# Were enemy soldiers nice to eachother on WW1/WW2? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 25, 2014, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-enemy-soldiers-nice-to-eachother-on-ww1-ww2/691638 "2014-06-25T19:29:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-enemy-soldiers-nice-to-eachother-on-ww1-ww2/691638/21 "2014-06-26T06:31:45Z")
If a group of people tries to kill you for a few years, sooner or later you’re going to start to dislike them. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-enemy-soldiers-nice-to-eachother-on-ww1-ww2/691638/22 "2014-06-26T06:31:53Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > It’s my understanding that the hatred and racism towards the Japanese was so severe that killing surrendered or helpless Japanese soldiers was the norm, to such an extent that American soldiers would disobey orders not to. It was a bottom up problem more than a policy problem as I recall; the authorities _wanted_ prisoners, for interrogation if nothing else. The fear that they might be faking surrender didn’t help either. > > The Americans also had a [habit](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_mutilation_of_Japanese_war_dead) of collecting the body parts of Japanese for trophies. Considering how viscious the Japanese were during WWII, I can’t say I blame them. It was probably a reaction to that. ---
**Author:** ![ALOHA\_HATER](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/76d3ee/32.png) [@ALOHA\_HATER](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ALOHA_HATER)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-enemy-soldiers-nice-to-eachother-on-ww1-ww2/691638/23 "2014-06-26T06:43:12Z")
> [@obbn](#): > > A common insult was to take the severed penis of an American soldier and suture it to his forehead. What? This sounds extremely made up. That was _common?_ ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-enemy-soldiers-nice-to-eachother-on-ww1-ww2/691638/24 "2014-06-26T06:50:01Z")
The thing about the 1914 Exmas truce… the Tommies in the trenches had a lot more in common with Jerry in the trenches on the other side of the wire than with their generals, who were nowhere near the trenches, sleeping in feather beds with clean sheets, and dining off of fine china being served by a batman who also provided them with a freshly cleaned, pressed, and dry uniform to wear every day. ---
**Author:** ![Chihuahua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dec6dc/32.png) [@Chihuahua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chihuahua)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-enemy-soldiers-nice-to-eachother-on-ww1-ww2/691638/25 "2014-06-26T06:51:56Z")
Any war crimes the Americans might have committed against the Japanese would be a drop in the bucket compared to the atrocities the Japanese committed against their prisoners and conquered people. As Alessan correctly points out, one has to wonder at what point racism stops being irrational and becomes the informed conclusion of empirical observation. But to get back to the OP, it was a total crap shoot. The Eastern European front was notoriously bloody. A man about to be captured might be better off eating a bullet. The Western Front was somewhat better. There were notorious massacres, but some POWs reported being treated well. During the pre-invasion air war over Europe, aviators in particular were treated quite well (although this had as much to do with strategic interrogation as it did chivalry). It is also hard to provide an answer without specifying the year. Pre-invasion West front Europe had more resources and time to cope with POWs. Post-invasion, not so much. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-enemy-soldiers-nice-to-eachother-on-ww1-ww2/691638/26 "2014-06-26T06:55:04Z")
> [@ALOHA\_HATER](#): > > What? This sounds extremely made up. That was _common?_ In other conflicts or theaters of operation, it was more common to leave enemy corpses around that had been decapitated with the heads left on the chest and the severed penis and testicles placed in the mouth. This sort of thing happened in Northern Africa during WWI, WWII, and the french Algeria thing. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-enemy-soldiers-nice-to-eachother-on-ww1-ww2/691638/27 "2014-06-26T08:08:00Z")
The Japanese brutality against enemy soldiers and civilians is well documented, as well as cases of booby trapping their own dead and wounded. There was little loved lost for them. ---
**Author:** ![Dissonance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Dissonance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dissonance)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-enemy-soldiers-nice-to-eachother-on-ww1-ww2/691638/28 "2014-06-26T08:50:54Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > > [@carnivorousplant](#): > > > > A Japanese guy tried to kill my Father and his associates from an airplane with bombs and machine guns in New Guinea. When he had engine trouble and bailed out, they killed him with small arms fire as he came down. > > It’s my understanding that the hatred and racism towards the Japanese was so severe that killing surrendered or helpless Japanese soldiers was the norm, to such an extent that American soldiers would disobey orders not to. It was a bottom up problem more than a policy problem as I recall; the authorities _wanted_ prisoners, for interrogation if nothing else. The fear that they might be faking surrender didn’t help either. > > The Americans also had a [habit](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_mutilation_of_Japanese_war_dead) of collecting the body parts of Japanese for trophies. The Japanese [vivisected](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_raids_on_Japan#Treatment_of_prisoners_of_war) captured US airmen; I don’t think its possible to get worse than that. For those unaware, vivisection is the dissection of a living, un-anesthetized subject. > [@](#): > > Of the approximately 545 Allied airmen who were captured in the Japanese home islands (excluding the Kuril and Bonin Islands), 132 were executed and 29 were killed by civilians. Another 94 airmen died from other causes while in Japanese custody, including 52 who were killed when they were deliberately left in a prison in Tokyo during the 25/26 May raid on the city.[211][212] Between six[213] and eight[214] US airmen shot down on 5 May were subjected to vivisection at the Kyushu Imperial University; Professor Ishiyama Fukujirō and other doctors conducted four such sessions throughout May and early June. The Western Military Command assisted in arranging these operations.[214] Many of the Japanese personnel responsible for the deaths of Allied airmen were prosecuted in the Yokohama War Crimes Trials following the war. Several of those found guilty were executed and the remainder were imprisoned. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-enemy-soldiers-nice-to-eachother-on-ww1-ww2/691638/29 "2014-06-26T10:17:02Z")
An incident which I’ve seen described in an extract from _Enemy at the Gates_ describes a tank being hit by an anti-tank round which went straight through the turret without exploding. Moments later, a crewman baled out (understandably) and found himself under the guns of a German rifleman. But the rifleman apparently thought “My God, if you’ve just been that lucky, who am I to shoot you now?” and let the crewman run away. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-enemy-soldiers-nice-to-eachother-on-ww1-ww2/691638/30 "2014-06-26T10:23:44Z")
> [@Chihuahua](#): > > But to get back to the OP, it was a total crap shoot. The Eastern European front was notoriously bloody. A man about to be captured might be better off eating a bullet. The Western Front was somewhat better. There were notorious massacres, but some POWs reported being treated well. During the pre-invasion air war over Europe,\*\* aviators in particular were treated quite well (although this had as much to do with strategic interrogation as it did chivalry)\*\*. [bolding mine] Just to add that there numerous documented incidents of bailed-out Allied fliers being strung up by lynch mobs who wanted to punish perpetrators of _terrorangrif_, like the [Rüsselsheim massacre](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%BCsselsheim_massacre) where American crewmen were beaten to death by German civilians. On the Japanese; they sank to depths of depravity even the Nazis would have balked at - using prisoners as [meat on the hoof](http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/japanese-troops-ate-flesh-of-enemies-and-civilians-1539816.html). The incidents were kept quiet as it was thought too upsetting for families to know that their loved ones had been eaten. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-enemy-soldiers-nice-to-eachother-on-ww1-ww2/691638/31 "2014-06-26T11:08:02Z")
> [@Chihuahua](#): > > Any war crimes the Americans might have committed against the Japanese would be a drop in the bucket compared to the atrocities the Japanese committed against their prisoners and conquered people. As Alessan correctly points out, one has to wonder at what point racism stops being irrational and becomes the informed conclusion of empirical observation. Justified or not, hatred can be an effective survival mechanism. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-enemy-soldiers-nice-to-eachother-on-ww1-ww2/691638/32 "2014-06-26T11:43:30Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > It’s my understanding that the hatred and racism towards the Japanese was so severe that killing surrendered or helpless Japanese soldiers was the norm, to such an extent that American soldiers would disobey orders not to. It was a bottom up problem more than a policy problem as I recall; the authorities _wanted_ prisoners, for interrogation if nothing else. The fear that they might be faking surrender didn’t help either. > > The Americans also had a [habit](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_mutilation_of_Japanese_war_dead) of collecting the body parts of Japanese for trophies. As I mentioned above, in any war it is a crap shoot to try and surrender. You are asking the guy you were trying to kill a minute ago to treat you nicely. But the fact remains that Japanese surrenders were relatively rare. They were ordered to fight to the death. The propaganda about the western barbarians and how they would be treated was much worse and more effective than the western propaganda. One almost forgotten war hero from WWII was Guy Gabaldon. He was a Mexican-American from East LA who was partially raised by a Japanese family. He joined the Marines and later used his knowledge of the language to convince Japanese soldiers to surrender. On Saipan he would usually go out alone and convince soldiers they would be treated well. He was known as the Pied Piper of Saipan. Between Saipan and Tinian he was credited with bringing in 1,500 POWs. He was recommended for the Medal of Honor but received the Navy Cross for his actions. ---
**Author:** ![Artemis\_Tardis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4bbf92/32.png) [@Artemis\_Tardis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Artemis_Tardis)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-enemy-soldiers-nice-to-eachother-on-ww1-ww2/691638/33 "2014-06-26T15:16:05Z")
> [@Chihuahua](#): > > Any war crimes the Americans might have committed against the Japanese would be a drop in the bucket compared to the atrocities the Japanese committed against their prisoners and conquered people. As Alessan correctly points out, one has to wonder at what point racism stops being irrational and becomes the informed conclusion of empirical observation. [Badabum.](http://awesometalks.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/ng30.jpg) ---
**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:** [June 26, 2014, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-enemy-soldiers-nice-to-eachother-on-ww1-ww2/691638/34 "2014-06-26T15:47:46Z")
The earlier link to the Rüsselsheim massacre reminded me John McCain. He bailed out of his plane over N Viet Nam and was badly beaten by villagers. I can imagine civilian’s pent up anger at enemy air crews. Especially bombings in towns that caused innocent deaths. Bailing out of a plane into a hostile crowd wouldn’t be very safe. I’m surprised more air crew killings weren’t reported. > **[John McCain](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McCain)** > > John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and naval officer who represented the state of Arizona in Congress for over 35 years, first as a Representative from 1983 to 1987, and then as a senator from 1987 until his death in 2018. He was the Republican Party's nominee in the 2008 U.S. presidential election. > McCain was a son of Admiral John S. McCain Jr. and grandson of Admiral John S. McCain Sr. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1958 and ... > [@](#): > > John McCain’s capture and subsequent imprisonment began on October 26, 1967. He was flying his 23rd bombing mission over North Vietnam when his A-4E Skyhawk was shot down by a missile over Hanoi.[34][35] McCain fractured both arms and a leg ejecting from the aircraft,[36] and nearly drowned when he parachuted into Trúc Bạch Lake.[34] Some North Vietnamese pulled him ashore, then others crushed his shoulder with a rifle butt and bayoneted him.[34] McCain was then transported to Hanoi’s main Hỏa Lò Prison, nicknamed the “Hanoi Hilton”.[35] > > Although McCain was badly wounded, his captors refused to treat his injuries, beating and interrogating him to get information; he was given medical care only when the North Vietnamese discovered that his father was a top admiral.[37] His status as a prisoner of war (POW) made the front pages of major newspapers. ---
**Author:** ![wevets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@wevets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wevets)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-enemy-soldiers-nice-to-eachother-on-ww1-ww2/691638/35 "2014-06-26T16:13:13Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > The earlier link to the Rüsselsheim massacre reminded me John McCain. He bailed out of his plane over N Viet Nam and was badly beaten by villagers. I misread this as: He bailed out of his plane over N Viet Nam and was badly **eaten** by villagers. The zombie wars will never seem the same to me. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-enemy-soldiers-nice-to-eachother-on-ww1-ww2/691638/36 "2014-06-26T16:35:39Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > One almost forgotten war hero from WWII was Guy Gabaldon. He was a Mexican-American from East LA who was partially raised by a Japanese family. He joined the Marines and later used his knowledge of the language to convince Japanese soldiers to surrender. On Saipan he would usually go out alone and convince soldiers they would be treated well. He was known as the Pied Piper of Saipan. Between Saipan and Tinian he was credited with bringing in 1,500 POWs. He was recommended for the Medal of Honor but received the Navy Cross for his actions. See also: [Hell to Eternity - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell_to_Eternity) ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a8b319/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_wuzzy)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-enemy-soldiers-nice-to-eachother-on-ww1-ww2/691638/37 "2014-06-26T16:58:11Z")
I think a lot depends on how close to the action the captured enemy soldier is. Minutes after(or during) the heat of battle then soldiers were often killed by the enemy even if captured. The further captured soldiers got passed behind the front line then the greater their chance of not being summarily shot. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-enemy-soldiers-nice-to-eachother-on-ww1-ww2/691638/38 "2014-06-26T17:08:52Z")
And a Brit soldier did not kill Hitler during WWI > **[Henry Tandey spared wounded Adolf Hitler's life in First World War - and...](https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/real-life-stories/henry-tandey-vc-man-who-3009915)** > > The future Victoria Cross winner's moment of compassion for a fellow human being unwittingly unleashed a monster on the world ---
**Author:** ![ZPG\_Zealot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e47c2d/32.png) [@ZPG\_Zealot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZPG_Zealot)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-enemy-soldiers-nice-to-eachother-on-ww1-ww2/691638/39 "2014-06-26T17:32:18Z")
According to my elderly relatives who fought with the Partisans in what was then Yugoslavia, there were Partisan companies, particularly in Montenegro that if time permitted would offer confession, last rites, and even conversion to captured enemy soldiers before executing them. I have always considered that somehow honorable. ---
**Author:** ![obbn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d6d6ee/32.png) [@obbn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obbn)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-enemy-soldiers-nice-to-eachother-on-ww1-ww2/691638/40 "2014-06-26T17:38:17Z")
> [@ALOHA\_HATER](#): > > What? This sounds extremely made up. That was \*commonI] Common enough;) to be quoted by veterans as a reason for their hate of the Japanese. I’ve read accounts of this happening from multiple sources. I’ve also read that Japanese soldiers would cut off a dead American soldier’s penis and stick it in their mouths. Also numerous accounts of Americans finding dead American soldiers at Japanese camps that had been striped of their skin, internal organs like the liver missing. The Japanese were a brutal enemy and while payback by American soldiers doesn’t make it right, it’s certainly understandable. And while I haven’t bookmarked cites, if you wish to verify my claims it shouldn’t be too difficult to do. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-enemy-soldiers-nice-to-eachother-on-ww1-ww2/691638.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-enemy-soldiers-nice-to-eachother-on-ww1-ww2/691638.md?page=3)