4. Tilted paintings

While the sub-heading might seem bizarre, its effectiveness as a booby trap was second to none. This is because a majority of booby traps are designed to take out foot soldiers and infantrymen. Experienced and officers of higher ranks do not fall for this. The Nazis understood this and found a way to entice them.

When the Nazis were retreating across Europe they decided to lay down some traps to ensure maximum casualty. The shame of defeat was enough for some Nazi officers to create one of the most elegant booby traps, tilted paintings.

The reason for using this as a trap was because the ravage of war had left a lot of artwork lying in decrepit buildings all over Europe. Officers wandering across the many ransacked towns would find precious pieces of artin ruins. If they ever saw a painting that was hung on a wall and was slightly tilted, chances are they either went to correct the painting and died or they did not touch the painting at all.

The Nazis rigged a lot of beautiful artwork in this manner and set up clever traps behind the paintings. They did this because they suspected that only the higher ranking officers would notice something off about a skewered or tilted painting and would try and straighten it. Their hunch was right as it was the cause of many post-war casualties.