The Soviet Union lost millions of people during the war to the German War machine. Lokk what happened to Germany in the areas that the Soviet Union took over - the areas were stripped of every type of machinery that was there and shipped it back to Russia. When the Allies divided up Germany the Russians wanted more and more. Most people do not realize the war ended in 1845, but many of the POWS held by Russia were not released until well after the war in 1952. As a youngster I grew up in a German speaking church in the Milwaukee area. many of the members of the church were people whom served in Germany during the war, they would tell of where they served - eastern Front, against the British against the Americans or the younger ones will tell of Hitler Youth camps that they served in until they were needed to man rifles and so forth at the age of 14 because there were no men to serve anymore. Many of the same people who have served there have passed away now.
1945 ? :)
I was watching a documentary on the war on the Eastern Front; of the 100K+ German soldiers captured in Stalingrad, 5K were ever seen again.
What skews the Soviet death toll is that some of their “dead” fought for the Axis (particularly in the Ukraine); a small part of the war there was basically a civil war.
If you ever saw the movie “Come and See” you will know why I have no sympathy.