WW2 - 1 million Germans Pows allegedly killed by US?

Question

According to the book "Other Losses" (by James Bacque ) allegedly 1 million German Pows were starved to death or killed through exposure ,whilst in US custody. If true?? does this make the US no better than the Nazi's and the Japanese?

Answer 1

Sadly, the hatred which many Allied soldiers bore towards all Germans led to protracted acts of cruelty against German P.O.W.s. The American-run camp near Remagen, which held large numbers of German soldiers, was without adequate shelter and food was deliberately not issued to the inmates - though there were numerous times when the starving men on the other side of the wire were allowed to see large piles of foodstufffs stacked in plain view, it was not opened up or given to the intended recipients. The Winter was exceptionally cold; without warm clothing, proper shelter and kept deliberately unfed, huge numbers of inmates died. Many were seen to be eating grass because they were so agonised by hunger. Sadly, the showing of films about concentration camps, the spreading of stories about Nazi inhumanity towards the people who suffered and died as slave labourers, seems to have convinced Allied soldiers that enemy troops they already loathed and feared as military opponents were quite literally less than human and no treatment given to them could be 'too bad'. Instead of sneering at the mere possibility of Allied soldiers behaving like vindictive monsters, we should open our eyes to the truth and understand that human beings - regardless of the uniform they wear - are capable of doing terrible things in stressful, angry situations. The misdeeds of the Nazis do not justify cold-blooded torture and murder by the other side.

Answer 2

I haven't read the book, only a synopsis on wikipedia about James Bacque.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Bacque



I think it possible yes but not the number quoted.

At the time after finding concentration camps and the horrors that that the SS had done the camp guards were a little pissed after the long war.

They took out their frustrations out on the wrong people but there was damn little food in all of europe I'm sure.

The German POWs held in the US were treated fairly not like Allied POWs were treated by the Japanese and I think Allied POWs were treated only a little better by the Germans.

Answer 3

Probably yes.

Many of that people was captured on the German army but they was not German. It was from Poland, Russian, Ukrainian so etc. and all of they want not came back to the uSSR (ROA).

It was nothing to eat at that time, so it was not better then Gulag. Btw, in Gulag German POW`s Faith was better that faith of Russian political prisoners. Germans of fen receive additional food rations from Red Cross.

And same times this rations helped civil citizen to live, because they have less food then German POW

Answer 4

Whilst many German P.O.W's probably did die in captivity due to many reasons such as starvation, wounds and diseases and there were plenty of cases of prisoners being summarily executed by the Allies, the figure of 1 million seems a gross exaggeration. Combat losses in the German armed forces (Wermacht) plus the tens of thousands who died in captivity in Russian Gulags, add 1 million to this and there would hardly be any Heer, Luftwaffe or Kriegsmarine members left, not to mention the nearly 1 million men who served in the Waffen SS

Answer 5

I doubt it. But anyways, the Germans and Japanese starved thousands of POW's as well as killing them in other extremely gruesome manners, so I'd say that the US is better.