More than 170,000 British prisoners of war (POWs) were taken by German and Italian forces during theSecond World War. Most were captured in a string of defeats in France,North Africaand the Balkans between 1940 and 1942. They were held in a network of POW camps stretching from Nazi-occupied Poland to Italy.
The experience of capture could be humiliating. Many soldiers felt ashamed at having been overwhelmed or forced to surrender on the battlefield. It could also be traumatic. Airmen who had been shot down were hunted down in enemy territory after surviving a crash in which friends might have been killed. Sailors might be hauled out of the sea after watching their vessel sink.
The Geneva Convention rules - which lay out protections and standards of treatment of POWs - were not always followed, but on the whole the Germans and Italians behaved fairly towards British and Commonwealth prisoners. Even so, conditions were tough. Rations were meagre. The men - but not officers - had to work, often at heavy labour.
As with the prisoners of theFirst World War, the days dragged and there was a constant battle against boredom. Prisoners tried to overcome this by staging entertainments and educating themselves. Contrary to the popular myth, most men were too weak from hunger and work to escape. Those who did get beyond the wire ran the very real risk of being shot.
