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Great Leap Forward: Quick Facts

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Facts

Date 1958 - 1960
Location China

Did You Know?

  • Two-three million of the deaths were due to torture and execution.
  • Today in China, The Great Famine is referred to as Three Years of Natural Disasters and the Three Years of Difficulties.
  • Recent estimates place the death toll of The Great Leap Forward and its corresponding famine at 45 million deaths, far greater than the number killed in WWI.

Photos

Yingshuichiao Iron Smelting Works in Chungwei county, China
Great Leap Forward era propaganda poster
Photo of Chinese workers with propaganda song beneath
Women steel workers at the Chunghua Metallurgical Plant in Shanghai pour molten steel into sand molds while others watch, all wearing protective clothing and masks, 1958.
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Related Topics and References

Topics
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Key People

Mao Zedong smiling and waving with his right hand while standing outdoors in front of large lanterns and a crowd.
Mao Zedong
Chinese leader