There have been a lot of horrific events in the course of history. One of them is China’s Great Famine (1958-1962) which isn’t as widely known as it should be.
What occurred over those four years was something akin to hell on earth.
Professor and historian Frank Dikötter estimated that the man-made famine caused 45 million deaths of whom 2-3 million of them were people who were killed violently during the chaos.
Dikötter is one of those featured in the above documentary Mao’s Great Famine which is just over 50 minutes long.
To watch the documentary just click the play button at the left of the feature image above.
The film begins after a 30-second plug for Timeline documentaries.
The documentary includes accounts from famine survivors in China who were willing to risk the ire of communist authorities who still suppress public discussion on the famine given it was caused by party leader Mao Zedong’s economic and social campaign the Great Leap Forward.
For more on Mao and his reign watch this video below.