POWs who were American or British were often segregated from non Jewish compatriots. They were then given unpleasant tasks that others of their nationality were spared, but still not treated as badly as Soviets or other "easterners," Jewish or not. In the back of their minds, the Germans thought of them as e.g. "Americans."
Full Answer
Why was this treatment so important to the fate of American POWs held in Europe?
Why was this treatment so important to the fate of American POWs held in Europe? German and Italian POWs were treated relatively well compared to the American POWs in the Philippines. The US abided to the Geneva Conventions in hopes that the Japanese in charge of the Americans would.
What did the US do with German POW?
Eventually, they relented and put tens of thousands of enemy prisoners to work, assigning them to canneries and mills, to farms to harvest wheat or pick asparagus, and just about any other place they were needed and could work with minimum security. About 12,000 POWs were held in camps in Nebraska.
How were German POWs treated in America ww2?
Prisoners had friendly interaction with local civilians and sometimes were allowed outside the camps without guards on the honor system (Black American guards noted that German prisoners could visit restaurants that they could not because of Jim Crow laws. ), luxuries such as beer and wine were sometimes available, and ...
Why were POWs treated so badly?
The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) indoctrinated its soldiers to believe that surrender was dishonourable. POWs were therefore thought to be unworthy of respect. The IJA also relied on physical punishment to discipline its own troops.
Did American soldiers shoot German prisoners?
According to eyewitness accounts, an estimated 80 German prisoners of war were massacred by their American captors; the prisoners were assembled in a field and shot with machine guns....Chenogne MassacreDeaths80 Wehrmacht soldiersPerpetrators11th Armored Division (US Army)4 more rows
How did the Allies treat POW?
The armies of the Western Allies were under strict orders to treat Axis prisoners in line with the convention, something which generally occurred. Some abuses, however, such as the shooting of German POWS by US troops, did take place.
Who treated POWs the best in ww2?
In World War II, the Germans reserved their best POW treatment for captured men from America, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
What did Soviets do to German prisoners?
Approximately three million German prisoners of war were captured by the Soviet Union during World War II, most of them during the great advances of the Red Army in the last year of the war. The POWs were employed as forced labor in the Soviet wartime economy and post-war reconstruction.
What was the motivation for a German POW to work?
What was the motivation for a German POW to work? a. The motivation was to avoid punishment.
How did Japanese treat POWs?
The treatment of American and allied prisoners by the Japanese is one of the abiding horrors of World War II. Prisoners were routinely beaten, starved and abused and forced to work in mines and war-related factories in clear violation of the Geneva Conventions.
Did the Japanese eat POWs in ww2?
The Chichijima incident (also known as the Ogasawara incident) occurred in late 1944. Japanese soldiers killed eight American airmen on Chichi Jima, in the Bonin Islands, and cannibalized four of the airmen.
How did the Japanese treat female prisoners of war?
Unprepared for coping with so many captured European prisoners, the Japanese held those who surrendered to them in contempt, especially the women. The men at least could be put to work as common laborers, but women and children were "useless mouths." This attitude would dictate Japanese policy until the end of the war.
The POW camps adhered to the Geneva Conventions
According to Society for Military History, because of its scant experience dealing with POWs, the U.S. chose to follow the edicts of the untried 1929 Geneva Convention.
Hardcore Nazi POWs were a problem
Undoubtedly the biggest source of conflict in the POW camps were the ardent Nazis.
German POWs were put to work
As all work done by POWs was forced labor, work regulations, including details like job locations and hours, hazards, and pay rates, were a major concern of the 1929 Geneva Convention.
German POWs got unexpected perks
As described in The Washington Post, the War Department, believing that a happy POW was a pliant POW, went above and beyond when it came to POW food, education, and entertainment. Not only did POWs dine well, they took college courses, set up libraries, and formed orchestras and soccer leagues.
German POWs were controversial in local communities
When the first wave of POWs from Germany's elite Afrika Korps arrived in Mexia, Texas, the townspeople were dumbstruck, according to Humanities Texas.
Sometimes POWs escaped
Although the total number of escape attempts from U.S. camps was proportionately low, according to Humanities Texas, some POWs did try. The 1929 Geneva Convention, recognizing that it is the duty of prisoners to attempt escape, contains numerous regulations limiting the severity of punishments for escapees.
The POW that got away
As chronicled by AP, on a September night in 1945, POW Georg Gaertner escaped from New Mexico's Camp Deming by slipping under a fence and hopping a train bound for San Pedro. According to the Coloradoan, Gaertner had decided to escape because he knew that upon his release, he would be repatriated to eastern Germany, where his family lived.
What was North Vietnam's position on American prisoners?
From the very beginning of the war, North Vietnam’s stated position was that American prisoners captured in North Vietnam were “war criminals” who had committed crimes against ...
What is the Cold War International History Project?
The Cold War International History Project supports the full and prompt release of historical materials by governments on all sides of the Cold War. Through an award winning Digital Archive, the Project allows scholars, journalists, students, and the interested public to reassess the Cold War and its many contemporary legacies. It is part of the Wilson Center's History and Public Policy Program. Read more
Why did North Vietnam refuse to provide the names of the prisoners?
The North Vietnamese refused to provide the International Red Cross with the names of Americans who were being held prisoner in North Vietnam and did not allow regular inspection visits by the International Red Cross to ensure that the prisoners were being treated properly in accordance with the terms of the 1947 Geneva Convention on POWs.
When did North Vietnamese prisoners get better?
According to information provided by American prisoners after their release in 1973, North Vietnamese treatment of the POWs underwent a sudden and marked improvement in the fall of 1969. [1]
When did North Vietnam release the prisoners?
On August 5 th, 1969 North Vietnam released three American POWs as a “good-will” gesture to a visiting delegation of American antiwar activists. On September 2 nd, 1969 the U.S. Defense Department held a major press conference in which two of the newly-released prisoners provided detailed descriptions of the mistreatment ...
