What most of us remember about World War II from history classes boils down to who fought who, the Holocaust, the Nazis and how almost all participant countries sacrificed their economies and their people’s lives for winning the war. I’m pretty sure they don’t tell kids in any school in the world about these 5 unbelievable true stories about WWII. Teachers usually stick to their schedule, but you would’ve paid more attention in class if they were talking about these insane stories that will give you goosebumps.
5. The Nuke Arctic Base and the Lost Glasses
In 1940 the Germans took over a Norwegian factory that made heavy water. They had everything they needed to make an atom bomb so the Allies tried to stop them by sending 30 British Army officers to prevent them from making the bomb. The mission failed and all the Brits were killed. But the next group of saboteurs were braver and luckier. 11 Norwegians climbed down an ice gorge and managed to steal their way into the factory were they set in explosives ready to be lit. But the base’s caretaker, who was also a Norwegian, had lost his glasses and, despite being held at gunpoint, he refused to go without them. All the members of the commando team had to look for the glasses and still managed to get out in time. Their operation was a success, there were no casualties and the German were left without the heavy water they needed for atomic bombs.
4. Japan’s Death Ray and the Tied Up Mouse
Nikola Tesla inspired a great many people with his alternating current, inventing an earthquake machine and talking about a “death beam” that could destroy whole armies. While the rest of the world didn’t pay too much attention to the latter, the Japaneses’ jaws dropped almost as if saying “Shut up and take my money”. They paid their scientists one million yen to build the massive destruction weapon, and they did it. Weeeell, almost. They ended up with a death ray machine that could kill its target from half a mile distance. As long as the target stood still. For five to ten minutes. This didn’t work out for the Japanese, who would’ve had to pick out very lazy targets in order to use the Death Ray. Although the machine had worked on rabbits and monkeys (that had been tied up), the Death Ray was never used on the battle field and no one knows what happened with it.
3. Ecofriendly Nazis Built Bioweapons
Everybody was working hard in World War II. Soldiers were marching for miles without drinking or eating, women were replacing men in factories, German biologists were making bioweapons. Among their other genius plans there was releasing millions of weaponized potato beetles on the British crops and attacking the United States with human and animal epidemic pathogens. So why did all their crazy ideas remain in the closet? It appears they didn’t have Hitler’s seal of approval. He stood his ground on the “no bioweapons” policy and no one is certain why. It could’ve been because he had experience with them from the previous World War or because he didn’t think they would work.
2. American Citizen and Japanese Pilot Take Over
In December 1941, after bombing Pearl Harbor, a Japanese pilot crashed on a Hawaiian island because of a technical problem. With no fresh news about the war, the Hawaiians greeted Shigenori Nishikaichi with breakfast and luau. Yoshio Harada, who was an American citizen with Japanese ancestry translated for the pilot, making sure to keep the rest of the Hawaiians in the dark about the ongoing war and the Japanese attacks. The pilot requested his rescuer, Howell Kaleohano, return the documents he had stolen from the wreckage, and when the latter refused, Harada stole some guns and helped Nishikaichi escape. The two started mayhem on the little island, shooting guns, and threatening to kill hostages. When Ben Kanahene couldn’t take it anymore, he and his wife slit Nishikaichi’s throat and Harada, frightened, shot himself. Kanahene received many medals and awards, while his wife, Ella got a pat on the back.
1. The Jap-German Kamikaze Sub
Just before World War II came to an end, the Germans sent a submarine with all their secret weapons to Japan. I guess the Nazis never heard of the saying “Never put all your secret weapons in one submarine”. Among the weapons there was also a lot of uranium. So what did the Nazi and the Japs come up with? Building a radioactive bomb specially designed for America’s West Coast. They had the kamikaze submarine, they had the idea and the plan… but they didn’t have the uranium. How’s that? It appears the German submarine which was on its way to Japan was “intercepted” by the Americans. This is still not on the books, but rumor has it the Nazi uranium went into the atomic bomb that hit Hiroshima. But the Japanese still had an ace up their sleeve: the kamikaze submarines could make some damage, even without the uranium. If only the Japanese had been as organized and precise as the Germans, they would’ve succeeded. But Japan surrendered two days before the submarines were scheduled to hit the Panama Canal, so they ended up being blown off by the U.S. Navy. Happy ending!
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