There have been numerous movies made about World War II in the time since. However, the sheer scope of that conflict means that there are still plenty of stories that have not managed to make it onto the movie screen. Said stories run the full gamut of the human experience, including more than a few that can pass on some rather important lessons to interested individuals.
Here are five examples of stories from World War II that should be turned into movies:
Battle of Okinawa
By the Battle of Okinawa, it was clear that the United States and the rest of the Allies would emerge as the victor over Imperial Japan. However, the Imperial Japanese nonetheless fought with ferocity, as shown by the more than 160,000 casualties suffered by both sides. With that said, no narrative of the battle would be complete without mentioning the fact that about half of the civilian population was rendered either dead or missing because of the battle, which was due more to the Imperial Japanese than to the Allies. The stories of Japanese soldiers urging Okinawan civilians to commit suicide are not fiction but rather fact, with the result that those fortunate enough to be captured by the Americans were often surprised by their humane treatment when they had been told that the Americans would behave as the Japanese soldiers had behaved in places throughout the Pacific Theater.
Double-Cross System
During World War II, Nazi Germany sent a number of spies into Britain. Some of these spies were inserted via either parachute or submarine, but most snuck in via neutral countries, with pretending to be refugees being a particularly popular option. However, it turned out that the British ran an excellent counter-espionage operation called the Double-Cross System, which was so successful that not a single German agent was unknown to them with one potential exception who had committed suicide. Naturally, the British put the German spies to excellent use in fooling the Nazis regarding their true intentions.
Night Witches
Night Witches was the German name for the Soviet Union’s 588th Night Bomber Regiment, which was made up of female volunteers. Like its name suggests, the unit carried out both harassment bombing and precision bombing of German forces, so much so that each of its pilots had completed more than 800 missions by the end of the war. As a result, while it was not the sole all-women unit in the Soviet Air Force, it should come as no surprise to learn that it was the most decorated, with an excellent example being the 23 members who had earned the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Rescue of the Danish Jews
Denmark was one of the countries occupied by Nazi Germany during World War II. However, it is interesting to note that 99 percent of its Jewish population managed to survive the war, which is a stark contrast to their counterparts in other Nazi-occupied countries. In part, this is because a German diplomat warned a Danish politician, who in turn, warned the Danish resistance as well as the leadership of the Danish Jews. As a result, most of the Danish Jews were smuggled into Sweden, which was made possible because the famous physicist Niels Bohr made a personal appeal to the Swedish king. Meanwhile, the Danes put political pressure on Nazi Germany to spare those Danish Jews who had been captured from being sent to the extermination camps, with the result that most managed to survive the war.
White Rose
There is a surprising amount of pseudo-history claiming that the German population knew nothing about what the Nazis were doing to the Jews and other people who they considered to be “undesirable.” This is complete nonsense, as shown by the White Rose, which was a group of German students as well as one German professor who published leaflets about what was happening at the time. Although the White Rose were broken up by the Gestapo, they nonetheless stand as an example of moral courage under widespread pressure.
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