What POWs Can Teach Americans
Both the Allies and the Axis powers committed many horrific crimes during World War II – most of which deserve to be known of. However, perhaps one of the most important things that everyone should know of is how prisoners of war (POWs) were treated in each country. In America, the military went above-and-beyond the standards to make sure all Nazi POWs were comfortable and treated humanely. However, it became evident that the treatment that Americans gave Nazi POWs was not being reflected in Nazi Germany. The American people were outraged at the atrocious acts committed by Hitler and his regime, and a congressional investigation was launched into the treatment of Nazi POWs. In the end, it was decided that America …show more content…
Because of this, eleven years after the horrors of World War I had been committed, countries from around the world came together to create a set of rules and documents that attempted to make war, the least civilized thing imaginable, civilized. The rules and documents, signed in 1929, were named the Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, and it set the grounds for how enemy POWs should be treated. However, despite being put into force eleven years before the start of World War II, it wasn’t until World War II that the Geneva Conventions had it’s first challenge: In a real war full of hatred and tragedies, could the Geneva Conventions hold up? After all, there was no governing body that was forcing each pledged country to follow the rules. Instead, it was up to the countries to have integrity and to continue following the rules. This is where there’s a major split in the effectiveness of the Geneva Conventions. Some countries, such as the United States, kept their word and even went above and beyond in their treatment of POWs. Nazi POWs, for example, were not needlessly abused, tortured, killed, or otherwise treated inhumanely in the U.S. when they were taken prisoner. In fact, as Karl Silberries, one of the Nazi POWs located at Camp Aliceville, Alabama, said, “We had no problems. We had plenty to eat.” There are even instances where Nazi troops would be happy to be taken captive by the U.S. or other allied nation since the treatment they would receive in the camps would likely be comparable, if not better, to the treatment they received as actual
Both the Allies and the Axis powers committed many horrific crimes during World War II – most of which deserve to be known of. However, perhaps one of the most important things that everyone should know of is how prisoners of war (POWs) were treated in each country. In America, the military went above-and-beyond the standards to make sure all Nazi POWs were comfortable and treated humanely. However, it became evident that the treatment that Americans gave Nazi POWs was not being reflected in Nazi Germany. The American people were outraged at the atrocious acts committed by Hitler and his regime, and a congressional investigation was launched into the treatment of Nazi POWs. In the end, it was decided that America …show more content…
Because of this, eleven years after the horrors of World War I had been committed, countries from around the world came together to create a set of rules and documents that attempted to make war, the least civilized thing imaginable, civilized. The rules and documents, signed in 1929, were named the Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, and it set the grounds for how enemy POWs should be treated. However, despite being put into force eleven years before the start of World War II, it wasn’t until World War II that the Geneva Conventions had it’s first challenge: In a real war full of hatred and tragedies, could the Geneva Conventions hold up? After all, there was no governing body that was forcing each pledged country to follow the rules. Instead, it was up to the countries to have integrity and to continue following the rules. This is where there’s a major split in the effectiveness of the Geneva Conventions. Some countries, such as the United States, kept their word and even went above and beyond in their treatment of POWs. Nazi POWs, for example, were not needlessly abused, tortured, killed, or otherwise treated inhumanely in the U.S. when they were taken prisoner. In fact, as Karl Silberries, one of the Nazi POWs located at Camp Aliceville, Alabama, said, “We had no problems. We had plenty to eat.” There are even instances where Nazi troops would be happy to be taken captive by the U.S. or other allied nation since the treatment they would receive in the camps would likely be comparable, if not better, to the treatment they received as actual