitler once asked Mercedes if he could purchase a few Mercedes cars for his motorcade with the promise of paying them back once his book Mein Kampf made him money. Mercedes rejected his request. Once Hitler came to power, he had enough money to purchase his dream motorcade. Mercedes went on to build cars, transport trucks, and planes for Germany during the war. Mercedes acknowledges its past and regrets it.
FACT 19
When Nazi Germany annexed Austria, thousands of Austrians welcomed the German troops with swastika flags.
FACT 20
In 1941, German troops captured Stalin’s son as a PoW. They offered Stalin to trade him back. Stalin refused and disowned him. He was later killed trying to escape a PoW camp. After Stalin heard of his death, he said he was a real man.
FACT 21
German PoW’s refused to leave Canadian PoW camps due to how well they were treated.
FACT 22
SSTV Captain, Amon Goeth, was being tried by the SS for beating and starving his prisoners. The SS dropped all charges as they had to focus on the war. Goeth was captured by American forces in 1944 and hanged in 1946. His last words were “Heil Hitler.”
FACT 23
Like Adolf Hitler, German troops celebrated Christmas, even during the war.
FACT 24
The Wehrmacht was responsible for murdering 50,000 Soviet Jews during Operation Barbarossa in 1941.
FACT 25
Over the entire duration of the war, 100,000 babies were born to French-German couples.
FACT 26
French women who had affairs with German soldiers had their heads shaved as punishment after the liberation of France.
FACT 27
Boys of the Hitlerjugend (Hitler Youth) were given good work and education options. They were also given faster promotions when transferring to the Wehrmacht or the SS.
FACT 28
Auschwitz doctor, Josef Mengele, was captured by American forces in 1945, wearing a Wehrmacht uniform. Because they weren’t aware of his identity, he was released. After learning who he was, they issued a $33 million (inflated) bounty on him to whoever knew where he was, so they can put him on trial. He was never captured.
FACT 29
In 1935, Adolf Hitler and some of his staff attended Polish leader, Jozef Pilsudski’s memorial service after his death. Hitler has respect for him and the Polish people due to their stance on communism. In 1938, Hitler tried establishing an alliance with Poland. It was rejected.
FACT 30
The Nazi German MP-40 submachine gun inspired the US’ make of the M3 Grease Gun. The MP-40 was the first SMG to be built with plastic parts, making it lighter and cheaper to produce.
More facts later? 😀
FACT 31
In 1945, Heinrich Himmler abandoned his post and tried suing for peace with the US and Britain to get help fighting off the Soviets. It was rejected. Hitler found out about this and immediately ordered his arrest.
FACT 32
The Fuhrer’s Child, known by that name because of her close friendship with Hitler, was a little girl named Rosa Nienau who shared the same birthday as Hitler. Hitler absolutely adored her. Hitler knew she was Jewish but made no regard to it. The German state ordered Hitler to not make contact with her before the war. She died at age 17 in 1943 from polio.
FACT 33
Hitler was the best man at Goebbel’s wedding.
FACT 34
In 1939, the German state established April 20th as Adolf Hitler Day. On this day, families with low income were given an additional 20 Reichmarks, a day off, and wives would receive copies of Mein Kampf to send to their husbands. The holiday discontinued after 1944.
FACT 35
Senior SS officers who displayed courage and leadership were gifted with an SS Totenkopf Ring. It had Himmler’s initials engraved inside. Over time, the ring was given to all SS officer who at least had 3 years in duty. The ring was meant to be given back to Himmler after the officer’s death to signify that the fallen member is still part of the SS brotherhood. Only a little over 3,000 of these rings exist today and are worth a lot.
FACT 36
After disobeying Hitler’s orders, Field Marshall, Erwin Rommel, managed to push the British back 500 miles in Africa and even won a tank battle against the US when his supplies were very low.
FACT 37
After the failed assassination attempt on Hitler’s life in July 1944, Hitler made it mandatory for even the Wehrmacht to use the Roman salute, replacing the traditional one.
FACT 38
Also following Hitler’s assassination attempt, Rommel’s name was brought up. He was given 3 options:
Personally defend himself to Adolf Hitler.
Reject to do so but face court marshal, death sentence, and have his family suffer.
Commit suicide by swallowing a cyanide pill. He would receive a state funeral with full military honors, and his family would receive a pension.
Rommel picked the third option and explained it to his family. He was taken by 2 SS generals from his home. One of them knew he was innocent. He was given a cyanide pill, and died.
FACT 39
Shortly before killing himself, Hitler had his beloved dog, Blondi, fed a cyanide pill to test its effects and to save him from potential captors. Blondi’s puppies were taken outside and shot by Hitler’s dog handler.
FACT 40
During WWI, Hitler found and adopted a dog, and named him Fuchsl. He eventually lost him and was very upset about it.
Are we reaching 100 facts? Eh? 😀
FACT 41
The MG-42 was arguably the greatest light machine gun during WWII. It earned nick names such as The Burp Gun, The Ripper, The Zipper, and Hitler’s Buzzsaw. Some versions of it fired at 1,800 rounds per minute, the fastest shooting mass produced machine gun during the time.
FACT 42
The Gestapo normally patrolled the streets of Germany to listen to people’s conversations. This helped them find enemies of the state such as communists.
FACT 43
The SS’ Totenkopf (Death’s Head) represented loyalty until death and to intimidate the enemy.
FACT 44
The King Tiger scared allied soldiers up to the point that a term was made for it, Tiger-Phobia. At first, the allies had nothing to pierce its thick armor.
FACT 45
Reich Minister of Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels, supplied many German citizens with free radios. Mostly for propaganda purposes.
FACT 46
Hans Münich was nicknamed the Good Man of Auschwitz. He was a physician at Auschwitz. Instead of sending people to the gas chambers during the selection process, he always pointed people to work or for (humane) experiments. After the survivors of Auschwitz testified on his behalf in court, he was able to keep his physician license and remained in West Germany.
FACT 47
Adolf Hitler always came off as polite towards others in private. His maid even mentioned he had manners and was kind to his guests. Most of that diminished around late 1944, when Hitler started facing mental problems.
FACT 48
It’s a common misconception that Adolf Hitler only had one testicle. It was a rumor that came from a British song.
FACT 49
In 1945, The Wehrmacht teamed up with the US Army to fight to Waffen SS. Called the Battle for Castle Itter, both sides fought to free important political prisoners. After the battle was won, the Wehrmacht shook their hands and voluntarily surrendered to them.
FACT 50
Most of the SS was brutal toward Priso
