How to read the data

Why victim totals differ

A named list, a confirmed minimum and a historical estimate answer different questions. Treating them as one number creates false precision, while presenting only the lowest documented count can hide the scale of a crime. The portal therefore separates evidence levels and shows how a total was obtained.

Three different kinds of totals

A named count includes victims identified through names, family records or archival files. A documented minimum means that the evidence confirms at least that many deaths, even if some names remain unknown. A historical estimate reconstructs the probable scale from testimonies, demographic data, investigations and comparisons between sources. These figures may all be correct at the same time because they describe different levels of certainty.

Why the records are incomplete

Many villages were destroyed, inhabitants fled and local records disappeared during successive occupations and post-war border changes. Witnesses often remembered households rather than full names, and several victims could be described in one testimony. Some people were recorded under maiden names, nicknames or different spellings. In other cases the same person appears in more than one list and must be deduplicated.

Why estimates differ

Researchers may use different geographical boundaries, dates and definitions of which deaths belong to the same campaign. One study may count only Volhynia in 1943, while another includes Eastern Galicia, Polesie or events before and after the peak period. Some estimates include only Polish civilians; others also discuss soldiers or minority groups killed in connected violence. A responsible comparison first checks the scope and methodology, not just the headline number.

How the portal counts

Each locality record states whether a number is exact, a minimum or a range. The database keeps source links and confidence notes so that later corrections do not erase the reasoning behind an entry. Administrative search points, duplicate locality names and references to the same event are separated before publication. Aggregate totals are therefore sums of published event records, not a claim that every victim has already been identified by name.

Sources