Confronting Captivity: Britain and the United States and Their POWs in Nazi GermanyHow was it possible that almost all of the nearly 300,000 British and American troops who fell into German hands during World War II survived captivity in German POW camps and returned home almost as soon as the war ended? In Confronting Captivity, Arieh J. Kochavi offers a behind-the-scenes look at the living conditions in Nazi camps and traces the actions the British and American governments took--and didn't take--to ensure the safety of their captured soldiers. Concern in London and Washington about the safety of these POWs was mitigated by the recognition that the Nazi leadership tended to adhere to the Geneva Convention when it came to British and U.S. prisoners. Following the invasion of Normandy, however, Allied apprehension over the safety of POWs turned into anxiety for their very lives. Yet Britain and the United States took the calculated risk of counting on a swift conclusion to the war as the Soviets approached Germany from the east. Ultimately, Kochavi argues, it was more likely that the lives of British and American POWs were spared because of their race rather than any actions their governments took on their behalf. |
Contents
Years of Long Captivity | 40 |
Washington and American POWS | 71 |
REPATRIATION | 103 |
Copyright | |
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Confronting Captivity: Britain and the United States and Their POWs in Nazi ... Arieh J. Kochavi No preview available - 2014 |
Common terms and phrases
agreement Allied pows American POW Information American prisoners April Arbeitskommando Berlin Bern to FO Britain British and American British Pows British prisoners captivity captured chap Chiefs of Staff Churchill civilians Clark Kerr Command Deane December Decimal File evacuated exchange February file Stalag FO to Bern forces Foreign Office Geneva Convention German German government German Pows Gestapo grams Harriman House of Commons Ibid ICRC January large numbers liberated London March memorandum military minister Molotov Moscow NACP nationals Nazi November number of British October Odessa Oflag 64 Oflag VII Poland Pow camps POW Information Bureau Pows in German Prisoners of War proposal protected personnel Red Army Red Cross repatriation report on Stalag Roosevelt ROPMG Russians RWDGSS September 1944 SHAEF sick and wounded Soviet citizens Soviet Union Stalag Luft Stalag Luft III Stalag VIII Stalin Stettinius Stimson Subject File Swiss inspector tion troops U.S. Army Washington wounded Pows Yalta