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 Nazi Body Count: 20,946,000 Non-Battle Deaths
Scott Manning
April 1, 2009
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The Nazi Body Count represents non-battle deaths caused by Nazi Germany between 1933 and 1945. This includes genocide, execution of civilians and POWs, forced labor that resulted in deaths, bombing of civilian populations, imposed famine and resulting diseases, and "euthanasia." These numbers do not include civilians who got caught in the cross-fire of battle.
The numbers are mid-estimates. The source for the numbers, R. J. Rummel's Democide: Nazi Genocide and Mass Murder, uses of a method of accumulating all available estimates typically from government sources or scholarly examinations. The estimates are sorted by lows, mids, and highs. Averages are determined from the estimates to arrive at a low-estimate (the minimum), a mid-estimate (the more probable), and a high-estimate (the least likely).
The Nazi body counts are grouped by country and sorted from highest to lowest. Also, an occupation death rate is provided for the countries that Nazi Germany actually occupied. This number was determined by dividing the 1939 population estimate by the body count to give the percentage that a citizen of that country was likely to be killed during that time period. An appendix at the end lists the sources for the population estimates.
Subsequent articles will examine each country in detail: Their relationship with Nazi Germany and more information on the numbers.
Nazi Body Count: 20,946,000 Non-Battle Deaths

1 |
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Deaths caused between 1941-1945
- 6,500,000 died through imposed famine and resulting diseases
- 3,000,000 killed POWs
- 1,224,000 killed through executions, massacres, or bombing of civilian populations
- 876,000 killed Jews
- 650,000 died through forced labor
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2 |
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Deaths caused between 1939-1945
- 3,000,000 killed Jews
- 2,300,000 killed or died through forced labor.
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3 |
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Deaths caused between 1933-1945
- 288,000 killed through executions and purges, or died through forced labor
- 173,000 killed through "euthanasia"
- 160,000 killed Jews
- 88,000 Germans died in February, 1945 during forced evacuation from Eastern territories
- 55,000 killed homosexuals.
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4 |
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Deaths caused between 1941-1945
- 588,000 killed through massacres and bombing of civilian populations, died through forced labor, or killed Serbians
- 37,000 killed Jews
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5 |
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Deaths caused between 1941-1945.
- 378,000 killed Jews
- 28,000 killed Gypsies
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6 |
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Deaths caused between 1940-1945
- 158,000 killed or died through forced labor
- 98,000 killed Jews
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7 |
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Deaths caused between 1939-1945
- 150,000 killed Jews
- 56,000 killed or executed
- 8,000 killed Gypsies
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8 |
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Deaths caused between 1941-1945
176,182 killed Jews and Gypsies, executed, or died during deportation.
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9 |
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Deaths caused between 1940-1945
- 108,000 killed Jews
- 35,000 died through forced labor
- 17,000 killings and massacres of hostages
- 15,000 died through imposed famine and resulting diseases
- 706 killed through bombing of civilian populations
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10 |
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Deaths caused between 1941-1945
- 73,000 killings and massacres of hostages, or died through imposed famine and resulting diseases
- 67,000 killed Jews
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11 |
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Deaths caused between 1938-1945
- 65,000 killed Gypsies
- 58,000 killed Jews
- 10,000 killed or executed
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12 |
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Deaths caused between 1940-1945
87,600 were killed through bombing of civilian populations or were killed POWs.
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13 |
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Deaths caused between 1941-1945
69,545 killed Jews and Gypsies, executed or died during deportation. |
14 |
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Deaths caused between 1941-1945
70,000 Jews were killed.
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15 |
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Deaths caused between 1943-1945
- 56,000 killed POWs and reprisal murders
- 8,000 killed Jews
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16 |
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Deaths caused between 1941-1945
- 40,000 killed Jews
- 10,000 died through forced labor or were executed
- 500 killed Gypsies
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17 |
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Deaths caused between 1937-1945
- 20,000 died through forced labor or were executed
- 1,600 bombing of civilian population in Guernica in 1937
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18 |
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Deaths caused between 1941-1945
- 20,000 rounded up and shot after the Battle of Kozara in July, 1942
- 1,000 killed Gypsies
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19 |
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Deaths caused between 1941-1945
9,272 killed Jews and Gypsies, were executed, or died during deportation. |
20 |
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Deaths caused between 1941-1945
7,000 Jews were killed. |
21 |
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Deaths caused between 1942-1945
2,038 POWs were killed. |
22 |
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Deaths caused between 1940-1945
- 2,000 killed Jews
- 200 killed Gypsies
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23 |
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Deaths caused between 1940-1945
1,500 Jews were killed. |
24 |
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Deaths caused between 1939-1945
- 500 killed Jews
- 200 killed
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25 |
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Deaths caused between 1939-1945
562 Jews were killed. |
26 |
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Deaths caused between 1943-1945
200 Jews were killed. |
27 |
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Deaths caused between 1941-1945
6 Jews were killed. |
Appendix

The following population estimates were used to determine the occupation death rates for the countries. Unless otherwise noted, the estimates come from International Statistical Year-Book 1940/1941 published by the League of Nations in 1941.
| Populations of Countries Occupied by Nazi Germany |
| Austria |
1937 |
6,760,000 |
| Belgium |
1939 |
8,396,000 |
| Czechoslovakia |
1937 |
15,213,000 |
| Denmark |
1939 |
3,825,000 |
| Estonia |
1939 |
1,122,000 |
| France |
1939 |
41,950,000 |
| Greece |
1939 |
7,201,000 |
| Hungary |
1939 |
13,500,000 |
| Italy |
1939 |
13,300,000 |
| Latvia |
1939 |
1,951,000 |
| Lithuania |
1939 |
2,442,000 |
| Luxembourg |
1939 |
301,000 |
| Netherlands |
1939 |
8,834,000 |
| Norway |
1939 |
2,937,000 |
| Poland |
1938 |
35,090,000 |
| USSR |
1942 |
65,000,000 |
| Yugosolavia |
1939 |
15,703,000 |
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Notes

References

Grenkevich, Leonid D. and Josef Washington Hall. The Soviet partisan movement 1941-1945: A Critical Historiographical Analysis. Portland: Frank Class, 1999.
League of Nations Economic Intelligence Service. International Statistical Year-Book 1937/1938. Geneva: Series of League of Nations Publications, 1941.
League of Nations Economic Intelligence Service. International Statistical Year-Book 1940/1941. Geneva: Series of League of Nations Publications, 1941.
Rummel, R. J. Democide: Nazi Genocide and Mass Murder. New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers, 1992.
Rummel, R. J. "Estimating Democide: Methods and Procedures." University of Hawaii. http://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/METHOD.HTM (accessed November 12, 2008). |
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