People Share Interesting WWII Facts That Everyone Should Know

The Göring Brothers

"The story of the Göring brothers is mind blowing."

"Hermann Göring was a high ranking Nazi party member."

"He was head of the Luftwaffe and he was designated to be Hitler's successor after the world was conquered and Hitler eventually died."

"His brother was Albert Göring."

"Albert was staunchly Anti-Nazi."

"Albert saw the regime for what it was, brutal, horrible, murdering racists."

"He especially objected to the treatment of the Jewish people."

"Albert would actually use the fact of who his brother was to get out of trouble for helping Jews escape."

"He would do things like drive a transport truck to the camps or ghettos where they were held, and demand to be given multiple people for work, or whatever excuse he would give."

"When he got resistance, he would drag out 'Do you know who my brother is? NOW BRING THEM TO ME!'."

"He would then drive them to safety and release them."

"He once saw a bunch of Jewish women being forced to scrub a street, so he hopped down on his knees and joined them."

"When the Nazi officer realized who he was, the scrubbing stopped."

"He did many things like this."

"Saving Jews from almost certain death."

"Defying the party."

"Defying his brother."

"Again, using his brothers political clout to derail Nazi objectives."

"And then, he gets captured, at the end of the war, and is going to be killed with the other captives, because OF COURSE Göring's brother must be Nazi scum."

"By sheer dumb luck, a person in charge of processing his termination paperwork was a Jew he saved!"

"That person spoke up, and many others did, and he was set free."

"After the war, Albert Göring was questioned during the Nuremberg Tribunal."

"However, many of those he had helped testified for him, and he was released."

"Soon afterwards, Göring was arrested by the Czechs, but he was again released when the full extent of his activities became known."

"Also, after his divorce post war, he ‘married’ his housekeeper solely so she could receive his pension after his death."- Goatmanthealien

Disney Propoganda

" Disney made a number of propaganda cartoons."

"A funny one, depicting Donald Duck living in a caricaturized Third Reich, and a serious one, depicting a German child being raised and systematically brainwashed by the Nazi regime."- Obamas_Tie

Plane Production

"The United States produced 150% more planes in 1944 alone than Japan did in the whole war."- SuvenPan

The Truth Behind Japan

"Purple Hearts given out today by the US were manufactured for the invasion of Japan."- Steve_the_Samurai

Horrific Torture

'Zyklon B, the brand of cyanide used by the nazis to kill in the concentration camps, had a tearing agent in it (basically tear gas)."

"This is because it was used as a rat poison, and the idea was to get people to go away from it."

"The nazis asked the manufacturer to remove it, but they didn't, because they were concerned about losing revenue without that patent."

'So they kept it in, causing much more unnecessary misery and pain than if they just used cyanide."

" X 6 million people."- scrubjays

The True Rise To Power Of The Nazis

"Even though it appears that way to a lot of people, the Nazis did not come to power in one night or even over a short amount of time."

"There were months and years of events that lead to the Nazi takeover of Germany, and years between that takeover and the outbreak of the war."- citanXV

Witold Pilecki

"Witold Pilecki was a polish soldier who purposefully got himself put into Auschwitz so he could report on the atrocities inside."

"He helped other people inside the concentration camp by asking for more food for them, to release them, etc."

"In 1945 he made his report in Auschwitz available to the public."

"He continued to work on liberating those who were inside Auschwitz and died in 1948 via execution."- gaynflamboyant

The Sten Gun Poem

"The Sten gun was hated amongst troops so much a poem was written about it:"

"You wicked piece of vicious tin!"

"Call you a gun?"

"Don't make me grin."

"You're just a bloated piece of pipe."

"You couldn't hit a hunk of tripe."

"But when you're with me in the night, I'll tell you pal, you're just alright!"

"Each day I wipe you free of dirt."

"Your dratted corners tear my shirt."

"I cuss at you and call you names, You're much more trouble than my dames."

"But boy, do I love to hear you yammer When you 're spitting lead in a business manner."

"You conceited pile of salvage junk."

"I think this prowess talk is bunk."

"Yet if I want a wall of lead Thrown at some Jerry's head It is to you I raise my hat."

"You're a damn good pal... You silly gat!"- Imaginary_Fennel6772·

Forgotten Covert Missions

"The US Office of Strategic Services (predecessor to the CIA) devised a plan to demoralize Nazi troops by having French Resistance members secretly spray Nazi officers with the equivalent of military grade fart spray."

"The plan, in theory, was that German troops would think their commander sh*t himself and that would lessen their will to fight."

"So there's that."- __Arty__

The Sinking of the MV Gustloff

"The January 31, 1945 sinking of the MV Gustloff."

"It was a German passenger ship taking fleeing refugees from the eastern front."

"The Soviets downed it in the Baltic sea shortly after it launched."

"The total death toll is unknown because there were so many stowaways but it was at least 9,000, making it the largest maritime disaster in known history."

"It didn't get a lot of press because for the Allies the Germans were the enemy so who cares, and the Nazis certainly didn't want to talk about it because they're in the waning days of a losing war and the last thing they needed was another hit to their already sinking morale."- llcucf80

Nazi Boobytraps

"When in retreat, the Nazis would boobytrap pictures on the walls and leave them slightly crooked."

"They did this to entice officers to straighten them and set off an explosion."- Swizli

World War II lasted from 1939 till 1945.

Even the most dedicated of scholars will continue to learn new information which will surprise and horrify them as records are declassified.

We must always remember all the brave men and women who risked their lives, and whose lives were cut cruelly short.