Q 01/05

Germany's invasion of which country on 1 September 1939 began World War II in Europe?

A) Czechoslovakia

B) Denmark

C) Poland

D) France

Answer · why

C) Poland

Poland was attacked at dawn after the SS staged a fake Polish raid on a German radio station at Gleiwitz as a pretext; Britain and France declared war...

Q 02/05

What was the name of Nazi Germany's secret state police?

A) Stasi

B) Gestapo

C) Abwehr

D) Kripo

Answer · why

B) Gestapo

Gestapo is short for Geheime Staatspolizei, 'secret state police'; with only about 32,000 staff by late 1944, it relied heavily on ordinary Germans de...

Q 03/05

What was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941?

A) Operation Barbarossa

B) Operation Citadel

C) Operation Weserübung

D) Operation Sealion

Answer · why

A) Operation Barbarossa

Operation Barbarossa was named after the medieval emperor Frederick Barbarossa; Hitler expected a quick victory, but the invasion by some three millio...

Q 04/05

Who ran Nazi Germany's propaganda ministry from 1933 until his suicide in May 1945?

A) Albert Speer

B) Martin Bormann

C) Joseph Goebbels

D) Hermann Göring

Answer · why

C) Joseph Goebbels

Joseph Goebbels controlled Germany's press, radio and film for twelve years; named chancellor in Hitler's will, he held the office for a single day be...

Q 05/05

In what region of France did the D-Day landings primarily take place?

A) Brittany

B) Calais

C) Normandy

D) Provence

Answer · why

C) Normandy

Normandy was a surprise: the Germans expected the landing at Calais, the shortest crossing, and the Allies fed that belief with a phantom army, fake e...