Another aspect of Nevada during World War II is the idea that the Hoover Dam was to be attacked. It has been said on online databases that the attack on the Hoover Dam was a strategic move by the German army, and after the attack at Pearl Harbor, US soldiers and government were not going to take any risks. "As Hitler's violent aggression accelerated in Europe and the Japanese army marched against its neighbors across the Pacific, Reclamation, and even the public, became more sensitive to possible enemy threats to the dam. Many visitors expressed concern about sabotage and wondered what precautions were being taken to prevent it. By 1939, reverberations from the escalating war directly reached remote Hoover Dam" (Pfaff np). .
Eventually, it was discovered that a real attack on Hoover Dam had been planned. Being the largest dam in the world, attacking it would cause irrigation problems, as well as flood and power problems which were the reason the dam was created. The attack was planned to cut off power supply to a local aviation manufacturer in Los Angeles. Destruction of the dam would cause power outage as well as other problems. "On the evening of November 30, 1939, the State Department received word from the U.S. embassy in Mexico of an alleged plot to bomb the intake towers at the dam. German agents discovered in Mexico City were planning the attack in order to paralyze the aviation manufacturing industry located in Los Angeles [. . .] Two German agents living in Las Vegas, one of them an explosives expert, had reportedly made a dozen trips to the dam to investigate the feasibility of the plan. They intended to attach bombs to the intake towers from a boat, which they would rent under the pretense of a fishing excursion" (Pfaff np). .
The construction of the Hoover Dam relied heavily on the minerals that could be mined in Nevada, again emphasizing its importance during this time.
