Takeshi Ohki, "The German-Soviet War: Disasters of an Extinction War" Summary and Comments - A good introduction to World War II and the German-Soviet War!
We are pleased to present "The German-Soviet War: Disasters of an Extinction War" by Takeshi Ohki, published by Iwanami Shoten in 2019.
The book is selling very well right now and won first place in the 2020 New Book Awards.
The fact that a book about the war between Germany and the Soviet Union has sold so well is an interesting phenomenon in itself. Is that how much interest in totalitarianism and war is growing?
Now, let's take a quick look at the book.
This is a war of extermination. When Hitler declared this, the blood-soaked, all-consuming struggle between Germany and the Soviet Union began. The horrors of the war between Germany and the Soviet Union were unimaginable to the Japanese people. If we only follow the progress of military operations, we will miss the living hell that this battle revealed. This book corrects the distortions of historical revisionism and exposes the true nature of the war, which can be called the barbarism of our time.
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What stands out about the German-Soviet war is that it was a "war of extermination." What does this mean?
What makes the war between Germany and the Soviet Union historically significant is not only its sheer scale. The essence of the war lies in the fact that both Germany and the Soviet Union regarded each other as enemies to be destroyed, with no room for compromise, and that they thoroughly carried out a horrific war against each other. During the four years of warfare between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, genocide, massacres of prisoners of war, and other barbaric acts that could not be explained by modern military rationality and were even considered senseless were committed repeatedly. The scale of the devastation of the war between Germany and the Soviet Union reached a scale that is difficult for the Japanese to imagine.
Iwanami Shoten, Takeshi Ohki, "The Battle of Germany and the Soviet Union: Disasters of an Extinct War," p. iii-iii
He then compares the unimaginably huge scale of the war between Germany and the Soviet Union to the war in Japan.
First, for comparison and contrast, here are some figures for Japan: In 1939, the total population of Japan was approximately 7.138 million. Of the combatants mobilized from this population, 2.1 to 2.3 million died. The number of non-combatant deaths is estimated at 550,000 to 800,000. These are tragic figures. However, the losses incurred by Germany and the Soviet Union, and especially the Soviet Union, are of a different order of magnitude.
The Soviet Union had a population of 188,793,000 in 1939, but lost 8,668,000 to 11.4 million combatants in World War II. Between 4.5 and 10 million civilians died as a result of military action and genocide, and another 8 to 9 million died from disease and starvation. During the Cold War, the official figure for the total number of deaths was 20 million, in order not to give the impression of a weakening of national power. However, after the collapse of the Soviet Union and more accurate statistics, the figure was revised upward, and it is now estimated that 27 million people were lost.
Germany, on the other hand, is estimated to have lost 4.44 million to 5.318 million combatants from a total population of 69.3 million in 1939, and to have suffered 1.5 to 3 million civilian casualties (this figure, however, includes not only losses in the Russo-German war but also those on other fronts).
Thus, not only battles, but also genocide, deprivation, and massacres of prisoners of war were waged. It is no exaggeration to say that this was the most devastating war in human history.
In 1939, the total population of Japan was approximately 71.38 million. Of the combatants mobilized from this population, 2.1 to 2.3 million died. The number of non-combatant deaths is estimated at 550,000 to 800,000. These are tragic figures. However, the losses incurred by Germany and the Soviet Union, and especially the Soviet Union, are of a different order of magnitude.The Soviet Union had a population of 188,793,000 in 1939, but lost 8,668,000 to 11.4 million combatants in World War II. Between 4.5 and 10 million civilians died as a result of military action and genocide, and another 8 to 9 million died from disease and starvation. During the Cold War, the official figure for the total number of deaths was 20 million, in order not to give the impression of a weakening of national power. However, after the collapse of the Soviet Union and more accurate statistics, the figure was revised upward, and it is now estimated that 27 million people were lost.
Germany, on the other hand, is estimated to have lost 4.44 million to 5.318 million combatants from a total population of 69.3 million in 1939, and to have suffered 1.5 to 3 million civilian casualties (this figure, however, includes not only losses in the Russo-German war but also those on other fronts).
Thus, not only battles, but also genocide, deprivation, and massacres of prisoners of war were waged. It is no exaggeration to say that this was the most devastating war in human history.
Iwanami Shoten, Takeshi Ohki, "The Battle of Germany and the Soviet Union: Disasters of an Extinct War," p. iii-iv.
*Chinese numbers have been rewritten as arithmetic numbers.
The scale of this war between Germany and the Soviet Union is shocking. The number of casualties, especially in the Soviet Union, is extraordinary: 27 million people died in this war between Germany and the Soviet Union.
This book provides a clear explanation of why the war between Germany and the Soviet Union began and how it progressed.
We will also discuss the huge battles in this war: the Siege of Moscow, the Siege of Leningrad, and the Siege of Stalingrad. What were these gigantic battles that determined the outcome of the war between Germany and the Soviet Union? We will get to know the overwhelming battles that resulted in incredible casualties.
The whole picture of the war between Germany and the Soviet Union."
Why did the war between Germany and the Soviet Union result in so many casualties?"
The book is firmly supported by two pillars.
Easy to understand and read! And I appreciate the compactness of the huge German-Soviet war in a new book size. I think this is great.
This book is an excellent gateway to learning about the war between Germany and the Soviet Union. It gives you a quick overview of this war as a whole. I highly recommend this book.
This is "Takeshi Ohki's "The Battle of Germany and the Soviet Union: Disasters of an Extinct War" Recommended as an introduction to the Battle of Germany and the Soviet Union! The above is "Takeshi Ohki's "The German-Soviet War: The Disasters of an Extinct War
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