There are many tantalising mysteries yet unsolved from World War II. The late queen’s uncle, the dashing Prince George was the first British royal to die “in combat” for 400 years when his flying boat crashed in August 1942 under very controversial circumstances. General Sikorski leader of the Polish Resistance, Glenn Miller, the American swing band leader and Admiral Yamamoto of the Japanese Imperial forces also met their deaths in plane crashes which still raise plenty of questions over 80 years later. Several of the women spies sent by Churchill into France were never seen again but researchers seem determined to find out about their fate.
- Fitzgerald, Michael, Unsolved Mysteries of World War II, Arcturus, 2019. ISBN: 1788285859
- Zablocki, Peter, The Death of General Sikorski, Frontline, 2015. ISBN: 139909-39229
- Morgan, M.S., The Death of Prince George, Duke of Kent, Airworld, 2024. ISBN: 1036107191
- World War II executions outside the judicial systems of the period, including Mussolini 1945, Jean Moulin, Free French leader 1943 and Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, chief of Nazi Military Intelligence 1945
- Suicides of General Walter Model, Nazi Germany 1945, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, Nazi Germany 1944 and Heinrich Himmler, SS leader, Nazi Germany 1945.
- Death of Duke of Kent and 15 others August 1942 in a plane crash, speculation that he was collaborating with Nazi Germany at the time
- Deaths of General Sikorski 1943, Admiral Yamamoto 1943 and Glenn Miller 1944 whose disappearance remains very controversial
- The disappearances and unknown fates of several SOE spies in France and the ongoing search to find out their fate
By the end of this course, students should be able to:
- Gain a sound understanding of several World War II mysterious deaths which occurred in controversial and dramatic circumstances
- Discuss some of the speculation and theories about their deaths based on the evidence available at the time and what might have emerged after decades of questions
- Appreciate the difference between apparent accidents, deliberate assassinations and calculated executions during World War II for different reasons
