The Media likes to refer to World War 2 as the “good war”. Most everyone knows that there is no such thing as a good war since all bring death and destruction. All wars, whether “just” or not, produce bad actions and some times genuine atrocities. The story of the Allied concentration camps or prisoner of war camps is one such example.
We are all aware of the German concentration camps that existed during WW2 and the Japanese camps, notorious for their brutality, but who ever gave a thought to the Allied camps? I never did until I saw the pictures. The story of the American, French, and British prisoner of war camps has remained somewhat of a secret for all these years until the publication of a book in 1989 by James Bacque called “Other Losses“. Another book covering this subject is titled “Germany’s War” by John Wear. These books are based on finally released information in the archives of the United States, France, and Britain as well as eye-witness testimony from American soldiers, including many high ranking Officers who were in the camps at the time. As you can imagine, the Allies took prisoners as they drove across France headed for Berlin and at the end of the war there must have been a lot of prisoners also. In fact, there were as many as 5 million solders in the Allied prisoner of war camps located in France along the Rhine river (known as the Rhine River camps or the Rhine Meadows camps). So you might say, what’s the problem?
The problem is that an estimated one million German soldiers died in these camps after the end of the war and were kept there for 5 months or longer by order of General Eisenhower. Contrast this with the fact that General Patton released his prisoners within a few days after the war, telling them to ‘go home and take care of your families’. Even worse, there is evidence that these actions were done intentionally! There is no excuse for holding prisoners for months after the war has ended. It is also known from his own writings that Eisenhower hated the Germans.
I’m not trying to write a book here but to summarize some of the known facts and make people aware of an event that is little known about the “good war”. For a detailed account, consult the aforementioned books or check the links below.
The German soldiers in these camps (including women) died of starvation, lack of medical care, and lack of shelter. They were crammed into barbed wire enclosures on muddy fields with no shelter or sanitary facilities and received little food or water. Medical care was basically non-existent. The prisoners were forced to make a grass soup in order to curb their hunger. They lived in their own excrement. Water was scarce despite the fact that the Rhine river was only a few hundred yards away.
The account of this atrocity is testified to by American soldiers who were there, including high ranking officers. Even General Mark Clark wrote a memo attesting to the horrific conditions in the camps. Testimony from an American soldier is HERE.
The idea of an intentional extermination plan is supported by the availability of food stockpiles held by the Red Cross which was not allowed into the camps. Nor was the Red Cross allowed into the camps as they should have been per the Geneva Convention.
Furthermore, a message from General Eisenhower was circulated throughout the area of his command, which stated in part:
“The military government has requested me to make it known, that, under no circumstances may food supplies be assembled among the local inhabitants, in order to deliver them to the German prisoners of war. Those who violate this command and nevertheless try to circumvent this blockade, to allow anything to come to the prisoners, place themselves in danger of being shot……”.
The United States had signed on to the Geneva Convention of 1929, for wounded soldiers and POW’s. According to the Convention, POW’s were to be accorded the same accommodations as their captors, in terms of food, shelter, and medical care. The Red Cross was to be allowed to monitor and POW’s should be released immediately after cessation of hostilities. None of this was done. Eisenhower made an end run around these regulations by classifying the prisoners as “Disarmed Enemy Forces” (DEF) rather than POW’s. This is reminiscent of how George Bush classified prisoners taken during the Iraq War as “Enemy Combatants”. Eisenhower controlled the media in the military zone (Germany) and did not allow this information to reach America or much of the world.
Rather than a “good” war which it was not, it was also an unnecessary war. Pat Buchanan writes to that point in his latest book entitled “Churchill, Hitler, and the Unnecessary War” where he puts the responsibility for a World War on Winston Churchill. When you stop to think about it, we had no dog in that fight. Germany was no threat to the United States. Germany could not even cross the English Channel to invade Great Britain (though at one time they had a plan which they abandoned). No country had the money or resources to invade the U.S. then or even today. Neither did Germany threaten us verbally. After World War 1, the war to end all wars, no one wanted to fight in another European war. Keep in mind that also, that before the war, no one was aware of any crimes or alleged atrocities committed by Germany. So why did we go? Just as with our forays into the Middle East, people in positions of power (hidden from the public), combined with propaganda from their Media allies, get what they want. The American people have no say.
The video below, ” Other Losses”, reveals some of the reasons for our involvement in the big lie known as the “good war”.
Other Losses
Link: https://www.brighteon.com/cdbb55ad-7ca3-491c-882e-a6971405d670
Related Links:
https://wearswar.wordpress.com/category/german-pows-post-wwii/
https://allthatsinteresting.com/rheinwiesenlager
http://lovkap.blogspot.com/2017/01/eisenhowers-death-camps.html
See you next time