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World War II casualties

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Christmas Day, 1942. An Australian soldier, George "Dick" Whittington, is aided by Papuan orderly Raphael Oimbari, at theBattle of Buna-Gona. Whittington died in February 1943 from the effects of bush typhus, the little-known killer of many Allied and Japanese soldiers in the Pacific. (Picture by George Silk.)

World War II was the deadliest military conflict in history. Over 60 million people were killed. The tables below give a detailed country-by-country count of human losses.

Contents [hide] 1 Total dead 2 Recent historical scholarship 3 Human losses by country 3.1 Notes 4 Losses by alliance 5 Casualties by branch of service 5.1 Notes 6 See also 7 Footnotes 8 References 9 External links

Total dead

World War II casualty statistics vary greatly. Estimates of total dead range from 50 million to over 70 million.^[36] The sources cited on this page document an estimated death toll in World War II of 62 to 78 million, making it the deadliest war ever. When scholarly sources differ on the number of deaths in a country, a range of war losses is given, in order to inform readers that the death toll is uncertain. Civilians killed totaled from 40 to 52 million, including 13 to 20 million from war-related disease and famine. Total military dead: from 22 to 25 million, including deaths in captivity of about 5 million prisoners of war.

Recent historical scholarship

An Einsatzgruppe D member about to shoot a Jew kneeling at a mass grave in Vinnitsa, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union, in 1942. The photograph is inscribed:The last Jew in Vinnitsa.

Recent historical scholarship has shed new insight into the topic of Second World War casualties. Research in Russia since the collapse of theSoviet Union has caused a revision of estimates of Soviet war dead. Estimated USSR losses within postwar borders now stand at 26.6 million.^[37]Scholars in post-communist Poland now put total Polish war dead at between 4.9 and 5.6 million.^{[42] [94] [47]}

Katyn 1943 exhumation. Photo by Polish Red Cross delegation.

The German Army historian Dr. Rüdiger Overmans published a study in 2000 that estimated German military dead and missing at 5.3 million.^[6] War dead totals on this page for the British Commonwealth are based on the research of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.^[29]

Casualties listed here include about 4 to 12 million war-related famine deaths in China, Indonesia,Vietnam, the Philippines, India, and Bangladesh that are often omitted from other compilations of World War II casualties.^{[9] [5]}

Human losses by country

Some nations in World War II suffered disproportionally more casualties than others. This is especially true regarding civilian casualties. The following chart gives data on the number of dead for each country, along with population information to show the relative impact of losses. Military figures include battle deaths (KIA) and personnel missing in action (MIA), as well as fatalities due to accidents, disease and deaths of prisoners of war in captivity. Civilian casualties include deaths caused by strategic bombing, Nazi persecution,Japanese war crimes, population transfers in the Soviet Union, Allied war crimes and deaths due to war related famine and disease. Jewish losses in the Holocaust are listed separately for each nation, since they are known. Compiling or estimating the numbers of deaths caused during wars and other violent conflicts is a controversial subject. Historians often put forward many different estimates of the numbers killed during World War II.^[36]The distinction between military and civilian casualties caused directly by warfare and collateral damage is not always clear cut. For nations that suffered huge losses such as the U.S.S.R., China, Poland, Germany and Yugoslavia, our sources can give us only the total estimated population loss caused by the war and a rough estimate of the breakdown of deaths caused by military activity, crimes against humanity and war related famine. The footnotes give a detailed breakdown of the casualties and theirsources, including data on the number of wounded where reliable sources are available.

[hide]Human Losses of World War Two by Country
(Details Provided in the Footnotes)
Country Population 1939 Military deaths Civilian deaths Jewish Holocaust deaths Total deaths Deaths as % of 1939 population Albania[1] 1,073,000 30,000 200 30,200 2.81% Australia[2] 6,998,000 40,500 700 41,200 0.57% Austria[3] 6,653,000 58,700 65,000 123,700 see table below Belgium[4] 8,387,000 12,100 49,600 24,400 86,100 1.02% Brazil[5] 40,289,000 1,000 1,000 2,000 0.02% Bulgaria[6] 6,458,000 22,000 3,000 25,000 0.38% Burma[7] 16,119,000 22,000 250,000 272,000 1.69% Canada[8] 11,267,000 45,300 45,300 0.40% China[9] 517,568,000 3,000,000 to 4,000,000 7,000,000 to 16,000,000 10,000,000 to 20,000,000 1.93% to 3.86% Cuba[10] 4,235,000 100 100 0.00% Czechoslovakia[11] 15,300,000 25,000 43,000 277,000 345,000 2.25% Denmark[12] 3,795,000 2,100 1,000 100 3,200 0.08% Dutch East Indies[13] 69,435,000 3,030,000 to 4,030,000 3,030,000 to 4,030,000 4.3% to 5.76% Estonia1939 Borders[14] 1,134,000 50,000 1,000 51,000 4.50% Ethiopia[15] 17,700,000 5,000 95,000 100,000 0.6% Finland[16] 3,700,000 95,000 2,000 97,000 2.62% France[17] 41,700,000 217,600 267,000 83,000 567,600 1.35% French Indochina[18] 24,600,000 1,000,000 to 1,500,000 1,000,000 to 1,500,000 4.07% to 6.1% Germany[19] 69,623,000 5,533,000 840,000 to 2,800,000 160,000 6,533,000 to 8,493,000 see table below Greece[20] 7,222,000 35,100 700,500 71,300 806,900 11.17% Hungary[21] 9,129,000 300,000 80,000 200,000 580,000 6.35% Iceland[22] 119,000 200 200 0.17% India [23] 378,000,000 87,000 1,500,000 to 2,500,000 1,587,000 to 2,587,000 0.43% to 0.66% Iran[24] 14,340,000 200 200 0.00% Iraq[25] 3,698,000 1,000 1,000 0.03% Ireland[26] 2,960,000 200 200 0.00% Italy[27] 44,394,000 301,400 145,100 8,000 454,500 1.02% Japan[28] 71,380,000 2,120,000 580,000 2,700,000 3.78% Korea[29] 23,400,000 378,000 to 533,000 378,000 to 533,000 1.6% to 2.3 % Latvia1939 Borders[30] 1,995,000 147,000 80,000 227,000 11.38% Lithuania1939 Borders[31] 2,575,000 212,000 141,000 353,000 13.71% Luxembourg[32] 295,000 1,300 700 2,000 0.68% Malaya[33] 4,391,000 100,000 100,000 2.28% Malta[34] 269,000 1,500 1,500 0.56% Mexico[35] 19,320,000 100 100 0.00% Mongolia[36] 819,000 300 300 0.04% Nauru[37] 3,400 500 500 14.7% Netherlands[38] 8,729,000 21,000 176,000 104,000 301,000 3.44% Newfoundland[39] 300,000 1,000 100 1,100 0.37% New Zealand[40] 1,629,000 11,900 11,900 0.73% Norway[41] 2,945,000 3,000 5,800 700 9,500 0.32% Papua and New Guinea [42] 1,292,000 15,000 15,000 1.17% Philippines[43] 16,000,000 57,000 500,000 to 1,000,000 557,000 to 1,057,000 3.48% to 6.6% Poland1939 Borders[44] 34,849,000 240,000 2,380,000 to 2,580,000 3,000,000 5,620,000 to 5,820,000 16.1% to 16.7% Portuguese Timor[45] 500,000 40,000 to 70,000 40,000 to 70,000 8.00% to 14.00% Romania1939 Borders[46] 19,934,000 300,000 64,000 469,000 833,000 4.22% Singapore[47] 728,000 50,000 50,000 6.87% South Africa[48] 10,160,000 11,900 11,900 0.12% South Pacific Mandate[49] 1,900,000 57,000 57,000 3.00% Soviet UnionSee Table Below[50] 168,500,000 8,800,000 to 10,700,000 14,154,000 to 12,254,000 1,000,000 23,954,000 14.18% Spain[51] 25,637,000 4,500 4,500 0.02% Sweden[52] 6,341,000 200 2,000 2,200 0.03% Switzerland[53] 4,210,000 100 100 0.00% Thailand[54] 15,023,000 5,600 300 5,900 0.04% United Kingdom[55] 47,760,000 382,700 67,100 449,800 0.94% United States[56] 131,028,000 416,800 1,700 418,500 0.32% Yugoslavia[57] 15,400,000 446,000 514,000 67,000 1,027,000 6.67% Totals 1,963,208,400 22,597,200 to 25,497,500 34,564,600 to 47,009,600 5,752,400 62,294,200 to 78,439,200 3.17% to 4.00%

[hide]Human Losses of The Third Reich in World War Two (Included in above figures)

Total Population 1939 Military Deaths Civilian Deaths Jewish Holocaust Deaths Total deaths % Population Austria 6,653,000 261,000 58,700 65,000 384,700 5.8% Germany 1937 Borders 69,623,000 4,456,000 840,000 to 1,940,000 160,000 5,646,000 to 6,556,000 7.8% to 9.4 % Ethnic Germans other nations 6,912,000 601,000 100,000 to 730,000 701,000 to 1,331,000 10.0% to 19.2% Soviet citizens in the German Military 800,000 215,000 215,000 26.9% Totals 83,988,000 5,533,000 998,700 to 2,728,700 225,000 6,756,700 to 8,456,700 8.04% to 10.1% Sources: See Footnotes for Germany and Austria

[hide]Human Losses of The USSR in World War Two (Included in the above figures)

Total Population Military Deaths Civilian Deaths Jewish Holocaust Deaths Total deaths Soviet Union 1939 Borders[58] 168,524,000 8,800,000 to 10,700,000 14,154,000 to 12,254,000 1,000,000 23,954,000 Estonia 1939 Borders 1,100,000 50,000 1,000 51,000 Latvia 1939 Borders 2,000,000 147,000 80,000 227,000 Lithuania 1939 Borders-Less:Klaipeda 2,400,000 212,000 141,000 353,000 Poland Eastern Regions-Less:Białystok (figures included with Poland) 11,500,000 500,000 1,000,000 1,500,000 Romania Bessarabia & Bukovina (figures included with Romania) 3,700,000 100,000 200,000 300,000 Less: Transfer of ethnic Germans to Germany 1940 (430,000) Growth of Population 1939 to mid 1941 7,923,000 Soviet deaths included in the German Military 215,000 Totals for USSR in Borders of June 1941[59] 196,716,000 8,800,000 to 10,700,000 15,163,000 to 13,263,000 2,472,000 26,600,000

Notes

Notes

Chart showing World War II deaths by country in millions as well as by percentage of population, and piechart with percentage of military and civilian deaths for the Allied and the Axis Powers

.

• Figures rounded to the nearest hundredth place.
• Population in 1939 - Source: Population Statistics[60]
• War losses are for the national boundaries of 1939.
• Total Soviet losses in the postwar 1946-91 boundaries [61] were 26.6 million.^[37]
• Total Polish losses in the postwar 1946 boundaries[62] were about 3,500,000.^[40,183]
• Total Romanian losses in the postwar 1946 boundaries. [63] were 460,000^[2,133]
• Military Deaths - Losses include deaths of regular military forces from combat as well as non combat causes. Partisan (military) and Resistance fighter deaths forces are included with military losses. The deaths of prisoners of war in captivity and personnel missing in action are also included with military deaths. The armed forces of the various nations are treated as single entities, for example the deaths of Austrians, Soviets, French and ethnic Germans in the Wehrmacht are included with German military losses.
• Holocaust victims
  5.7 million (78%) of the 7.3 million Jews in German dominated Europe perished in the war.-^[14,242-244] Estimates for Holocaust deaths range between 5.1 to 6.0 million Jews.^[61] Other groups persecuted and killed by the Nazis ^{[80][60] [49] [48] [17]}. included 130,000 to 500,000 Gypsies ^{[48][50] [62]}; 150,000 to 200,000 handicapped persons ^[51] ; 2.6 to 3 million Soviet prisoners of war^[52]; 1.8 to 1.9 million Poles ^[38]; 4.5 to 8.2 millionSoviet civilians ^{[53][60] [48]}; about 10,000 Gay men^[54]; about 1,000 Jehovah's Witnesses ^[55]; between 1,000 to 2,000 Roman Catholic clergy ^[57]and an unknown number of Freemasons ^[56]. "The fate of black people from 1933 to 1945 in Nazi Germany and in German-occupied territories ranged from isolation to persecution, sterilization, medical experimentation, incarceration, brutality, and murder." ^[58] During the Nazi era Communists, Socialists, Social Democrats, and trade union leaders were victims of Nazi persecution . ^[90]
  Prisoner of war deaths in Nazi captivity totaled 3.1 Million^{[17,Table A]}
• Japanese War Crimes
  R. J. Rummel estimates the civilian victims of Japanese war crimes at 5,424,000. Detailed by country: China 3,695,000; Indochina 457,000; Korea 378,000; Indonesia 375,000; Malaya-Singnapore 283,000; Philippines 119,000, Burma 60,000 and Pacific Islands 57,000. ^{[4, Chap.3]}..^{[5,Table 5A]}
  Werner Gruhl estimates the civilian victims of Japanese war crimes at 20,365,000. Detailed by country: China 12,392,000; Indochina 1,500,000; Korea 500,000; Dutch East Indies 3,000,000; Malaya and Singnapore 100,000 ; Philippines 500,000; Burma 170,000; Forced laborers in Southeast Asia 70,000, 30,000 interned non-Asian civilians; Timor 60,000; Thailand and Pacific Islands 60,000.^[111]
  Werner Gruhl estimates POW deaths in Japanese captivity at 331,584. Detailed by country: China 270,000; Netherlands 8,500; U.K. 12,433; Canada 273; Philippines 20,000; Australia 7,412; New Zealand 31; and the United States 12,935^[111]
• Victims of Soviet Repression
  The deaths of 400,000 civilians deported during the Soviet annexations in 1939-40 are included with World War II casualties.^[47][3,].
  Prisoner of war deaths totaled 600,000 in Soviet captivity ^{[7,278] [3,]}.
• The Commonwealth War Graves Commission Annual Report 2007-08^[29,10] is the source of the military dead for the British Empire The war dead totals listed in the report are based on the research by the CWGC to identify and commemorate Commonwealth war dead. The statistics tabulated The Commonwealth War Graves Commission are representative of the number of names commemorated for all servicemen/women of the Armed Forces of the Commonwealth and former U.K. Dependencies, whose death was attributable to their war service. Some auxiliary and civilian organisations are also accorded war grave status if death occurred under certain specified conditions. For the purposes of C.W.G.C. the dates of inclusion for Commonwealth War Dead are 03/09/1939 to 31/12/1947. The report is available online at [64]
• Sources - The footnotes list the details of the losses and their sources.

Losses by alliance

Military and civilian deaths during World War II for the Allied and the Axis Powers.

Allied Military personnel killed, percentage by country.

Axis Military personnel killed, percentage by country.

Casualties by branch of service

[hide]Casualties of World War Two by Branch of Service

Country Branch of service Number served Killed/missing Wounded Prisoner of war Percent killed Germany Army[6,333-335] 13,600,000 4,202,000 30.9% Air Force[6,333-335] 2,500,000 433,000 17.32% Navy [6,333-335] 1,200,000 138,000 11.5% Waffen SS[6,333-335] 900,000 314,000 34.9% Volkssturm and Police[6,333-335] 231,000 Soviet citizens in German military service[7,278][24] 215,000 Unidentified by branch of service (see note below) 6,035,000[7,276] 11,100,000[6,286] Japan[1,254] Army 6,300,000 1,526,000 85,600 30,000 24.22% Navy 2,100,000 414,900 8,900 10,000 19.76% Soviet Union 1939-40 All branches of service[7,51-80] 136,945 205,924 Soviet Union 1941-45 All branches of service[7,85-87] 34,476,700 8,668,400 14,685,593 4,059,000 25.1% Conscripted Reservists (see note below) [3,13-14] 1,500,000 1,200,000 Paramilitary and Soviet partisan units[3,20-21] 400,000 British Commonwealth[19][18] [29] All branches of service 11,115,000 580,351 475,000 318,000 5.2% United States[78] Army 11,260,000 318,274 565,861 2.8% United States Army Air Forces (included in Army[69]) (3,400,000) (88,119) (17,360) 2.5% Navy 4,183,446 62,614 37,778 1.5% Marine Corps 669,100 24,511 68,207 3.66% United States Coast Guard [16,584] 241,093 1,917 0.78% United States Merchant Marine [79] 243,000 9,521 12,000 3.9% Unidentified by branch of service [65]. 130,201

Notes

Germany

1. The number killed in action was 2,303,320; died of wounds, disease or accidents 500,165; 11,000 sentenced to death by court martial; 2,007,571 missing in action or unaccounted for after the war; 25,000 suicides; 12,000 unknown ^[6,335]; 459,475 confirmed POW deaths, of whom 77,000 were in the custody of the U.S., UK and France; and 363,000 in Soviet custody. POW deaths includes 266,000 in the post war period after June 1945, primarily in Soviet captivity;^{[6,239 & 286]}.
2. Dr. Rüdiger Overmans believes that “It seems entirely plausible, while not provable,that one half of the missing were killed in action, the other half however in fact died in Soviet custody” ^[6,289]
3. Soviet sources list the deaths of 474,967 of the 2,652,672 German Armed Forces POW taken in the War. ^[12,109]
4. The number of wounded includes 1,600,000 permanently disabled which was listed in Geschichte Des Zweiten Weltkrieges A.G. Plötz 1960. P. 81

USSR

1. Estimated total Soviet military war dead from 1941–45 on the Eastern Front (World War II) including missing in action, POWs and Soviet partisans range from 8.6 to 10.6 million.^[3,20-21] There were an additional 127,000 war dead in 1939-40 during the Winter War with Finland^[3,20]
2. The official recorded military war dead from 1941-45 were 8,668,400 comprising 6,329,600 combat related deaths, 555,500 non combat deaths.^[7,85]., 500,000 missing in action and 1,283,300 POWs.^[7,236]. Figures include Navy losses of 154,771.^[7,86] Non combat deaths include 157,000 sentenced to death by court martial^[3,21]
3. Casualties in 1939-40 include the following dead and missing, Battle of Khalkhin Gol in 1939 (8,931); Invasion of Poland of 1939 (1,139); Winter War with Finland (1939-40) (126,875).^[7,51-80]
4. The number of wounded includes 2,576,000 permanently disabled.^[7,91]
5. The number of Soviet POW who survived the war was 1,836,000, plus an additional 939,700 POW and MIA who were redrafted as territory was liberated^[7,236]
6. Conscripted reservists is an estimate of men called up, primarily in 1941, who were killed in battle or died as POWs before being listed on active strength. Soviet and Russian sources classify these losses as civilian deaths.^[3,13-14]

British Commonwealth

1. Number served: UK & Crown Colonies (5,896,000); India (2,582,000), Australia (993,000); Canada (1,100,000); New Zealand (295,000); South Africa (250,000). ^[1,253-254]
2. Total war related deaths reported by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission: UK & Crown Colonies (383,667); Undivided India (87,031), Australia (40,458); Canada (45,364); New Zealand (11,928); South Africa (11,903);^[29,10]
3. Wounded: UK & Crown Colonies (284,049); India (64,354), Australia (39,803); Canada (53,174); New Zealand (19,314); South Africa (14,363)^[19][18][20]
4. Prisoner of war: UK & Crown Colonies (180,488); India (79,481); Australia (26,358); South Africa (14,750); Canada (9,334); New Zealand (8,415)^[19][18][20]
5. The 'Debt of Honour Register' from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission lists the 1.7m men and women of the Commonwealth forces who died during the two world wars.[66]

U.S.

1. Battle deaths were 292,131, Army 234,874, Navy 36,950, Marine Corps 19,733, Coast Guard 574, and United States Army Air Forces (included in Army) 52,173^[69][16,584]
2. The United States Merchant Marine war dead of 9,521 are included with military losses .^[79].
3. During World War Two 1.2 million African Americans served in the Armed Forces and 708 were killed in combat. 350,000 American women served in the military during World War Two and 16 were killed in action.^[16,584-585]