Though Germany generally observed the 1929 Geneva Convention governing the treatment of prisoners of war, in the often severe climate prisoners lived in spartan, and increasingly harsh, conditions. In 1945 many undernourished prisoners were forced to march in winter to evade liberation by Soviet forces.
Associate Professor Monteath found that many were starved and beaten and, when the Red Army invaded Germany from the east, large numbers were subjected to gruelling marches to the middle of Germany in the depths of winter to prevent them falling into the hands of the Soviets.
The German soldiers feared and respected the skills of the Australians. In a letter captured and translated by the 7th Australian Infantry Brigade in May 1918, a German soldier wrote to his mother: We are here near ALBERT, I am in the foremost line, about 200 metres opposite the British.
Conditions behind German lines were poor. Hard labour and malnutrition made prisoners vulnerable to illness. Some Australians died of disease during the German reprisal period. At least seven Australians were killed by Allied shellfire while working near the German lines.
Throughout World War II, thousands upon thousands of soldiers, nurses and civilians were taken as prisoners of war. These prisoners often faced horrific conditions, battling against violence, starvation, disease and overcrowding.
The most common form of punishment was face-slapping, often done with a hard instrument, such as a bamboo stick or a shovel. More severe beatings were also common.
The Germans were hardly the genial hosts, whether you were a POW during World War I or World War II. There was severe punishment for escape attempts, there were meager rations and drafty bunkhouses, and there were irregular deliveries of packages from the Red Cross.
During World War II, Imperial Japan and Nazi Germany (towards Soviet POWs and Western Allied commandos) were notorious for atrocities against prisoners of war.
For British and American prisoners, Stalag IX B was one of the worst camps in Germany. Conditions were appalling from the start and continued to deteriorate as the war progressed. The first transport of American prisoners arrived in late December 1944. By January 24, the camp had 4,075 Americans, held in 16 barracks.
A typical meal was a thin broth of rice and vegetables. The prisoners were paid a small wage with which they supplemented this diet. Camps near villages could trade with the local Thai population for items such as duck eggs and fruit.
And the German learned to fear Australians, because they were reckless, ruthless - and revengeful. During the Third Battle of Ypres, autumn 1917, the ANZAC's (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) met the Germans on high ground, in front of Polygon Wood.
“There certainly was some cross-pollination of ideas among all soldiers, and many units wished to publish their own humouristic journal.” Slang to emerge from the journals include the term 'Fritz', which evolved from the common German name Friedrich and was often used to name the Germans as an individual.
“The Australian troops are fighting magnificently and their training is far superior to ours.” Field Marshal Erwin Rommel. Writing to his wife, Lucia, about the stubborn defence he was encountering at Tobruk.
The US, no doubt about it. Various POWs inquired whether there was a procedure for them to become US citizens while they were still imprisoned. At the end of WWII, were there any cases where freed Allied POWs exacted revenge on their Japanese guards?
The POWs suffered frequent beatings and mistreatment from their Japanese guards, food was the barest minimum, and disease and injuries went untreated. Although the POWs finally received Red Cross packages in January 1944, the Japanese had removed all the drugs and medical supplies.
Of the 22,376 Australian prisoners of war captured by the Japanese, some 8,031 died while in captivity. After the end of the war, War Crimes Trials were held to investigate reports of atrocities, massacres and other causes of death.
The Axis powers (Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Imperial Japan) were some of the most systematic perpetrators of war crimes in modern history.
Originally Answered: What country in World War Two treated enemy POWs the worst? Hands down Japan: The Japanese considered a surrendering soldier as utterly worthless and treated them accordingly. Both the Soviets and Nazi Germany treated each others POWs rather awful as well.
Most prisoners of war (POWs) existed on a very poor diet of rice and vegetables, which led to severe malnutrition. Red Cross parcels were deliberately withheld and prisoners tried to supplement their rations with whatever they could barter or grow themselves.
Many of the women and children were held in prison camps in terrible conditions and forced on death marches. Some women were killed on sight and others were raped, beaten, and forced to become sex slaves.
Some 650 Irish soldiers were taken prisoner by the Japanese during WW2. They were starved, beaten, even crucified - but showed incredible bravery, writes historian Robert Widders.
Japanese troops used some POWs for bayonet practice, tortured and starved others, and forced many to perform hard labor. Nearly one third of American POWs held by the Japanese died in captivity.
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.
The single key factor in POW survival was neither the guards nor the climate: The German POW diet was based on potatoes, while the Japanese was based on rice. Rice is great stuff – if you know how to use it.
Tens of thousands of Axis prisoners of war including Germans were put to work in the United States in farms, mills and canneries. These prisoners were paid $0.80 per day for their labor (equivalent to $14 in 2022 dollars).