50 million? What the hell, that's multiple cities worth of depopulation. There's no way that could be true

It's actually The Great Leap Forward, and even if it's "just" 20 million, which is most likely is, it's both true and atrocious.

>A lower-end estimate is 18 million, while extensive research by Yu Xiguang suggests the death toll from the movement is closer to 55.6 million.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Leap_Forward

Well, it's supporting your argument, as I perceived it. Germany unnecessarily suppressed groups for reasons not related to maintaining its authoritarianism. During the First World War the German army had Jews like Fritz Haber. In the Second they didn't. I don't see China doing the same. If Germany is used as a model for what we can expect from China, then the values we would get have to be adjusted upwards to compensate for China not wasting its human resources* the way Germany did.

>(By the way, the death toll of Mao’s cultural revolution clocks in around 50 million.)

The 1970s wants its news back. China isn't doing that sort of thing anymore.

*There's of course a lot more to the Holocaust than "wasting human resources". Please read this in good faith.

Hmm, ok that makes sense. I’ve misinterpreted it as China apologetism. Mea culpa.

And yes, it’s pretty scary to think about a WWII scenario with Jewish talent on the German side...