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The Fallen of World War II is a data-driven documentary about the human cost of the war and the long decline in battle deaths in the decades since. Across 18 minutes, the data itself carries the story — charts and visualizations take the leading role, set to an original score, to give the statistics of war their full human weight.
The film follows a linear narration but pauses at key moments, letting viewers step into the charts and explore the numbers themselves.
Since its release in 2015, it has been viewed tens of millions of times and is used in classrooms around the world.
Written, directed, coded, and narrated by Neil Halloran. Original music and sound design by Andy Dollerson.
The soundtrack is available on Bandcamp.
Inspiration and sources for the final segment of the film came largely from Steven Pinker's The Better Angels of Our Nature.
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The interactive version runs best on a computer. On phones and tablets, or if playback stutters, watch the video version instead — the YouTube button on the opening screen, or Neil's YouTube channel.
Much of the underlying data draws from sources similar to those listed in the World War II Casualties Wikipedia article. Post-WWII statistics were sourced from the Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP).
Explore Neil's other films: The Plea, on the eradication of smallpox; Degrees of Uncertainty, on climate science and public trust; and The Shadow Peace, on the risk of nuclear war.
The most helpful way to support this work is to become a sustaining supporter on Patreon. Patrons receive behind-the-scenes updates and other special content.
