If you spend just a few minutes googling something along the lines of 'total war deaths twentieth century’ you’ll find numerous websites listing millions of casualties in hundreds of wars throughout the last 100 years . However here I’ve created myself, using nothing more than blank world maps and the humble Paint program, ten frames totalling the decade by decade fatalities of a century of wars and genocides. Deaths are indicated by the circular red splotches, the smallest ones represent 10,000 deaths, the medium sized ones 100,000 and the large ones a million. They are in the approximate location (generally the right country) of where the killing took place.
This record won't be absolutely complete of course but I've spent a few weeks putting this together and its about as historically accurate as I can make it. Also I apologize for the large size of the images and if they overlap with something else on the webpage.
To add a novelty touch, below each frame is a link to a youtube video. They're all music tracks (the actual subject of the video is irrelevant) and I've chosen one for each decade to try and capture the feel of that decade in terms of global politics. They aren't necessarily from the decade they're about, its the feel of the music that's important. I've been thinking about doing this for a while, I think it makes an interesting challenge to try and put music tracks to historical periods. If you have a youtube account you can combine all the tracks into a playlist.
So, enjoy!
1900-1910
Death toll: 3,690,000
By far the largest death toll comes from the last few years of the genocide in the Belgian Congo. The American occupation of the Philippines has an uncertain death toll but most estimates put it at a bit over 200,000. The Russo-Japan war, a brief but important affair, occurs in north-eastern China.
1910-1920
Death toll: 24,580,000
The First World War kills around 15 million of Europe's finest and is shortly followed by a bloody revolution in Russia and a genocide in Turkey. A civil war in Mexico and chaos in China kills millions more. Several wars in the Balkans and minor colonial conquests also occur.
1920-1930
Death toll: 3,450,000
Chaos continues in Russia, China and several parts of Europe.
1930-1940
Death toll: 30, 240,000
Stalin's worst terror, the Holodomor, is in full swing throughout the Ukraine and much of the USSR. Japan has began its conquest of China and is on a collision course towards war with the United States. Spain endures a bitter civil war between fascist and communist factions. Benito Mussolini invades Ethiopia and adds it to his Italian empire. Adolf Hitler rallies the German people and prepares for war.
1940-1950
Death toll: 62, 200,000
Over 20 million Soviet citizens, over 10 million Chinese, about 7 million Germans, 5 million Poles, 3 million Indonesians, 3 million Japanese, 2 million Indians, a million Yugoslavs, a million Indochinese, hundreds of thousands of Romanians, Hungarians, Frenchmen, Filipinos, Italians, British, Americans, Koreans, Czechoslovakians, Greeks, Dutch and millions of people of other nationalities die in the greatest conflict in human history. Civil wars then break out in several countries such as Indonesia, Vietnam and Greece as different nations fight to overthrow imperialist oppressors or to establish a communist state.
1950-1960
Death toll: 17, 270,000
The Cold War begins and soon results in a bloody battle in Korea. Mao Zedong's 'Great Leap Forward' kills tens of millions in China in one of the worst genocides ever. Anti-colonialist insurgencies rage most prominently in Vietnam, Algeria, Sudan and Kenya.
1960-1970
Death toll: 39, 710,000
The Great Leap forward soon morphs into the just as deadly Cultural Revolution. The Vietnam War reaches its peak. Anti-communist purges in Indonesia kill hundreds of thousands and much of Africa descends into civil war.
1970-1980
Death toll: 5, 420,000
The Khmer Rouge under Pol Pot massacres much of the population of Cambodia. The Bangledesh Liberation war kills hundreds of thousands of civillians. Civil and proxy wars in Africa and central America worsen.
1980-1990
Death toll: 5, 550,000
Major wars occur in the Middle East and Africa. Global nuclear stockpiles reach a peak of 70,000 bombs.
1990-2000
Death toll: 5, 780,000
Major ethnic wars occur in the Congo, Rwanda and Sudan while smaller conflicts take place in many other countries. Instability is caused by the collapse of the Soviet Union.
All up in a century of bloody wars and genocides an estimated 197,960,000 people have been killed for political reasons by their fellow man. Though this figure could be tens of millions higher or lower. Now just to finish things, here's the last decade.
2000-2010
Death toll: 4, 100,000
Ethnic wars continue in Africa while the War on Terror sparks further bloodshed in the Middle East.
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