Historiography and Death Toll of World War I and World War II Famines in Iran

Iran experienced three devastating famines during 1869-1945. Its population of 11-12 million in 1944 was nearly the same as the 12 million reported in 1900, and about the same as in 1850, a classic case of a Malthusian catastrophe. Despite the centrality of these famines in Iran’s history, they have been subject to neglect and controversy. In particular, the World War II famine has been completely neglected in the historiography of Iran and World War II, and this study attempts to partially compensate the neglect. It re-examines the toll of the famines by using overlooked and neglected primary sources and in ways not previously done. It is established that the Great Famine of 1917-19 was even more deadly than previously estimated and likely the greatest calamity in Iran’s modern history. It is also found that the nearly forgotten 1941-45 famine and two typhus epidemics had killed 5-7 million Iranians compared to 4 million previously estimated by the author. At least 15 million Iranians died in the two world wars, a fact not reflected in the history of Iran and that of the conflicts.