World War II POW Camps
POW camps run by the Germans during World War II.
Germany was a signatory at the Third Geneva Convention, which established the provisions relative to the treatment of Prisoners of War.
- Article 10 required that PoWs should be lodged in adequately heated and lighted buildings where conditions were the same as German troops.
- Articles 27-32 detailed the conditions of labour. Enlisted ranks were required to perform whatever labour they were asked and able to do, so long as it was not dangerous and did not support the German war effort. Senior Non-commissioned officers (sergeants and above) were required to work only in a supervisory role. Commissioned officers were not required to work, although they could volunteer. The work performed was largely agricultural or industrial, ranging from coal or potash mining, stone quarrying, or work in saw mills, breweries, factories, railroad yards, and forests. PoWs hired out to military and civilian contractors were supposed to receive pay. The workers were also supposed to get a least one day a week of rest.
- Article 76 ensured that PoWs who died in captivity were honourably buried in marked graves.
Read more about this topic: List Of Prisoner-of-war Camps In Germany
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