German guard tower c1939-1945. NAM 1999-03-45
The Captive exhibition offers the opportunity to explore the ordeal endured by British and Commonwealth Prisoners of War.
Boredom, hunger and danger. Would you have been strong enough in mind and body to survive?
Captured
Canadians captured at Dieppe, August 1942. NAM 1987-10-76-9
The enemy is closing in. You are trapped. You can’t fight back anymore and there is no escape. What goes through your mind? Will the enemy kill you even if you surrender? What do you feel: fear, anger, frustration, despair or just overwhelming relief?
For most British and Commonwealth Prisoners of War the trauma of capture was just the beginning of the long ordeal of captivity. The term Prisoner of War (POW) only refers to captured military personnel rather than civilians although even today the divide between prisoner of war and hostage can remain blurred.
Why take prisoners?
Handing over Allied POWs for internment in Holland, c1917. NAM 1979-09-44-66
Feeding and caring for one’s own soldiers is often difficult enough without having to keep enemy troops alive and under guard. The alternative, the unconditional release of prisoners, might lead to you having to fight the same soldiers again.
During the First World War (1914-18) exchanged soldiers were kept in neutral countries like Holland and Switzerland. They were free from direct enemy control, but could not fight for their country or go home.
Cheap labour
Allied POWs at Bischofswerda camp, Germany, c1916. NAM 1977-12-16-19
Prisoners have often been used as a cheap form of labour. During the two World Wars the adult male population of many nations were called to arms, leaving labour in short supply. Industry, agriculture and trade were vital to victory and so POWs were employed to fill this gap. In the worst cases, in the Far East, Russia and Eastern Europe, prisoners were used as slave labour. Viewed as expendable, they lived in terrible conditions and were often worked to death.
In the past prisoners could be used as a source of income for their captors. Wealthy or influential soldiers were ransomed for large sums of money.
Prisoner swap
POWs at the Gustrow Camp, Mecklenberg, Germany c1916. NAM 1985-04-70-52
Opposing armies could also swap their enemy prisoners in return for their own captured men. As well as bargaining tools, prisoners can be used as propaganda to rally popular support and to intimidate and demoralize one’s enemy. The public display of prisoners, whether deliberate or unintentional, on television and via homemade videos is a controversial phenomenon today, especially where acts of cruelty are depicted.
The public display of prisoners, whether deliberate or unintentional, on television and via homemade videos is a controversial phenomenon today, especially where acts of cruelty are depicted.
Allied prisoners labour for the Japanese, c1944. NAM 2000-03-179-13
The Geneva Convention
The codes of honour that went someway to protect soldiers who surrendered in the past, became part of international law in the last century. The rules drawn up in an attempt to safeguard POWs were set in the Geneva Conventions of 1929 and 1949. These rules state that POWs ‘must always be treated humanely’. They must not be killed, tortured or humiliated. Sick and wounded soldiers must be cared for. Despite 194 countries having agreed to follow these rules the mistreatment of prisoners remains a serious human rights issue.
