World War II caused unprecedented destruction and loss of life across Europe and Asia. An estimated 40 million people died during the war, including 20 million Soviet citizens. The Holocaust also claimed the lives of 6 million Jews who were murdered in mass killings or died in ghettos and concentration camps. While the war devastated many areas and caused immense hardship, it also helped drive social changes in the postwar years like increasing opportunities for women and minorities in the American workforce.