Lists about the WWII genocide, also called the Shoah, in which Adolf Hitler's Nazi Germany systematically murdered some 11 million people, including Poles, homosexuals, the disabled, and approximately 6 million European Jews.

The Holocaust

True Stories

Nazi death camps have received a great deal of attention in film and popular culture. Accounts of <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/people-who-hid-from-the-nazis/aaron-edwards">Holocaust survivors</a> and <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/photos-of-concentration-camps-in-the-holocaust/philgibbons">life in concentration camps</a> have been the basis of compelling&nbsp;stories&nbsp;factual&nbsp;and fictional. Yet the relative scarcity of true Holocaust stories underlines the difficulty of survival in the face of evil. Placed in a system designed to deliberately exterminate them, a lucky few concentration camp survivors lived to tell their stories against all odds.&nbsp;

There was a distinct difference between camps like Auschwitz and Treblinka, which were extermination camps designed to systematically murder most&nbsp;prisoners upon arrival, and camps like Buchenwald, Dachau, and Bergen-Belsen, which were meant to imprison political and social enemies of the Reich (many of whom were Jews who were worked to death).&nbsp;Despite the monumental death toll of the camps, accounts from Holocaust survivors have helped&nbsp;paint a&nbsp;harrowing,&nbsp;disturbing portrait&nbsp;of&nbsp;the reality of what life was really like in a Nazi concentration&nbsp;camp.

Holocaust Survivors Tell Haunting Stories Of Life In Concentration Camps

General

Firsthand Accounts of What Life Was Really Like in Concentration Camps

Phil Gibbons

Lists about some of the worst people to ever live and the very bad ways things they did when they let their power go to their heads.

Real Historical Villains

World History

On April 17, 1975, forces of the Khmer Rouge, headed by Pol Pot, triumphantly entered Cambodian capital&nbsp;Phnom Penh. Although his crimes&nbsp;never rivaled those of political idols <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/the-maniacs-behind-the-worst-genocides-in-history/barbara-gaston">Mao Zedong or Josef Stalin</a> in&nbsp;terms of sheer numbers, the victims of Khmer Rouge violence and brutal Pol Pot crimes endured a reign of terror and cruelty that ranks among the cruelest in modern history.&nbsp;Motivated by deep class resentment and a fanatical desire to wipe out any vestige of urban culture or enlightenment, Pol Pot unleashed a genocide that&nbsp;exterminated at least 25% of Cambodia's population of eight million, and perhaps more.&nbsp;The Khmer Rouge relied on methods of torture and execution that were atavistic in their savage cruelty and depraved barbarity. Despite a four-year regime of state terror and horrible Khmer Rouge war crimes, Pol Pot, like other <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/nazi-war-criminals-who-got-away-with-their-crimes/philgibbons">prominent war criminals</a> of the 20th century,&nbsp;was never held accountable for some unspeakably horrible things.&nbsp;&nbsp;

13 Horrible Realities Of Cambodian Life Under Pol Pot And The Khmer Rouge

13 Horrible Realities Of Cambodian Life Under Pol Pot And The Khmer 

Lists about that most horrifying and destructive human invention in which there are literally no rules.

The Art of War

History

Wars are won mostly for mundane reasons like logistics and economics. But <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/lesser-known-civil-wars/jeff-schmerker" target="_blank">battles can be decided</a>&nbsp;by individual&nbsp;heroics or tactical brilliance. This is why the <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/the-most-important-battles-in-us-history?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">most important battles</a> aren&#39;t always the most famous: the story of a failing supply chain just isn&#39;t as compelling as the story of a triumph against the odds.&nbsp;

Many of the most famous battles didn&#39;t decide their wars.&nbsp;The Battle of Thermopylae is&nbsp;one of the all-time classic underdog stories, but it didn&#39;t determine the outcome of the Persian War. Hannibal&#39;s feats at Cannae are legendary, but so were Scipio Africanus&#39;s at Zama, the battle that won the&nbsp;Second Punic War <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/life-fighting-in-the-roman-front-lines/ryan-sargent" target="_blank">for the Romans</a>.&nbsp;The Battle of Stalingrad is remembered as the turning point of the Eastern Front of WWII, as well as one of the most brutal and extreme experiences human beings have ever gone through. But it wouldn&#39;t have happened without the Battle of Moscow one year earlier.&nbsp;

Here are 12 battles that might not be well known to the general public, but definitely should be.

Important Battles From History That Nobody Talks About

12 Neglected Battles From History

Jim Rowley

Lists about some of the most extraordinary women who made history, forever changing the world and how we see it.

Well-Behaved Women

Feminism

During WWII - in one of the darkest periods of world history - a drama of epic proportions unfolded&nbsp;behind the high brick walls of Germany's notorious concentration camp known as Auschwitz. Described by <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/people-who-hid-from-the-nazis/aaron-edwards">survivors</a><a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/everyday-life-in-concentration-camps/philgibbons"> </a>as being a virtual hell on earth, the heartbreaking stories from Nazi death camps like Auschwitz are too numerous to count.&nbsp;This comes, in part, as a result of the fact that the camp ended the lives of approximately 1.6 million prisoners at Auschwitz alone. But as the&nbsp;infamous villain of the Holocaust, Dr. Josef Mengele, sought to destroy the innocent, there was an angel of light who used her power to undermine him at every turn, essentially changing the course of many lives. Known as the &quot;Angel of Auschwitz&quot; by those who loved her, Gisella Perl was a resourceful woman who used her medical abilities to provide mercy to the innocent in the only way possible - through death. During a time when the world was rife with political lunacy and people were <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/people-who-hid-from-the-nazis/aaron-edwards">hiding</a> underground, this angel of light worked side by side with the angel of darkness to defy one of the most terrifying regimes in history and provide freedom to the most innocent of all - the unborn. While brutal Gisella Perl stories might not make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, they might just give you a sense of what it means to make difficult but heroic choices in the worst situation imaginable.

The Angel of Auschwitz Saved Thousands of Lives By Defying The Nazis

12 Facts About Gisella Perl: The Brave Angel of Auschwitz

Jen Jeffers

Military

Some of the most pivotal moments in history have taken place at sea. Naval battles account for the rise and fall of many great dynasties and empires. This list showcases some of the largest and most consequential battles from across the ages&nbsp;that have determined the course of history.&nbsp;

14 Key Naval Battles That Decided The Course Of History

M. Muir

When thinking about World War II, it&#39;s really easy to focus solely on the fighting in the Atlantic or Pacific theaters. But there were other theaters of war that were just as harsh,&nbsp;and the bad*ss Finnish warriors of the Winter War prove it. When faced with an overwhelming invasion from the Soviet Union, the Finns stayed and <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/small-countries-fought-off-enormous-armies/daveesons">fought to defend their homeland</a> with little more than grit and determination on their side.

The Winter War lasted less than a year, but resulted in more slaughter than other entire regions saw during the duration&nbsp;of WWII. The Finns stopped at nothing to destroy their enemies. Self-destruction, gruesome improvisation, and <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/people-who-hid-from-the-nazis/aaron-edwards">psychological warfare</a> were all parts of their guerrilla campaign to destroy the Russians invading&nbsp;their home. In the process of fighting for their freedom, they changed the history of military warfare forever.&nbsp;

12 Incredible, Little-Known Facts About The Finnish Soldiers of World War II

Facts About Finnish Skiing Warriors From World War II

Aaron Edwards

Trending on Ranker

Whether you want to walk the route of <a href="/list/photos-from-civil-war-battles/aaron-edwards" target="_blank">Pickett&#39;s Charge at Gettysburg</a> or visit the spot where Leonidas and his Spartans made their last stand against the Persians, these legendary battlefields are still there to be visited. And some are not much changed from when their names passed into history - whether because of active preservation efforts, or because nobody had much reason to build anything there.

If you don&#39;t feel like hoofing it to Greece or Pennsylvania or Tunisia or Japan, you&#39;re just a few clicks away from satellite images of these timeless fields. Join us for a survey of 30 of history&#39;s most famous battlefields, in a bird&#39;s-eye view of how they look today.

Modern Photos Of The Deadliest Battles In History

Gordon Cameron

Lists about the federal armed forces of the U.S. - its branches, history, practices, active members, and veterans.

The United States Armed Forces

Names

Military operation code names can be tricky to pull off. You want to have a name that conveys power and majesty, striking fear into the hearts of your enemies, but you don't want something that lets your enemy know what you're actually doing - such as the planned German invasion of England (its name, Sealion, let the British know exactly what it was). You also don't want something inappropriately glib, either because it's not macho enough (the US invasion of Grenada was briefly named &quot;Blue Spoon&quot;) or sends the wrong message, such as the unfortunately named Korean War-era plan &quot;Operation Killer.&quot;The <a target="_blank" href="http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/1995/sieminsk.htm">naming of military operations</a> is thought to have begun with the German Empire in the final two years of World War I. Before then, operations were usually named after either their commanding officer or the general area they were taking place in (i.e., Somme Offensive, Neville Offensive, etc.) But German generals added code names to increase operational secrecy and give them a shorthand for referring to individual parts of the hugely complex battles on the Western Front.In the decades that followed, operation names went from random designations to carefully chosen code names that would boost morale and offer clever description. American officers in Vietnam and beyond were faced with naming dozens of operations, everything from large scale troop deployments to clearing out small sections of cities. Here are the most awesomely American names for military operations from World War II through Iraq. Bask in their American kick ass majesty and upvote those that are screaming &quot;U S A! U S A!&quot; the loudest.

Operation Eagle Claw

The Most Awesomely American Names for Military Operations

The 20 Coolest Military Operation Names in History

Mike Rothschild

The Vietnam War - known in Vietnam as the Resistance War Against America - lasted from November 1, 1955, until the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975.

The War in Vietnam

Looking closer at some of the best, most realistic, most brutal depictions of war in the history of entertainment.

Wars on Screen

Looking closer at films, TV shows, docs, and miniseries that explore, recreate, and occasionally flub up real historical events.

Watching History

Best Movies

Vietnam War movies can almost be counted as a genre on their own--there are so many of them. This Vietnam War movies list can be organized by cast, year, director, or more. It contains the best Vietnam War movies that were ever made, including popular classic like Full Metal Jacket and more recent films, like Tunnel Rats. The best Vietnam movies place the war in correct&nbsp;context and capture the ethos of the environment at the time. Many of the titles on this list are from the point of view of Americans, but international and independent films are included as well. What are the best Vietnam War films? This list of of Vietnam war movies is thorough, but it is not complete. If you see that your favorite film is missing, please add it to the list. You can click on any of the Vietnam movie names for more details and change the dropdown info to display the release date, directors, and stars. So, what are the best movies about the Viet nam&nbsp;war? Vote on this list to display your preferences.

Rescue Dawn

The Best Vietnam War Movies

Film

Best Vietnam War Movies, Ranked By Film Fans

Ranker Film

A global conflict that roared across continents, World War II was the defining event of a generation. It consumed the lives of at least 60 million people, soldiers and civilians alike, including six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust. It was the dawn of the atomic age, the impetus for the Cold War, and revealed the staggering cost of modern warfare.

The battles of World War II were not stationary affairs. Like the storming of the beaches at Normandy, they spread over vast swaths of land and included air, sea, and ground assaults. Satellite <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/google-satellite-images-of-famous-places/eric-vega?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">images of famous</a> WW2 battlefields can offer a new perspective on these conflicts, not only anchoring them in place but also revealing the march of time. The following images are pinpointed to the central coordinates for WWII battles, some of which have been marked with a red circle. These points can be considered the epicenter of such famous engagements as the Battle of Stalingrad or Operation Dragoon.

What Famous WWII Battlefields Actually Look Like

Alby Thompson

The Holocaust perpetrated by Nazi Germany was inarguably one of the worst events of the 20th century. Six million Jews and millions of others (gay people, those with disabilities, Roma,&nbsp;and more) were massacred, while many others became refugees or went into <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/people-who-hid-from-the-nazis/aaron-edwards">hiding</a>.

Unfortunately, these kind of historical tragedies aren&#39;t limited to just Nazi Germany. We&#39;ve seen this kind of genocide before, but&nbsp;humans have an alarming propensity to gloss over the dark parts of our history. Some genocides were even&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/genocide-holidays/jacob-shelton">turned into holidays</a>&nbsp;that celebrate the perpetrators&#39; success. We don&#39;t often hear much about these <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/armenian-genocide-pictures/keshvaralikhani">obscure historical pogroms</a>, because&nbsp;as they say, history is written by the victors.

Maybe it&rsquo;s important, then, to discuss even those genocides throughout history that aren&rsquo;t as well-known. By keeping these victims alive in our minds and hearts, we may be able to prevent similar catastrophes in the future. That&#39;s the whole point of being human, right? Over time, we get better. It does, however, behoove us to remember the times when we were at our worst.&nbsp;

14 Tragic Lesser-Known Genocides That Deserve To Be Remembered

14 Lesser Known Genocides You Might Not Know About

Katherine Ripley

Did you know that - along with being president of the United States - <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/non-political-facts-about-john-f-kennedy/stephanroget" target="_blank">John F. Kennedy</a> was a war hero? That&#39;s right, Lt. John Fitzgerald Kennedy served in the Navy during WWII, and he earned a Purple Heart for his feats in the Solomon Islands in August 1943.&nbsp;

One moonless night in the Pacific Ocean in 1943, things took a dire turn for Lt. Kennedy.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-28644830" target="_blank">When a Japanese destroyer unexpectedly&nbsp;struck JFK&#39;s boat, PT-109</a>, it set off a week of Kennedy and his men struggling to survive in enemy territory and find help when it felt like there was none around. In order to reach Allied forces, Kennedy was eventually forced to carve a message into a coconut, which told of his location and situation. Eventually rescued, and nationally applauded, Kennedy would turn that coconut into one of the paperweights that sat on his desk in the Oval Office.

The Time A Coconut Literally Saved John F. Kennedy's Life

The Time A Carved Coconut Saved Lieutenant John F. Kennedy's Life

Ryleigh Nucilli

Lists about the period between July 28, 1914, and November 11, 1918, during which the Allied Forces fought the Central Powers for control of the developed world.

A list of WW1 naval battles. These are famous World War I naval battles; the era of dreadnoughts. Some are the greatest naval battles in history. Pictures included where possible. Naval battles date back all the way to at least 1260 BC. Originally fought primarily with sailing ships, today's navy battles include battleships, submarines, and aircraft carriers. That said, the tactics and decisive nature sea battles often have on warfare has gone unchanged for millennia. The naval battles of WW1 were especially hard-fought, ranking among the most brutal battles of WW1.Beyond the oceans, maritime forces have also fought conflicts in lakes, rivers, and even on boats within a flooded Roman Colosseum. From the largest naval battle to the smallest, this list contains plenty of them.What are the naval battles of World War I? This list will answer that question.&nbsp;

Naval Battles of World War I

Military Conflict

WW1 Naval Battles | List of World War I Sea Battles

Robby Benton

Lists about the bizarre, fascinating, and mysterious Democratic People's Republic of Korea and its Dear totalitarian dictator Leaders who will disappear your friends and family to remind you of their love.

Meanwhile, in North Korea...

<a href="http://www.localhistories.org/korea.html">Korea wasn't always divided into North and South</a> like it is now. While today the differences between the two seem as distinct as night and day,&nbsp;just 75 years ago they were essentially the same nation. Why then, is Korea divided into two countries?The history of North and South Korea is complicated. The country was split in two after WWII, but the story really goes back to a time long before that. The history of the Korean Peninsula is a tale of a small kingdom being pushed around by much larger powers again and again. The split between the North and the&nbsp;South is just the latest manifestation of that phenomenon.

Here's Why Korea Became Two Different Countries

How (And Why) Korea Became Two Different Countries

Christopher Myers

A list of great naval battles.  These are famous naval battles; some are the greatest naval battles in history.  Pictures included where possible.  Naval battles date back all the way to at least 1260 BC.  Originally fought primarily with sailing ships, today's navy battles include battleships, submarines, and aircraft carriers.   That said, the tactics and decisive nature sea battles often have on warfare has gone unchanged for millennia.  Beyond the oceans, maritime forces have also fought conflicts in lakes, rivers, and even on boats within a flooded Roman Colosseum.  From the largest naval battle to the smallest, this list contains plenty of them.

List of Naval Battles

Naval Battle: List of Great Naval Battles

WWII

A list of naval battles of World War 2.  These are famous WW2 naval battles; some are the greatest naval battles in history.  Pictures included where possible.  World War II was the real dawn of aircraft carriers.  Naval battles date back all the way to at least 1260 BC.  Originally fought primarily with sailing ships, today's navy battles include battleships, submarines, and aircraft carriers.   That said, the tactics and decisive nature sea battles often have on warfare has gone unchanged for millennia.  Beyond the oceans, maritime forces have also fought conflicts in lakes, rivers, and even on boats within a flooded Roman Colosseum.  From the largest naval battle to the smallest, this list contains plenty of them.

Naval Battles of World War II

List of Naval Battles of World War 2

Military Conflict lists at Ranker - the ultimate source for hundreds of military conflict lists and rankings.

Military Conflict lists at Ranker - the ultimate source for top 10, top 100, best of, funny, factual lists of any kind