Why was the death toll so high

Extreme nationalism and racism

Fascist nations were motivated by extreme racism and nationalism

Social Darwinism and propaganda

Japan was extremely aggressive

30% of the war's deaths came from China

Nanking 1937, China was an example of the aggression of the Japanese

200,000 civilians were murdered and 20,000 woman raped

Code of Bushido that taught that surrender is worse than death.

Also a strategy to control the people

Kamikaze

Pilots flew suicide missions to crash into Allied ships.

4000 pilots used, 7000 Allied deaths.

The family of pilots who surrendered will be held responsible

Civilians were seem as targets

One example is when Germany invaded Russia

Siege of Leningrad

The Germans destroyed Soviet cities

Surrounded for almost 900 days

People did not surrender, but 1 million people died from starvation

Strategic bombing

Allies used planes to bomb German, Japanese, and Italian cities

Claimed that factories were targets.

1 million killed in Japan, 600,000 German civilians were killed.

Bombing of Dresden

Dresden was a large German factory.

20,000 civilians were killed

New technologly

Atomic bomb

First bomb was tested and exploded in New Mexico.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki

70,000 - 80,000 people died in Hiroshima

70,000 killed in Nagasaki

Bombs created intense hea and shock waves

Radiation caused another 100,000 deaths