Overall, even with some atrocities, considering what could have happened based on the potential brutality of the Nazis, one would have to say that the POW situation for Americans and Brits in Germany wasn’t too bad (relative to other prisoners in other camps/countries/wars). As Germany ignored the Geneva Convention, American black servicemen faced horrific treatment in concentration camps and at the hands of their captors. How Did The Germans Treat American POW's in WWII? Infantry wenrt to camps like the one described in Stalag 17 (written by a couple of ex-POWs, and a lot bleaker than Hogan’s Heros ever was.). I knew two men who were 70th Division veterans taken prisoner during the time of the Bulge, one who was Jewish, the other thought to have been Jewish by the Germans. When the American and British POWs left the prisoners of war camps, approximately 1 million books were left behind. I had a friend how was in the Air Corps and was in a Luftwaffe camp. In total Some 95,000 American and 135,000 British and Commonwealth servicemen were incarcerated in prisoners of war (POW) camps in Germany during World War II. **Question: did they distinguish between Jewish (& Black) POWs and others? (2017, Jan 24). However, American POWs interned by Germany’s ally, Japan, were protected by no such restraints; of the 27,465 Americans captured in the Pacific, 11,107 would not return home, a death rate of over 40%. CAPTION: German POWs were allowed a broad range of educational and leisure activities. Without the Red Cross, they would’ve starved. American soldiers casually climbed over the still twitching bodies, killing the wounded. Again I say: ouch! Click on the locations for more information Initially, American POWs were once again kept in prison ships until 1813, when they were taken to England and held in prisons, such as the infamous Dartmoor. **. Men from the Waffen SS were especially picked out for"special treatment" by both the Red Army as well as the American soldiers. It has to do with the above part of your post. He was dive-bombing some industrial installation when his plane was shot down. Was able to walk with braces on both legs. More POWs were detained by American forces in Europe, the Far East and elsewhere. They were normal POW camps, like most throughout history. I think a lot of it was due to German resources being stretched pretty thin. It started Feb. 3rd, 1945. The worst permanent damage was to his spirit. packages by throwing them over the fence. 35000 German POWs sent to Canada wanted to stay because of how well they were treated and how much they grew to like the people here. Many of them worked on the state’s roads. It certainly wasn’t by any means pleasent, they were fed minimally, lived in squalled conditions, and I’m sure more than one officer was tortured for information. To this day though, he won’t eat chicken. Many also had reunions at their former camps. Some categories of prisoners, such as Jews or Communist party members were usually shot immediately. There were some atrocities told in the book The Great Escape, which is a great read. The Russians simply tortured and killed any SS soldier they captured. Held by the Nazis to be racially and politically inferior, they were starved and brutalised. [5] Antony Beevor Stalingrad (Penguin Books, New York, 1999), pp.- 15, 60, 166 He knew how to find potable water, what a potato field looked like even in winter, etc. [3] American Prisoners of War in Germany. He suffered from malnutrition (of course) and lost feeling in several toes due to frostbite. They were lined up every morning and counted to make sure no one had escaped. 3.) Nearly a year after the end of World War II, a large number of German prisoners of war (POWs) were still being detained in post-war Britain. The prisoners were held in some fifty German POW camps, of several types. Conditions there were very satisfactory in equipment, medical, clinical and surgical attendance. Barbaric treatment that still could not be justified by the fact that the Soviets had not signed the relevant Geneva Protocols. The American and British peoples, through the various agencies which undertook the task of providing POWs with books, made it possible for prisoners to obtain books which were so necessary and useful. However, this human attitude was hardly applied to the prisoners from other countries, retained in Germany. Overall, POWs in Germany were well treated. As Germany ignored the Geneva Convention, American black servicemen faced horrific treatment in concentration camps and at the hands of their captors. That program brings a small group of American POWs and family members to Japan each year to meet with officials and private citizens and, in some cases, visit the sites where POWs were held. He was marched west as well as the war ended. From comparisons I have from a doctor who was in an Italian camp and from 2 or 3 prisoners who were in both at some time, the German conditions were … For example, 600 Soviet prisoners were gassed in Auschwitz on 3 September 1941 at the first experiment with Zyklon. POWs who were American or British were often segregated from non Jewish compatriots. The Geneva Convention's mandate of equal treatment for prisoners also meant they were paid American military wages. -Germans did not want Allied troops to learn of POW mistreatment for fear it would instill a stronger desire to conquer Germany. Each man got 1/2 of a blanket. (He also was on raids to places like Polesti that were a lot worse than the places the planes from England raided, and yet they don’t make movies about it.). One of the most important activities which overcame this enemy was reading. The justification was that Soviet Union did not sign the international convention about POW's. Many of them worked on the state’s roads. More POWs were detained by American forces in Europe, the Far East and elsewhere. I can’t offer any specific sources, but I have heard that the Germans and the armies on the Western Front tended to treat their prisoners better in part because the other side was treating their prisoners better. Out of the approximately 94,000 American POWs, at least a staggering 75% were captured over the course of the final 12 months of the war in Europe. Shot in the knees? Grandpa and my German grandfather have met, and they spoke about the war. Merchant Marine sailor Lionel Romney, who was sent to Mauthausen, and pilot Lieutenant Darwin Nichols, who suffered in a Gestapo prison. (Opa was a combat engineer, and an officer.). The British survivors of Japanese camps tend to be vocal about it. There were many groups from different camps, literally wandering around different parts of Germany that winter. Finally, Stalin, being suspicious of everyone out of his control, proclaimed all the Russian POW‘s to be traitors and deprived them with any rights or aid. Both the British and Americans were quite fortunate in being able to place their POW camps far away from the fighting. This resulted in great bitterness among the survivors. I’ve never heard a word about this in all the history I’ve learned…. Ouch! He weighted 110 poinds at the end. -Germans part of Geneva convention We use cookies to give you the best experience possible. Forced labour of the Russian POW‘s was actively used at the German civil an military enterprises, including aircraft factories and V-2 rockets production. Prepared by MILITARY INTELLIGENCE SERVICE, WAR DEPARTMENT 1 November 1945 . As you may know, there was an acute shortage of labor because so many American men were overseas, so POWs took their places at home, working on farms, in small factories, and even in manufacturing jobs. Conditions in Stalag IX-B were the worst of any POW camp, but they were recalled fondly by the Americans transferred to Berga, who discovered the main purpose for their imprisonment was to serve as slave laborers . My father was a boy during the war, and says that they usually didn’t even have potatoes. In the book Death March, one of the former prisoners interviewed said that they were assembled shortly after the surrender. *Originally posted by Podkayne * The prisoners, involved in work received small payment (5 to 10 marks) for their effort, though the amount of money, which a POW could possess was limited. 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