Cost of WW II

The population of the soviet was only 170 million at the time. that's getting up for 1 in 10 dead.

When you look at a more detailed breakdown it just gets sadder:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II_casualties

Of the 567,000 deaths listed in the video in France, only ~210,000 were military deaths, the others were civilians killed due to military activity or crimes against humanity.

Population of the UK was 46 million, at 450,00 died is 1 in ten.
around the same number as killed were wounded.

20% of the UK population were killed or wounded in that war.
Deaths obviously not spread evenly through the population though, they'd be concentrated in fighting ages.

If your peer group happened to be of fighting age at the time, in a room with 5 of your friends, chances are only 1 or less would be healthy at the end of it.
 
...and due to how stats were recorded at the time, that's often only physical injuries. Shell shock and other serious mental conditions often weren't recorded in the same way.

Not too long ago I found my great, great grandfather's WW1 records - they were horrific reading. He survived the war, but was never the same again, had to be force fed through a tube, and was then confined to a lunatic asylum back in the UK until he died in his early 40's.

Puts things in perspective somewhat - the current generation that, at their age, would have been sent off to die in a war less than 100 years ago, feel their lives are unfair because of house prices etc.
 
Back in 68 I was of age to report to the draft board. I was classified 4F because of my hearing impairment and a little bit of color blindness.

Lots of my friends went to Nam and a few came back. Some of them were really messed up. They said the Viet Congs are nasty people and fight dirty. The jungle is their home and they know their way around in it.

booby traps and tortures were their daily regimens. Because of losing my friends and seeing those home all messed up I have severe depression.
 
Puts things in perspective somewhat - the current generation that, at their age, would have been sent off to die in a war less than 100 years ago, feel their lives are unfair because of house prices etc.

How is it not unfair that there are people struggling and sweating to pay for a small house and there are politicians that live in mansions thanks to those people? And politicians are just an example. There is a whole collection of crooks living off the good people in our society.

It may not be as bad as it used to be, but it's certainly not fair.
 
it's worse than you think. The businesses use to pay for their own paper/paperwork, ink, clips, postage, etc.

Guess who's paying for them for years past?
 
I was 3 years behind you Celery but I didn't wait around to see whether I would get drafted or not, I enlisted. The hostilities were still going on in 'Nam although it was winding down. Instead of 'Nam, I got sent to Korea. None of my friends went to 'Nam and I have only encountered a few 'Nam veterans among my friends and acquaintances in the years since.
 
How is it not unfair that there are people struggling and sweating to pay for a small house and there are politicians that live in mansions thanks to those people? And politicians are just an example. There is a whole collection of crooks living off the good people in our society.

It may not be as bad as it used to be, but it's certainly not fair.

Bad phrasing on my part. I'm certainly not justifying the rise in house prices and corruption of (some) politicians. I'm one that's often quibbled about it myself.

It just seems like small fry compared to the struggles of last century. Please do campaign for better housing, less corruption, more equality, etc. - I'm all for it. What I'm *not* for is these articles I keep see popping up along the lines of "Millenials have it worse than any generation that came before them", and scores of twenty somethings complaining on Facebook that life's not fair because their underwater basket weaving degree can't get them a job as the CEO of BP straight out of uni.
 
Bad phrasing on my part. I'm certainly not justifying the rise in house prices and corruption of (some) politicians. I'm one that's often quibbled about it myself.

It just seems like small fry compared to the struggles of last century. Please do campaign for better housing, less corruption, more equality, etc. - I'm all for it. What I'm *not* for is these articles I keep see popping up along the lines of "Millenials have it worse than any generation that came before them", and scores of twenty somethings complaining on Facebook that life's not fair because their underwater basket weaving degree can't get them a job as the CEO of BP straight out of uni.

We don't even have to go back a century. You only need to move a few kilometers and you can find stuff like this

slum-sanitaion.jpg

(Kenya.)

and this

phosphorus-bombs-on-gazans.jpg

(Palestine and the chemical attacks.)

Live through that and you'll beg to be sent back to WWI.
 
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