Who or what country do you believe commit the worst war crimes of all time.

I would offer up the leaders of both the US and USSR during the cold war for the lives lost in the balance. The numbers of people killed as a way to silence opposition of the governments of both countries satelites as well as the innocence lost. But then that would be an extremely liberal bleeding heart kind of thing to do... so instead I will say the worst war crimes were committed by England in India following the Sepoy Mutiny.

Originally Posted by bulldogg

so instead I will say the worst war crimes were committed by England in India following the Sepoy Mutiny.

Worse than a systematic destruction of an entire people?

The worst war crimes was the Nazi's attempt to wipe out an entire racial subspecies during WW2. Not just the Jews but the Slavic peoples as well. They literally processed them like slaughtered animals - for example, soap for the Wehrmacht was made from the fat of Jewish unfortunates. The other horrific things they did are well documented.

Hitler got into power through many factors but mainly because he came along when the country was in turmoil and were crying out for someone to restore their dignity and pride. He could have came into power in any country with the right sorts of economic and social problems.

In my opinion the SS-Sturmbrigade Dirlewanger and SS Division Totenkopf - known for their brutality. The Totenkopf Division had their first crime of war within a week of their initial commitment in France; where they killed 97 out of 99 British officers (and men of the Royal Norfolk Regiment) with machine gun fire after they had surrendered. To survived.

Dirlewanger was known for not taking things too easily and perhaps best known for their brutality during the Warzaw uprise in 1944.

Just daring to be different Doppleganger, I bore of discussing the same atrocities and incidences of genocide. To be honest I believe the slave trade of the 17th to 19th centuries inflicted far more damage and death than the Nazis or Stalin's purges yet this does not fall under the definition of war crimes unfortunately so it would be going far afield. And also it seems to be conveniently forgotten unlike those inflicted upon humans of a more familiar shade... but I digress.

Nazis have that one all locked up.

Whether you look at it form numbers, or intent, or crazy sh*t (their science experiments) it doesn't matter. Nazis sweep all catagories.

I think WWII Germany and Japan are pretty close rivals. Japan for their cruelty in China, Korea, the Philippines, and every other country they took prisoner. As for Germany, they can't be beaten on sheer numbers alone. The extermination camps were very efficient.

Nazis, Saddam and some African warlords

Originally Posted by sunb!

In my opinion the SS-Sturmbrigade Dirlewanger and SS Division Totenkopf - known for their brutality. The Totenkopf Division had their first crime of war within a week of their initial commitment in France; where they killed 97 out of 99 British officers (and men of the Royal Norfolk Regiment) with machine gun fire after they had surrendered. To survived.

Dirlewanger was known for not taking things too easily and perhaps best known for their brutality during the Warzaw uprise in 1944.

It's true that Waffen SS units commited war crimes. So did the German, Soviet, American and UK Armies, especially the first two in the cauldron of the Eastern Front. In fact the German Wehrmacht probably commited more war crimes in WW2 than the Waffen SS did (because they were a much larger organisation). And what the Japanese Imperial Army did in WW2 was almost as bad as the worst of Nazism.

However, do not confuse what the Waffen SS did on the battlefield with what the General SS under Himmler did in the concentration camps. The two cannot be compared in any reasonable way. The Waffen SS were brutal, fanatical soldiers who killed prisoners, burned villages and on occasion shot civilians. But they were by and large professional soldiers and very good ones at that. The General SS literally processed human beings in their millions for animal feed, soap, candles, leather and so on. They were not soldiers in any measurable way.

Originally Posted by Doppleganger

In fact the German Wehrmacht probably commited more war crimes in WW2 than the Waffen SS did (because they were a much larger organisation).

Wasn't it so that the Wehrmacht "hated" the Waffen SS due to their brutality and unhumanity on the battle field both for enemy soldiers and civilians?