10 Astounding World War 2 Facts You Didn't Know

At first one might think that the small African nation of Liberia holds little strategic significance in the grand scheme of World War II. And one might be incredibly correct - being nestled in the southern part of West Africa it is a small, coastal nation with little in the way of expeditionary military forces. In the '30s, its biggest claim to fame was having been the first African nation to become a Republic and one of the few nations to survive the European colonization known as the 'Scramble For Africa' as well as being one of the founding members of the League of Nations.

Neutral for most of the war, Liberia only agreed to declare war on Germany in 1944. Being technically neutral allowed it to modernize using the US Lend-Lease program. And after the Japanese captured the rubber-producing regions of Southeast Asia, Liberian modernization became a mission for the Allies. Liberia became strategically important by providing most of the Allies' rubber for the duration of the war.

In the end Liberia was rewarded by being one of the founding members of the new League - known as the United Nations. The country had the second highest rate of economic growth within Africa during the post-war period, thanks in part to Allied war-time investment in the nation's infrastructure.