World war 2 is one of the most devastating chapters in the history of mankind. It changed the world with technology advancements, nuclear power and a lot more. However, not all facts about world war 2 are known to everyone. Check out this list below and get to know all the unknown facts about world war 2.
1. Around 3% of the 1939 world population was killed in World War 2.
The era of World War 2 has reported a total death of over 60 million people which was more than 3% of the estimated world population in 1939(i.e. 2 billion). In the history of mankind, these many people have not died in a military conflict before. If deaths from war-related disease and famine are to be considered, then the count goes to 80 million.
Russian Government has reported that USSR lost 26.6 million lives during WW2. In August 2009, Polish Institute of National Remembrance has estimated the number of deaths in Poland to be between 5.6-5.8 million, whereas for Germany a figure of 5.3 million has been given by Rudiger Overmans, a German Army historian. (source)
2. 80% of the males born in Soviet in 1923 died during World War 2.
Germans invaded the Soviet Union in 1941 during the World War 2. It was a huge invasion and young Soviet Union soldiers in the troop that were born in 1923 were not experienced for such an attack. They were always taken by surprised and either killed or taken as prisoners and later persecuted by the Nazi’s. After World War 2 attacks only 1,100 out of 3,400 males born in 1923 were left alive. (source)
3. All venomous animals of London Zoo were killed.
At the outbreak of the Second World War on 3rd September 1939, London Zoo killed all the venomous animals at the zoo. This was done to avoid any casualties caused due to the escape of dangerous animals, in case the zoo were bombed. All poisonous animals except a Komodo dragon and Chinese alligators were saved. Two huge pythons, one 28 ft long and second 25 ft long were also preserved in two large wooden boxes. (source)
4. German “Operation Barbarossa” led to mass killing of 5.5 million Soviet prisoners by the Nazi’s in 1941-42.
In a span of eight months, Nazi’s killed 2.8 million Soviet prisoners. They used techniques like starvation, exposure to poisonous gases and holocausts for this concentrated gendercide. This was part of Hitler’s “Operation Barbarossa” in which more than 5.5 million Soviet prisoners were either exposed to death or sent to Germany for extermination. (source)
5. 3700 “Tsunami bombs” tested in waters of New Caledonia.
During World War 2, the U.S and New Zealand carried out a secret operation named “ Project Seal” in which they tested a device that was competent with the nuclear bomb. The device created could create a series of 10 large offshore blasts which would then result in a 33-foot tsunami capable of engulfing an entire city. These tests were carried out in New Caledonia and Auckland. (source)
6. Moscow was planned to be turned into a lake by Hitler.
While invading Russia, Hitler decided to have Moscow as the administrative capital during 1941. He determined that like Leningrad and Kiev, he would level Moscow and kill its 4 million inhabitants. He planned to cover Moscow by a large artificial lake by submerging it by opening the dam structures of Moscow-Volga canal. (source)
7. China was bombed with fleas infected with bubonic plague by Japan.
A recent report by a doctor in Tokyo court revealed that during the World war 2, a city in China was bombed with bubonic plague-carrying fleas by Japan’s wartime military. It led to a serious outbreak of the disease in China. During the end of 1940, 109 people died due to this plague in Ningbo city according to bacteriologist Huang Ketai. (source)
8. 2 million German women aged 13-70 were raped by the Red Army.
At the later stages of World War 2, Germany had its downfall and Allied troops entered to occupy German territory. During this period mass rapes took place in Germany mostly by Soviet servicemen. Many sources reveal that Soviet leadership was aware of all the happenings and remained silent on this rape issues. The number of rape cases is estimated to be over 2 million. (source)
9. October 1941 witnessed the “Odessa massacre”- killing of 50,000 Jews by Romanian troops.
During 1941-1942 Romanian and German troops were involved in mass murder of Jews and Gipsies. This happened in Odessa and surrounding towns and hence it is given the name as Odessa massacre. On October 22-24 1941, 25-30 thousand Jews were shot or burned by the Romanians. Romanian and German troops killed almost 1 lac Ukranian Jews between the areas of Dniestr and Bug rivers. (source)
10. Chinese deaths due to Japan’s military attacks are more as compared to the number of Jews killed in the Holocaust by Germans.
All of us might be aware of the fact that the Nazi’s and Hitler killed thousands of Jews inhumanely. However, it is a shocking fact that more number of Chinese were killed by Japanese as compared to the number of Jews killed by Nazi’s. Emperor Hirohito and Japanese troops were involved in severe war crimes with Chinese inhabitants and prisoners of war. (source)
11. Metal shortage during World War 2 led to Oscar’s statuettes being made of painted plaster.
Since 1929, Oscar’s have been polished with glittering gold and the statuettes are made of metal, either bronze, nickel or copper. However, during the World War 2, there was an acute shortage of these metals because of arms manufacturing. Due to this Oscar’s statuettes were made of painted plaster for three years. (source)
12. Around 1.1 million Jewish children were killed in the Holocaust.
According to the diaries of few children that survived the terror-filled years of World War 2, around 1.1 million Jewish children were persecuted by the Nazi’s and their partners during the war. Jew families had to hide, migrate and suffer due to the atrocities of the Nazi’s. If detained in the prison then the children were killed in the Holocaust.(source)
13. After the war, Hitler planned to build “ Museum of an Extinct Race” showcasing Jewish artifacts.
Hitler had planned to build a “ Museum of an Extinct Race” in which all the artifacts and remains of Jews would be kept after he would kill all the Jews. You can find the place in Auschwitz in Poland where he used to dehumanize the Jew prisoners and kill them by starvation and poisonous gases. (source)
14. Japan and Russia have still not signed the treaty for the end of World War 2.
Although our history books mention a date when World War 2 had ended, it has not. Japan and Russia have not signed any peace treaties and they are still fighting over the Kuril Islands which were occupied by Russia during the World War 2. So the World War 2 might have ended for other nations, but for Japan and Russia it still continues as Kuril Dispute. (source)
15. On an average 15 bombs used in World war 2 are discovered daily in Germany which amounts to around 5,500 bombs in a year.
It has been more than 70 years since the last bomb was fired in World War 2 and the later world saw several peace treaties. But still, people in Germany are not at peace with more than 5000 bombs discovered yearly in their country. Many bombs of World War era had burst in past years and many are still hidden in the land of Germany. (source)