Prisoners-of-War and Their Captors in World War II

Also available in hardback, 9781859731574 GBP55.00 (November, 1996)

Examines the experiences of individual prisoners-of-war, looking in particular at alleged war-crimes and ensuing claims for compensation levelled against the Japanese, and at British treatment of Italian POWs. The book provides an overview and synthesis of the most heated debates in the field.During World War II, captured service personnel of all the belligerent powers found themselves incarcerated as prisoners of war. Although the number of POWs ran into the millions, comparatively little has been written about them. This timely collection examines individual prisoners' experiences, but also provides an overview and synthesis of some of the most heated debates in the field.Casting new light on the racial and ideological assumptions of captors, authors show how axis powers and the Japanese dealt with Black African and African American troops who were taken prisoner. Political considerations are shown to have proven weightier than, in many cases, heinous crimes against humanity. Also highlighted is the history of Italian POWs in allied hands, the treatment of axis prisoners in Britain and the complex story of Free and Vichy French servicemen fighting each other in Africa.This important book will be essential and compulsive reading for students and scholars of the Second World War and will signpost areas worthy of further inquiry for many years to come.