Counting The Cost Of The Fallen

[BluBear]

A day after marking 71 years since the allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy, consider taking out 18mins of your day to watch this sobering and profound animated data visualisation of all the lives lost in the Second World War.

(It's free to view, tickets are optional)

http://www.fallen.io/ww2/

It certainly gave me the chills.

Lest we forget.

[FoolTrottel]

Thanks for that, sobering indeed!

Worth while watching though!

[Kira]

Very well done, except for one particular part:

 

"A significant portion of Japanese civilian deaths were caused by American fire bombing and the two nuclear attacks. Contrary to official U.S. statements, these airstrikes were directed at civilian populations, not military targets"

 

WRONG!

 

The U.S. went out of its way putting it's aircrews in danger to drop leaflets telling civilians to evacuate over cities to be bombed, doing everything in their power to reduce Japanese civilian deaths.  It was the Japanese military (and government) that didn't allow evacuations of the cities, cities in which military targets were located (intentionally?) in civil urban areas, in the hopes that exactly the quoted statement would be made.  They succeeded.  The blame was shifted to the Americans for waging a war that, at least militarily, they didn't start.  (Economically is an entirely different matter.)  Even today, Japan fails to accept blame for the atrocities it committed during the war, something Germany did long ago.  Of course, the same could be said about the U.S.

[Painless]

Reading the comments after the video is an education for sure ! Incredible how folks can have such differing opinions on something that we take for the most part to be historical fact.

If Stalin wasn't so bad why did Stalingrad and the river Stalin revert back to being Volgograd and the river Volga ?

Same as Leningrad and St Petersburg ?

It's ironic that the numbers show far fewer deaths from war both military and civilian since WW2 and a massive increase in Earths population which if it continues, will in itself probably bring about catastrophic loss of life one day ?

P.

[Kira]

Very good points Mr. P.  By the way, if you look at U.S. casualty figures, the Navy, in particular, lost horrendous numbers in 1944 and 1945.  The majority of deaths in WWII occurred during the last years.  Of course, that was when the invasions were taking place, too, so...  One of the things that those who are so vocal against the use of atomic weaponry seem to conveniently forget.  Why not use every weapon available if it ends the bloodshed early?

 

Can you imagine what Operation Olympic and Operation Coronet (collectively Operation Downfall) would have looked like?  We probably wouldn't be here as our fathers/grandfathers would have been killed during that invasion.  The specifics escape me, but I remember reading the plans that included one particular unit, a large one, like a division.  The plans did not include that unit beyond day six.  It was just accepted that the unit would have been wiped out by then.

[T_O_A_D]

I saw this last week on my phone is sobering and passed iton via my FB ;-)

But just did it again via the PC and Interactive. Thanks for reminding me to look at it on the PC

[BluBear]

It's ironic that the numbers show far fewer deaths from war both military and civilian since WW2 and a massive increase in Earths population which if it continues, will in itself probably bring about catastrophic loss of life one day ?

P.

 

I suggest you watch this documentary Mick, it's fascinating, engaging, intelligently presented and dispels some of the myths and misinterpreted ideas on the earth's growing population.

It's well worth sitting through the whole hour if you get the time, it certainly made me think.

[Painless]

Thanks Chris, I will do that very thing this afternoon. Always interested in differing perspectives and new information perhaps in the vain hope that doing so will delay the onset of dementia and general crustyness .

Mick.

[Painless]

Wow ! I can't remember a single documentary that has blown me away more. The presentation of the data explaining past and predicted population growth was astounding. I don't mind admitting that the feature on the significance of obtaining a bicycle dam nearly brought me to tears, partly from joy and partly from guilt !

In conclusion; resources seem to be the main problem and a change of attitude in the west. It left me cautiously optimistic.

Thanks Christoff, an excellent Televisual delight.

PS. Swooperton should watch this, that geeza done the Sweeds praad din ee !

[BluBear]

Glad you appreciated it Mick, it had the same effect on me when I randomly flicked over to it on the Beeb last year.