5 Daft Facts About World War II

Your teachers didn’t mention this at school

An American propaganda poster by an unknown artist, c. 1940s (Wikimedia Commons)

World War II is probably the most well-known conflict in history.

It’s vastly overrepresented in films, television shows, and video games, never mind the mountain of historical literature on the subject.

But despite this, there are still plenty of weird details that most people are completely unaware of.

So, having done some research, here are five daft facts about World War II.

1. There Was a Bear in the Polish Army

A photograph of Wojtek with a Polish soldier from the Imperial War Museum, 1942 (Wikimedia Commons)

While travelling to Egypt, some Polish soldiers discovered a bear cub in the Zagros Mountains of Persia (now Iran). The bear was being looked after by a boy, for its mother had been killed by hunters.

The Polish men decided to adopt the bear themselves. They named him Wojtek and treated him like a fellow soldier. He was even given the rank of private and his own serial number.

Wojtek worked alongside the Polish soldiers, supplying the frontlines with boxes of ammunition. By the end of the war, he had been promoted to the rank of…