Why did Nazi Germany honour the Generva Convention?

[Jon Shafer]

That part of US history makes me sick.

[David Floyd]

It's not like American POWs were so well treated in Germany. Many of them looked like they'd been in the death camps when they were liberated, and many were also used for slave labor.

In some cases, yes. In general, though, US (and Brit and Canadian) POWs (especially officers) were far better treated than other nationalities. Additionally, there is a difference between prisoners captured and held by the SS and those held in Luftstalags by the Luftwaffe.

[Al B. Sure!]

chegitz:

almost every account i've read was positive... the pilot author of "Tumult in the Skies", whose name i forget as i read the book 6 years ago, noted how he was allowed to be freed of his handcuffs and wander about the town as long as he swore on his honour that he would return to his captors later in the day. he refused but still saw plays and movies with his guards. he was a major or colonel in the air force though, so that would explain his good treatment.

[David Floyd]

it's crazy how Spanish and Asians were integrated into the regular military (was there ever even a division to begin with?) while Blacks weren't.

Well, the Japanese were certainly segregated in WW2. The 442d RCT, which served primarily with 5th Army in Italy, was the most decorated unit of the war, and was made up entirely of soldiers of Japanese descent.

Had the war gone on longer - had the US needed more infantry, that is - I think that it's likely blacks would have been integrated in, especially once Truman took office. If, say, the war dragged on through 1946, the US would have been getting short on trained combat infantry (much of available US manpower was tied up in stateside support roles and industrial occupations, as well as the Navy and Army Air Corps).

[David Floyd]

Speaking of US POWs, there are some remarkable stories of US and British POWs liberated by the Soviets, who went to great pains to protect German (and Polish) civilians and even soldiers from the Soviet army.

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by David Floyd
In some cases, yes. In general, though, US (and Brit and Canadian) POWs (especially officers) were far better treated than other nationalities.

Well come on, if you're comparing them to how they Nazis treated the Slavs . . . well it's not hard to treat someone better than that.

[David Floyd]

That's exactly my point, chegitz. There was a marked difference in the treatment of Slavs and Jews vs. Americans/Brits, and part of the reason for that had to do with the way the Nazis defined humanity and human rights.

[chequita guevara]

My uncle was a bomber pilot who was murdered by a mob of German civilians. I know that doesn't prove anything. Just thought I'd mention it.

[David Floyd]

Well, the crews of bombers were seen as terrorists, essentially. Bomber crews were defined and treated differently - and, while I'm sympathetic to the US/Brit bomber crews, orders to carpet bomb and firebomb cities are orders that should be refused.

[self biased]

Originally posted by Ted Striker
Well the Brits they regarded as a race (almost) equal to their own.

Hitler held the British in high regards.

Now can I get a hell yeah on that East Asian pootang Speer??!?!

harr harr harr.

[Dinner]

It was a matter of race. Hitler saw the western powers as being racially like the Germans while the Slavs, Jews, and others were slated for extermination.

[notyoueither]

Originally posted by chegitz guevara
My uncle was a bomber pilot who was murdered by a mob of German civilians. I know that doesn't prove anything. Just thought I'd mention it.

Honest question. How did your family find out the circumstances of his end?

[DaShi]

I never saw Colonel Klink so much as raise a hand at Hogan. They all seemed rather cosy to me.

[Tingkai]

While it is true that Western POWS were better treated than the Russians, it should be remembered that hundreds of thousands of western POWs worked as slave laborers.

Jewish POWS, and those who "looked" like jews or had Jewish sounding names were sent to concentration camps.

[Berzerker]

It's not like American POWs were so well treated in Germany. Many of them looked like they'd been in the death camps when they were liberated, and many were also used for slave labor.

That commonly happens when a country is losing a war and resources are running low, the same thing happened at the Confederate's POW camp at Andersonville. I understand the guy in charge was so desperate he told Lincoln to come get the POWs (or was it a POW exchange). Lincoln refused I guess...