Facts and Stories from WWII That We Won’t Find in History Books

In a cunning example of psychological warfare blended with physical danger, the Germans employed a strategy during retreats that preyed on the penchant for orderliness. They would deliberately boobytrap pictures, hanging them on walls but leaving them askew.

This tactic was designed to exploit a stereotypical trait they attributed to British officers: an irresistible urge to correct disarray. By adjusting these deliberately misaligned pictures, the officers would trigger the traps, setting off explosions.