Who treated POWs the worst in ww2?

107). However, nations vary in their dedication to following these laws, and historically the treatment of POWs has varied greatly. During World War II, Imperial Japan and Nazi Germany (towards Soviet POWs and Western Allied commandos) were notorious for atrocities against prisoners of war.

Which country 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.

Why did the Japanese treat POWs so badly?

The reasons for the Japanese behaving as they did were complex. 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.

How were POWs treated in ww2?

Prisoners were routinely beaten, starved and abused and forced to work in mines and war-related factories in clear violation of the Geneva Conventions. Of the 27,000 Americans taken prisoner by the Japanese, a shocking 40 percent died in captivity, according to the U.S. Congressional Research Service.

What did the Soviets do to German POWs?

In his revised Russian language edition of Soviet Casualties and Combat Losses, Krivosheev put the number of German military POWs at 2,733,739 and dead at 381,067 (356,700 German nationals and 24,367 from other nations) However, Soviet era sources are disputed by historians in the West, who estimate 3.0 million German ...

The Worst POW Camps You Could be Sent to as a Soldier/Pilot/Sailor in WW2

Who was the longest serving POW?

Col. Floyd J. Thompson, who endured nearly nine years of torture, disease and starvation in Vietnam as the longest-held prisoner of war in American history, has died. He was 69.

Did the Japanese eat POWs in ww2?

Starving Japanese soldiers not only ate the flesh of the POWs and slave laborers during World War II, sometimes they were stripping the meat from live men, according to documents unearthed in Australia, reported by the Kyodo News Service in 1992.

How did the British army treat prisoners of war?

They were often better fed than they would have been fighting at the end of a supply chain. Those in lower risk camps were permitted to leave for work and to attend church alongside the British congregations. Depending on the camp, prisoners might be paid in real currency or in camp money – to further prevent escape.

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.

Did the Japanese execute POWs?

On October 7, 1943, Rear Adm. Shigematsu Sakaibara, commander of the Japanese garrison on the island, orders the execution of 96 Americans POWs, claiming they were trying to make radio contact with U.S. forces.

How did Japanese treat those they captured occupied?

The Japanese were very brutal to their prisoners of war. Prisoners of war endured gruesome tortures with rats and ate grasshoppers for nourishment. Some were used for medical experiments and target practice. About 50,000 Allied prisoners of war died, many from brutal treatment.

How were German soldiers treated after ww2?

In the years following World War II, large numbers of German civilians and captured soldiers were forced into labor by the Allied forces. The topic of using Germans as forced labor for reparations was first broached at the Tehran conference in 1943, where Soviet premier Joseph Stalin demanded 4,000,000 German workers.

What was the best POW camp?

Stalag Luft III had the best-organised recreational program of any POW camp in Germany. Each compound had athletic fields and volleyball courts.

How long did Russia keep German POW?

The Soviets released 10,200 POWs in 1953. The remaining 9,262 had been mostly accused of war crimes and sentenced to lengthy prison terms that would last until the 1980s.

Was there cannibalism in concentration camps?

Living conditions in the camp when the US 8th Infantry and the 82nd Airborne arrived were deplorable. There was little food or water, and some prisoners had resorted to cannibalism. When the units arrived there, they found about 1,000 inmates dead in the camp.

What did American soldiers call Japanese soldiers?

In WWII, American soldiers commonly called Germans and Japanese as krauts and Japs.

Did anyone escape Japanese POW camps?

Cowra breakout, (August 5, 1944), mass escape by nearly 400 Japanese prisoners of war from a prison camp in Cowra, New South Wales, Australia. It was the largest prison break staged during World War II.

How were POWs generally treated in the Pacific?

They had endured dismal conditions, often brutal treatment, and had been forced to labor long hours with very little nourishment. Since they were moved throughout Japanese-held territory to wherever laborers were needed, their locations were often very isolated.

How much do POWs get paid?

Captive or POW Pay and Allowance Entitlements: Soldiers are entitled to all pay and allowances that were authorized prior to the POW period. Soldiers who are in a POW status are authorized payment of 50% of the worldwide average per diem rate for each day held in captive status.

Did British POWs get paid?

In order to impede any potential escapes, POWs were paid not in British currency but with “camp money”, paper and plastic facsimiles which they earned for undertaking camp labour.

Is there still traps in Vietnam?

The Vietnamese did not put up well with the invasion, and did everything in their power to defend against the Americans. One strategy was booby traps, and there are still many tunnels and traps that have survived.

Are there POWs still in Vietnam?

As of 2015, more than 1,600 of those were still “unaccounted-for.” The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) of the U.S. Department of Defense lists 687 U.S. POWs as having returned alive from the Vietnam War.