On September 3rd in Beijing, a military parade dedicated to the 80th anniversary of China’s victory in World War II will take place. Apparently, I did not pay enough attention during history lessons at school: it turns out that China’s losses during WWII were almost comparable to those of the USSR, considering the official figures (in both cases, they are significantly lower than the actual ones). However, there is a catch – the war between China and Japan began in 1937, and later merged with World War II when Japan attacked the USA and its allies in 1941, officially making China part of the anti-Hitler coalition. Germany in 1937 was just preparing: a year later, in 1938, the Anschluss of Austria began, and another year later (1939) – the invasion of Poland, and at the same time the USSR attacked Finland.
Meanwhile, in Germany, it is considered that the precision of German accounting was incomparably higher, and the cumulative losses of the aggressors, together with Japan, turned out to be four times less than the cumulative losses of the defenders.
The figure of China’s losses mainly consists of civilian population. Their military losses were 3-4 million, while 12-17 million suffered from bombings, punitive actions, diseases (remembering Japanese Unit 731 and biological warfare) and other war consequences.
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Below I quote my post from January 25th of this year – just relevant and timely:
Who won the Second World War? Interestingly, note that no one paid attention to Trump’s words about the Second World War in his recent tweet-ultimatum.
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He writes “Russia helped us win the Second World War” — everyone noted the incorrect figure of 60 million losses, but somehow not this.
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I found an interesting study from 2017. It was a survey (1,338 people) from 11 countries including 8 allied countries and 3 Axis countries.
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It showed significant differences in how the former Soviet Union and 10 other countries remember the war.
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Events marked by representatives of the Soviet Union were almost completely different from those mentioned in other countries. Besides, Russians stated a greater responsibility for the victory in the war (75% of military efforts), than representatives of any other nation (although the USA and Great Britain also estimated their contribution as more than 50%).
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However, when people from each country assessed the contribution of other countries to the war, they attributed a greater role to the USA than to the former Soviet Union.
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An interesting finding is that, when asked why the USA dropped atomic bombs on Japan, most people from ten countries responded that it was to win the war, except for Russians.
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Moreover, the older the respondents were in 7 of these countries, the more often they agreed with the statement that the USA dropped the bombs to end the war.
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Russia (USSR) in the survey results demonstrates a unique narrative centered on the Eastern Front, unlike Western countries.
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Most countries (including former Axis countries) focus on events related to the USA and Great Britain, such as Pearl Harbor, the Normandy landing, the atomic bombings of Japan, and the Holocaust.
USSR holds a central place in the Russian narrative (75% contribution to victory). The USA and Great Britain also overestimate their evaluations, stating their contribution exceeds 50%, focusing on the Western Front and the Pacific Campaign. The total estimates of the contribution of the eight allied countries amount to 309%, showing the effect of “national narcissism”. Most countries prioritize the USA (27%), while the USSR — 20%.
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Four events gained the status of “key” (mentioned by more than 50% of respondents): the attack on Pearl Harbor, the atomic bombings of Japan, the Normandy landing, and the Holocaust. The Russian narrative concentrates on events termed in Soviet and contemporary Russian historiography as the Great Patriotic War (1941–1945). Russians highlighted unique events: battles near Stalingrad, Kursk, Moscow, Berlin, and the blockade of Leningrad. Thus, although the USA and Russia fought together as allies, research shows that there is almost no overlap in which events are remembered as most important. Members of each group mainly remembered those events related to their own country. However, this is not surprising.
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On the subject of atomic bombings, most respondents believe that the purpose of the bombings was to end the war. Russians see this event as an act of intimidating the USSR. Opinions within countries vary by age: older generations are more likely to support the official version of ending the war.
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In France in 1945, 57% of the population considered the USSR the main victor. By 2004, this figure had dropped to 20%, while the share of the USA increased to 58%.
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The reasons are clear: history textbooks and popular culture reinforce national emphasis. In the USA and Great Britain, films and books praising their role in the war predominate. The USSR and the USA fought on different fronts and represent different ideological systems, which determined the narratives. And of course, all countries overstate their role in historical events.
