Term Paper on "Human Costs of World War II"

Home > Topics > World History My Account

Term Paper 4 pages (1371 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Human costs of World War II

World War Two: causality statistics

Methodological problems

There are certain problems in the accumulation and assessment of data on the Second World War that have to be taken into account before an assessment is made as to the correct casualty statistics. As many researchers point out, ascertaining the actual death statistics during the war is a very difficult task as there are various views and assessments of the figures. The most reliable documentation is often the most recent; however some of the most recent online sources do not provide adequate reference to their sources.

The Internet does provide the most up-to-date figures and statistics on this subject. However, one has to take into account whether these figures are reliable and have significant source docs to verify their reliability.

Another method that can be used to authenticate the validity of data is through peer review sites. These sites are relatively reliable as they have been reviewed by researchers and other experts.

The research method that was used in this paper was to collect as much online and offline data as possible and then to search for agreement and disparities in the figures. On this basis the site or the resource with the best average data and with the best source docs was deemed to present the most reliable casualty figures.

2. Statistics

The following Web site, secondworldwar.co.za, (Table 1) presented the best average figures and supplied adequate source information.

Another reason for choosing this site as

Continue scrolling to

download full paper ⤓

the most accurate resource was that is has been recently updated and is also a well-known site which is open to peer review and comment.

Country

Military

Civilian

Soviet Union*

China

Germany

Poland

Japan

Yugoslavia

Rumania*

France*

Hungary*

Austria

Greece*

Italy

Czechoslovakia

Great Britain

USA

Holland

Belgium

Finland

Canada

India

Australia

Spain**

Bulgaria

New Zealand

South Africa

Norway

Denmark

Total circa 61 Million

Source: (Stokes, P.)

As the author of the above site states "... An accurate figure is difficult to calculate." (ibid) the difference between World War II figures becomes evident when other charts and tables are examined.

See Addendum)

Research into the different sources of war casualties made it evident that while there were many agreements in the figures, there were also many significant differences. This is certainly the case as many reviewers note that there are obvious disparities in the figures. It was also noted in the research that some countries, when presenting their data, seemed to be biased in revealing the number of casualties during the war.

An example of these disparities is the data from another set of international data from a reputable site but which showed some differences to chart one. (See Addendum for Table 2)

This source presents a different overall casualty figure of 56,125,262. However, when compared to table one, and bearing in mind the difficulty in ascertaining absolute figures, then this table may not seem overly incorrect. However, the main disparities seem to be in the areas where there are the highest numbers of deaths, such as the U.S.S.R. This disparity may also have political and national biases. The figure for the U.S.S.R. In the first table is 25,568,000; while it is 21,300,000 in table no 2.

Offline sources also present a different view of some of the higher figures. This is particularly the case when it comes to books that deal specifically with individual countries. One would assume that sources which focus on a single country would be more accurate; however this does not seem to be the case largely due to the fact that online resources can refer to the latest research and data. An example of a source which offers solid and specific offline documentation for its data is World War II in Ukraine by a. Gregorovich.

The total USSR military loss in World War II was 8,668,400 including Ukraine, Byelorussia, Russia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Armenia, Georgia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan, etc. according to General M. Moiseyev, Chief of General Staff, USSR Armed forces (Voennoistoricheskiy zhurnal no. 3, March 1990; quoted by Peter G. Tsouras in the Great Patriotic War, p. 240.… READ MORE

Download Full Paper

Write a New Paper for Me

Quoted Instructions for "Human Costs of World War II" Assignment:

“

Find out, as reliable as you can, the most recent and the most accurate calculations of how many people were killed in each of the major countries involved in the World War II and how many people over all were killed in that war.

In doing this exercise i want, in addition to the numbers, not only an identification of the ultimate source of the figures you choose to rely on ( in your essays that would be ythe information you would have to footnote for me ) but an explanation of the precise steps you took to get yours figures and why you beleive those are the most accurate ones available, given the time allowed.

Let us say you get some figures in a standard work of reference of off the internet. Where do those figures come from? Should not you make an effort to look at the sources relied on by your secondary sources- until you get down to the bedrock of information? Show and explain what reasons you have for assurance that you figures are accurate and that sources on which they rest reliable?

How to Reference "Human Costs of World War II" Term Paper in a Bibliography

“Human Costs of World War II.” A1-TermPaper.com, 2004, https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/human-costs-world-war/1005776. Accessed 27 Sep 2024.

Human Costs of World War II (2004). Retrieved from https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/human-costs-world-war/1005776

A1-TermPaper.com. (2004). Human Costs of World War II. [online] Available at: https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/human-costs-world-war/1005776 [Accessed 27 Sep, 2024].

”Human Costs of World War II” 2004. A1-TermPaper.com. https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/human-costs-world-war/1005776.

”Human Costs of World War II” A1-TermPaper.com, Last modified 2024. https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/human-costs-world-war/1005776.

[1] ”Human Costs of World War II”, A1-TermPaper.com, 2004. [Online]. Available: https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/human-costs-world-war/1005776. [Accessed: 27-Sep-2024].

1. Human Costs of World War II [Internet]. A1-TermPaper.com. 2004 [cited 27 September 2024]. Available from: https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/human-costs-world-war/1005776

1. Human Costs of World War II. A1-TermPaper.com. https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/human-costs-world-war/1005776. Published 2004. Accessed September 27, 2024.

Related Term Papers: