Having been the deadliest conflict in human history, with at least 50.000.000 deaths and the only use of nuclear weapons in warfare ever, World War II is probably the darkest event to read about in a history book. But how much of it is true?
Yes, there were undoubtedly a lot of deaths. But in so large numbers it is very difficult to tell and the best estimate is at 67.000.000 ±17.000.000. It is a relatively large window with a 25% error chance. More than 38 countries were involved many of which were not even keeping a record. In the soviet union, where records were kept, only 20% of the males born in 1923 survived World War II.
Not everyone, however died in the battlefield. Letting alone holocaust victims, there were even German Generals that were executed by Adolf Hitler, 84 to be exact, mostly due to poor performance in battles. The nation with most losses was that of Russia, with deaths estimated to 29 million. The nation with statistically more civilian deaths
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