Do you know the deadliest war since the big one?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Off the top of your head, right now. Stay away from Google. I want your best guess. To clarify, the ‘big one’ being of course my favourite topic of discussion, World War 2, which claimed somewhere between 30 to 55 million lives, with most of butcher’s bill fronted by the Chinese and Russians.

After 1945, do you know which war claimed the most lives?

Relying on your honesty here. If you knew the answer off the top of your head without Googling, vote yes. If you were close but no cigar, vote no.

The answer;

Korean War? Nope. Vietnam? Miles away. Iraq? Not a chance. The actual answer is the Second Congo War, aka the Great War of Africa.

2

No, I didn’t get the answer right – I thought it was the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s..
However, the Wiki article on wars by death toll suggests to me that it might be the 1945-1949 part of the Chinese Civil War.

3

Son of a gun, I got it right.

I figured either that, or that whole post WW II China mess.

4

Ah yes, the Chinese Revolution was a nasty business indeed, but as it was a continuation of a war that started in 1927 it doesn’t count - we’re rather thinking of wars that started after 1945. Should have clarified that in the OP more, my bad.

5

Got it right! Two years ago, I added this question to an exam I give my intro-to-human-geography students.

6

I got it. But I have a particular interest in the area.

7

Got it wrong. I was just thinking of US wars. But I still would have guessed Iran-Iraq if I’d thought about non US involvement.

8

I got it right. But I’ve worked a lot in Africa, including the eastern Congo.

9

Got it wrong - couldn’t settle on an answer, so went with ‘something in the Sudan’. Close, but no cigar!

10

I dismissed some of the common guesses and thought perhaps it might be…

The Cambodian Genocide. Googling it, I see the victims numbered about 2 million - well below the death toll of the correct answer.

11

I was thinking the genocide in Rwanda. No cigar for me either.

12

Got it, although I had no idea the casualty count was quite that high, I’d heard 3 million.

13

I was thinking the War On Drugs, but previous replies tell me I’m wrong.

14

Someone’s been watching Anthony Bourdain.

15

Does it count as correct when my guess was:

one of those Congolese civil wars?

It was very much just a guess, though.

16

I got it right, because not only did I come across this factoid recently, I used it in the ongoing Trivia thread not too long ago.

17

I knew it. I really thought that everybody on the Dope should know it.

Everytime I think about it, I get angry at Kofi Annan. He and his supporters loved to claim how he had despite his failures in the Mid East, had great success in Africa. yeah right.

18

Yeah, I think you can count that.

I’ve no idea who that is.

19

I knew it, but mostly because I recently read The Great Big Book of Horrible Things, by statistician and “atrocitologist” Matthew White.

Incidentally, he pegs the death toll at 3.8 million, and suggests that the 5.4 million figure is based on faulty estimates. cite: White’s fantastically-named Necrometrics site

Not that that makes it any less horrible, of course.

20

I thought it was the Chinese unpleasantness.