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this article was written by maddog3, the special author of this account, and was first published on the sc forum mirror station on may 24, 2024

the author is a great figure on chinese military websites in the early years. he once served as the moderator of the domestic hardcore military history bbs war salon forum. he is proficient in four languages: english, german, japanese and russian. he has a huge reserve of historical materials and has published more than 300 articles on military history. , many articles previously authorized to be reprinted by this account have an average reading count of over 10,000, and are widely praised by readers.

poland

more than 400,000 people in the polish army became prisoners of war of nazi germany, and 3,000 of them were killed after being captured. this included some fanatical volunteer militiamen who did not wear regular military uniforms, and also included those who escaped in civilian clothes. in short, although germany extremely despises the poles, it is not too cruel overall.

these prisoners of war were also divided into officer camps and soldier camps. there were about 60,000 jews in the soldier camp. these jews were quickly released and then returned to their hometowns to be isolated. the outcome was self-evident. the jewish officers continued to stay in the officer camps. camp, but escaped polish prisoners of war would be shot.

in the initial stage of the warsaw uprising, due to the geneva convention, most of the prisoners were shot on the spot. as the rebels took control of most of the city, also in accordance with the geneva convention, the german army began to gradually change its attitude, and finally gave the rebels legal belligerent status, and the uprising after the war, 15,000 rebels, including 900 officers, were sent to prisoner-of-war camps.

belgium

belgium mobilized more than 600,000 people during the war, accounting for 20% of adult males. after belgium surrendered, the reserve soldiers were immediately sent home. 225,000 people were sent to prisoner-of-war camps, among which 145,000 flemish-speaking/dutch-speaking flemish people were sent home. flanders, 80,000 walloonian/french-speaking walloonians, were soon considered to be the same germanic people as the germans. the flanders began to be repatriated. if they escaped from prison, back in belgium, the germans didn't bother to pursue the case.

subsequently, the german army targeted and released most of the dutch-speaking flemish belgian prisoners of war. by february 1941, 105,833 flemish soldiers had been repatriated. at the end of the war, there were 64,000 prisoners of war left, of which only 2,000 were flemish. of all the belgian prisoners of war, 2,000 died in prisoner-of-war camps, basically all of them died of illness.

france

on june 22, 1940, the pétain government signed an armistice agreement to end combat operations against germany. in the end, approximately 1.8 million french soldiers were captured; this number accounted for approximately 10% of the total adult male population of france at the time. one of the terms of the armistice at compiègne was that french prisoners would remain in german custody until the end of the war, which was then thought to be imminent.

about a third of french prisoners were released for various reasons. beginning in 1942, as part of the policies led by the vichy government, approximately 210,000 prisoners of war were "converted", which meant that although they remained in germany, they were theoretically transformed into workers and civilians. live in specific camps, called workers' camps.

french prisoners of war worked for the germans, especially the todt organization or french companies involved in the occupiers' war. work 6 to 8 hours a day, pay 10 francs. the geneva convention stipulates that prisoners of war should be treated by doctors in prisoner of war camps. the doctors captured by the germans were all released and lived in the city as parolees with passes.

about half of them worked in agriculture in germany, where food supplies were plentiful and controls were loose. if you work in a factory or a mine, the conditions are much more difficult.

at the end of 1940, approximately 80,000 prisoners of war from the french colonies were held in 22 prisoner of war camps in the german-occupied territories. in april 1941, there were more than 69,000 people (43,973 north africans, 15,777 "senegalese", 3,888 malagasy, 2,317 indochinese, 380 martinicans, 2,718 "without race") .

in may 1943, there were still 23,141 north africans and 13,610 other colonials, including 8,823 "senegalese", 2,212 malagasy, 2,055 indochinese, and 520 martinicans (a term commonly used referring to guadeloupeans).

the number of prisoners of war in the french colonies had been declining, and by the time france was liberated there were only about 30,000 prisoners, including 17,000 north africans. some people, mainly north africans, were released by the germans after an agreement with the vichy government. there were also many escapees, and some died of disease.

colonial prisoners of war were first held with all prisoners and soon separated. the germans first decided to transfer french prisoners of european origin across the rhine. in the eyes of the nazis, colonial soldiers were "inferior human beings" and had no place on german soil.

the nazi authorities did not want to "contaminate german soil" and decided not to transfer these colonial prisoners of war to german territory (especially black soldiers, while north africans could be sent to germany). more than 3,500 colonial prisoners of war died due to torture or execution .

initially, most french prisoners of war were held in france, but after mass escapes, the germans decided to transfer the vast majority of them to new camps in germany and eastern europe.

conditions at campsites vary greatly depending on location and time of year. conditions were particularly harsh during the summer of 1940, when facilities were not adequate to accommodate the large number of new prisoners of war, and the winter of the same year was particularly cold.

as prisoners were released in large numbers, overcrowding eased and conditions gradually improved. however, starting in 1943, as the war on the eastern front shifted to germany, the situation worsened and food supplies became unstable.

some camps are purpose-built, such as stalag ii-d at stargard in pomerania, but others may be former military barracks, asylums or fortresses. .

prisoners are usually divided into several categories. officers had a different status from other ranks and were imprisoned in oflags (short for offizierslager, or "officers' battalion"), while non-commissioned officers and enlisted men were imprisoned in stalags (or stammlager, "main camp").

each pow camp included numerous arbeitskommandos (labor parties) outside the camp, some of which could be located hundreds of kilometers away. the vast majority of prisoners (about 93%) were not held behind barbed wire but worked in german factories or farms, sometimes without guards.

the prisoners arriving at the concentration camp were divided into groups by the germans. most often, soldiers with similar backgrounds (communists, jews, or bretons) were grouped together for administrative purposes and to limit their interactions with other prisoners.

while this sorting of soldiers was usually only small-scale, a camp was established in lübeck for french prisoners, known as "enemies of the empire," where they were detained in isolation. prisoners of war deemed dangerous were often sent to special camps where conditions were extremely harsh.

within the main camp and the officers' quarters, prisoners had a great deal of leisure time. letters and packages from home could take months to reach the camp and be distributed by the red cross; therefore most people had little regular contact with their families.

the red cross also provides food, books, sports equipment and musical instruments, as well as information and letters. it was thanks to books that the historian fernand braudel wrote most of his influential books, such as the mediterranean and the mediterranean world in the age of philip ii (la méditerranée et le monde) méditerranéen à l'époque de philippe ii) (1949), which he wrote while imprisoned in germany.

there are many clubs, bands, sports teams and societies at the camp. in main camp ix-a (stalag ix-a), french prisoners established a symphony orchestra, jazz band and choir. an informal "temporary university" was also established in the same camp.

future french president françois mitterrand delivered a series of lectures on the ancien régime to inmates at another concentration camp. jean-paul sartre also gave philosophical lectures. drama was also very popular and many were performed despite very limited resources.

politically, french prisoners of war in germany actually enjoyed more freedoms than civilians in occupied france. according to the geneva convention, french prisoners of war elected hommes de confiance (trustworthy persons) from among the prisoners to represent their interests.

the germans attempted to encourage prisoners of war to adopt nazi or collaborationist ideology, even supporting the creation of a pro-german newspaper, le trait d'union, for pro-vichy pétain groups. pétain was generally supported by prisoners of war, but pétain's prime minister, pierre laval, was deeply unpopular.

most french pows were not held in camps for most of the war, and more than 93% of french pows lived and worked in "labor corps." under the terms of the geneva convention, sergeants, like officers, were exempt from working while in captivity, but the germans often forced them to work. the workers were fed, all their wages were paid directly to the german army, and the prisoners were only allowed to keep 70 pfennigs a day.

the circumstances of labor corps varied, but those working in agriculture were generally considered to be better off than those working in factories or mining, where conditions were worse and prisoners were vulnerable to allied bombing raids. in rural areas of germany, french prisoners replaced conscripted locals as agricultural laborers.

guarding french prisoners of war was considered an unnecessary waste of human resources - the germans believed that prisoners were unlikely to attempt to escape in a country whose language they did not understand. this meant that prisoners in the countryside had greater freedoms than in concentration camps.

german peasants were often curious about them, and french prisoners were often allowed to associate freely with german civilians. although illegal, many french prisoners gradually began to have relationships with german women.

initially, after the armistice, there were rumors that all french prisoners of war would soon be repatriated by the germans. pétain assigned georges scapini, a world war i veteran and pro-german congressman, to negotiate for the release of the hostages.

scarpini initially argued to the germans that repatriating prisoners of war as a gesture of goodwill would ensure french public support for the axis occupation and the vichy regime.

however, from his contacts with german ambassador otto abetz and stavka hermann reinecke, he realized that these prisoners of war would be used by the germans as leverage to ensure french cooperation, so all french prisoners of war were repatriated it's impossible. after lorraine governor joseph buerker ordered the deportation of 100,000 jews, hitler backed down and allowed france to assume the authority to protect its own prisoners of war.

beginning in the autumn of 1940, the germans began to repatriate french reservists in sectors in short supply, such as doctors, nurses, postmen, and gendarmes. in 1941, after lobbying by the vichy government, the policy was extended to french world war i veterans and four or four the father of the above child. related individual prisoners can also be asked to be deported. in practice, this means that a disproportionate number of prisoners released early come from the upper classes.

in 1941, the germans introduced the flanders policy, which was intended to divide german-occupied belgium by favoring the dutch-speaking flemish over the french-speaking walloons.

in february 1941, the repatriation of flanders prisoners of war began. the dutch dialect was also widely spoken in french flanders at the time, and although the policy's main targets were belgian prisoners of war, some eligible french prisoners were also released.

a network of maisons du prisonnier (prisoners' homes) has been established across france to facilitate the reintegration of french prisoners into civilian life, which will help them readjust to society and find work.

due to labor shortages, prisoners could easily resume their pre-war jobs. the government hoped that returning pows would become more supportive of the vichy regime, but returning pows were no more loyal to the vichy regime than other groups.

relève (relief) was a policy championed by pierre laval whereby germany would release a certain percentage of prisoners of war in exchange for french workers who volunteered to work in germany. enacted in june 1942, the policy quickly became extremely unpopular and divisive among french society and the prisoners of war themselves.

the vichy government initially hoped to release a larger number of prisoners under the plan, but the germans refused to repatriate prisoners of war at the rates recommended by vichy. eventually approximately 100,000 prisoners of war were repatriated under the program.

also, many of the freed pows were old or sick prisoners, and the germans would have wanted them released early in any case because they were unable to work (technically they should have been released under early quotas), not vichy propaganda depiction of a prisoner of war working as a farmer.

the relief operation failed to attract sufficient numbers of french workers to germany, leading to its abandonment in 1943 in favor of the compulsory service du travail obligatoire (sto; "service of voluntary work").

for every french worker who arrived in germany, there was a prisoner of war who could be "transformed" into a "free worker" (travailleur libre). prisoners of war were given the option of being transformed from prisoners of war into free workers in german factories.

about 221,000 prisoners are enrolled in the program. this policy benefited the germans, for whom prisoners of war were a good source of additional labor, and the new policy also meant that they were also able to have fewer german soldiers guarding the camps, although not many.

although the exact number of french prisoners of war who escaped from german prisons is unknown, it is estimated to be around 70,000, or approximately 5% of all french prisoners. the vichy government did not encourage prisoners of war to escape, but many officials expressed sympathy for the fugitives who reached french territory

. some prisoners of war, especially those working as farmers, were left unguarded for much of their lives, and those who escaped were rarely severely punished when recaptured by the germans. since sick prisoners of war were often repatriated, many pretended to be ill in an attempt to return home. beginning in 1941, when people with in-demand vocational skills were deported, others would create fake identity documents to mix in.

among the escapees was general henri giraud, commander of the french 7th army in the battle of france, who escaped from koenigstein prison near dresden despite supporting the vichy government. , but still joined the free france in 1943.

life under occupation was especially difficult for the wives and families of prisoners of war. in pre-war france, the husband was generally the family's main wage earner, and many families saw their incomes and living standards plummet. the government paid only a small stipend to the families of prisoners of war, which was not enough to offset the economic hardship caused.

prisoners of war also posed a big problem for vichy's policy of moral renewal, the government's motto being "travail, famille, patrie" (work, family, fatherland).

from october 1940, the vichy government attempted to restrict women's participation in the workforce, which had a particular impact on the families of prisoners of war. because of vichy's emphasis on family values, the government was particularly concerned about infidelity by the wives of prisoners of war.

taking into account the problem of illegitimate children by wives of prisoners of war, the law of february 15, 1942 made abortion a crime of treason, punishable by death. marie-louise giraud was guillotined on july 30, 1942, for having performed 27 abortions.

marie louise giraud

in december 1942 the government enacted another law making it illegal to live with the wives of prisoners of war. the government has also made it more difficult to obtain a divorce. wives of pows who had affairs were also often demonized by local communities, who considered it tantamount to prostitution. overall, however, vichy's moral legislation had little practical effect.

france enacted a law in 1920 to criminalize abortion in order to increase the birth rate. the law on march 27, 1923 stipulated that anyone who helps a woman have an abortion should be punished with 1 to 5 years in prison and a fine of 500 to 10,000 francs.

in addition, women who have abortions themselves risk six months to two years in prison. people accused of abortion do not enjoy jury trials but are tried by panels of judges because juries are considered too easily swayed by emotion.

on july 29, 1939, one month before germany invaded poland, france increased criminal penalties for abortion. on september 1, 1941, persons accused of abortion were not entitled to a suspended sentence, and on february 15, 1942, the law criminalized abortion as a crime against national security, punishable by death. this law was repealed after liberation.