German POWs in Allied Hands
Hundreds of thousands of German soldiers were captured during the war. Their fate depended on whether the Red Army or the British or Americans took their armistice. Prisoners of the Western Allies had a much better chance of survival*.
Few Germans were taken in combat from 1939 to 1941. The German victories ensured that prisoners taken in combat in Poland, Norway, France and the Low Countries were released when the campaign ended in allied capitulation.
The combat in the Soviet Union, due to its apocalyptic nature, left both sides trying to prevent capture. Soviet and German units cut off from relief would fight to the death. Friedrich von Paulus’ Sixth Army took 85% casualties before surrendering at Stalingrad. Capture was so feared many choose death.
The conditions German POWs endured on the Eastern Front are beyond description. Shipped to separate camps in Siberia and elsewhere in the western Soviet Union, the German POWs were subjected to aggressive reeducation in communist ideology, as well as frequent beatings, torture, and execution. Food was always scarce.
The result was a horrific rate of death among German POWs. Out of the 90,000 Germans who marched into Soviet captivity at Stalingrad, only 5,000 returned from Russia. Most German POWs were held for <b>ten years after the war.</B>
Germans in North America and sometimes Britain fared much better. Food was plentiful, and they ate better then their families in Europe did. Camps for German POWs were set up all over England and the United States. German POWs had medical care, shelter, and were paid wages for their labor, although very low ones. They worked on farms and work gangs. Some died in captivity, either due to wounds in combat or trying to escape. In one incident, zealous Nazi U-boat crewmembers killed a POW that had collaborated with the Allies. Thousands of German POWs attempted escape, with one pair even trying to cross over the Arctic to get from Canada to Germany. Most were recaptured; only one successful escape is recorded from North America.
Violence in POW camps was generally down. Loyal Nazis celebrated national holidays at the same time Hitler was in Berlin. War news shocked them as the Allies and the Red Army advanced into Germany.
The Western Allies were overwhelmed by the number of surrendering Germans in late 1944 and early 1945. The POW system was completely overloaded, with too few guards and too little shelter and food. Many guards were brutal to the German POWs, often in retaliation for the German occupation of their home country.*
The end of the war was distressing, but most POWs feared for their loved ones. Some Nazis committed suicide, either before the end of the war or on the day of the armistice.
When the war ended, the German POWs were shipped home — unless they were held by the Red Army. Germans were still being released from Soviet POW camps in 1955. Some probably were never released and spent their lives in captivity.
German POWs often remained defiant Nazis in captivity, but others were grateful for a hot meal and a warm place to sleep after the horrors of modern warfare. They were often absued for the Nazis’ actions in combat and occupation. If they were lucky enough to make it to a POW Camp in North America, they could expect decent food and shelter and sometimes work release. These men only had to fear the hard line Nazis that would execute those they held as Allied collaborators.
- In the book “Other losses” (which I read) that was written after consulting the records of german POWs held by americans, british and french army, it is estimated that about 2 millions germans died from malnourishment and sickness. This was partly due to the food shortage : priority was with liberated civilians from everywhere in Europe. But Also, the german troops who surendered after the armistice were classified as “disarmed enemy force” instead of POW.
Kind of like now with the “illegal enemy combatants” held now in Guantanamo, which are “kind of” out of the Geneva convention. (or so they wish to make us believe).
Book Description From Amazon
After World War II, an estimated ten million Germans, both soldiers and citizens, were incarcerated in Allied prison camps. Due to negligence, varying from exposure to starvation, from gunfire to physical abuse, over 1.5 million of these prisoners lost their lives. Little was known of this topic before the initial release of Other Losses in 1989. Based on the testimony of both French and American sources, Other Losses relayed a shocking account of how both the French and American armies had willingly caused the deaths of some 800,000 men, women and children. Although academics challenged author James Bacque with criticism of exaggeration they were unable to provide an explanation for the extensive casualties. Several years following the original release of Other Losses, the KGBs prisoners of war archives were disclosed. Bacques quest for the truth continued as he probed these files and acquired additional statistical evidence from Soviet sources. This additional information contributes to and expands on his original findings. This updated edition presents all the relevant new material concerning the mass deaths of prisoners and the suppression of the evidence by the governments of Germany, the U.S., France and the Soviet Union. A hornets nest… tells for the first time how… German soldiers were left to die in American and French camps. John Gellner The Globe Mail Stunning. Time Magazine A great and grim masterpiece of investigative journalism, unmasking one of the most successful coverups in modern history. Independant on Sunday
So, Chevan, Egorka, please do try to use some research a bit before posting some biased answer… I can only speak for myself, but I’m getting sick of your cold-war mentality. This forum is not about who’s country was better/suffered the most/etc, it’s about the historic facts.
