Version 1
: Received: 25 March 2024 / Approved: 26 March 2024 / Online: 26 March 2024 (11:32:48 CET)
How to cite:
MAJD, M.G. Historiography and Toll of World War I and World War II Famines in Iran. Preprints2024, 2024031562. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202403.1562.v1
MAJD, M.G. Historiography and Toll of World War I and World War II Famines in Iran. Preprints 2024, 2024031562. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202403.1562.v1
MAJD, M.G. Historiography and Toll of World War I and World War II Famines in Iran. Preprints2024, 2024031562. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202403.1562.v1
APA Style
MAJD, M.G. (2024). Historiography and Toll of World War I and World War II Famines in Iran. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202403.1562.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
MAJD, M.G. 2024 "Historiography and Toll of World War I and World War II Famines in Iran" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202403.1562.v1
Abstract
Abstract. The remarks by the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution on the toll of the famines that afflicted occupied Iran in World War I and World War II indicate a desire to incorporate these calamities in Iran’s national narrative and collective memory. His criticism of famine historiography and stated toll numbers, and the unfolding catastrophic famine in Gaza, justify and necessitate a fresh look at each famine’s historiography and toll. This article re-estimates the toll of each famine by including many overlooked and neglected primary sources and in ways not previously done. It builds a trajectory of Iran’s demographic development from 1810 to 1944, and derives the toll of each famine. The World War II famine and typhus epidemics had claimed 5.5 million victims and Ayatollah Khamenei’s criticisms concerning its stated duration and toll valid. World War I famine was also more deadly, though the 1869-73 famine was not far behind. At least 15.5 million Iranians died in the two world wars, a fact nowhere reflected in the history of the conflicts. Iran’s 1944 population of 12 million was unchanged from that of 1850 and a century of population growth obliterated
Keywords
Iran; Famines; 1869-73; World War I; World War II
Subject
Social Sciences, Area Studies
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
