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 ten years after the war.

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.

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Internet Links

Allied war crimes during World War II - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Camp Douglas (Chicago) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Camp Albuquerque - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Camp Peary - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

List of POW camps in the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

List of POW camps in Britain - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

List of POW camps in Canada - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

List of POW camps in USSR - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Category:World War II POW camps - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

POW Camp 115, Whitecross, St. Columb Major - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Allied war crimes during World War II - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Eisenhower and German POWs - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Eisenhower's German POW Death Camps - A US Guard's Story
Chapter VIII of James Bacque's Crimes and Mercies

U.S. (and French) abuse of German PoWs, 1945-1948
Reality was grim, although worst charges of James Bacque were rebutted by Guenter Bischof and Stephen Ambrose.

German POW's in Mississippi

Prisoners of War

FOXNews.com - Pope Recalls Being German POW

BRIDGEND GERMAN POW CAMP, ISLAND FARM CAMP 198 / SPECIAL CAMP XIGerman POW camp in Bridgend, Wales, Great Britain called Camp 198. March 1945 largest number of German POWs ever to escape from a UK camp escaped. Renamed Special Camp 11 used to hold German Officers pending Nuremburg War Trials e.g. Von Rundstedt

Handbook of Texas Online

German POWs

German POW Camp in Clinton MS. Mostly Afrika Corps
The good people in Clinton and Jackson, MS just couldn't give up their Southern hospitality long enough to run a proper prisoner of war camp.

uboat.net - The Men - Prisoners of War - German POWs in North America

::German POW::
German POW’s captured in campaigns in Western Europe, were held in Allied POW camps. These came under the inspection of the Red Cross and all the evidence suggests that German POW’s held in Western Europe were well treated – accommodation was adequate as was food. The Red Cross took care of communicating with families. German POW’s captured on the Eastern Front had a far worse experience.

WWII German prisoners were housed in area POW campsImage Enlargement

One German POW's Story

CLINTON, MISSISSIPPI POW CAMP

World War Two - German Prisoners of War in Britain

Reparation, re-education, reconciliation: Britain's German POW camps re-visited

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Gallery :: German POW Escapes

washingtonpost.com: Learning Freedom in Captivity

Canada's Forgotten PoW Camps - Conflict and War - CBC Archives
While few people remember it now, Canada was home to thousands of German and Italian prisoners during the Second World War. With Britain fearful of a possible invasion, more than 37,000 of their PoWs were transported to remote camps across Canada. Over a seven-year period the prisoners basked in a unique brand of Canadian hospitality, enjoying a lifestyle that convinced some to eventually call Canada home. CBC Archives takes a look back at the reality of life behind the Canadian barbed wire.

BBC - WW2 People's War - A German POW in Britain by Herbert Heinemann Category

BBC - WW2 People's War - German POW's and their English Chaplain
My father was a chaplin to German POW's in Norton, Stockton-on-Tees... Some letters were opened in ...

German Prisoners of War in the South

German POW's in the Granite State | New Hampshire Public Radio

concordia

Prisoner of wars Harperley Pow camp, pow WW2, german prisoners Prisoner of war camps, world war 2 prison camps Harperley events, war camps POW camps, prison camps
Prisoner of wars Harperley Pow camp, pow WW2, german prisoners Prisoner of war camps, world war 2 prison camps Harperley events, war camps POW camps, Harperley Pow camp prison camps, WW2 prisoners, Prisoner of war camps , Harperley events , POW camps

Former German POW Returns To Give Lecture

JS Online: Tales of state's POW camps come to light
Journal Sentinel Online is a multimedia news and information service of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Journal Communications Inc., covering news, sports, business, entertainment and community stories in Milwaukee and Wisconsin.

Coyote Blog: WWII Great POW Escape - in Phoenix?

German POW's

CAMP ATLANTA - a WW2 German POW Camp in Nebraska

1934 US Regulations Governing POWs

Bibliography From Amazon.com

 

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