Allied war crimes were violations of the laws of war committed by the Allies of World War II against civilian populations or military personnel of the Axis Powers. Image File history File links Unbalanced_scales. ... The two parts of the laws of war (or Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC)): Law concerning acceptable practices while engaged in war, like the Geneva Conventions, is called jus in bello; while law concerning allowable justifications for armed force is called jus ad bellum. ... This article is about the independent states that comprised the Allies. ... Black: Zenith of the Axis Powers Capital Not applicable Political structure Military alliance Historical era World War II  - Tripartite Pact September 27, 1940  - Anti-Comintern Pact November 25, 1936  - Pact of Steel May 22, 1939  - Dissolved 1945 This article is about the independent countries (states) that comprised the Axis powers. ...

At the end of World War II, several trials of Axis war criminals took place, most famously were the Nuremberg Trials. However, in Europe, these tribunals were set up under the authority of the London Charter, and could only consider allegations of war crimes committed by persons who acted in the interests of the European Axis countries. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Black: Zenith of the Axis Powers Capital Not applicable Political structure Military alliance Historical era World War II  - Tripartite Pact September 27, 1940  - Anti-Comintern Pact November 25, 1936  - Pact of Steel May 22, 1939  - Dissolved 1945 This article is about the independent countries (states) that comprised the Axis powers. ... 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. ... For the 1947 Soviet film about the trials, see Nuremberg Trials (film). ... The London Charter of the International Military Tribunal (usually referred to simply as the London Charter) was the decree that set down the laws and procedures by which the Nuremberg trials were to be conducted. ... This article is about the independent states that comprised the Axis powers. ...

There were a number of alleged war crimes involving Allied personnel that were investigated by the Allied powers and that led in some instances 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 not to prosecute.

Incidents

Incidents that occurred during the involvement of the relevant nation in World War II include the following. Not all of these are agreed to be war crimes.

Eastern Front

Polish forces

• Pawłokoma massacre (ethnic Ukrainian victims)^{[citation needed]}
• Dubingiai massacre (ethnic Lithuanian victims)^{[citation needed]}
• ethnic German victims

A Polish estimate put the figures of Germans minority civilians who died during the invasion of Poland at 2,000^[1] while western sources place it around 5,000^[2][3] range. In the early days of the 1939 German invasion of Poland, the Polish population carried out several massacres and other atrocities against the ethnic German population across western Poland. The largest of those events was a massacre in Bydgoszcz (the infamous Bloody Sunday).^[3] In Bydgoszcz, an international investigation committee sent by the Red Cross confirmed that many victims had been raped and mutilated before dying.^[3] The mutilations included stab wounds to the eyes and missing limbs.^[3] The dead in Bydgoszcz included priests, pregnant women, children and the elderly.^[3] PawÅ‚okoma massacre was a massacre in 1945 of over 360 Ukrainian civilians living in PawÅ‚okoma near PrzemyÅ›l in Poland. ... Dubingiai massacre was a mass murder of up to 27 Lithuanians in the town of Dubingiai during World War II. On 23 June 1944, the local Armia Krajowa unit commanded by Zygmunt Szendzielarz aka Łupaszko entered the town and murdered a number of Lithuanians in a retaliation for an earlier... Polish Defence War of 1939 Conflict World War II Date 1 September - 6 October 1939 Place Poland Result Decisive German and Soviet victory The Polish September Campaign (alternatively refered to as the German plan Fall Weiss) refers to the conquest of Poland by the armies of Nazi Germany and the... Coordinates: , Country Poland Voivodeship Kuyavian-Pomeranian Powiat city county Gmina Bydgoszcz Established before 1238 City Rights 1346/1349 Government  - Mayor Konstanty Dombrowicz Area  - City 174. ... Bromberger Blutsonntag or Bromberg Bloody Sunday is an event that is said to have taken place on September 3, 1939 during the German invasion, in and around Bydgoszcz (German Bromberg) Polish Poland until 1772 (the First Partition of Poland) and in February 1920 was returned to Poland after the Versailles... The Anarchist Black Cross was originally called the Anarchist Red Cross. The band Redd Kross was originally called Red Cross. This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

Some Germans were also killed when the Poles deported them eastwards. Those who could not keep up were killed. The deported included the old, pregnant women, and women with babies.^[3] The dead also include ethnic Germans in the Polish army killed by their Polish comrades.^[3]

According to Polish allegations some of those killings occurred after a deliberate provocation by German agents, who allegedly were tasked with creation of incidents of atrocities against the German population, for use in diplomacy and propaganda (see also Operation Himmler).^[4] Nazi propaganda also greatly exaggerated the German minority losses (to around 60,000 or more).^[1]) The Gleiwitz incident was a staged attack on 31 August, 1939 against the German radio station Sender Gleiwitz in Gleiwitz, Upper Silesia, Germany (since 1945: Gliwice, Republic of Poland) on the eve of World War II in Europe. ...

Some Polish historians claim that massacres were caused by uprisings meant to distract Polish troops from the advancing German forces. Some Polish historians claim the Germans wanted to provoke the Poles to massacre Germans, in order to provide the Nazis with a pretext for reprisals. This convoluted argument presupposes that the Germans were willing to sacrifice the German minority, and there is no evidence for such plans.^[5] The best argument against Polish claims is that during the occupation, when local Germans were free to do so, almost none tried to gain status by boasting about such activities. After the war, when Poland made charges against 1,159 German minority members for anti-state activities in 1939, no-one was charged with activities in relation to the Bromberger bloodsunday massacre.^[5]

During the 5 year occupation, and despite the status to be gained by doing so, almost no minority member came forward to boast of Fifth Column activities.^[3] Most Fifth Column theories rely on uncorroborated stories by individual "eye-witnesses" and reflect a "tendency to rely on fanciful explanations for the rapid defeat".^[3] Among the many ethnic Germans and Poles who were charged after 1945 with collaborating with the occupation regime, there was not a single person accused of armed insurrection or "diversion", despite the best efforts of West and East German judiciaries to supply evidence and to extradite suspects.^{[3][citation needed]}

Soviet Union

Katyn memorial.

See also: Soviet war crimes

Respect of international conventions: The Soviet Union had not signed the Geneva Convention (1929) relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War. 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",^[6] causing the deaths of hundreds of thousands,^[7] 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.^[8][9] Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1024 × 768 pixel, file size: 320 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Trzy Krzyże u podnóża Świętego Krzyża. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1024 × 768 pixel, file size: 320 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Trzy Krzyże u podnóża Świętego Krzyża. ... Soviet war crimes gives a short overview about serious crimes committed by the Red Armys (1918-1946, later Soviet Army) leadership and an unknown number of single members of the Soviet armed forces from 1919 to 1990 inclusive including those in Eastern Europe in late 1944 and early 1945... Wikisource has original text related to this article: Geneva Convention (1929) The Geneva Convention (1929) was signed at Geneva, July 27, 1929. ...

• Treuenbrietzen^{[citation needed]}

Treuenbrietzen is a town in the Bundesland of Brandenburg, Germany. ...

Yugoslavia

• 1944-1945 Killings in Bačka^{[citation needed]}
• Bleiburg massacre^{[citation needed]}
• Foibe massacres^{[citation needed]}

The 1944-1945 Killings in Bačka were the killings of several thousands of ethnic Hungarians in Bačka allegedly organised by members of the Yugoslav Partisan Movement after they gained control over the area between 1944 and 1945. ... Bleiburg memorial in Zagrebs Mirogoj cemetery The Bleiburg massacre, (also known in a more emotional context as the Bleiburg tragedy[1]) is a generalising name that encompasses events that took place during May 1945, after the formal end of World War II in Europe, but at a time when... Location of some of the foibe where killings took place Foibe massacres were mass killings attributed to Yugoslav Partisans during and shortly after World War II against Italians. ...

Western Europe

Canadian forces

Leonforte, July 1943. According to Mitcham and von Stauffenberg in The Battle of Sicily, The Loyal Edmonton Regiment allegedly killed captured German prisoners.^[10] The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada randomly burned houses in Friesoythe, northwestern Germany in April 1945.^[11] Country Italy Region Sicily Province Enna (EN) Mayor Elevation 603 m Area 83 km² Population  - Total (as of December 31, 2004) 14,046  - Density 170/km² Time zone CET, UTC+1 Coordinates Gentilic Leonfortesi Dialing code 0935 Postal code 94013 Patron Madonna del Carmelo  - Day August 16 Website: [1] View... The von Stauffenbergs are an old Roman Catholic family from Swabia in Germany, whose best known member was Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg - the key figure in the 1944 July 20 Plot to kill Adolf Hitler. ... [[Image:]] The Loyal Edmonton Regiment (4th Battalion, Princess Patricias Canadian Light Infantry), or LER, is an infantry unit of the Army Reserve Canadian Forces based at [[ ]] in Edmonton, Alberta. ... The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada (Princess Louises), or A & SH of C, is a Highland infantry unit of the Canadian Forces Army Reserve based at John W. Foote VC Armouries at 200 James Street North in Hamilton, Ontario. ... Friesoythe is a town and a municipality in the district of Cloppenburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. ...

Free French Forces

French Moroccan troops known as Goumiers committed rapes, plunder, murders and other war crimes after the Battle of Monte Cassino and after capturing Freudenstadt in April 1945 (see Marocchinate).^{[citation needed]} Flag De Jure territory Capital Paris Capital-in-exile London, Algiers Government Republic Leader Charles de Gaulle Historical era World War II  - de Gaulles appeal June 18, 1940  - Liberation of Paris August, 1944 The Free French Forces (French: , FFL) were French fighters in World War II, who decided to... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Goum. ... Combatants United Kingdom United States Poland New Zealand Canada Free France India and others Germany Commanders Harold Alexander Mark Clark Oliver Leese Albert Kesselring Heinrich von Vietinghoff Frido von Senger Strength 105,000 80,000 Casualties 54,000 20,000 The Battle of Monte Cassino (also known as the Battle... Freudenstadt is a town in Baden-Württemberg, capital of the district Freudenstadt. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

United Kingdom

The German revisionist historian Jörg Friedrich,^[12] claims that "Winston Churchill's decision to bomb Germany between January and May 1945 was a war crime."^[12] In Parson Weems Fable (1939) Grant Wood takes a sly poke at a traditional hagiographical account of George Washington Historical revisionism is the reexamination of the accepted facts and interpretations of history, with an eye towards updating it with newly discovered, more accurate, and less biased information. ... Jörg Friedrich (born August 17, 1944 in Kitzbühel; often also spelt Joerg or just Jorg in English) is a Berlin-based author of books on history commonly described as an independent German Historian. Friedrich is best known for his publication Die Brand in wich he showes the massmurder... Churchill redirects here. ...

United States

Aftermath of the Dachau hospital shooting.

• Canicattì slaughter: killing of Italian civilians by an American officer.^{[citation needed]}
• Biscari massacre: killing of Axis prisoners of war in Sicily.^{[citation needed]}
• Documentary film makers Ken Burns and Lynn Novick in their series "The War" alleged in episode 6 that 25 unarmed SS soldiers were killed in a Belgian village after they surrendered in the aftermath of the so-called Malmedy massacre. This killing has been reported by an eyewitnessing American soldier who was asked to be a member of the death squad but declined to do so.^[13].
• The Dachau massacre: killing of German prisoners of war and surrendering SS soldiers^[14]
• Chenogne massacre: killing of German prisoners of war by American troops.^{[citation needed]}
• Richard Dominic Wiggers asserts that not only did American food policy in post-war Germany violate international law by directly and indirectly causing the unnecessary suffering and death, from starvation, of large numbers of civilians and POWs in occupied Germany.^[15] The adequate feeding of the German population in occupied Germany was an Allied legal obligation,^[16][17] under international law (Article 43 of The 1907 Hague Rules of Land Warfare^[18]).

Copyright 1986. ... Copyright 1986. ... The Canicattì 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. ... Documentary film is a broad category of visual expression that is based on the attempt, in one fashion or another, to document reality. ... Kenneth Lauren Burns (born July 29, 1953) is an American director and producer of documentary films known for his style of making use of original prints and photographs. ... The War is a 2007 World War II documentary produced by American filmmakers Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, narrated by Keith David and others. ... United States soldiers discover the aftermath of the Malmedy Massacre. ... 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. ... The Chenogne massacre refers to an alleged killing of German prisoners of war near the town of town of Chenogne (also spelled Chegnogne), Belgium, on New Years day, January 1, 1945, during World War II. Accounts of the massacre In December 1944, during the Battle of the Bulge, German... Allegations made by Canadian novelist James Bacque were that nearly one million German prisoners of war, that Dwight Eisenhower redesignated as Disarmed Enemy Forces in order to avoid having to obey the third Geneva Convention, died of starvation or exposure while held in post-war Western internment camps. ...

Rapes

Mass rape and other war crimes by Soviet troops during the occupation of East Prussia (Danzig), ^{[19][20][21][22]} parts of Pomerania and Silesia; during the Battle of Berlin^[23], and the Battle of Budapest.^{[citation needed]} Red Army atrocities refers to the systemic commission of crimes by Soviet military personnel in Eastern Europe in late 1944 and early 1945, particularly murder and rape. ... 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. ... For alternative meanings of Gdańsk and Danzig, see Gdansk (disambiguation) and Danzig (disambiguation) The title given to this article is incorrect due to technical limitations. ... Pommern redirects here. ... Silesia (English pronunciation [], Czech: ; German: ; Latin: ; Polish: ; Silesian: Åšlůnsk) is a historical region in central Europe, located along the upper and middle Oder River, upper Vistula River, and along the Sudetes, Carpathian (Silesian Beskids) mountain range. ... Belligerents Soviet Union Poland Germany Commanders 1st Belorussian Front – Georgiy Zhukov 2nd Belorussian Front – Konstantin Rokossovsky 1st Ukrainian Front – Ivan Konev Army Group Vistula – Gotthard Heinrici then Kurt von Tippelskirch[3] Army Group Centre – Ferdinand Schörner Berlin Defence Area – Hellmuth Reymann then Helmuth Weidling #[4] Strength Total strength 2... Combatants  Germany Hungary  Soviet Union Romania Commanders Pfeffer-Wildenbruch Iván Hindy Rodion Malinovsky Fyodor Tolbukhin Strength 180,000 (90,000 for city defense) 500,000+ (170,000 for city assault) Casualties 99,000-150,000 dead and captured, 40,000 civilian dead 70,000-160,000 dead 240,056...

After the German armed forces had surrendered, the half of Germany under Soviet Union occupation was split roughly in half and one part was allocated for temporary Polish administration (see Former eastern territories of Germany). In order to ensure that the German territory under Polish administration would become permanently de-facto Polish territory, the Polish communists ordered that the German population be expelled "by whatever means necessary".^[24] The Polish administrators as a consequence did little to protect the population from Polish and Russian rapists.^[24]. "Even the Soviets expressed shock at the Poles’ behaviour. Polish soldiers, stated one report, 'relate to German women as to free booty'."^[24] Former eastern territories of Germany (German: ) describes collectively those provinces or regions east of the Oder-Neisse line which were internationally recognised as part of the territory of Germany after the formation of the German Empire in 1871. ...

During May and June 1946 there were in fact 5 instances where young German women were found dead in American barracks. Incidents of this kind brought about the re-imposition of a curfew upon American troops in the summer of 1946. ^[25] In this respect, one should remember that by "...April 1945, 500 rape cases per week were being reported to the Judge Advocate General of American forces in Europe". ^[25]

Naval warfare

In the Nuremberg Trial, German Admiral Karl Dönitz was tried (among other crimes) for issuing orders to engage in unrestricted submarine warfare. He was found guilty, but the sentence was not assessed (no penalty was issued) because the court discovered evidence both the Royal Navy and the United States Navy also issued similar orders.^[26][27] The Nuremberg Trials is the general name for two sets of trials of Nazis involved in World War II and the Holocaust. ... Karl Dönitz (IPA pronunciation:  ) (born 16 September 1891; died 24 December 1980) was a German naval leader, who commanded the German Navy (Kriegsmarine) during the second half of World War II. Dönitz was also President of Germany for 23 days after Adolf Hitlers suicide. ... Unrestricted submarine warfare is a kind of naval warfare in which submarines sink merchant ships without warning. ... This article is about the navy of the United Kingdom. ... USN redirects here. ...

Pacific War

Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

In 1963, the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were the subject of a judicial review in Ryuichi Shimoda et al. v. The State.^[28] The District Court of Tokyo declined to rule on the legality of nuclear weapons in general, but found that "the attacks upon Hiroshima and Nagasaki caused such severe and indiscriminate suffering that they did violate the most basic legal principles governing the conduct of war."^[29] Francisco Gómez points out in an article published in the International Review of the Red Cross that, with respect to the "anti-city" or "blitz" strategy, that "in examining these events in the light of international humanitarian law, it should be borne in mind that during the Second World War there was no agreement, treaty, convention or any other instrument governing the protection of the civilian population or civilian property." ^[30] The mushroom cloud over Hiroshima after the dropping of Little Boy. ... Judicial review is the power of a court to review the actions of public sector bodies in terms of their legality or constitutionality. ... Wikisource has original text related to this article: Ryuichi Shimoda et al. ... The International Review of the Red Cross (ISSN 1560-7755) is a quarterly periodic journal published by the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement which, according to its publisher, aims to promote debate, reflection and critical analysis on international humanitarian law, humanitarian action and policy during international armed conflict...

The possibility that the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings could be considered war crimes is one of the major reasons often given not to agree to be bound by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court by its opponents, including the United States.^[31] Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court Opened for signature June 17, 1998[1] at Rome Entered into force July 1, 2002 Conditions for entry into force 60 ratifications Parties 99[2] The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (or Rome Statute) is the treaty which established the International...

Treatment of POWs and civilians

Allied soldiers in Pacific and Asian theatres were guilty of the same "cruelty and callous disregard for civilized norms" as Japanese soldiers, according to historian Jeff Kingston, referring to the treatment of POWs, among other issues.^[32] Kingston quoted documentary film makers Jonathan Lewis and Ben Steele, who said: "the impression of the war as a history of Japanese savagery alone has been eroded by the growing body of evidence of Allied brutality. The issue here is less whether the two sides were as bad as each other, but whether they had more in common than was ever thought at the time..."^[33] For other uses, see Pacific War (disambiguation). ... Japanese war crimes occurred during the period of Japanese imperialism. ...

A prominent authority on the social history of the Pacific War, John W. Dower, states that "[b]y the final years of the war against Japan, a truly vicious cycle had developed in which the Japanese reluctance to surrender had meshed horrifically with Allied disinterest in taking prisoners."^[34] Dower suggests that most Japanese personnel were told that they would be "killed or tortured" if they fell into Allied hands and, as a consequence, most of those faced with defeat on the battlefield fought to the death or committed suicide.^[35] And while it was "not official policy" for Allied personnel to take no prisoners, "over wide reaches of the Asian battleground it was everyday practice."^[36] John W . ...

China

R. J. Rummel states that there is little information regarding the general treatment of Japanese prisoners taken by Chinese Nationalist forces during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-45).^[37] However, Chinese civilians and conscripts, as well as Japanese civilians, were maltreated by Chinese soldiers. Rummel claims that Chinese peasants "often had no less to fear from their own soldiers than they did from the Japanese."^[38] He also wrote that, in some intakes of Nationalist conscripts, 90% died from disease, starvation or violence, before they had even commenced training.^[39] To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The National Revolutionary Army (NRA) (traditional Chinese: ; simplified Chinese: ; pinyin: , sometimes shortened to 國軍 or National Army) was the party army of the Kuomintang (KMT) from 1925 until 1947, as well as the national army of the Republic of China during the KMTs period of party rule beginning in 1928. ... Belligerents China United States1 Empire of Japan Collaborationist Chinese Army2 Commanders Chiang Kai-shek, Chen Cheng, Yan Xishan, Feng Yuxiang, Li Zongren, Xue Yue, Bai Chongxi, Peng Dehuai, Joseph Stilwell, Claire Chennault, Albert Wedemeyer Hirohito, Fumimaro Konoe, Hideki Tojo, Kotohito Kanin, Matsui Iwane, Hajime Sugiyama, Shunroku Hata, Toshizo Nishio...

Examples of war crimes committed by Chinese forces include:

• in 1937 near Shanghai, the killing, torture and assault of Japanese POWs and Chinese civilians accused of collaboration, were recorded in photographs taken by Swiss businessman Tom Simmen.^[40] (In 1996, Simmen's son released the pictures, showing Nationalist Chinese soldiers involved in arbitrary executions by decapitation and shooting, as well as public torture.)
• the Tungchow Mutiny of August 1937; Chinese soldiers recruited by Japan mutinied and switched sides in Tōngzhōu, Beijing, before attacking Japanese civilians, killing 280 and raping many women.^[37]
• Nationalist troops in Hubei Province, during May 1943, ordered whole towns to evacuate and then "plundered" them; any civilians who refused and/or were unable to leave, were killed.^[38]

For other uses, see Shanghai (disambiguation). ... The Tungchow Mutiny or Tongzhou Incident was the mutiny of the East Hopei Army against their Japanese Imperial Army advisors and Chinese puppet commanders on 29th of July, 1937 during the Second Sino-Japanese War. ... The East Hopei Army was raised from the former soldiers of the Peace Preservation Corps that had been created by the Tangku Truce of 31 May, 1933. ... // Overview Tongzhou District (Simplified Chinese: 通州区; Traditional Chinese: 通州區; Hanyu Pinyin: Tōngzhōu Qū), located in southeast Beijing, is considered as the capitals eastern gate. ... Hubei (Chinese: 湖北; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Hu-pei; Postal System Pinyin: Hupeh) is a central province of the Peoples Republic of China. ...

The Pacific

Allied soldiers in the Pacific often deliberately killed Japanese soldiers who had surrendered. According to Richard Aldrich, who has published a study of the diaries kept by United States and Australian soldiers, they sometimes massacred prisoners of war.^[41] Dower states that in "many instances ... Japanese who did become prisoners were killed on the spot or en route to prison compounds."^[36] According to Aldrich it was common practice for US troops not to take prisoners.^[42] This analysis is supported by British historian Niall Fergusson,^[43] who also says that, in 1943, "a secret [U. S.] intelligence report noted that only the promise of ice cream and three days leave would ... induce American troops not to kill surrendering Japanese."^[44] Niall Ferguson Niall Ferguson (b. ...

Fergusson states such practices played a role in the ratio of Japanese prisoners to dead being 1:100 in late 1944. That same year, efforts were taken by Allied high commanders to suppress "take no prisoners" attitudes,^[44] among their own personnel (as these were affecting intelligence gathering) and to encourage Japanese soldiers to surrender. Fergusson adds that measures by Allied commanders to improve the ratio of Japanese prisoners to Japanese dead, resulted in it reaching 1:7, by mid-1945. Nevertheless, taking no prisoners was still standard practice among U. S. troops at the Battle of Okinawa, in April–June 1945.^[45] Combatants  United States  United Kingdom  Canada  Australia  New Zealand Empire of Japan Commanders Simon B. Buckner â€  Joseph W. Stilwell Ray Spruance Mitsuru Ushijima â€  Isamu Cho â€  Strength 548,000 soldiers, 1,300 ships,  ? aircraft 100,000 regulars and militia,  ? ships,  ? aircraft Casualties 12,513 dead or missing, 38,916 wounded, 33...

Ulrich Straus, a US Japanologist, suggests that frontline troops intensely hated Japanese military personnel and were "not easily persuaded" to take or protect prisoners, as they believed that Allied personnel who surrendered, got "no mercy" from the Japanese.^[46] Allied soldiers believed that Japanese soldiers were inclined to feign surrender, in order to make surprise attacks.^[46] Therefore, according to Straus, "[s]enior officers opposed the taking of prisoners[,] on the grounds that it needlessly exposed American troops to risks..."^[46] When prisoners nevertheless were taken, many times these were shot during transport because "it was too much bother to take [them] in".^[46] Japanology is the study of Japanese language, culture, history etc. ...

Fergusson suggests that "it was not only the fear of disciplinary action or of dishonor that deterred German and Japanese soldiers from surrendering. More important for most soldiers was the perception that prisoners would be killed by the enemy anyway, and so one might as well fight on."^[47]

U. S. historian James J. Weingartner attributes the very low number of Japanese in U.S. POW compounds to two important factors, a Japanese reluctance to surrender and a widespread American "conviction that the Japanese were "animals" or "subhuman'" and unworthy of the normal treatment accorded to POWs.^[48] The latter reason is supported by Fergusson, who says that "Allied troops often saw the Japanese in the same way that Germans regarded Russians [sic] — as Untermenschen."^[49] Untermensch (German for under man, sub-man, sub-human; plural: Untermenschen) is a term from Nazi racial ideology used to describe inferior people, especially the masses from the East, that is Jews, Gypsies, Soviet Bolsheviks, homosexual men, and anyone else who was not an Aryan (i. ...

South-East Asia

Similar observations have been made regarding British Commonwealth personnel in South-East Asia. For instance, historians Christopher Bayly and Tim Harper state that, during the Assam campaign of 1944, "...British, Indian, and African troops methodically and ruthlessly killed all Japanese, [because they were] enraged by cases of atrocities against their own wounded... [General William] Slim wrote laconically: 'quarter was neither asked nor given.'"^[50] The Commonwealth of Nations as of 2008. ... The South-East Asian Theatre of World War II was the name given to the campaigns of the Pacific War in India, Burma, Thailand, Malaya and Singapore. ... Combatants United Kingdom British India Republic of China United States Empire of Japan Indian National Army Burma National Army Thailand Commanders Louis Mountbatten William Slim Chiang Kai-Shek Joseph Stilwell Aung San(From 1944) Masakazu Kawabe Hyotaro Kimura Renya Mutaguchi Subhash Chandra Bose Aung San(until 1944) Strength Unknown Unknown... The British Fourteenth Army was a multinational force comprising units from Commonwealth countries during World War II. Many of its units were from the Indian Army as well as British units and there were also significant contributions from West and East African divisions within the British Army. ... Field Marshal Sir William Joseph Slim, 1st Viscount Slim, KG, GCB, GCMG, GCVO, GBE, DSO, MC (6 August 1891 – 14 December 1970) was a British military commander and the 13th Governor-General of Australia. ...

Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ...

Mutilation of Japanese war dead

Many dead Japanese were desecrated and/or mutilated, for example by urinating on them, shooting corpses, or taking Japanese body parts (such as ears or even skulls) as souvenirs or trophies.^[51]

The Allied practice of collecting Japanese body parts occurred on "a scale large enough to concern the Allied military authorities throughout the conflict and was widely reported and commented on in the American and Japanese wartime press."^[52]

The collection of Japanese body parts began quite early in the war, prompting a September 1942 order for disciplinary action against such souvenir taking.^[53] Harrison concludes that, since this was the first real opportunity to take such items (the Battle of Guadalcanal), "[c]learly, the collection of body parts on a scale large enough to concern the military authorities had started as soon as the first living or dead Japanese bodies were encountered."^[54] Operation Watchtower On August 7, 1942, the 1st Marine Division performed an amphibious landing east of the Tenaru River. ...

When Japanese remains were repatriated from the Mariana Islands after the war, roughly 60 percent were missing their skulls.^[55] The Mariana Islands (also the Marianas; up to the early 20th century sometimes called Ladrones Islands, from Spanish Islas de los Ladrones meaning Islands of Thieves) are an archipelago made up by the summits of 15 volcanic mountains in the north-western Pacific Ocean between the 12th and 21st parallels...

In a memorandum dated June 13, 1944, the US Army Judge Advocate General (JAG) asserted that “such atrocious and brutal policies,” in addition to being repugnant, were violations of the laws of war, and recommended the distribution to all commanders of a directive pointing out that "the maltreatment of enemy war dead was a blatant violation of the 1929 Geneva Convention on the sick and wounded, which provided that: After every engagement, the belligerent who remains in possession of the field shall take measures to search for wounded and the dead and to protect them from robbery and ill treatment.” This article is in reference to the U.S. JAG Corps. ...

These practises were in addition also in violation of the unwritten customary rules of land warfare and could lead to the death penalty.^[56] The US Navy JAG mirrored that opinion one week later, and also added that “the atrocious conduct of which some US personnel were guilty could lead to retaliation by the Japanese which would be justified under international law”.^[56]

Rape

According to historian Peter Schrijvers, an estimated 10,000 Japanese women were raped by American troops during the Okinawa campaign.[1] Reported cases of U.S. rapes for the first 10 days of the occupation of the Kanagawa prefecture are 1,336.[2]. According to Peter Schrijvers, rape was "a general practice against Japanese women".[3] For other uses, see Historian (disambiguation). ... Kanagawa Prefecture ) is a prefecture located in the southern Kantō region of Honshū, Japan. ...

Post-war incidents involving Axis POWs

Norway

• German POWs in Norway forced to clear minefields^{[citation needed]} (Disarmed Enemy Forces).^[57]

France and the Low Countries

• German prisoners were used to clear minefields in France and the Low Countries, a practice that the French government justified at the time as provided for in the Armistice but conceded that it was perhaps not in accordance with the Geneva Conventions. ^[58] By December 1945, it was estimated by French authorities that 2,000 German prisoners were being killed or maimed each month in accidents.^{[59][citation needed]}

• On June 1st, 1945, French occupation forces used Polish soldiers in their service to forcibly bring Waffen-SS officer Oskar Dirlewanger to the Altshausen jail. Dirlewanger was beaten and tortured over the next several days. He died from injuries inflicted by the Polish guards on June 4/5 1945.^{[60][citation needed]}

United States

• Rheinwiesenlager Concentration camps for German POWs ^{[61][citation needed]}
• Salina Utah POW massacre ^{[62][citation needed]}

Starting with the invasion of April 9, 1940, Norway was under military occupation of German forces and civil rule of a German commissioner in collaboration with a Pro-German puppet government. ... Disarmed Enemy Forces is a designation for captive enemy soldiers. ... For information about the confusion between the Low Countries and the Netherlands, see Netherlands (terminology). ... Oskar Dirlewanger as an SS-Oberführer, 1944. ... 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

"Death rates of POWs held is one measure of adherence to the standards of the treaties because substandard treatment leads to death of prisoners." The "democratic states generally provide good treatment of POWs".^[63]

Death rates of POWs held by Axis powers

• Chinese POWs held by Japan: > 99% (only 56 survivors at the end of the war)^[64]
• US and British Commonwealth POWs held by Germany: ~4% ^[63]
• Soviet POWs held by Germany: 57.5% ^[65]
• Western Allied POWs held by Japan: 27% ^[66]

The Western Allies were the democracies and their colonial peoples, within the broader coalition of Allies during World War II. The term is generally understood to refer to the countries of the British Commonwealth of Nations and Poland (from 1939), exiled forces from Occupied Europe (from 1940), the United States...

Death rates of POWs held by the Allies

• German POWs in East European (not including the Soviet Union) hands 32.9%^[65]
• German soldiers held by Soviet Union: 15-33% (14.7% in The Dictators by Richard Overy, 35.8% in Ferguson^[65])
• Japanese POWs held by Soviet Union: 10%
• German POWs in British hands 0.03%^[65]
• German POWs in American hands 0.15%^[65]
• German POWs in French hands 2.58%^[65]
• Japanese POWs held by U.S.: relatively low, mainly suicides according to James D. Morrow^[67] or according to Ulrich Straus high as many prisoners were shot by front line troops.^[46]

See also

• Eisenhower and German POWs
• Operation Keelhaul
• Betrayal of Cossacks
• 1944-1945 Killings in Bačka
• Foibe massacres
• Soviet war crimes (WWII)
• Victor's justice
• Forced labor of Germans in the Soviet Union
• Bad Nenndorf interrogation centre

Allegations made by Canadian novelist James Bacque were that nearly one million German prisoners of war, that Dwight Eisenhower redesignated as Disarmed Enemy Forces in order to avoid having to obey the third Geneva Convention, died of starvation or exposure while held in post-war Western internment camps. ... Operation Keelhaul was a programme carried out in Austria by British forces in May and June 1945 that decided the fate of thousands of post-war refugees fleeing eastern Europe. ... Betrayal of Cossacks at Lienz. ... The 1944-1945 Killings in Bačka were the killings of several thousands of ethnic Hungarians in Bačka allegedly organised by members of the Yugoslav Partisan Movement after they gained control over the area between 1944 and 1945. ... Location of some of the foibe where killings took place Foibe massacres were mass killings attributed to Yugoslav Partisans during and shortly after World War II against Italians. ... Soviet war crimes gives a short overview about serious crimes, which probably offend against international law, committed by the Red Armys (1918-1946, later Soviet Army) leadership and an unknown number of single members of the Soviet armed forces during in 1919 - 1990 including those in Eastern Europe in... The label victors justice (in German, Siegerjustiz) is applied by advocates to a situation in which they believe that a victorious nation is applying different rules to judge what is right or wrong for their own forces and for those of the (former) enemy. ... Not by Their Own Will. ... The Bad Nenndorf interrogation centre was a British Combined Services Detailed Interrogation Centre in the town of Bad Nenndorf, Germany, which operated from June 1945 to July 1947. ...

References

is the 251st day of the year (252nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Colonel Charles Perry Stacey OC, OBE, CD, BA, AM, PhD, LLD, DLitt, D.c Mil, FRSC, was the official historian of the Canadian Army in the Second World War and has been published extensively on matters both military and political. ... For other uses, see Guardian. ... is the 294th day of the year (295th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Kenneth Lauren Burns (born July 29, 1953) is an American director and producer of documentary films known for his style of making use of original prints and photographs. ... The War is a 2007 World War II documentary produced by American filmmakers Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, narrated by Keith David and others. ... is the 166th day of the year (167th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Alfred-Maurice de Zayas (born 1947) is an American lawyer, writer, and historian. ... Antony Beevor (born on December 14, 1946) is a British historian, educated at Winchester College and Sandhurst. ... For other uses, see Guardian. ... is the 121st day of the year (122nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... The Avalon Project is Yale Law Schools digital library of Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy. ... The Sterling Law Building Sculptural ornamentation on the Sterling Law Building Yale Law School, or YLS, is the law school of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. ... is the 341st day of the year (342nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see 1963 (disambiguation). ... Year 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. ... is the 46th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... TUJs Azabu Hall Temple University, Japan Campus (Abbreviated: TUJ, Japanese: テンプル大学ジャパンキャンパス) is an international campus of Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ... © University of Nottingham   The University of Nottingham is a leading research and teaching university in the city of Nottingham, in the East Midlands of England. ... The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is historically a committee of Swiss nationals, although non-Swiss nationals have recently been allowed (the committee appoints new members to itself to replace those who resign or die) which leads the international Red Cross movement (often simply known after its symbol... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 118th day of the year (119th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Further reading

Books

• Dower, J.W. War without Mercy: Race and Power in the Pacific War, (London and Boston, 1986)
• Lily, J. Robert, (not yet published). TAKEN BY FORCE; Rape and American Soldiers in the European Theater of Operations, WW2, Palgrave Macmillan June 2007 ISBN 0-230-50647-X
• Ferguson, Niall. Prisoner Taking and Prisoner Killing in the Age of Total War: Towards a Political Economy of Military Defeat, War in History, Vol. 11, No. 2, 148-192 (2004)
• Veale F.J.P. Advance to Barbarism, Appleton Wisconsin: C.C. Nelson Publishing Co., 1953

Articles

• Cobain, Ian. Revealed: UK wartime torture camp, The Guardian, November 12, 2005.
• Drayton, Richard. "An ethical blank cheque" British and US mythology about the second world war ignores our own crimes and legitimises Anglo-American war making, The Guardian, May 10, 2005
• Várdy, Steven Béla and Tooly, T. Hunt: Ethnic Cleansing in Twentieth-Century Europe Available as MS Word for Windows file (3.4 MB) Section: by Richard Dominic Wiggers, The United States and the Refusal to Feed German Civilians after World War II pp. 274 - 288