Things You Didn't Know About Hitler That Will Blow Your Mind

The Bubonic Plage

The number one year on our list is 1346, when the bubonic plague began its rampage across Europe. This devastating disease ended the lives of 75-200 million people or 30-50% of Europe's population. Some of the symptoms included the likes of fever, chills, vomiting, diarrhea, and of course, the telltale buboes – or swellings in the lymph nodes.

Overall, the mortality rate was around 50%. It was an excruciating way to go, and people were often buried alive because they were too sick to move. Needless to say, it was a pretty terrible year to be alive.

War and Spanish Flu

The year 1918 was a terrible one for several reasons. First off, it was the last year of World War I – a war that took the lives of an estimated 16 million people. But if that wasn't enough, 1918 also saw the outbreak of the Spanish Flu pandemic.

This deadly flu strain ended 50-100 million lives, totaling around 500 million cases, making it one of the worst pandemics in human history. If you were to live this year, you would have seen the world plunged into darkness and despair. Many people you would have known and loved would have perished, and the world as you knew it would have been forever changed.

end of the war

1945 was another tough year, as it saw the end of World War II. This global conflict took the lives of 60-80 million people, which is more than any other war in human history.

But that's not all – 1945 also saw the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which wiped out 210,000 people. Of course, the effects wouldn't have lasted just one year for the people in these countries, but the long-term health effects and social issues continued for years.

For example, many people suffered from radiation poisoning in Hiroshima, while in Nagasaki, many people were left to suffer from severe burns.

Even if you weren't living in Japan during the time or affected by the war on your doorstep, you would have still lived in a time of fear and uncertainty.

1945 was also a year of famine worldwide as the war severely disrupted food production and distribution. This led to millions of people succumbing to starvation and disease and displaced millions.