6 Brutal Facts About World War II That Will Shock You
World War II took place from September 1939 to September 1945, involving all the world’s major powers of the early 20th century. Leaving millions dead, hundreds of millions wounded, and razed landscapes, the war brought a new age and borders to the world. While many facts are known about the war, other facts about World War II are quite brutal, showing the darker side of this conflict. Keep reading to learn six shocking facts about World War II.
6. Concentration camps predate the war
Starting our list of brutal facts about World War II is the concentration camp. While the Final Solution (genocide of Jewish people) did not enter Germans minds until 1942, the Nazis already had significant experience with concentration camps. The first of these camps, Dachau, was opened in 1933 to hold political prisoners, intellectuals, the handicapped, homosexuals, and Romani.
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5. The unbreakable soldier
Fifth on our list of brutal facts about World War II is the unbreakable soldier. Also known as British soldier Adrian Carton de Wiart, he fought in the Boer War and World War I. Carton de Wiart was shot in the face, skull, leg, and hip, and became known as the “elegant pirate” due to his empty sleeve and black eyepatch. During the war, he was captured by the Italians, and even at over 60 years old, managed to escape and go into hiding, later causing more chaos for the Germans.
4. Allies dropped tons of explosives on France
Next on our list of brutal facts about World War II is the sheer amount of explosives dropped on France. The Allies caused almost as much physical damage to the country as the Germans during their occupation, dropping 500,000 tons of explosives. This was more than what the Germans dropped on the United Kingdom during the Blitz and with their V-weapons. One particular Allied bombing killed 5,000 French civilians.
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3. More than half of RAF bomber crews perished
Rounding out the top three brutal facts about World War II is the harsh reality of being a British Royal Air Force (RAF) Bomber. Members of the RAF had less than a 50% chance of survival during the war. Day and night flights were perilous, and combat aviation was still relatively new. At the end of the war, approximately 13% of the crew were captured, 12% died in training, and just 24% returned home without sustaining injury.
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2. The soldier who fought for decades
Second on our list of brutal facts about World War II is Hiro Onoda’s story. Onoda is the now-famed Japanese soldier who hid in the jungles of the Philippines until 1974, almost 30 years after the war ended. Never believing the war had ended, Onoda killed several civilians and only his commanding officer, then a bookseller, managed to coax him out from hiding. He then convinced Onoda that the war had ended.
1. Deaths estimated between 75-85 million
Last but not least on our list of brutal facts about World War II is the shocking number of people killed during the war. Deaths are estimated between 75 and 85 million people, with 26 million in the military and 59 million civilians. For civilian deaths, it is estimated that 17.6 million people were murdered during the Holocaust era, including Jewish people, non-Jewish Soviet civilians, Soviet POWs, non-Jewish Polish civilians, Romani people, Serbian civilians, and people with disabilities.
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