# Release of German POWs after WWII **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 17, 2013, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/release-of-german-pows-after-wwii/666514 "2013-08-17T22:15:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Weeping\_Wyvern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@Weeping\_Wyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weeping_Wyvern)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2013, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/release-of-german-pows-after-wwii/666514/1 "2013-08-17T22:15:29Z")
I keep reading accounts about various German army officers saying something like “Generalmajor Manfred Nilpferd surrendered to American troops on 15 March 1945 and was released in 1947.” So, I am wondering why it took until so long after the end of the war for them to be freed. Was this delay for us to figure out who should be tried for war crimes? Was it just the unintentional result of miles of paperwork and bureaucracy? ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2013, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/release-of-german-pows-after-wwii/666514/2 "2013-08-17T22:22:32Z")
Released in 1947? That would almost be an outlier! The Soviets kept many of them until the mid-1950s. [As late as 1956](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_prisoners_of_war_in_the_Soviet_Union). And, if it weren’t for the general amnesty promulgated by Nikita Khrushchev after Stalin’s death, they might have stayed . . . forever. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2013, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/release-of-german-pows-after-wwii/666514/3 "2013-08-17T22:39:56Z")
The Allies were seriously worried about the possibility of a long-term guerrilla resistance to the occupation. Given the Nazi regime’s fanaticism, Hitler’s order for the German people to fight to the death, and rumors of a “Werwolf” organized resistance, the Allied command took no chances. It was only after it became clear that all the die-hards had died hard, and that the war had already thoroughly ground down the German people, that the occupation relaxed somewhat. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2013, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/release-of-german-pows-after-wwii/666514/4 "2013-08-17T23:03:21Z")
Identifying the hard core SS fanatics and separating them from the other POW’s was critical. I’ve read there was a difference in POW’s captured early in the war. They still thought Germany could win. The later POW’s knew that wasn’t going to happen. > **[German Prisoners of War - History Learning Site](https://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/world-war-two/prisoners-of-war-in-ww2/german-prisoners-of-war/)** > > German POW’s captured in campaigns in Western Europe, were held in Allied POW camps. These came under the inspection of the Red Cross and all the evidence suggests that German POW’s held in Western Europe were well treated – accommodation was... > [@](#): > > In Western Europe, the British and Americans did not have any intention of keeping German POW’s for longer than was necessary. They realised that many of the men they had captured had been conscripted into the war effort by the Nazis and that the vast majority had committed no war crimes. It was also generally believed that they would serve a better purpose rebuilding damaged Germany as opposed to simply languishing in a POW camp. > > However, captured SS officers were kept away from regular army POW’s. At a POW camp at Bellaria, they were kept in a special guarded unit. Barbed wire kept both sets of prisoners apart. Whereas the army POW’s were allowed one hour’s exercise outside of the camp, the captured SS men were only allowed to exercise inside the camp and they were escorted by guards at all times. > > In the autumn of 1946, senior army officers were transported to a POW camp at Munster. Here they could be visited by relatives who were allowed to bring with them food parcels. > > Those suspected of being too politicised by Nazi doctrine, had to face a review board on a regular basis as the Allies were not prepared to release anyone who was suspected of having a Nazi past. A senior Allied officer was the head of any review board and he worked alongside two assessors. Anyone suspected of being politicised was not given a defence councillor but he did have access to an interpreter. The review boards had four categories. If a POW was placed in Categories 1 or 2, he would not be released. Categories 3 or 4 meant that a POW could expect a quick release from a POW camp as he was no longer a POW. However, many were simply moved from a POW camp to a former concentration camp at Neuengamme and held as a civilian detainee until the authorities were convinced that there were no issues concerning these individuals. > > German POW’s continued to be held by the Allies for a number of years after the war had ended. The last POW’s held in Egypt returned to Germany in December 1948. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2013, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/release-of-german-pows-after-wwii/666514/5 "2013-08-17T23:39:09Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > if it weren’t for the general amnesty promulgated by Nikita Khrushchev after Stalin’s death, they might have stayed . . . forever. A lot of them did. What interests me is how many Germans and Italians either stayed in the USA and Canada after their release, or came back as quickly as they could and eventually became citizens. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/release-of-german-pows-after-wwii/666514/6 "2013-08-18T00:27:35Z")
I once read a history that mentioned how important the release of the POW’s were in the formation of the Federal Republic of Germany. The war and the final collapse of the Nazi regime had killed a large percentage of German adult men. As a result, the hundreds of thousands of German who had been held in British and American POW camps represented a significant demographic when they returned to Germany and most of them felt they had received reasonably decent treatment by their captors. So West Germany had a large cadre of German men who were now more familiar with Britons and Americans than the average pre-war German had been. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/release-of-german-pows-after-wwii/666514/7 "2013-08-18T01:24:40Z")
[Germans POWs in Canada](http://legionmagazine.com/en/index.php/2012/03/the-happiest-prisoners/) “After the war, it wouldn’t be until December 1946 before all prisoners were repatriated. The British government requested that all PoWs—even the 6,000 who asked to remain in Canada—be returned to the U.K. for work and gradual processing back to Germany under the Geneva Convention.” 6,000 out of 35,000 asked to stay! Many moved back after being returned to Germany. This is very cool: [http://www.traces.org/germanpows.html](http://www.traces.org/germanpows.html) ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/release-of-german-pows-after-wwii/666514/8 "2013-08-18T02:01:44Z")
On German POWs in the U.S. after V-E Day: [German prisoners of war in the United States - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_prisoners_of_war_in_the_United_States#After_the_war) ---
**Author:** ![NotDeadYet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/22d042/32.png) [@NotDeadYet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NotDeadYet)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/release-of-german-pows-after-wwii/666514/9 "2013-08-18T02:18:22Z")
When you think about it, the Allies treated POWs fairly well. Hard core Nazis were the problem. But that constituted a small percentage. Carreer German officers were soldiers first and often not even political. The fact that we treated them well is one reason that we have good relations with Germany to this day. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/release-of-german-pows-after-wwii/666514/10 "2013-08-18T03:50:30Z")
> [@NotDeadYet](#): > > Hard core Nazis were the problem. But that constituted a small percentage… But they could still cause big problems: [Johannes Kunze - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Kunze) ---
**Author:** ![sidecar\_jon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@sidecar\_jon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sidecar_jon)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/release-of-german-pows-after-wwii/666514/11 "2013-08-18T09:43:14Z")
Not sure now but until recently there was a guy every one called “Herman the German” who was an Ex POW who just stayed on running a farm in the area of Cornwall known and the Lizard. ---
**Author:** ![Donnerwetter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Donnerwetter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donnerwetter)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/release-of-german-pows-after-wwii/666514/12 "2013-08-18T11:06:09Z")
According to [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heimkehrer), by 1948 the number of German soldiers still held in captivity was as follows: > [@](#): > > United Kingdom: 435,295 > United States of America: 30,976 > France: 631,483 > Soviet Union: 890,532. The UK and especially France and the Soviet Union still kept German prisoners to use as cheap labor. In the case of the US, there might have been logistical issues. ---
**Author:** ![slm2955](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c6cbf5/32.png) [@slm2955](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slm2955)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/release-of-german-pows-after-wwii/666514/13 "2013-08-18T11:21:37Z")
Nope ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/release-of-german-pows-after-wwii/666514/14 "2013-08-18T13:27:21Z")
> [@slm2955](#): > > Nope That was informative. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2013, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/release-of-german-pows-after-wwii/666514/15 "2013-08-19T00:01:34Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > That was informative. 😛 Yup. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2013, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/release-of-german-pows-after-wwii/666514/16 "2013-08-19T01:13:22Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > [Germans POWs in Canada](http://legionmagazine.com/en/index.php/2012/03/the-happiest-prisoners/) > > “After the war, it wouldn’t be until December 1946 before all prisoners were repatriated. The British government requested that all PoWs—even the 6,000 who asked to remain in Canada—be returned to the U.K. for work and gradual processing back to Germany under the Geneva Convention.” > > 6,000 out of 35,000 asked to stay! Many moved back after being returned to Germany. > > This is very cool: [http://www.traces.org/germanpows.html](http://www.traces.org/germanpows.html) There was an episode of that “Who do you think you are?” show where Chelsea Handler found out her grandfather had been one of these German POWs who was captured in the south of France and ended up in a POW camp in Iowa, and who brought his family back after the war to live here in the US. What was most shocking were the photos- her grandfather was really, really thin and kind of unhealthy looking in the initial POW intake photo, but after a year in the POW camp, he was considerably happier and healthier looking. Apparently POW food was better than what the regular Wehrmacht soldiers got. ---
**Author:** ![user\_hostile](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/user_hostile/32/474_2.png) [@user\_hostile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/user_hostile)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2013, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/release-of-german-pows-after-wwii/666514/17 "2013-08-19T05:36:19Z")
Then, there is the [Great Papago Escape](http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2001-03-08/news/flight-from-phoenix/). I love the name of the camp commander–William Holden. Full disclosure–this ain’t Stalig 17. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2013, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/release-of-german-pows-after-wwii/666514/18 "2013-08-19T19:36:38Z")
> [@bump](#): > > …What was most shocking were the photos- her grandfather was really, really thin and kind of unhealthy looking in the initial POW intake photo, but after a year in the POW camp, he was considerably happier and healthier looking. Apparently POW food was better than what the regular Wehrmacht soldiers got. Even more so for Japanese soldiers captured in the Pacific. Here’s a good book by one: [Amazon.com: Taken Captive: A Japanese POW's Story: 9780471142850: Ooka Shohei, Wayne P. Lammers: Books](http://www.amazon.com/Taken-Captive-Japanese-POWs-Story/dp/0471142859). The POWs obsessed about food (having little else to occupy their minds or their time), and some got quite plump.