10 Misconceptions People Have About World War II

Although WWII-inspired films and series give the impression that US troops were filled with soldiers who bravely volunteered to fight the conflict, two-thirds of the men sent to Europe were recruited by the Army to go to war.

Still about the Americans, the idea that their participation in the war saved the allies from defeat is misguided. In fact, it was the Soviet Union, more than any other nation, that was responsible for defeating the Nazis. To give you an idea, the rate of military losses on the Eastern Front compared to the Western Front was nine to one, with over 80 percent of German casualties occurring in eastern Europe.

Nor were the Americans responsible for leading D-Day military operations. Although the invasion was under the general command of the American Dwight Eisenhower, his architects, navy commanders, aeronautics, and army were all British.

4. In addition, English D-Day warships and land vehicles outnumbered the Americans by more than four to one, and two-thirds of the aircraft used in the invasions were British. In addition, one third of the supplies used by US soldiers were supplied by the English.

Although we almost always think of only the approximately 6 million Jews who died at the hands of the Nazis during the Holocaust, they are far from the only victims of this unfortunate massacre. In addition, about 5 million people from other groups, including Gypsies, Serbs, Communists, homosexuals, disabled people, Polish intellectuals and so many, have lost their lives in the extermination camps.

6 - Incidentally, even on the astonishing number of Jews killed during the conflict (about 6 million, as we mentioned above), they were not the most numerous. Current estimates indicate that 13 million Soviet civilians and about 14 million Chinese - victims of the Japanese - lost their lives during World War II.

Contrary to popular belief, the Nazis were not the only villains of World War II. The Japanese, for example, subjected nearly 250, 000 civilians to terrifying medical experiments, executed 100, 000 people in Manila at one time, and tortured thousands of US soldiers. Moreover, although no one talks much about it, the Allied soldiers committed terrible war crimes.

8 - A recent survey found that US soldiers - considered good guys in this story - would have sexually abused approximately 14, 000 women in Germany, England and France, as well as 10, 000 in Japan. In addition, all bodies Of the Japanese victims found in the Mariana Islands, 60% of them were without their heads basically because US soldiers decided to make skull collections.

9 - Although the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs caused a huge death toll - estimated at 80, 000 and 70, 000 respectively - the bombings with the highest casualties occurred in Tokyo. Between March 9 and 10, 1945, the Americans dropped 1, 665 tons of bombs on the city, leaving at least 100, 000 dead and about 1 million injured and homeless.

Although the history books state that World War II officially began on September 1, 1939, the date that Germany invaded Poland, this information is a matter of debate. Many historians argue that the conflict broke out in May 1939, when the Soviets and Japanese began fighting for Mongolia, and some claim that the origin came with the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937.

There are also those who believe that the starting point for World War II was the Italian invasion of Abyssinia (former Ethiopian Empire) in 1935 or the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931. It is noteworthy that, as almost always It is the “winners” who write about the conflict, the victorious powers determined that the war began when they became involved in the conflict.

* The above myths are from an interesting article by John Kuroski on the All That Is Interesting portal, which you can check out through this link.