(Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1988). This included
those shot out of hand, those executed after a trial, and those who
perished in Siberia. The large mass grave at Kuropaty in Byelorus-
sia, where tens of thousands were shot in 1939–1940, suggests that
the latter figure is closer to the truth.
Katyn. Information provided by Moscow to the Polish government in
1992 showed that Lavrenty Beria had suggested the execution of
more than 25,000 Polish military officers and civilian notables.
Joseph Stalin and other members of the ruling Politburo signed the
order.
Incorporation of the Baltic States. While the loss of life in the Baltic
was less than that in eastern Poland, it amounted to more than
5 percent of the population, with approximately 200,000 shot and
deported. Combined with heavy losses in 1944–1950 as the Soviet
authorities reestablished power, executions and deportations con-
stituted a demographic catastrophe for the people of Lithuania,
Latvia, and Estonia.
Executions during the Great Patriotic War. There were approxi-
mately 140,000 executions of Soviet soldiers during the war. At
Stalingrad 13,500 men were shot in the course of the campaign
that lasted from August 1942 to February 1943. In contrast, there
was one execution for desertion in the U.S. Army during World
War II, and fewer than 10 executions in the British armed forces
for mutiny and other military crimes during six years of war. Dur-
ing World War I, more than 350 British service personnel were
shot for military crimes; this is seen today as a mark on the honor
of the country and the military.
Death during Deportations, 1943–1945. The NKVD and NKGB de-
ported 1.5–2 million Soviet citizens during the war. There are no
real morbidity figures for these people. The Chechens and the
Crimean Tatars in their accounts state that 20–30 percent of the de-
portees died on the way to Central Asia or perished during the first
year. This would lead historians to the conclusion that 300,000 to
500,000 perished in the first year of captivity.
Death in Camps, 1930– 1953. A recent study of the gulag system put
the number of deaths in the camps during 1930–1953 at more than
2.7 million. The author concludes that this figure is almost cer-322 •APPENDIX H06-313 z08 App H.qxd 7/27/06 8:05 AM Page 322