The Hidden Victims
Civilian Casualties of the Two World Wars
Published on 3. September 2024
Book
Hardback
520 pages
978-0-691-25875-1 (ISBN)
Description
A staggering new account of the civilian death toll of the world wars-and what it reveals about the true nature and cost of modern war
Soldiers have never been the only casualties of wars. But the armies that fought World Wars I and II killed far more civilians than soldiers as they countenanced or deliberately inflicted civilian deaths on a mass scale. By one reputable estimate, 9.7 million civilians and 9 million combatants died in World War I, while World War II killed 25.5 million civilians and 15 million combatants. But in The Hidden Victims, Cormac O Grada argues that even these shocking numbers are almost certainly too low. Carefully evaluating all the evidence available, he estimates that the wars cost not 35 million but some 65 million civilian lives-nearly two-thirds of the 100 million total killed. Indeed, he shows that war-induced famines alone may have killed 30 million people, making them the single largest cause of death.
The Hidden Victims is the first book to attempt to measure and describe the full scale of civilian deaths during the world wars, from all causes, including genocide, starvation, aerial bombardment, and disease. While nations went to great lengths to record military casualties, they often didn't count or deliberately obscured civilian deaths. Getting the numbers right is important. It reveals much about the true human costs of the wars, the nature of modern warfare, and the failure of efforts to stop civilian casualties. It also makes it possible to argue with those who try to deny, minimize, or exaggerate wartime savagery.
Soldiers have never been the only casualties of wars. But the armies that fought World Wars I and II killed far more civilians than soldiers as they countenanced or deliberately inflicted civilian deaths on a mass scale. By one reputable estimate, 9.7 million civilians and 9 million combatants died in World War I, while World War II killed 25.5 million civilians and 15 million combatants. But in The Hidden Victims, Cormac O Grada argues that even these shocking numbers are almost certainly too low. Carefully evaluating all the evidence available, he estimates that the wars cost not 35 million but some 65 million civilian lives-nearly two-thirds of the 100 million total killed. Indeed, he shows that war-induced famines alone may have killed 30 million people, making them the single largest cause of death.
The Hidden Victims is the first book to attempt to measure and describe the full scale of civilian deaths during the world wars, from all causes, including genocide, starvation, aerial bombardment, and disease. While nations went to great lengths to record military casualties, they often didn't count or deliberately obscured civilian deaths. Getting the numbers right is important. It reveals much about the true human costs of the wars, the nature of modern warfare, and the failure of efforts to stop civilian casualties. It also makes it possible to argue with those who try to deny, minimize, or exaggerate wartime savagery.
Reviews / Votes
"First-rate. . . . This important book will make my best non-fiction of the year list."---Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution "A work of great moral as well as of historical importance. One of Ireland's greatest historians scrupulously sifts the evidence from the first and second World Wars and their 'collateral damage' of genocide, famine, aerial bombing and disease. . . .The resonances for the present are profound: this book is a potent warning against amnesia and evasion."---Fintan O'Toole, Irish Times "A timely publication. . . . O Grada's formidable talent as an economic historian brings us an extremely valuable and accessible work which is about more than numbers for the sake of numbers."---Laurence Marley, The Irish Times "[The Hidden Victims] is a valuable book for scholars of the World Wars who take the time and effort to immerse themselves in this study. . . . Highly recommended." * Choice * "[The Hidden Victims] a recommended reading for anyone interested in the fate of civilians during the two world wars. Hopefully, this book will motivate scholars to reevaluate our understanding of victims in all armed conflicts: the short and longterm impacts of wars on populations and the response of societies facing death, violence and atrocities against individuals who are not responsible for wars. An understanding still important today."---Jean-Michel Turcotte, Canadian Military History "The Hidden Victims: Civilian Casualties of the Two World Wars is an ambitious book that enumerates civilian suffering across the era of the world wars. It is engagingly written, accessible, and holds the reader's interest as it traverses this world of war, narrating the horrors inflicted both 'accidentally' and 'deliberately' on civilians. . . . There are so few one-volume histories that connect the two world wars in meaningful ways. Cormac O Grada thus deserves high praise."---Maartje Abbenhuis, Diplomatic HistoryMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
New Jersey
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Trade binding
Illustrations
190 b/w illus. 50 tables.
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 164 mm
Thickness: 37 mm
Weight
912 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-691-25875-1 (9780691258751)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
08/2024
1st Edition
Princeton University Press
€58.99
Available for download
Person
Cormac O Grada is an Irish economic historian and professor emeritus at University College Dublin. His many books include Famine: A Short History and Black '47 and Beyond: The Great Irish Famine in History, Economy, and Memory (both Princeton).