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Oh yes of course, German POWs were treated pretty good - where allowed to work outside the camps, interact with civilians, etc. Some didn't want to return to Germany.
...but I wish you didn't link to a politically and racially charged article on it. What's with that? If you have a hidden agenda here - NOT COOL.
Oh yes of course, German POWs were treated pretty good - where allowed to work outside the camps, interact with civilians, etc. Some didn't want to return to Germany.
...but I wish you didn't link to a politically and racially charged article on it. What's with that? If you have a hidden agenda here - NOT COOL.
No no ... that wasnt my intention. it was the first site I came across telling of the POWs and I didnt know this was going on over there.. thats all. nothing was meant by it.
A lot of them were contracted out as farm laborers in the Midwest and South. I read there was something like a 1% escape attempts. Most seemed to actually like it. They grew up in depression Germany and certainly combat and Army life was harsh.
There was a large German POW camp in my childhood home in Columbus Ohio on an Army depot. As late as the 1960's there were still buildings they had constructed and were still in use.
A lot of them were contracted out as farm laborers in the Midwest and South. I read there was something like a 1% escape attempts. Most seemed to actually like it. They grew up in depression Germany and certainly combat and Army life was harsh.
That may well be true, especially if they thought that there might be an opportunity for them to stay in America after the war ended. I'm sure the prospect of returning to a Germany that had been destroyed by the war would not have been an appealing one. Given the takeover of the eastern half of Germany by the USSR, they may have thought it better to stay and work on American farms than return to their home country. I don't know if they actually were afforded such opportunity, though, or if they were compelled to return home after their release at the end of the war.
Japanese POWs were imprisoned in the US as well, not a lot because they didn't surrender and/or we didn't accept there surrender, but the ones that needed further interrogation were moved to the US. A few thousand by the end of the year end.
All these prisoners were treated much better than they could expect in there own military service and, for the Japanese, obviously much better than the starvation and torture Allied POWs were receiving.
Really interesting article here about Japanese POWs. They wanted their family back in Japan to think they honorably faught to the death. The worst thing you could threaten these prisoners with is to tell there families they were still alive. Also of interest is that they shared camps with German POWs, but in a separate compound. They hated each other, particularly the Germans gestered at them, made fun of them, cursed them, etc. They were more difficult to put to work as outside laborers as the public were less accepting of Japanese, also some of the Japanese, much more confused by loyalty, simply didn't make good workers. Suicide was also an issue to deal with, as again the Japanese thought it was an honorable thing to do. By and large however these Japanese returned back to Japan at the end of the war healthy, well-balanced, appreciative of the genourosity of there captors, and ready to lead Japan into democracy.
My father spent a good portion of WWII guarding German prisoners in Texas. One thing he related that I found interesting was that if by some chance an SS prisoner made it through the screening process into the general population the other prisoners would invariably point him out to the guards so he could be removed.
My father spent a good portion of WWII guarding German prisoners in Texas. One thing he related that I found interesting was that if by some chance an SS prisoner made it through the screening process into the general population the other prisoners would invariably point him out to the guards so he could be removed.
My Dad did too. Camp Hearn Texas. He said he didn't like guarding people who were fighting for their country like we were fighting for ours. Somewhere along the line he got a branch transfer to combat and landed in Okinawa just after the main battle.
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