NationStates Jolt Archive

Did more people die per year in Hitler's Germany than did in Stalin's Russia?
Should a population ratio be figured in to take into account a naturally higher number of deaths in Russia due to a higher population? If so would the ratio be (then not now, obviously)? What other factors will have influence on the figures if you're trying to get a (very) vague idea of respective tyrrany? Are there too many factors with heavy influence to make any use of the figures at all?

You have to remember Stalin had longer to kill his own people and Hitler set up the extermination camps outside of Germany, but I do believe as an avarage and total Stalin won that ghastly competition.

If you think of all the people that lived in the Soviet Union at the time, and couple that with the fact that every single person in the USSR either had a relative, or at least knew of someone that had been killed by Stalin, you kind of see the extent of his...I can't even think of a word for it.

I think Stalin wins it hands down, he was the supreme butcher of his own people.

Stalin killed roughly 30 million people over the course of a 30 year reign. Hitler killed roughly 8 million over a 12 year reign (I assume we aren't including soldiers dying in the fighting in WW2, and we ARE including the murder of Polish, French, Czech, Dutch and Belgian citizens in the countries during occupation). That means Stalin wins by roughly 1/3 of a million people a year.

You have to remember Stalin had longer to kill his own people...

Precisely why i said 'per year' not in total :)
And yes Nasopotomia, i think it makes more sense to count teh war as seperate.

The figures that people are citing: are they 'people generally believed to have died as a consequence of the leaders dictatorship' or 'everyone who died in the country during their reign'?

Those two sucked. Pol pot was the best dictator ever.

Er. That looks a bit bad. Whatever.