Figure 1.--With the collapse of Army Group West after the American break out at St Lo and resylting Falaise pocket, Whernacht morale collapsed. The German soldiers only wanted to get back to German as quickly as posivle. There wa no effective resistance in Belgium or the souther netherlands. If the Allies had an effective logictical capability, they might have been able to press the Germans right back inro the Reich. But without working ports in northern France and the Low Countries, this was not possible. These German soldiers surrendered in the Netherlands. The photograph is dated October 7. There is a mix of youths and older men. Many are obviouly releaved to be out of the War. Notice the little Dutch boy having a look at the former occupiers. He does not know it, but he is very lucky to be south of Rhine. Also note the American MP with an automtic weapon in the upper lefthand corner. We do not see this in any earlier group of German POWs. The press caption read, "Happy Heinies: Smiles were definitely in a majority among these German soldiers captured in the Allied attck on Nieuwstadt, Holand. The reverse Blitzkrieg is over form them." This mind set changed quickly with the Germans who were able to get back to the Reich. They were quickly reformed and resupplied and put up stiff resistanace not only at Arnhem, but also along the West Wall and into the Rhineland. This did not finally change until the Allies crossed the Rhine (March 1945). Source. U.S. Signal Corps. WHB72030USSC.

Until the Normandy D-Day landings, most Axis POWs were German and Italian soldiers taken in North Africa, most in 1943. Italy surrendered (September 1943). The Americans did not take many German POWs in Sicily and Italy. The United States set up more than 500 camps for Axis POWs in America during World War II. Most of the POWs transported to Ameica were from North Africa. German POWs transported to camps in America were amazed at their treatment and diet. Strangely German and Italian POWs were often treated more courtesly than Black U.S. servicemen. The Genevea Convention required that POWs be housed and fed just like the capturing country's own soldiers. Thus America provided POWs foods like fresh milk, eggs, and meat that were rationed. This was also better than they food they got before being captured. There was even a beer ration. This changed for the German POWs after VE Day. But they were still well fed. As reports of Japanese treatment of prisoners reached Americn soldiers, American combat soldiers were often brutal with the few Japanese soldiers that surrendered. Some observers have suggested that America was as brutal with Japanese POWs as the Japanese were. This is simply not true. There is no doubt that American combat soldiers shot wouunded Japanese soldiers. Here this behavior has to be put in the context of the mangled bodies of American captives the GIs found as they advanced and the fact that not only were Japanese wounded booy trapped, but wounded Japanese soldiers often attempted to kill Americans attempting to aid them. American soldiers understandably had difficulty understanding the Japanese refusal to surrender. Racism were also undeniablt a factor. This is not to say the shooting of wounded soldiers on the battlefield was aceeptable, but this is very different from the official policies of the Germans and Japanese resulting in the deaths of huge numbers of Allied POWs and civilian detainees. It is unclear how many Japanese soldiers were shot trying to surrender. The number here is probably very small. These attrocities occurred on the battlefield. The same occurred to a lesser extent in Europe, There were incidents in Normandy, especially with SS men after accounts of SS attrocities surfaced. They alsp occurred in Belgium after word of the Malmady Massacre spread. What did not occur was the murder of POWs in rear areas once taken as POWs. Once in camps the American treatment of POWs was almost invariably correct. The United States held 126,000 Italian POWs during World War II. After the War, virtually all were repatriated (99.8 percent). The Americans intetned about 0.4 million Germans in America, men mostly taken in Tunisia (1943) and France (1944). Almost all of these men survived and were repatriated. At the end of the War, the Americans (along with the British and French) were overwhelmed by the number of surrendering Germans. The POW system brokedown. There were too few guards and limited camps with shelter and food. Many guards were severe with the surrendering Germans, especially as news of the liberated concentration camps spread. Only a Small number of Japanese were held as POWs by the Americans. About 95 percent survived. The few deaths mostly resulted from an uprising in a camp with leaders commiting suiside when the uprising failed. Many Japanese had difficulties when they returned to Japan because even their families often thought that surrender was not honorable.

European Campaigns

Until the Normandy D-Day landings, most Axis POWs were German and Italian soldiers taken in North Africa. Relatively few German POWs would have been taken, but Hitler had rushed reinforcements to Tunisia after the Torch lanndigs (November 1942). This delayed the Allies for several months, but it also meant that the Allies captured a substantial number of Germans. Most were among the soldiers that surrendered in the Tunis pocket (May 1943). Quite a number of Italians surrendered in Sicily, but few Germans (July 1943). The Italian POWs on Sicily were held on the island and not transported to POW camps in America. Italy surrendered (September 1943). Tghe United States did not intern the Italian soldiers as Itay wsitched sides, but the outraged Germans did asell as shooting substantial numbers. The Americans did take POWs in France after the Normandy landings. Many of the POWs takem in 1944 before the Bulge offensive were transpoorted to America.

POW Camps in America

The United States set up more than 500 camps for Axis POWs in America during World War II. Most of the POWs transported to Ameica were from North Africa. German and Italian POWs transported to camps in America were amazed at their treatment and diet. Strangely German and Italian POWs were often treated more courtesly than Black U.S. servicemen. The Genevea Convention required that POWs be housed and fed just like the capturing country's soldiers. Thus America provided POWs foods like fresh milk, eggs, and meat that were rationed. This was also better than they food they got before being captured. There was even a beer ration. This changed for the German POWs after VE Day. But they were still well fed.

Pacific Campaign

Very few Japanese soldiers surrendered to the Americans until the emperor himself announced the surrender in a radio address. Defeated island garrisons on several islands staged suiside Banzai charges rather than surrender. The Jpanese soldier was taught that surrender was dishonarable. This was drilled into him even before recruits arrived in training camps. As reports of Japanese treatment of prisoners reached Americn soldiers, American combat soldiers were often brutal with the few Japanese soldiers that surrendered. And Japanese tactics of pretending to surrender in an effort to take an Ameican with him as he died further discouraged fromnt-line troops from taking prisoners. The only Japanese to surrender in any mumbers did so on Okinawa (April 1945), but were still only a small part of the doomed garrion. All this was bad enough, but Japanese soldiers also incouraged their civilians to commit suiside with them. On Okinawa they even forced some civilians to do so.

Front Line Units

The most dangerous time for most World War II soldiers was when they were surrendered individually or in small gtoups fromt-line soldiers. The major exception here was the Germans who turned POW camps for Soviet Red Army soldiers into death camps. American soldiers like British soldiers generally behaved correctly following Geneva Convention rules. The situation varied somewhat from country to country. The primary exception was in Pacific with the Japanese. Some observers have suggested that America was as brutal with Japanese POWs as the Japanese were. This is simply not true. American soldiersdid not torture Japanese soldiers. They did not shoot Japabese soldiers trying to surrender. Virtually no Japanese soldiers offered to suuender. This did not change to any extent until Okinawa and even then only small numbers surrendered.There is no doubt, however, that American combat soldiers shot wouunded Japanese soldiers. Here this behavior has to be put in the context of the mangled bodies of American captives the GIs found as they advanced. Another issue was the fact that not only were Japanese wounded booby trapped, but wounded Japanese soldiers still concious often attempted to kill the American medics trying to aid them. American soldiers understandably had difficulty understanding the Japanese refusal to surrender. Racism were also undeniablt a factor. But the major factor is that wounded Japanese soldiers were dangerous. Proximity to the Americans gave wounded Japanese the best opportunity to kill Americans. American fire power meant that Japanese casualties were much higher than American casualties, often 10 to 1. This is not to say the shooting of wounded soldiers on the battlefield was acceptable, but it is also not a war crime for a soldier to defend himself. This is very different from the official policies of the Japanese regarding surrender. And the policies leading to deaths of large numbers of Allied POWs and civilian detainees. Almost all deaths of Japanese POWs occurred on the battlefield. The same occurred to a lesser extent in Europe. There were incidents of American soldiers shooting Germans trying to surrender in Europe. This primarily occurred in Normandy after accounts of SS attrocities surfaced. They also occurred in Belgium after word of the Malmady Massacre spread. American soldiers began shooting all Germans in black uniforms thinking they were SS men. Actually the Waffen-SS did not have black combat uniforms--but Panzer crews did. What did not occur was the murder of POWs in rear areas once taken as POWs. Once in camps the American treatment of POWs was almost invariably correct and survival rates exceptionally high.

Combatant Countries

The Axis POWs varied a great deal on how they felt about being captured by the Americans. The Japanese with few exceptions were horrified. Many of the men take captive were wounded an unable to continue fighting or even kill themselves. Most Italians were overjoyed about surrendering to the Americans and being out of the War. Gen Patton apparently complained about instrctions he was getting about sanitation in the POW camps. He is said to have told reporers, Hell, they didn't even know what a latrine was before we captuted them." That was crude and unfair. There is no doubt, howwver, that there were better fed and housed by the U.S. Arny than theor own Army. There was no fear of the Siviets at the time, just a felling that they were going to survive and a generally favotable attitiude towaed the American. Most Italians did not understand why they were fighting the Americans. The Germans were different. The United States took its fist German POWs in North Africa when large numbers surrendered in Tunisia. Many were sullen and believed that the Americans were a poor excuse for an Army and sure that Germany would still win the War. OKW's assesment of theAmericn Army was also low. This changed when more Germans were captured after D-Day, especially in the final months of the War. Many were more like the Italians, thankful to be out of the War and alove--and not captured by the Red Aemy. There was for the most part no doubt that Germany had been defeated and defeated disasterously. Unlike World war I, therewere no dounts in Germany that they had been defeated. There were still arrogant officers who believed that the Wehrmacht was the most profesional of all World War II militaries and werw only defated by weight of numbers. Actually they were probably correct about this, but all their great victories were against unpreaored opponnts and it was their ladrship that decided to fight Britain, the Soviet Union, and America at the same time. Another exception was some of the Hitler Youth boys. They believed in Hitler and took Goebbels radio speeches as fact. They could not believe that they were defeated. Many were confused and disoriented, nit underatanding what was happening o them and their country. Some of these boys boys unlike older Whermacht soldiets fought to the eath in Berlin and other locatioms.

Survival Rates

The United States held 126,000 Italian POWs during World War II. After the War, virtually all were repatriated (99.8 percent). The Americans intetned about 0.4 million Germans in America, men mostly taken in Tunisia (1943) and France (1944). Almost all of these men survived and were repatriated. Only a small number of Japanese POWs were held ny the Americans. About 95 percent survived. The few deaths mostly resulted from an uprising in a camp with leaders commiting suiside when the uprising failed. Many Japanese had difficulties when they returned to Japan because even their families often thought that surrender was not honorable.

POWs Taken at the End of the War

At the end of the War, the Americans (along with the British and French) were overwhelmed by the number of surrendering Germans. The POW system brokedown. There were too few guards and limited camps with shelter and food. Yhe Allies at the time were having troubke feeding the surviving victims of NAZI oppression as well as the German civikisn populstion. And the Germasn transport system was in a state of total colapsee. Gen Eisenhower ordered that surrensd=derung Germans be held as 'Disarmed Enemy Forces' (DEFs) meaning lesser obligatiins under the Geneva Convntion. In many cases this was applied to Germans surrendering after the NAZI surrender at which time there was no longer a functioning German Givernment. Many of the surrebdeting Germans were militia groups such as the Volkssturm or even Hitler Youth boys. The British were so ovewhelmed and with limited resources thast they stopped acceoting German POWs. So the Americns had to accept them. The Germnd werevheld it what collectively became known as the Rhine Meadow Camps. The name deruved from the fact that there were no faciities to hold such huge nymbrrs. So barbed wire was struing up in foekds--thus the name Rgine Meadows, These camos were run by German military police, who would be the last German soldiers to be disarmed. This all became an issue when a Canaduan fiction writer, James Bacque, in the 1980s claimed that the Anmericans and Freanch murdered some million POWs/DEFs. It of course was absolute nonsence. There is no eviudence of such huge mortalities. And mo historian of any stature takes the claim seriously. And no one can explain what happened to such a massive number of bodies. A million bodies do not just disappear. It is true that Germansd prisoners were treated harshly and for a few months (May -August 1945) confined in unhealthy, unsanitary cimnditions with inadequate food. And there were undeniably some fatalities. A U.S. Arny investiugation acame uo with a number of about 3,000. Subsequant Germnan Government iunvestigatiins have come up with slightly larger numbers. A study by a Marxist histoirian reoported over 10,000. The whole episode certainly nothing to be proud of, but certainly was not mass murder and in the circumstances not especilly surprising. [Feltion] And a far cry than more than a million brandied about by conspiratorialists in on the internet desperate to find some way to tarnish the American World War II record.

War Criminals

Repaitriation

Personal Comments

An American reader writes, "Interesting page. It brought back memories. I was sent to Germany as an 18-year-old G.I. just after the war in 1945, the means of transport was a Liberty Ship. We left from Fort Dix in New Jersey and landed at Bremerhaven. From there we went to Bamberg by train for reassignment. I ended up in the Headquarters battalion of the First Division and served in the Medical Corps for a couple of years. But I had a brief stint as a guard at the Nuremberg War Crimes trial, and was in the city when G�ring committed suicide just minutes before his scheduled execution. We were carrying a whole group of German POWs on the ship, who had been interned in places like Arizona and were then being repatriated. Some of them feared being put in the occupation zone controlled by the Russians, perhaps their homes were in eastern Germany. Two jumped overboard to escape this fate. They apparently thought drowning in the Atlantic was preferable. This was ironic because they were intended for the British zone, but of course the Army never tells any soldier anything in advance--at least at the lower levels." We do not know who these individuals were, but they could have been non-Germans serving in the Wehrmacht. The soldiers at Utah Beach encountered mOst Brigades. (Ost Btallions were assigned to static defenses and were of dubious loyalty. Some were anti-Communist, but most simply volunterred to escape from the virtualy genocidal conditions under which Soviet POWs were held.) We are yet sure just how they were treated after the War.

Sources

Felton, Mark. "The Rhine Meadows Camps: What Really Happened?" (2021).

Created: 1:41 AM 9/30/2009
Last updated: 7:40 PM 1/25/2019