London 5 May 2025. A magnificent military display. 1300 men in colourful uniforms marching in perfect order to Buckingham Palace, the crowds cheering, remembering those who died in achieving victory in Europe in 1945. It is as if the war has only just been won, though hardly anyone in the cheering crowds has any memory of the fighting.
But is “Victory” the thing to celebrate when 70-85 million died in that war, including 50 to 55 million civilians killed by the armed forces of the world – including the ones we now celebrate?
What we should celebrate, in my opinion, is the unheralded peace-makers, the men and women who brought about peace, friendship and co-operation between the enemy nations of the war to create a more-or-less peaceful Europe and a more or less peaceful world since 1945.
Perhaps next year we could celebrate a “Peace in Europe Day”.
Second world War 1939-1945
Estimated death toll by country – civilian and military
Deaths World War ll
Data and above graph collected by Chat GPT
Total Deaths (Worldwide):
Estimated total deaths: 70–85 million
(about 3–4% of the global population at the time)
Breakdown:
1. Military Deaths:
Estimated military deaths: 21–25 million
2. Civilian Deaths:
Estimated civilian deaths: 50–55 million
This includes:
Holocaust victims: ~6 million Jews (plus millions of others targeted by the Nazis: Roma, disabled individuals, Poles, Soviet POWs, etc.)
Civilian deaths from direct conflict, bombings, massacres, and atrocities
Deaths from famine and disease related to war conditions (e.g., in China, the Soviet Union, Bengal famine in British India)
Highest Casualty Countries (Combined Civilian and Military):
Soviet Union: ~24–27 million
China: ~15–20 million
Germany: ~6.5–8 million
Poland: ~5–6 million
Japan: ~2.5–3.1 million
