Reevaluated historical total ozone data reveal extraordinarily high values over several European sites in 1940--1942, concurrent with extreme climatic anomalies at the Earth's surface. Using historical radiosonde data, reconstructed upper-level fields, and total ozone data from Arosa (Switzerland), Domb¿s, and Troms¿ (Norway), this unusual case of stratosphere-troposphere coupling is analyzed. At Arosa, numerous strong total ozone peaks in all seasons were due to unusually frequent upper troughs over central Europe and related ozone redistribution in the lower stratosphere. At the Norwegian sites, high winter total ozone was most likely caused by major stratospheric warmings in Jan./Feb. 1940, Feb./Mar. 1941, and Feb. 1942. Results demonstrate that the dynamically driven interannual variability of total ozone can be much larger than that estimated based on the past 25--40 years.