At the end of World War II, several trials of Axis war criminals took place, most famously the Nuremberg Trials. However, these tribunals were expressly prohibited from considering any allegations of war crimes committed by the Allied powers or their military forces. Combatants Allies: Poland, British Commonwealth, France/Free France, Soviet Union, United States, China, and others Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan, and others Casualties Military dead: 17 million Civilian dead: 33 million Total dead: 50 million Military dead: 8 million Civilian dead: 4 million Total dead: 12 million World War II... The factual accuracy of this article is disputed. ... A war crime is a punishable offense, under international (criminal) law, for violations of the law of war by any person or persons, military or civilian. ... The Nuremberg Trials were the trials of officials involved in World War II and the Holocaust during the Nazi regime. ... The group of countries known as the Allies of World War II consisted of those nations opposed to the Axis Powers during the Second World War. ...

Allied personnel were involved in incidents which were war crimes that were investigated by the Allied powers at the time, and led to courts-martial. Other incidents are alleged by historians to have been crimes under the law of war in operation at the time, but that for a variety of reasons were not investigated by the Allied powers during the war, or they were investigated and a decision was taken that not to prosecute by convenience of victory. It should be noted that many things today classified as war crimes were not at the time.

Incidents

Incidents that occurred during the involvement of the relevant nation in World War II include:

United States:

• Canicatti slaughter
• Biscari massacre
• Dachau massacre
• Battle of the Bismarck Sea-Not the battle itself, but actions with regard to Japanese survivors after the battle was over.
• Bombing of Dresden in World War II
• Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Yugoslav Communist Partisan Forces:

• Bleiburg massacre
• Foibe massacres

Soviet Union:

• Mass rape and other war crimes by Soviet troops during occupation of East Prussia^[1][2]and during the Battle of Berlin ^[3] and the Battle of Budapest
• the Soviet Union had not signed the Geneva Convention (1929). This may make it doubtful that the Soviet treatment of German and allied POWs, who "were [not] treated even remotely in accordance with the Geneva Convention"[1], causing the deaths of hundreds of thousands [2], was a war crime. However, The Nuremberg Tribunal rejected this as a general argument, and held that the 1929 Geneva Convention was binding because it articulated general principles of international law that are binding on all nations in a conflict, despite one party's non-ratification of the Convention.[3]

A violation of the laws of war that came to trial in Nuremberg and ended in a guilty verdict for Admiral Karl Dönitz but without a sentence for this crime, because the court heard evidence that both sides engaged in it:

• Unrestricted submarine warfare ^[4]

Incidents that occurred before the relevant nation became part of the allies: The Canicatti slaughter was a war crime committed by Allied forces during the invasion of Sicily in July 1943, in which at least a dozen unarmed Italian civilians, including six children, were killed by U.S. troops under the command of General George Patton. ... The Biscari massacre was a war crime committed by U.S. troops during World War II, where unarmed German and Italian prisoners of war were supposedly killed at Biscari in 1943. ... Dachau massacre The Dachau Massacre took place in the Dachau concentration camp, near Dachau, Germany, on April 29, 1945 during World War II. The incident happened following the surrender of Dachau concentration camp to soldiers of the 45th Division of the US Seventh Army. ... Combatants United States; Australia Japan Commanders George C. Kenney Kimura Masatomi Strength 39 heavy bombers; 41 medium bombers; 34 light bombers; 54 fighters 8 destroyers, 8 troop transports, about 100 land-based fighter planes Casualties 2 bombers, 3 fighters shot down 8 troop transports sunk; 4 destroyers sunk; 20 fighters... The bombing of Dresden by the British Royal Air Force (RAF) and the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) between February 13 and February 15, 1945 remains one of the more controversial events of World War II. Historian Frederick Taylor says: The destruction of Dresden has an epically tragic quality... The Fat Man mushroom cloud resulting from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rises 18 km (60,000 ft) into the air from the hypocenter. ... The Bleiburg massacre occurred near to the end of World War II, during May 1945. ... Location of some foibe where (alleged) mass killings took place Foibe massacres were mass killings attributed to Yugoslav partisans during and shortly after World War II against Italians. ... The Evacuation of East Prussia refers to the events that took place in East Prussia, especially the evacuation of German population from that area as well as from other Prussian lands in 1944 and 1945. ... Combatants Germany Soviet Union (incl. ... The Battle Of Budapest was a 2 month long siege in which Soviet forces captured the city of Budapest from German SS forces and Hungarian forces in World War II. Categories: World War II stubs | Battles and operations of World War II ... The Geneva Convention (1929) was signed at Geneva, July 27, 1929. ... Karl Dönitz (IPA pronounciation: ); September 16, 1891 – December 24, 1980) was a German naval leader, famous for his command of the Kriegsmarine during World War II and for his twenty-day term as Reichspräsident after Adolf Hitlers suicide. ... Unrestricted submarine warfare is a kind of naval warfare in which submarines sink merchant ships without warning. ...

Soviet Union:

• Katyn massacre

Post World War II incidents involving Prisoners of War include: Mass graves at Katyn war cemetery. ...

United States:

• Salina, Utah POW massacre
• Rheinwiesenlager ^[5]

The Salina, Utah Prisoners of War Massacre occured in Salina, Utah which was the home of some 250 German prisoners of war who were being used as workers on the local harvest. ... The Rheinwiesenlager (Rhine meadow camps) were transit camps for millions of German POWs after World War II. There were some deaths, with a few thousand German POWs dying from starvation and exposure. ...

Comparative deaths rates of POWs

The "democratic states generally provide good treatment of POWs".[4]

Death rates of POWs held by Germany and Japan

• Soviet soldiers held by Germany: around 60%
• U.S. and Commonwealth soldiers held by Japan: 27%
• U.S. and Commonwealth soldiers held by Germany: 4%

Death rates of POWs held by the U.S, the Commonwealth, and the Soviet Union

• German soldiers held by Soviet Union: 15-33%
• Japanese soldiers held by Soviet Union: 10%
• German soldiers held by U.S. and Commonwealth: less than 1%
• Japanese soldiers held by U.S.: relatively low, mainly suicides

Notes