Bringing History to Life Magazine

26 February, 2026

"What is this nonsensical order… supposed to mean?” Colonel Lieutenant Adolf Heusinger raged when Hitler issued a stop order for Dunkirk in May 1940. In the port city on France’s Channel coast, over 300,000 Allied soldiers stood with their backs to the sea. Later, military strategists would agree with the Lieutenant Colonel: Hitler’s order was a fatal mistake. The background for the order is one of many mysteries from World War II that historians are still discussing. Others include why Stalin ignored all warnings about German invasion, and what were Rudolf Hess’s plans when he flew to Britain in 1941? We examine these and more inside.