The Second World War has probably been examined in greater detail than almost any other conflict in human history, yet despite the enormous quantity of material published over the past eighty years, there remain events and circumstances for which historians have never established entirely satisfactory explanations. Some of these mysteries concern missing individuals, others involve intelligence operations, unexplained military incidents or the disappearance of valuable objects, while a few have developed into elaborate conspiracy theories that bear increasingly little resemblance to the available historical evidence. It is this mixture of genuine historical uncertainty and more imaginative speculation that Michael FitzGerald explores in Unsolved Mysteries of World War II.

FitzGerald has assembled an interesting collection of incidents, ranging from the disappearance of the Amber Room and the circumstances surrounding Rudolf Hess’s flight to Scotland, to the mysterious death of bandleader Glenn Miller and the extraordinary events over Los Angeles in February 1942, when American antiaircraft batteries opened fire on what they believed were approaching enemy aircraft. Other subjects include the intelligence deception known as Operation Mincemeat, missing German submarines, espionage, unexplained deaths and the persistent stories surrounding Nazi activities in Antarctica. The selection is certainly varied, and there are enough unusual incidents to maintain the interest of anyone with a general knowledge of the war.

One of the book’s strengths is its accessibility. FitzGerald writes for a general readership rather than an academic audience, presenting each mystery as a relatively self contained account that can be read without requiring an extensive understanding of the wider conflict. This approach works particularly well when examining incidents that have received comparatively little attention in mainstream military histories. Even readers familiar with the principal campaigns and personalities of the war may encounter an episode they have not previously investigated, and the book provides an entertaining introduction to some of these lesser known stories.

However, the approach also exposes what I consider to be the book’s principal weakness. There is an important distinction between a genuine historical mystery, an event for which the surviving evidence is incomplete, and a conspiracy theory that continues to circulate despite the existence of a perfectly reasonable explanation. FitzGerald brings all three together, and although he frequently discusses competing explanations, the distinction between credible historical uncertainty and unsupported speculation is not always developed as thoroughly as I would have liked.

The stories concerning supposed Nazi technological breakthroughs and secret activities in Antarctica are particularly illustrative of this problem. There is certainly a place for examining how such stories originated and why they have survived for so long, but the historian’s responsibility is to establish what can reasonably be supported by contemporary documentation rather than simply repeat the possibilities that have accumulated around an incident. The existence of several competing explanations does not necessarily mean that each deserves equal consideration, particularly when some depend upon little more than speculation.

I also found myself wanting considerably more examination of the historical evidence. The relatively short treatment of individual subjects allows FitzGerald to cover an impressive range of material, but it inevitably limits his ability to investigate the reliability of witnesses, conflicting documentary accounts and the circumstances in which particular theories emerged. For the casual reader this may not be especially important, but for someone accustomed to reading more substantial military histories, the absence of sustained critical analysis becomes increasingly noticeable.

The chapter dealing with Rudolf Hess is a good example of the difficulties inherent in writing about such subjects. His extraordinary flight to Britain in May 1941 has generated decades of speculation concerning his intentions, his relationship with Hitler and the possibility of unofficial peace negotiations. These are legitimate historical questions, but investigating them requires careful consideration of the political circumstances, the available German and British documentation, and the reliability of statements made by those involved. Merely presenting the competing theories can leave the reader with the impression that the mystery is considerably greater than the surviving evidence necessarily suggests.

Nevertheless, I would not dismiss the book simply because it lacks the depth of a specialist historical study. FitzGerald has produced an entertaining collection of wartime curiosities, and there is something appealing about revisiting events that do not fit comfortably into the conventional narrative of the conflict. The Second World War was an enormously complicated undertaking involving millions of individuals, countless intelligence operations and decisions made under extraordinary pressure. It would be remarkable if every incident could be explained satisfactorily, particularly when so much documentation was destroyed, concealed or never created in the first place.

What I would have preferred is a clearer separation between those mysteries that remain unresolved because the historical record is genuinely inadequate and those that survive primarily because the more sensational explanations are considerably more entertaining than the mundane alternatives. There is also a tendency in this type of historical writing to treat the absence of conclusive evidence as an invitation to speculate, when sometimes the most responsible conclusion is simply that we do not know and may never know.

Ultimately, Unsolved Mysteries of World War II is an enjoyable piece of popular history rather than a particularly substantial contribution to our understanding of the conflict. Its greatest value lies in introducing readers to a varied collection of unusual events and perhaps encouraging them to investigate particular subjects in greater detail. Its limitations become apparent when those same readers expect a more rigorous examination of the evidence or a convincing resolution of the questions being raised.

For someone relatively new to the history of the Second World War, there is plenty here to stimulate curiosity, while those with a more extensive knowledge of the period will probably find much of the material familiar and occasionally frustrating in its treatment. I enjoyed the opportunity to revisit some of these stories, although I finished the book feeling that several deserved considerably more attention than they received.

An entertaining collection of wartime mysteries, but one that is considerably more successful at raising questions than providing historically convincing answers.