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Ancient times In early times, combatants of the losing side in a battle were usually slaughtered to prevent them from becoming a future danger. Later it became recognized that they could become useful as slaves, to perform heavy labor thus freeing men of the winning side for service as soldiers. During an invasion of a territory, the victorious invader frequently treated civilian non-combatants in the captured region the same as combatants. Even women and children were slaughtered or enslaved. Middle Ages During the Middle Ages some religious wars were particularly ferocious. Extermination of the heretics or "non-believers" was considered to be desirable. Examples are the Crusades against the Cathars and the Baltic people in the 13th century. Likewise the inhabitants of conquered cities were frequently massacred during the Crusades against the Turks in the 11th and 12th centuries. Rulers and army commanders were frequently used to extract tribute by granting their freedom in exchange for a significant ransom in treasury or land. The Treaty of Westphalia of 1648, which ended the Thirty Year War, is considered the first to establish the rule of releasing prisoners at the end of hostilities and allowing them to return to their homelands. Modern times During the Nineteenth Century efforts increased to improve the treatment of prisoners. A number of international conferences, starting with the Brussels Conference of 1874, nations agreed that it was necessary to prevent inhumane treatment of prisoners and the use of weapons causing unnecessary harm. Although momentarily no agreements were ratified by the participating nations, work was continued that resulted in new conventions being adopted and becoming recognized as international law, that specified that prisoners of war are required to be treated humanely and diplomatically. Hague and Geneva Conventions Specifically, Chapter II of the Annex to the 1907 Hague Convention covered the treatment of prisoners of war in detail. These were further expanded in the Third Geneva Convention of 1929, and its revision of 1949. Article 4 of the Third Geneva Convention protects captured military personnel, some guerrilla fighters and certain civilians. It applies from the moment a prisoner is captured until he or she is released or repatriated. One of the main provisions of the convention makes it illegal to torture prisoners and states that a prisoner can only be required to give his or her name, date of birth, rank and service number (if applicable). However, nations vary in their dedication to following these laws, and historically the treatment of POWs has varied greatly. During the the Twentieth Century, both Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union were notorious for atrocities against prisoners during World War II. Torture of prisoners was routine in conflicts in Korea and Vietnam. More recently, the United States has been sharply criticized by the international community for its alleged mistreatment of detainees in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and Abu Ghraib, Iraq. The status of POW does not include unarmed non-combatants who are captured in time of war; they are protected by the Fourth Geneva Convention rather than the Third Geneva Convention. Qualifications To be entitled to prisoner of war status, the captured service member must have conducted operations according to the laws and customs of war: be part of a chain of command and wear a uniform and bear arms openly. Thus, franc-tireurs, terrorists and spies may be excluded. In practice, these criteria are not always interpreted strictly. Guerrillas, for example, may not wear a uniform or carry arms openly yet are typically granted POW status if captured. However, guerrillas or any other combatant may not be granted the status if they try to use both the civilian and the military status. Thus, the importance of uniforms — or as in the guerrilla case, a badge — to keep this important rule of warfare. Alternative definitions Some groups define Prisoner of War in accordance with their internal politics and world view. Since the special rights of a prisoner of war, granted by governments, are the result of multilateral treaties, these definitions have no legal effect and those claiming rights under these definitions would legally be considered common criminals under an arresting jurisdiction's laws. However, in most cases these groups do not demand such rights. The United States Army only uses the term Prisoner of War to describe friendly soldiers who have been captured. The proper term for enemy prisoners captured by friendly forces is Enemy Prisoner of War or EPW . World War II In World War II, Soviet prisoners of Nazi Germany and German prisoners of the Soviet Union were often treated with neglect and brutality. The Nazi Regime regarded Soviet POWs as being of a lower racial order, and many Soviet POWs were consequently subject to enforced labour or were murdered in keeping with the Third Reich's policy of "racial purification". An official justification used by the Germans for this policy was that the Soviet Union had not signed the Geneva Convention; this was not legally justifiable however as under article 82 of the Geneva Convention (1929); signatory countries had to give POWs of all signatory and non-signatory countries the rights assigned by the convention. Germany and Italy generally treated prisoners from the British Commonwealth, France, the U.S. and other western allies, in accordance with the Third Geneva Convention. When soldiers of lower rank were made to work, they were compensated, and officers were not forced to work. On the Soviet side, the claimed justification for harsh treatment was that the German POWs were regarded as having forfeited their right to fair treatment, because of the widespread crimes committed against Soviet civilians during their invasion campaign. This combined with the fact that much of the Soviet workforce was in the hands of Nazi Germany also led to employment of many German POWs as forced labour. In the Pacific War, Japan did not follow the Third Geneva Convention. Prisoners held by Japanese armed forces were subject to brutal treatment, including forced labour, medical experimentation, vivisection, starvation rations, beatings for escape attempts, and poor medical treatment. Similarly, during the Korean and Vietnam wars, American prisoners were often beaten and tortured. By contrast, Axis prisoners held by Allied nations like the U.S., UK and Canada, were treated strictly in accordance to the Geneva Conventions. This sometimes created conditions for POWs better than in their fellow soldiers enjoyed at home. The lower rank prisoners were used for work on farms and road maintenance and were compensated for their work as required by the Geneva Convention. In addition, as word spread among the enemy about the conditions of Allied POW camps, it encouraged surrenders, which helped further Allied military goals. It may have raised morale among the Allied personnel when the usefulness of this approach was accepted by reinforcing the idea that this humane treatment of prisoners showed that their side was morally superior to the enemy. Other wars of the Twentieth Century During World War I both the Allies and the Central Powers followed the provisions of the Geneva Conventions, in general. Some exceptions occurred on the Eastern Front, in particular during the chaotic conditions that resulted from the Bolshevik Revolution During the Korean and Vietnam wars, American prisoners were often beaten and tortured. Numbers of POWs This is a list of nations with the highest number of POWs in any war since the Geneva Convention, Relative to the treatment of prisoners of war (1929) entered into force 19 June, 1931. The USSR had not signed the Geneva convention. All except one took place during World War II. Listed in descending order. List of notable POWs
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