Germany and France became enemies due to a long-standing rivalry over European power, intensified by territorial disputes like Alsace-Lorraine and Germany's unification in 1871, leading to conflicts like the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71), World War I (1914-18), and World War II (1939-45), fueled by German militarism and expansionism versus French desires for security and revenge, until post-WWII reconciliation efforts forged their current alliance.
This kicked off a period of intense rivalry and animosity between Germany and France that would continue nearly 150 years. The rivalry intensified after the unification of the German states and the Franco-German War of 1870, when France was forced to cede the mostly Germanic-speaking Alsace-Lorraine region to Germany.
The Nazis considered Jews to be their number one enemy. During World War II, Nazi Germany and its allies and collaborators murdered six million Jews in a genocide now known as the Holocaust.
Philippe Pétain was convicted of treason for overseeing the surrender of France to the Germans in 1940 and subsequently acting as head of the collaborationist puppet government of Vichy France.
Hitler pledged to restore prosperity, create civil order (by crushing industrial strikes and street demonstrations by communists and socialists), eliminate the influence of Jewish financiers, and make the fatherland once again a world power.
Then, saying "It is finished, goodbye", Hitler took Eva back into their rooms for the last time. During the afternoon Hitler shot himself and Eva took the poison capsule that he had given her.
WW2 soldiers carried condoms primarily for disease prevention (STDs like syphilis and gonorrhea) and for practical combat uses, such as keeping sand and mud out of their rifle barrels, protecting small items, or even as makeshift waterproof bags, although the weapon-protection use is sometimes exaggerated in popular culture. The military distributed them widely (often in "prophylactic kits") to maintain troop strength, recognizing the significant manpower lost to venereal diseases in past conflicts.
During the darkest days of World War II, a woman with a prosthetic leg became the Allied spy the Nazis feared most: Virginia Hall. Dubbed "the lame lady" by the Gestapo, she turned her supposed weakness into her greatest disguise.
John Wayne didn't serve in WWII due to a combination of age (34 at Pearl Harbor), family status (deferment for wife and kids), and, crucially, occupational deferments secured by his studio, Republic Pictures, who argued his films were vital for national morale, though he reportedly wanted to enlist, leading to lifelong guilt and a reputation as a "draft dodger" despite his patriotic image.
Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler was scared of visiting the dentist, it has emerged. The man who ordered deaths of millions in the extermination camps once insisted his dentist draw out simple root-canal work over eight days because he "couldn't stand the pain".
The 'D' in D-Day simply stands for "Day," used as a military placeholder for the start date of a major operation, with "D-Day" meaning "the day" an attack begins, and "D-2" meaning two days before. While many theories exist (like "Deliverance" or "Doom"), the term is a generic code, and the Normandy invasion on June 6, 1944, became the most famous event known as D-Day.
During World War two Germany swept across Europe with astonishing speed but how long did it take for each country to fall the fastest of all was Denmark which fell in just six hours on April 9th 1940. Next came Luxembourg occupied in a single day on May 10th. The Netherlands resisted for 5 days.
France–Germany relations, or Franco-German relations, form a part of the wider politics of the European Union. The two countries have a long – and often contentious – relationship stretching back to the Middle Ages. After World War II, the two nations have largely reconciled.
France. Germany's top ally is France. Economically, as a modern nation that imports a lot, there are many nations Germany has to rely on.
World War Two's Most Glamorous Spy: Christine Granville, Winston Churchill's favorite agent, inspiration for the character Vesper in the James Bond novels. Christine Granville was a Polish beauty queen who became one of Britain's most valuable spies.
Simo Häyhä This is the latest accepted revision, reviewed on 5 January 2026. Simo Häyhä (17 December 1905 – 1 April 2002), often referred to by his nickname The White Death, was a Finnish military sniper during the Winter War between Finland and the Soviet Union in World War II.
Audrey Hepburn: Spy for the Resistance. By 1944, Hepburn was working for Dr. Hendrik Visser 't Hooft, an anti-German leader, where she solidified her ties to the underground Resistance and doctors who helped forge identity papers.
'Bad' girls have always known how to look after themselves. Barrier methods were always very popular. A halved, emptied lemon skin placed over the cervix worked well, for example, as did sponges soaked in natural spermicides such as vinegar.
By the end of the war, approximately 7,000 of the 10,500 SIS staff were female. These women on the home front contributed to the Allied victory by successfully breaking codes and deciphering enemy messages. The women cryptologists were held to strict secrecy and would become one of the best-kept secrets of WWII.
The Elsan 'chemical closet' was used by soldiers in the Army and Navy during World War II. This was an early version of a portable chemical toilet.
The blood was confirmed to be Hitler's by comparing it to DNA from a relative with shared paternal ancestry. Analysis of the genetic material revealed that he had markers for Kallmann syndrome, a genetic disorder that prevents a person from starting or fully completing puberty.
Though he esteemed Jesus as an Aryan fighter against Jewish materialism who was martyred for his anti-Jewish stance, he did not ascribe to Jesus's death any significance in human salvation. Indeed, he did not believe in salvation at all in the Christian sense of the term, because he denied a personal afterlife.
Notes from personal chef Constanze Manziarly to her sister show the pathetic plate was the evil dictator's last. He killed himself between courses — as she prepared a main course of fried eggs and mashed potatoes, not knowing he was already dead.