How did historians determine the approximation of 6 million Jews being killed by Nazis? Why not more, less?

Answer 1

Although there were obviously millions killed in the holocaust as there was a few million less Jews and in 1945 than in 1939, the figure 6,000,000 is an approximation. I myself have heard of a 60s issue of The Guiness Book of Records which quoted the figure of 2,000,000. This figure was not repeated in subsequent editions. Either because they found out a more correct figure or pressure was brought to bare upon them. The figure of the 6 million is a pretty accurate figure as figures in the millions go. Give or take a few million. It is estimated that by historians by the general number of what was left as compared to what was before, by the actual eye witness accounts of the general numbers of survivors and gas ovens and bodies seen, by the logistical effort put into the thing by the third reich and by general investigation of census lists.

Whilst logical people do not have the 6 million as an article of faith, when it is said "six million", this is a pretty accurate number as far as such large numbers are concerned. In other words six million is just as good a bet as some of the other millions. One thing is certain however is that it was MILLIONS. And even if it were only the very low figure quoted by some Neo Nazis of 200,000, even this, is totally unacceptable in moral terms. However this is a gross and base underestimation. For there were people murdered most cruelly merly because they happened to be of a particular race. And that being of that race happened to fall fowl of lunacy.

I myself would like to know the exact figure. And it does not help in certain people having a go at and persecuting people who dare suggest anything but this figure as an article of faith. What is needed is accurate truth. For two reasons. One, that the truth of history be known because this would bring a practice of truth in the study of history and would have as an accurate truth something backing up what is a known fact against evil. The second reason would be that the crimes would be pinpointed to the guilty and that these things that seek to pervert the study of history with their revisionist propoganda, not get away with being squarley to blame for what their patrons did and that these things not be given the opportunity to disguise themselves as martyers, no matter how thinly their disguise is. So that they cannot influence others in deceit.

For what these people did was a henious and horrible thing indeed. They deserve history's censure and condemnation for such. They are accountable to all of history, all of humanity, all of justice and all of everything that is right and decent. What I want is to pin these b******s to the cross of justice. With the most accurate and deadly piercing truth possible. And pin them good.

Answer 2

The first thing to understand is that historians used a variety of sources and approaches to determining the figure. It was not a number that was arrived at artificially or immediately, but was calculated over a number of years and through the combined works a number of historians. The second thing to understand is that these figures--and indeed the Holocaust--is one of the best documented phenomena in history. Thirdly, and finally, Jews were the main, but not only target of the Nazi practices of arrest, forced labor, and execution: gypsies, homosexuals, communists, and the mentally disabled were also systematically targeted.

The estimates range generally between 5 and 6 million Jews, with that number rising to about 9 million if you include the other groups mentioned above. The exact figure is not known, since it is unclear how many Jews died directly as a result of Nazi policies and how many died incidentally. There are many projects in the US and around the world that are still trying to determine the fate of many Jews whose ends are not precisely known.

The Nazis, however, in spite of some problems with intentional destruction or fraud, did keep registers of their victims. There is also considerable archaeological evidence found from the mass graves and the concentration camps (primarily at Auschwitz and Treblinka) to help create a more accurate number. We also have population figures for European Jews before World War II and after, which includes those who emigrated out of Nazi controlled regions.

In one of more recent estimates, Raul Hilberg in "The Destruction of the European Jews," 3rd edition (2003), Vol. 3, p. 1321, argues for the number 5.1 million killed. Yehuda Bauer and Robert Rozett in "Estimated Jewish Losses in the Holocaust," in Encyclopedia of the Holocaust (1990), p.1799 estimates 5.9 million. Both offer breakdowns by country of these figures and both make clear that the bulk of these Jews were Polish or from the Soviet Union.

The exact figures will never be known. But these estimates are reasonable and indeed, recent British and Russian records suggest that the number may have been higher.

One last note. There are many who claim these figures have been greatly exaggerated or simply that it did not happen at all. In the case of the first group, a body of writing called "holocaust denial" literature has been forthcoming since the 1970's. Much of this literature has been proven to be methodologically incorrect and a consistent tendency to manipulate, mischaracterize and even falsify evidence.

As for those who deny it completely, little needs be said.

I hope that answers your question in part.

Answer 3

There will be far more information available in the years to come, directly from Nazi records.

This is from CBS Interactive Inc.


Panel Agrees To Open Nazi Files
Shroud Of Secrecy To Be Lifted On Stories Of 17M Holocaust Victims

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, May 16, 2006
(CBS/AP) Millions of Nazi files that describe the mechanics of mass murder were a step closer to being opened to researchers following an agreement Tuesday by an 11-nation panel that has kept the archive locked away since World War II, officials said.
The files, indexed and cross-referenced, contain the names of Jews, Roma, homosexuals, the mentally ill, "patients" subjected to cruel medical experiments, and millions of people forced into slave labor.
The documents in the archive include the registration of concentration camp inmates by the numbers burned on their arms, stacks of crumpled identity booklets and meticulously kept records of executions.
The card indexes alone occupy three massive rooms at Bad Arolsen, a spa resort in central Germany. The documents themselves, some yellow and crumbling, fill row after row of metal filing cabinets in six buildings.

Answer 4

Historians generally use multiple sources do gather the 6 million figure. Primarily, the SS keeps a very good record in the number of people they killed in the gas chambers and mass burial sites. They do that for scientific purposes. E.g. How much gas is needed to kill how many people in what time. Secondly, through eyewitnesses. After the war, witnesses in villages and concentration camps are interviewed for first hand accounts of approximately how many people are killed on a daily basis, though less reliable. Through that they work out how many people are killed over a period of time.

Answer 5

They got the answer by looking at pre-war estimates of the Jewish population in Eastern Europe - looking at public records such as census, taxation records.

Once they had a clear idea or estimate of the pre-war figure of the Jewish Population, then they looked at the post-war figure.

But as others have noted, the Nazis loved to keep records and documentation - the records helped to verify an estimate of how many Jews and other groups had been exterminated.

Of course - there can be no exact figure - and thats exactly what Holocaust deniers use to dispute that the Holocaust ever happened. Holocaust deniers are a very sad and twisted bunch of people who deny history.

Answer 6

As stated before, the Nazis were meticulous record keepers.
One of the things that greatly aided them to round up so many "undesirables" also helped nail down their guilt : early computers. The forerunner to IBM created a punch card census for Germany that helped track those the Third Reich viewed as unpure. This made it easier to keep track of, round up, and eventually kill with brutal efficentcy.
As the war came to an end, the allies created groups dedicated to documenting the Nazis crimes for war trials. These units used modern methods (and the Nazis own tools) to estimate numbers still largely used today.

Answer 7

Some of it was from the detailed accounts kept by the Nazi's themselves. The most difficult to estimate were the non-Jews murdered.

Answer 8

This was not determined by historians, but by investigators reviewing the records kept by the Nazis themselves. They also used interviews, and corroborating documents (German andPolish census records, etc)--but primarily to verify the nazi documents of the concentration camps to assure that they had complete--or essentially complete--records.

Answer 9

The Nazis kept very precise records on both killing of Jews and disposition of their property.

Answer 10

Six million is a magic number for Jews, do some research.
They also claimed 6 million died after the First World War.