Prisoners of war in World War II

(1941) Most prisoners, after being captured, spent the war in the prisoner of war camps. In the early phases of the war, following German occupation of much of Europe, Germany also found itself unprepared for the number of POWs it held. As a result of that, as well as for political reasons, it released many (particularly enlisted personnel) on parole (as a result, it released all the Dutch, the Danes, The majority of POWs were released by the late 1940s. A few exceptions include stories such as András Toma, considered the last POW of World War II released from captivity, who was discovered living in a Russian psychiatric hospital in 2000 and was returned to Hungary some fifty-six years after his capture. == Number of POWs ==

In mid-90s Simon MacKenzie observed that "Obtaining an exact figure for the number of POWs [in WWII] is made virtually impossible by the inexactness or unavailability of the records kept by many of the belligerents". MacKenzie cites the figure of 35 million following the 1960s estimate by German historian . Bob Moore, who in his monograph focused on the European theater, gave an estimate of "more than 20 million", which he considered inflated with the number of Axis troops that surrendered after the war. Australian, 50,016 total estimates of POWs vary but a range of at least 750,000 to over a million has been suggested by scholars. • Danish POWs: while the Germans quickly captured the Danish army following the German invasion of Denmark, the Danes were quickly released. In 1943 about 10,000 Danish soldiers were arrested again and imprisoned in Germany, but most were again released quickly. 2,377-3,500 to 1,900,000 (February 1943) • German POWs: held by the USA: 11,000,000 total (with 1,600,000 captured by the Americans, and 2,400,000 by the British). 425,000 in the USA territory; more than 400,000 in British and Commonwealth territory; 2.8 million held by Western custody by April 30, 1945 (and close to 7 million in the months after the war Small numbers were briefly held in France until the fall of France. Out of these: held by USSR: 65,000. 154,000 were held in Britain and 400,000 were held by Britain in various locations by the time war ended. 900,000 were captured by the Soviets. 560,000 to 760,000 were held by the USSR after Japan surrendered. • Norwegian POWs: while the Germans quickly captured the Norwegian army following the German invasion of Norway, the Norwegians were quickly released. About 1,500 were arrested in 1943; about 1,000 were held until the end of the war. Small number of Norwegians fighting for the Allies in exile were occasionally captured as well throughout the war.-1,039,800 190,000 in Austria • Soviet POWs: held by Finland: 64,000;-6,200,000; held by Romania: 91,000 A small number (few dozens) were held by the Japanese following the 1939 border clashes Khalkhin Gol (at that point, however, USSR was not a participant of World War II). • Yugoslav POWs: approximately half of the Yugoslav Army was captured by the Germans, resulting in about 350,000 Yugoslav POWs shortly after the German invasion of Yugoslavia; however about half of them were nearly instantly released (however, most were forced to become laborers shortly afterward). Shortly afterward, Germans released more prisoners, retaining only the Serbs (about 130,000). Due to the infighting in Yugoslavia, over 100,000 partisans opposed to the victorious, communist aligned groups were taken into custody by their opponents near the end of the war. By country of capture: • number of POWs held by the British and Commonwealth: 400,000 Germans (mostly in Canada until the Normandy landings; that number was also given for the number of Germans "held in Britain; some of these POWs were also transferred to the American custody). Over 200,000 Germans were held in the UK by the time the war ended in May 1945; a year later that number peaked at 400,000. Another estimate for the German POWs immediately after the war ended was 2,400,000 Germans in British custody. 400,000 Italians (at least 154,000 held in Britain or Commonwealth territories such as India, Australia, South Africa and Kenya), as well as small number of Japanese troops (35,000-50,000 held by the Western Allies). The Germans in British hands included 1,200 soldiers captured by the Dutch in 1940 and evacuated to Britain before the Germans overrun the Dutch. • number of POWs held by Germans: 11,000,000 (out of that, roughly 6,000,000 Soviet and 5,000,000 were non-Soviet) • by mid-1943 Italians held 80,000 Allied troops (about 42,000 British and 26,000 from the British Commonwealth) • number of POWs held by Japanese: 320,000 to 350,000. Approximately 132,000 of them came from the Western Allied nations (British Commonwealth, Netherlands and the USA). • number of POWs held by the United States: 425,000 Germans (in the US territory), and by the time the war ended, 1,600,000 as well as small number of Italian and Japanese troops (35,000-50,000 held by the Western Allies) • number of POWs held by the USSR: approximately 3,000,000 Germans, 65,000 Italians, 100,000-250,000 Romanians as well as 560,000 to 760,000 Japanese (taken into custody after Japan surrendered) == Laws of war ==

) While most major combatants signed the 1907 Hague Convention and the 1929 Geneva Convention on Prisoners of War, the Axis powers, as well as the USSR, ignored their provisions to a greater or lesser degree. while Japan signed, but did not ratify it). == Treatment ==

Treatment of POWs varied significantly based on time and place. Support from Red Cross was important in improving camp conditions and supplementing often inadequate rations and other necessities for the prisoners, particularly in the camps run by the Axis. Mistreatment of POWs is considered one the most infamous war crimes of the Second World War". == Mortality rate and atrocities ==

, captured by Japanese in New Guinea, is photographed seconds before his execution by beheading (24 October 1943). The death rate of prisoners of war in World War II was higher than that of prisoners of war in World War I. Christian Gerlach explained this due to "much higher prisoner numbers, more supply problems, politically motivated denial of food, hard labor and direct violence", including racism. to 1.2 million fatalities, There were also instances of mistreatment by Western Allies, although on a much smaller scale. Germany treated Western Allied POWs much better than those from the Eastern Front (in particular, Soviets). The Asian and Pacific Fronts saw difficult POW situations as well, as Japan's treatment of POWs – Western, Chinese, Indian, Filipino and others – was very harsh. Non-Western POWs in Japanese captivity had higher fatalities rates; in particular, fatality rate for Chinese POWs is estimated at at least 40% and likely much higher. Canadian POW camps have been recognized as among the most comfortable in the entire war. The situation of Jews, who served in various armies, was particularly difficult because of The Holocaust. However, while Jews were mistreated by the Germans more than non-Jews, their fates were generally tied to the nations and armies they belonged to. Non-officer Jews released into general populace often perished together with the civilians; however most Jews who served in the armies of the Western Allies, as well as the Jewish officers in the Polish Army, suffered only minor discrimination. == Aftermath ==

Experience of mass captivity is one of central narratives of World War II, as it was a major formative, psychological experience for millions of soldiers affected by it, as well as their relatives. After the war, majority of POWs were repatriated, received starkly different treatment in various countries. In some, they were celebrated as returning heroes or honored as victims; in others, they were ignored or subject to discrimination. Trials courtroom First trials of Germans accused of crimes against prisoners of war took place in the Soviet Union while the war was ongoing. Shortly after World War II, at the Nuremberg trials (in particular, during the High Command Trial), numerous German crimes against prisoners of war were found to be a direct breach of the laws of war (in particular, Geneva and Hague conventions). This was done in the context of Axis states illegal (from the international law perspective) use of POWs as forced laborers. However, the payments were delayed for years or even decades due to issues related to drawing up the lists of claimants and the collection of the funds; some claims of insufficient compensation were discussed in courts as late as in the 1990s, particularly in relation to POWs in custody of Japan. Soviet POWs and these from countries under Soviet sphere of influence were also denied much compensation, partially due to failures of negotiations in the Cold War context. In popular culture Images of WWII POWs in popular culture remain highly selective, obscured by the story of victory for the Allies (in which those taken prisoner played little role or were even considered traitors, like in the USSR), and driven by Cold War narratives. Stories of WWII POWs were popularized by media such as films The Wooden Horse (1950), Albert RN (1953), The Colditz Story (1955), Reach for the Sky (1956) and "perhaps most famously" (according to Moore) The Great Escape (1963). Those movies also popularized the concept of prisoner-of-war escapes, creating a misleading impression that this was a relatively common occurrence. The harsh treatment of Allied POWs by Japan became infamous in the West and remains widely known; it is however still mostly ignored or glossed over in Japan. Similarly, as noted by Mark Edele, in the Soviet Union, "Any claim that the glorious Red Army might have committed war crimes was dismissed as slanderous enemy propaganda". Denial that such crimes occurred is still not uncommon in modern Russia, where the issue has remained politically controversial, and research on this topic in Russia is difficult. == Historiography ==

As of 2007, the topic was described as under researched in modern historiography, although there are exceptions. For example, in West Germany, the government established The Scientific Commission for the History of German Prisoners of War (often referred to as the Maschke Commission, after its chairman, Erich Maschke), which produced a large body of research on this topic, by 1972 collected in 22 volumes. == By country and region ==

All regions • American prisoners of war in World War II • British and British Commonwealth prisoners of war in World War II • British prisoners of war in World War II • German prisoners of war in World War II • Heimkehrer Western Front • Belgian prisoners of war in World War II • Danish prisoners of war in World War II • Dutch prisoners of war in World War II • German prisoners of war in the United Kingdom • German prisoners of war in the United States • German prisoners of war in northwest Europe • French prisoners of war in World War II • Italian prisoners of war in World War II • Italian prisoners of war in Germany • Italian prisoners of war in Australia • Norwegian prisoners of war in World War II Eastern Front • Finnish prisoners of war in the Soviet Union • German prisoners of war in the Soviet Union • Italian prisoners of war in the Soviet Union • Polish prisoners of war in World War II • Romanian prisoners of war in the Soviet Union • Soviet prisoners of war in Finland Asian and Pacific Front • Allied prisoners of war in Japan • Far East prisoners of war • Hell ship • Japanese prisoners of war in World War II • Japanese prisoners of war in the Soviet Union == See also ==