Now Reading: World War II True or False Quiz
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World War II True or False Quiz
World War II True or False Quiz
World War II reshaped the 20th century. Fought between 1939 and 1945, it drew in countries across Europe, Asia, Africa, the Atlantic, and the Pacific. Governments, armies, and civilians all played a role in a conflict that changed borders, ended empires, and transformed global politics.
Its history is full of well-known events, but also smaller details that are easy to misremember. The war involved famous leaders, massive military campaigns, occupation, propaganda, espionage, changing alliances, new weapons, and enormous losses on both the battlefield and the home front.
This World War II True or False Quiz asks you to judge a series of statements about the conflict. Some focus on major wartime developments, while others look at lesser-known stories and surprising facts. Your job is to decide whether each statement is true or false. Read carefully before answering. In a subject as vast as World War II, the most convincing-sounding statement is not always the correct one!
1. True or False: The British military used the body of a homeless man that had died in order to trick Germany.
Correct Answer: True
Operation Mincemeat was a deception plan by the British Military to disguise the Allied invasion of Sicily. Glyndwr Michael, a homeless man from Wales that had died from eating rat poison was dressed in the uniform of a British officer and given fake documents that explained that the Allies planned to invade Greece and Sardinia rather than Sicily. As a result, German soldiers were moved to Greece and Sardinia before the invasion enabling the Allies to successfully invade Sicily with fewer casualties and in a shorter amount of time than first anticipated.
2. True or False: Adolf Hitler's nephew served in the United States Navy during the Second World War.
Correct Answer: True
William Stuart-Houston (born William Hitler) was the son of Alois Hitler Jr., the half-brother of Adolf Hitler. William was born in Liverpool, United Kingdom but spent some time in Germany during the 1930s benefitting from being the nephew of Adolf. After leaving Germany, William eventually settled in the United States and, despite being rejected multiple times (as there were questions over his allegiences) he enlisted in the US Navy in 1944. This only happened after he wrote to President Franklin Roosevelt directly. He was wounded in action and awarded the Purple Heart. After the war, William changed his surname from Hitler to Stuart-Houston.
3. True or False: Winston Churchill was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom at the beginning and the end of WWII.
Correct Answer: False
Winston Churchill was not the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom at the beginning or end of World War 2. He became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on May 10th, 1940, taking over from Neville Chamberlain. Churchill's Conservatives lost the 1945 General Election to Clement Attlee's Labour Party and was replaced as Prime Minister on July 26th, 1945, after VE-Day (May 8th, 1945) but not after the Surrender of Japan on September 2nd, 1945.
4. True or False: The Soviet Union lost an estimated 5% of their population during World War Two
Correct Answer: False
The deaths of the Soviet Union during the Second World War are actually estimated at far larger than 5% of the population. With an estimated military and civilian death toll of between 20 and 27 million, the % loss of the population is believed to be between 10% and 15%.
5. True or False: Germany sustained more casualties on D-Day (the Normandy Landings on June 6th, 1944) than the Allies did.
Correct Answer: False
While the D-Day landing on June 6, 1944 resulted in a victory for the Allied Powers, they actually sustained more casualties than the German Army did. The estimated casualties for the Allies were over 10,000 whereas the German Army estimated casualties were between 4,000 and 9,000.
6. True or False: 35th President of the United States John F. Kennedy was a veteran of the Second World War.
Correct Answer: True
John F. Kennedy first attempted to join the United States Army in 1940 but was medically disqualified due to chronic back problems. In 1941 he was accepted into the United States Naval Reserve. During his time with the United States Navy, he was commander of patrol torpedo boats PT-109 and PT-59 which were based in the Pacific Theater around Tulagi Island and the Solomon Islands. He reached the rank of Lieutenant.
7. True or False: The author of the James Bond novels, Ian Fleming, was a member of MI5 during World War Two.
Correct Answer: False
Ian Fleming was an intelligence officer for the British Navy, serving as a personal assistant to the Director of Naval Intelligence of the Royal Navy, Rear Admiral John Godfrey. He was a key contributor to the plan of Operation Mincemeat, and would often communicate with other intelligence offices along with the British wartime government. While he did work in intelligence during World War 2, he never worked for the Security Service (MI5).
8. True or False: The Second World War began with Germany invading Poland.
Correct Answer: True
The Second World War began with Germany invading Poland on the September 1st, 1939 at 4:44am Berlin time. In the following days, a series of declarations of wars followed, bringing other nations into the conflict.
9. True or False: Germany had a unit of volunteer soldiers from neutral Spain that fought on the Eastern Front.
Correct Answer: True
The unit was called the Blue Division and despite Spain's official wartime policy of neutrality, the unit was active on the Eastern Front from 1941 until 1943. Spanish citizens were allowed to volunteer for the German Army on the condition that the soldiers would not be used to fight against any of the Allied Powers on the Western Front.
10. True or False: The United Kingdom declared war on Japan at the same time that they declared war on Germany.
Correct Answer: False
The United Kingdom did not declare war on Japan until December 8th, 1941 as a result of attacks by the Japanese on British Malaya, Singapore, and Hong Kong.
