The Pros And Cons Of Prisoners Of War

Prisoners of War have been captured throughout many wars and they have been treated poorly within prison camps. Prisoners of War (POW) have not been given the resources to which they are entitled. In WWII there were hundreds of prison camps throughout many different countries including Germany, Poland, Japan, Russia and the U.S.. POWs in Japan were used to work in coal mines or shipyards, and they were not given pay and worked very long hours. “This reminded us how ruthless our captors could really be” (brainyquote.com). Japan captured 25,000 military soldiers, the chance of death for a POW in Japan during WWII was 41.6% (lindavdahl.com). Prisoners of War should not be treated very poorly, including being beaten, starved, and physically and/or

As soon as a serviceman has been captured by enemy forces, he is legally considered a prisoner of war. During early stages of warfare a captive was entirely in the hands of his captor. The prisoner was usually enslaved or killed by his captor depending on his importance to him. “In Japan alone there were over 160 prison camps in WWII” (history.com). An average prison camp there included 30 or more prisoners inside of the camp. There have been POWs in wars ranging back from the late 1600’s to today’s wars. In the U.S. Civil War there were over 300,000 captured POWs between the Union and

In Hillenbrand’s book, Unbroken, Japanese POW camp director Watanabe was exceptionally brutal in his treatment to the prisoners. “Watanabe beat POW’s everyday, fracturing their windpipes, rupturing their eardrums, shattering their teeth, and leaving men unconscious” (Hillenbrand 243). On most Zamperini’s accounts there were clear violations of the Geneva Convention, including Article 26 which is that food and water should be in enough quantity. World War II alone, millions of POWs were captured and millions were killed in the hands of their captors. A prison camp in Changi, Japan men were left unattended to their diseases and injuries. “At Changi, we were hungry and sick, and men began dying, but the Japanese usually left us alone” (historynet.com). Japanese prison camps were known for having brutal and terrifying prison camps where thousands of men were killed. These camps would force the prisoner to do hard manual labor and they were not given the proper nutrients from the rare food that they were given to