The controversial Dunkirk “halt order” prompted speculation that Hitler deliberately permitted the evacuation, citing it as a “sporting gesture” later in life. However, historical evidence suggests otherwise. The order was primarily a strategic decision for German tanks to regroup, rest, and rearm. There was no military advantage for Hitler in allowing the escape of the British army intact, and the belief that the Luftwaffe could eliminate the soldiers on the beaches proved incorrect. The Dunkirk evacuees later played a crucial role in the liberation of France.

The haunting images of a Belgian car graveyard, abandoned for 70 years, have sparked an urban legend attributing the cars to US GIs. However, local accounts suggest it’s just a typical car boneyard, unrelated to military actions. Examination of the photos reveals that most cars date from the ’60s and ’70s, dispelling the myth. The site served as a source of stolen spare parts for years until its permanent clearance in 2010.

The “death match” between the Ukrainian team Start FC and the German occupier team Flakelf did occur, but the players were not collectively executed afterward. Contrary to historical accounts, there is no evidence that German officials ordered the Ukrainians to lose or face death. Instead, it is likely that some players, who were part of a work detail, were individually shot in retaliation for acts of resistance. These players are commemorated in a statue outside Dynamo Kyiv’s stadium, Ukraine’s most popular soccer team.

This notion, more of a conspiracy theory than a widely accepted myth, is championed by a few fringe scholars of the Eastern Front conflict. Originating with Soviet defector Viktor Suvarov, the theory suggests Stalin’s intent to invade Germany based on changes in Soviet military policies. Most historians dismiss Suvarov’s ideas, acknowledging that while Stalin might have eventually ordered an invasion, it wasn’t imminent, given the ongoing modernization and reorganization of the Red Army. Some white supremacists latch onto this theory, claiming Hitler acted to protect Germany from Communist aggression, but this interpretation lacks historical support.

Contrary to the urban legend, Hitler secured a decisive victory, winning the party leadership by a substantial margin of 553-1 in 1923. While the National Socialist German Workers’ Party didn’t secure a majority of seats in the 1933 German election, the last before Germany became a one-party state, this had minimal impact on the Nazis’ consolidation of power. The myth of a close vote does not accurately reflect the historical reality.

The claim that General Yamashita hid billions of dollars worth of gold cannot be definitively proven, and there is insufficient evidence to disprove it. A notable court case involving a Filipino treasure hunter and former president Ferdinand Marcos revolved around a gold horde supposedly linked to the Yamashita treasure. However, the origin of the gold remains unproven, adding a layer of mystery to the tale of hidden war loot in the Philippines.

While accepting France’s surrender, Hitler, an old WWI soldier, took a slight step back in shock, which was captured on film. Allied propagandists edited the footage to depict Hitler bouncing around like a child, creating the false image of him dancing a jig. The manipulated film served its purpose, generating outrage and mockery of Germany’s party leader.

The British Petroleum Warfare Department was indeed researching a technique to cover the English Channel with flammable oil, but the notion that they had already achieved this and set the channel ablaze was a fabricated story. British Intelligence played a role in circulating the rumor, creating the false impression that Germany had suffered a disastrous invasion attempt due to the burning water. In reality, the invasion plan was abandoned due to logistical challenges and a shortage of suitable ships for an amphibious assault.

This myth originated as wartime propaganda by the British Ministry of Information to boost morale and encourage citizens to grow carrots for pilots. The intention was to make people feel they could contribute to the war effort. Additionally, promoting vegetable consumption over rationed sweets was a goal. Despite the widespread belief that carrots enhance night vision due to their vitamin A content, there is no scientific basis for this claim.

Contrary to this widely repeated urban legend, the Charge at Krojanty involved Polish cavalry engaging German infantry in the open, not tanks. The charge was successful, disrupting a German assault and causing panic among their ranks. The myth of a cavalry charge against tanks originated from German propaganda, presented to journalists after a German counterattack with armored cars. Unfortunately, Allied writers perpetuated the false narrative, obscuring the actual events of the Charge at Krojanty.

The controversial myth surrounding Roosevelt’s alleged advanced knowledge of the Pearl Harbor attack becomes less conspiratorial when viewed through the lens of incompetence rather than conspiracy. A combination of factors, including poor training, inter-service rivalry, and a mistaken belief in the impracticality of a Japanese attack on a shallow harbor, contributed to the vulnerability of the US military assets. The radar did detect incoming Japanese planes, but the information was not effectively communicated due to the newness of the technology and the operators’ unfamiliarity with it. While it’s true that the three US aircraft carriers were not present, battleships, not carriers, were the primary naval focus at that time. The theory also overlooks the fact that one carrier was originally scheduled to be at Pearl Harbor during the incident.

In late 1944, Major Glenn Miller of the US Army Air Force was en route from England to Paris for a concert when his plane vanished over the sea, leading to the loss of all on board. The prevailing theory attributes the tragedy to adverse weather conditions and poor visibility. Despite conspiracy theories suggesting German foul play or accidental British friendly fire, there is no concrete evidence supporting these claims.

This unusual incident is indeed true. U-1206 was equipped with a new high-pressure toilet designed for use at lower depths. The captain inadvertently opened a valve to the outside while using the toilet, causing water to flood in. As the water reached the ship’s batteries, it triggered the rapid formation of deadly chlorine gas. To vent the gas, the captain ordered the boat to surface, bringing it right in front of the Scottish coastline where it was targeted and severely damaged. The captain, facing a dire situation, ordered the scuttling of the U-Boat, resulting in the loss of four crew members just three weeks before the end of World War II.

While there were individual Germans who, upon capture, claimed to be part of a significant resistance movement, the Werwolf movement was likely composed of small cells of fanatics. However, it had minimal impact on postwar reconstruction in Germany. Some murders of lesser-known German officials were possibly committed by SS members who falsely claimed association with Werwolf. Other incidents, such as the destruction of a US Government building in Bremen months after the war, were likely accidental or caused by unexploded devices. The Werwolf movement was more a product of hype, rumor, and fear than an actual insurgency.

This persistent urban legend is false. Bob Keeshan, the man behind Captain Kangaroo, and Lee Marvin were both members of the U.S. Marine Corps during WWII, but they did not fight at Iwo Jima together. Marvin was wounded in combat at the Battle of Saipan in 1944 and received a medical discharge, while Keeshan enlisted later, and the war ended before he could be deployed. The legend likely originated from an interview Marvin gave on the Tonight Show, praising Keeshan’s bravery, but no footage of this interview exists. Despite lacking evidence, the rumor persists in various forms, sometimes with added claims about Fred Rogers, which are also false as Rogers never served in the military.

While the SS originated as Hitler’s personal protective organization, under Heinrich Himmler’s leadership, it evolved into an elite military force with a focus on Germanic ideology and racial theory. SS units were known for their fanatical loyalty to the Fuhrer and their readiness to carry out any orders, including acts of genocide. However, by the end of WWII, the SS had enlisted foreign soldiers to augment its ranks.

As early as 1940, the SS formed the “Wiking Division” comprising anti-Communist fighters from Scandinavia, the Low Countries, and Estonia. Subsequent SS divisions included soldiers from various nationalities such as Croats, Ukrainians, Estonians, Latvians, Spaniards, French, East Indians, Romanians, and Russians. There was even an unsuccessful attempt to create a British Free Corps division with English volunteers.

Ultimately, 60% of those wearing SS runes were non-German soldiers. French SS soldiers, for instance, were among the last defenders of Berlin, fighting to the death to avoid capture by the Russians.

Despite persistent urban legends, there is no credible evidence to support the claim that Joseph Stalin ordered the creation of ape/human hybrid soldiers. The myth often revolves around the work of Russian biologist Il’ya Ivanovich Ivanov, who had garnered acclaim for his experiments in animal hybridization. In the 1920s, Ivanov received a small grant from the Soviet government to set up a lab in Africa with the goal of creating a human-ape hybrid. He attempted to impregnate chimps with human sperm and later considered the unethical idea of inseminating human women with chimp sperm.

However, Ivanov’s controversial scheme was halted by the local government, and by 1930, it had fallen out of favor amid shifting political climates. Stalin likely had little or no knowledge of Ivanov’s work. The notion of Stalin creating super-monkey soldiers to fight Hitler emerged much later, in dubious “infotainment” pieces in the mid-2000s.

While this explanation was widely accepted, the origin of the phrase “the whole nine yards” predates WWII and is not limited to machine gun ammunition. The phrase has been found in a 1907 newspaper blurb, describing the length of a baseball game. Over the years, it has been used in various contexts, sometimes as “the whole six yards,” and associated with measurements like the length of a long jump, the size of a NASA report, a length of fishing wire, the amount of concrete a mixer can hold, or the outfitting of “goodies” on a car.

Machine gun ammunition was not measured in length but in the number of bullets, and the standard 50 caliber machine gun on US planes used 100 or 500 round belts, with each round being about an inch long—neither of which adds up to nine yards. The true origin of the phrase remains unclear, and it likely evolved over time without a definitive source or meaning.

While there is likely truth to the existence of mass graves from the Eastern Front battles, obtaining concrete information on their number and the bodies they contain is challenging and often controversial. The cleanup efforts during and after WWII took nearly a decade, and many Soviet towns struggled with the disposal of German corpses and body parts, leading to dumping in open fields, swamps, or forests.

One of the largest purported mass graves is said to be in Peschanka, near Volgograd (formerly Stalingrad), where as many as 300,000 Germans are believed to be buried. The remote location and lack of extensive photographic evidence make it difficult to verify the size of these graves, and some even question the authenticity of the “Soviet bone field” legend as potential right-wing propaganda.

While the details of specific locations may be disputed, the broader truth remains that millions of soldiers went missing during WWII, and their remains are still discovered regularly throughout Europe, serving as poignant reminders of a conflict that claimed the lives of as many as 70 million people.

Contrary to the myth, Japan does not inherently have more jungles than western countries. The success of Japanese troops in capturing Singapore was not solely due to their presumed expertise in jungle warfare. In fact, Japanese troops did not commence training in jungle warfare until December of 1940.

The key factor in the fall of Singapore was the ill-preparedness of the British defenders. Despite being vastly outnumbered, the 88,600 British soldiers protecting the Malay Peninsula were not adequately prepared. General Tomoyuki Yamashita noted that the Japanese succeeded because the British defenders were taken lightly. The assumption that Japanese troops were inherently skilled jungle fighters played a role in explaining the unexpected defeat experienced by the western troops.

Contrary to the myth, the German nuclear program under Werner Heisenberg, known as “Uranverein,” was not as close to completing the atomic bomb as the Americans believed. While there was a misconception that Germany could unleash a powerful device at any moment, fueled by the assessments of some scientists who had studied under Germans before the war, the Allies discovered in 1944 that the German scientists were far from achieving this feat.

The German nuclear project faced significant challenges, including internal flaws and concerns for personal safety among engineers, some of whom were of Jewish heritage. The idea of a close race between Germany and the US to develop the atomic bomb was dispelled with the fall of German power, revealing the actual state of the German nuclear program.

Contrary to popular belief, the British Royal Air Force (RAF) was not on the brink of destruction. The RAF had more operational aircraft and an effective radar system, which played a crucial role in detecting and countering German air attacks.

This myth overlooks the logistical impossibility of such an operation. Japan lacked the necessary manpower and resources to launch and sustain an invasion across the vast Pacific Ocean against a well-defended and industrially superior United States.

While ending the war was a primary goal, some historians argue that demonstrating power to the Soviet Union and reducing Soviet influence in post-war Asia were also significant factors in the decision to use atomic bombs.

In reality, there was a spectrum of attitudes among Germans towards the Nazi regime, ranging from active resistance and passive opposition to reluctant compliance and enthusiastic support.

While the French Resistance provided valuable intelligence and disrupted German supply lines, the liberation of France was primarily achieved through the military efforts of the Allied forces.

Many kamikaze pilots were young men who faced immense pressure from their superiors and society. Some were given no choice but to participate in these suicide missions.

The capture of Moscow, while symbolically important, would not have addressed the fundamental issues of supply lines, the harsh Russian winter, and the vastness of the Soviet Union.

The feasibility and potential effectiveness of bombing Auschwitz remain subjects of debate. Such an operation would have faced significant logistical challenges and might not have halted the mass killings.

Italian military performance varied, with some notable successes and failures. Poor equipment and leadership were significant factors in their performance, rather than a lack of combat effectiveness.

German tank technology was advanced in the early years of the war, but the Allies significantly improved their tank designs and production capabilities as the war progressed.

The outcome of WWII was determined not just by military engagements but also by economic strength, industrial output, logistical capabilities, and strategic decisions.

Many Soviet citizens were victims of Stalin’s brutal regime, suffering from purges, forced labor camps, and widespread repression. Support for Stalin was often a matter of survival rather than genuine loyalty.

The German bombing campaign known as the Blitz aimed to demoralize the British population and force a surrender. However, it had the opposite effect, strengthening British resolve and unity against the Axis powers.