I will need to read more about those studies. My initial reaction is scepticism because the numbers are so much lower than all of the other estimates. However, I will admit that (from the little bit of reading I was able to do in the last hour or so) it does appear that three of the more detailed statistical studies all came to similar results. That said, I put a lot of faith in the Simon Wisenthal Center and find it hard to believe that the estimates of the dead could have been so far off for so long. There also were some legitimate sounding criticisms of these studies methedologies - in that they may have used too low of a birthrate for rural Serbs. Anyway, thanks for the information - I actually handn’t been aware that there was such a dispute over the numbers untill you started posting to me today.
It was the ridiculous inflation of the dead numbers of Serbs that led Tudjman, a man in charge of the military museum, to turn away from the regime in the first place.
dschapin,
Yugoslav death numbers, IIRC, were originally inflated by Tito to collect more reparations $ from Germany. They didn’t accept them and a new lower number was submitted including ALL death.
But if one person says “2 million” it stays that way if it’s repeated time and time again until a researcher actually looks into it.