When it comes to P.O.W. camps of the Civil War, many are most familiar with Andersonville. There were more camps throughout the Union and the Confederacy though and each were awful in their own way. In this episode, we're traveling to Alton, Illinois to explore the remains of the Alton Military Prison and what became of the Confederate soldiers who died in that place.
VIDEO HERE (19:35 minutes)
I have a forebear, a CSA POW imprisoned and who died in Yankee POW camp in Elmira , NY. The Confederates called the camp Hellmira.
ReplyDeleteCheck out the Rheinweisenlager...https://allthatsinteresting.com/rheinwiesenlager
ReplyDeleteAt the end of the war, GEN Eisenhower changed the status of German POWs to "Disarmed Enemy Forces," meaning that the Allies did not have to feed, clothe, house, or provide medical care to the German soldiers. They wouldn't even let the Red Cross into the camps. The number who died is estimated between roughly 10,000 (American estimate) to one million (German and Canadian estimates.)
Major Eisenhower and Major Patton didn't have any qualms about beating up on the American Bonus Marchers, so why would he care about German POWs?
DeleteSickening, this and the bombing and murder of civilians of Nuremberg along with other German cities.
DeleteAll the sympathy towards captured enemy combatants is falling on mostly deaf ears....the guy who hours before he was captured would use any brutality to conquer the enemy is now supposed to be coddled and pampered?....don't think so....
ReplyDeleteNo, he's supposed to be treated the way you want your own soldiers treated if they are captured by your enemy. It's not complicated.
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