The Dutch were allowed to remain neutral in WW1 because of the defence lines they invested heavily in during the decades leading up to it. These were made of concrete fortresses that can still be seen everywhere where I live, combined with an infrastructure that allowed to flood large l…
The Dutch were allowed to remain neutral in WW1 because of the defence lines they invested heavily in during the decades leading up to it. These were made of concrete fortresses that can still be seen everywhere where I live, combined with an infr…
Did Anyone Try to Stop Hitler But Was Ignored? Yeah—someone did. And no, it wasn’t Churchill or some outsider waving a warning flag. Inside Germany, there was one last person with enough clout to slow Hitler down: Paul von Hindenburg, the aging wa…
World War 2 was a difficult time not knowing which of the leaders of the Nazi party Germans disliked most. The government was highly strict. Leaders could end up in serious trouble should people say bad stuff about them. Worse they could be sent t…
The large number of pilots hit with mental breakdowns, esp. on the Eastern Front where they often flew 6–8 missions a day off grass fields close to the front lines and who experienced terrible stress from the non-stop combat: “Eventually returnin…
During the horrific Russian winter German tankers often slept inside their tanks, tightly huddling in their seats. The famous Tigers, for instance, didn’t have a heating system so the interior of the tank could reach the same temp as the outside, …
During the battle for Monte Cassino in Italy, Polish soldiers used a bear named Wojtek to help them carry ammunition! The bear carried boxes of ammunition some weighing in at over 100 pounds, from supply trucks to artillery positions on the front …
The “Nazi army helmet” referenced in the question wasn’t a NAZI helmet. The word “helmet” derives from the diminutive of “helm”, which is traditional head armor going back centuries. The distinctively shaped German Stahlhelm (translation: steel he…
I’m not sure why the other answers are trying to come up with some sort of geopolitical reason as to why Goring was laughing. He’s laughing, along with everyone else in that section, at a mistranslation by the interpreter that was quite funny. It…
The Metro of St. Petersburg, with an average depth of hundred meters, is the deepest Metro in the world. (Image: saint-petersburg.com) Twelve Seas wash the coasts of Russia. The Ural Mountains are the oldest mountains in the world. The Moscow Krem…
Many U-boats were at sea or in port when the “Regenbogen” order was given to surrender on May 3, 1945. This was not as easy as it might sound since a submarine suddenly appearing out of the water was a target, even if it meant to surrender. Many G…
