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68-679: Yahara may refer to: Hiromichi Yahara (1902-1981), an Imperial Japanese Army officer Mikio Yahara (b. 1947), a Japanese karate expert and instructor The Yahara River in Wisconsin in the United States The USS Yahara , a gasoline tanker that served in the United States Navy from 1944 to 1946 Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with

136-505: A lazaret and prisoner camp for around 6,000 POWs who lived in the burial vaults and used the coffins for firewood. Food was scarce and prisoners resorted to eating horses, cats, dogs or even human flesh. The bad conditions inside the graveyard contributed to a city-wide epidemic after the battle. The extensive period of conflict during the American Revolutionary War and Napoleonic Wars (1793–1815), followed by

204-546: A prisoner of war with privileges due to his rank as having been the third highest ranked Japanese officer on the island, he was transferred to 10th Army headquarters where he was interrogated. Following the end of the war Yahara was repatriated back home to Japan in January 1946. After the war Yahara wrote his account of the battle. His Okinawa Kessen ( Decisive Battle for Okinawa ), first published in Japanese in 1973,

272-418: A war of aggression , murder , ill treatment, and deportation of individuals, and genocide during World War II. Most were executed or sentenced to life in prison for their crimes. The United States Military Code of Conduct was promulgated in 1955 via Executive Order 10631 under President Dwight D. Eisenhower to serve as a moral code for United States service members who have been taken prisoner. It

340-491: A captured officer surrendered his sword and gave his word as a gentleman in exchange for privileges. If he swore not to escape, he could gain better accommodations and the freedom of the prison. If he swore to cease hostilities against the nation who hold him captive, he could be repatriated or exchanged but could not serve against his former captors in a military capacity. Early historical narratives of captured European settlers, including perspectives of literate women captured by

408-481: A death rate of 25% (2,963), nearly equalled that of Andersonville. During the 19th century , there were increased efforts to improve the treatment and processing of prisoners. As a result of these emerging conventions, a number of international conferences were held, starting with the Brussels Conference of 1874, with nations agreeing that it was necessary to prevent inhumane treatment of prisoners and

476-644: A large part of human history, prisoners of war would most often be either slaughtered or enslaved . Early Roman gladiators could be prisoners of war, categorised according to their ethnic roots as Samnites , Thracians , and Gauls ( Galli ). Homer's Iliad describes Trojan and Greek soldiers offering rewards of wealth to opposing forces who have defeated them on the battlefield in exchange for mercy, but their offers are not always accepted; see Lycaon for example. Typically, victors made little distinction between enemy combatants and enemy civilians, although they were more likely to spare women and children. Sometimes

544-458: A large reception camp was established at Dover capable of housing 40,000 men, which could later be used for demobilisation . On 13 December 1918, the armistice was extended and the Allies reported that by 9 December 264,000 prisoners had been repatriated. A very large number of these had been released en masse and sent across Allied lines without any food or shelter. This created difficulties for

612-544: A large unit surrendered all its men. At Tannenberg 92,000 Russians surrendered during the battle. When the besieged garrison of Kaunas surrendered in 1915, 20,000 Russians became prisoners. Over half the Russian losses were prisoners as a proportion of those captured, wounded or killed. About 3.3 million men became prisoners. The German Empire held 2.5 million prisoners; Russia held 2.9 million, and Britain and France held about 720,000, mostly gained in

680-440: A quality at least equal to that available to locals. The senior officer from each quadrangle was permitted to inspect the food as it was delivered to the prison to ensure it was of sufficient quality. Despite the generous supply and quality of food, some prisoners died of starvation after gambling away their rations. Most of the men held in the prison were low-ranking soldiers and sailors, including midshipmen and junior officers, with

748-530: A quarter of the over 2 million POWs held there died. Nearly 375,000 of the 500,000 Austro-Hungarian prisoners of war taken by Russians perished in Siberia from smallpox and typhus . In Germany, food was short, but only 5 per cent died. The Ottoman Empire often treated prisoners of war poorly . Some 11,800 British soldiers, most from the British Indian Army , became prisoners after

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816-457: A ransom. During his lifetime ( c.  570 – 632), Muhammad made it the responsibility of the Islamic government to provide food and clothing, on a reasonable basis, to captives, regardless of their religion; however, if the prisoners were in the custody of a person, then the responsibility was on the individual. On certain occasions where Muhammad felt the enemy had broken a treaty with

884-425: A report on the circumstances of their capture and to ensure that they had done all they could to avoid capture. Each returning officer and man was given a message from King George V , written in his own hand and reproduced on a lithograph. The Queen joins me in welcoming you on your release from the miseries & hardships, which you have endured with so much patience and courage. During these many months of trial,

952-578: A small number of privateers . About 100 senior officers and some civilians "of good social standing", mainly passengers on captured ships and the wives of some officers, were given parole outside the prison, mainly in Peterborough although some further afield. They were afforded the courtesy of their rank within English society. During the Battle of Leipzig both sides used the city's cemetery as

1020-746: Is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict . The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war in custody for a range of legitimate and illegitimate reasons, such as isolating them from the enemy combatants still in the field (releasing and repatriating them in an orderly manner after hostilities), demonstrating military victory, punishing them, prosecuting them for war crimes , exploiting them for their labour , recruiting or even conscripting them as their own combatants, collecting military and political intelligence from them, or indoctrinating them in new political or religious beliefs. For

1088-652: Is guided by Additional Protocol II , but insurgents are often treated as traitors , terrorists or criminals by government forces and are sometimes executed on spot or tortured. However, in the American Civil War , both sides treated captured troops as POWs presumably out of reciprocity , although the Union regarded Confederate personnel as separatist rebels. However, guerrillas and other irregular combatants generally cannot expect to receive benefits from both civilian and military status simultaneously. Under

1156-485: The Anglo-American War of 1812 , led to the emergence of a cartel system for the exchange of prisoners , even while the belligerents were at war. A cartel was usually arranged by the respective armed service for the exchange of like-ranked personnel. The aim was to achieve a reduction in the number of prisoners held, while at the same time alleviating shortages of skilled personnel in the home country. At

1224-581: The Army War College , was assigned to Okinawa prior to the anticipated American invasion to organize its pre-invasion strategy. His recommended strategy for fighting the American invaders was to continue to tie up the American military as long as possible in a war of attrition (jikyūsen, 持久戦), so that the rumored American invasion of Kyūshū , Japan , would be delayed, thereby allowing Kyushu defenders more time to better prepare their defenses. Once

1292-862: The Czechoslovak Legion of Czechoslovak prisoners (from the Austro-Hungarian army) who were released and armed to fight on the side of the Entente, who briefly served as a military and diplomatic force during the Russian Civil War . At the end of the war in 1918 there were believed to be 140,000 British prisoners of war in Germany, including thousands of internees held in neutral Switzerland. The first British prisoners were released and reached Calais on 15 November. Plans were made for them to be sent via Dunkirk to Dover and

1360-588: The Dix–Hill Cartel was suspended, Confederate officials approached Union General Benjamin Butler, Union Commissioner of Exchange, about resuming the cartel and including the black prisoners. Butler contacted Grant for guidance on the issue, and Grant responded to Butler on 18 August 1864 with his now famous statement. He rejected the offer, stating in essence, that the Union could afford to leave their men in captivity,

1428-467: The Roman Empire , who were held in his town under appalling conditions and destined for a life of slavery, took the initiative in ransoming them by selling his church's precious gold and silver vessels and letting them return to their country. For this he was eventually canonised . According to legend, during Childeric 's siege and blockade of Paris in 464 the nun Geneviève (later canonised as

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1496-494: The Third Geneva Convention , a combatant must be part of a chain of command , wear a "fixed distinctive marking, visible from a distance", bear arms openly, and have conducted military operations according to the laws and customs of war . (The Convention recognises a few other groups as well, such as "[i]nhabitants of a non-occupied territory, who on the approach of the enemy spontaneously take up arms to resist

1564-651: The Third Geneva Convention , prisoners of war (POW) must be: In addition, if wounded or sick on the battlefield, the prisoner will receive help from the International Committee of the Red Cross. When a country is responsible for breaches of prisoner of war rights, those accountable will be punished accordingly. An example of this is the Nuremberg and Tokyo Trials . German and Japanese military commanders were prosecuted for preparing and initiating

1632-403: The indigenous peoples of North America , exist in some number. The writings of Mary Rowlandson , captured in the chaotic fighting of King Philip's War , are an example. Such narratives enjoyed some popularity, spawning a genre of the captivity narrative , and had lasting influence on the body of early American literature, most notably through the legacy of James Fenimore Cooper 's The Last of

1700-432: The 11th and 12th centuries. Noblemen could hope to be ransomed ; their families would have to send to their captors large sums of wealth commensurate with the social status of the captive. Feudal Japan had no custom of ransoming prisoners of war, who could expect for the most part summary execution. In the 13th century the expanding Mongol Empire famously distinguished between cities or towns that surrendered (where

1768-704: The 13th-century Albigensian Crusade in Languedoc and the Northern Crusades in the Baltic region . When asked by a Crusader how to distinguish between the Catholics and Cathars following the projected capture (1209) of the city of Béziers , the papal legate Arnaud Amalric allegedly replied, " Kill them all, God will know His own ". Likewise, the inhabitants of conquered cities were frequently massacred during Christians' Crusades against Muslims in

1836-693: The 1949 Geneva Conventions , POWs acquires the status of protected persons , meaning it is a war crime by the detaining power to deprive the rights afforded to them by the Third Convention's provisions. Article 17 of the Third Geneva Convention states that POWs can only be required to give their name , date of birth , rank and service number (if applicable). The ICRC has a special role to play, with regards to international humanitarian law , in restoring and maintaining family contact in times of war , in particular concerning

1904-535: The 63rd Regiment. 1930 – Assigned to Personnel Department of the War Ministry. 1933 – Sent to the United States as an exchange officer. Traveled Wilmington, Delaware , Boston, Massachusetts , Washington, D.C. Attached to the 8th Infantry Regiment for six months at Fort Moultrie . 1935 – Returned to Personnel Department, War Ministry. 1937 – Appointed as instructor ( strategy and tactics ) at

1972-614: The Army War College. Spent three months in China as staff officer with the 2nd Army (N. China Expeditionary Force). 1938 – Returned to Army War College as instructor. 1940 – September: assigned as Japanese agent to Siam , Burma , Malaya . November–December: reported to General Staff as expert on southeast Asia . 1941 – July: to Bangkok as Assistant Military Attaché . November 15: received secret orders to staff of 15th Army ( Saigon ). Remained at Bangkok and participated in

2040-682: The Confederacy could not. After that about 56,000 of the 409,000 POWs died in prisons during the American Civil War , accounting for nearly 10% of the conflict's fatalities. Of the 45,000 Union prisoners of war confined in Camp Sumter , located near Andersonville, Georgia , 13,000 (28%) died. At Camp Douglas in Chicago, Illinois, 10% of its Confederate prisoners died during one cold winter month; and Elmira Prison in New York state, with

2108-857: The Jordan Valley. Australian Flying Corps pilots and observers were captured in the Sinai Peninsula, Palestine and the Levant. One third of all Australian prisoners were captured on Gallipoli including the crew of the submarine AE2 which made a passage through the Dardanelles in 1915. Forced marches and crowded railway journeys preceded years in camps where disease, poor diet and inadequate medical facilities prevailed. About 25 per cent of other ranks died, many from malnutrition, while only one officer died. The most curious case came in Russia where

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2176-686: The Mohicans . Some Native Americans continued to capture Europeans and use them both as labourers and bargaining chips into the 19th century; see for example John R. Jewitt , a sailor who wrote a memoir about his years as a captive of the Nootka people on the Pacific Northwest coast from 1802 to 1805. The earliest known purpose-built prisoner-of-war camp was established at Norman Cross in Huntingdonshire, England in 1797 to house

2244-542: The Muslims he endorsed the mass execution of male prisoners who participated in battles, as in the case of the Banu Qurayza in 627. The Muslims divided up the females and children of those executed as ghanima (spoils of war). In Europe, the treatment of prisoners of war became increasingly centralised, in the time period between the 16th and late 18th century. Whereas prisoners of war had previously been regarded as

2312-615: The Okinawa invasion started, Yahara recommended holding back Japanese forces for as long as possible and using them primarily in a defensive posture, rather than an aggressive one. However, Chief of Staff of the Army, Lieutenant General Isamu Cho , soon became frustrated by the relative inaction of the battlefield, and recommended banzai charges at the Americans. Yahara disagreed with this recommendation, but went along with it. But when it

2380-693: The Pentagon which has a "POW/Missing Personnel Office" and awards the Prisoner of War Medal . During World War I, about eight million men surrendered and were held in POW camps until the war ended. All nations pledged to follow the Hague rules on fair treatment of prisoners of war, and in general the POWs had a much higher survival rate than their peers who were not captured. Individual surrenders were uncommon; usually

2448-801: The Soviet Union's refusal to sign the Geneva Convention as a reason for not providing the necessities of life to Soviet POWs; and the Soviets also used Axis prisoners as forced labour. The Germans also routinely executed Allied commandos captured behind German lines per the Commando Order . To be entitled to prisoner-of-war status, captured persons must be lawful combatants entitled to combatant's privilege—which gives them immunity from punishment for crimes constituting lawful acts of war such as killing enemy combatants . To qualify under

2516-540: The Yakibu Civilian Compound. (Source: U.S. Tenth Army Interrogation Report #28, dated 6 August 1945.) 1981 – Died. “Quiet and unassuming, yet possessed of a keen mind and a fine discernment, Colonel Yahara is, from all reports, an eminently capable officer, described by some POWs as the 'brains' of the 32nd Army.” For more information on Yahara, see Yahara biographer Takeshi Inagaki's book: Prisoner of war A prisoner of war ( POW )

2584-576: The baggage and equipment of the army, and because the French were attacking again and Henry was afraid that they would break through and free the prisoners who would rejoin the fight against the English. In the later Middle Ages a number of religious wars aimed to not only defeat but also to eliminate enemies. Authorities in Christian Europe often considered the extermination of heretics and heathens desirable. Examples of such wars include

2652-440: The battle of Okinawa. Bear the temporary shame but endure it. This is an order from your army commander." Cho instructed Yahara to make his way through the American lines to northern Okinawa and report to Tokyo on what had happened, and gave him 500 yen for the journey. After the two generals had committed suicide, Yahara hid with several other staff officers in a small cave whose entrance they had blocked with stone and waited for

2720-420: The cave convinced the group to surrender. Yahara led them out and was mistakenly judged to be a Japanese English teacher. He was taken to a holding camp before being taken to a house on Chinen Peninsula which he shared with 30 other civilian refugees. He later joined a work detail before eventually three weeks after his escape from the 32nd Army headquarters his true identity was discovered by the U.S. military. Now

2788-452: The caves were lost, to "retreat and defend"—time after time—until there was no longer any room to retreat to. When Lieutenant General Cho and Lieutenant General Mitsuru Ushijima decided to commit ritualistic suicide in Mabuni caves, Yahara requested permission to commit seppuku alongside them, but Ushijima refused, telling him "If you die there will be no one left who knows the truth about

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2856-489: The city's patron saint) pleaded with the Frankish king for the welfare of prisoners of war and met with a favourable response. Later, Clovis I ( r.  481–511 ) liberated captives after Genevieve urged him to do so. King Henry V 's English army killed many French prisoners of war after the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. This was done in retaliation for the French killing of the boys and other non-combatants handling

2924-520: The criteria of Additional Protocol I. Therefore, they fall under the category of unlawful combatants , or more properly they are not combatants. Captured soldiers who do not get prisoner of war status are still protected like civilians under the Fourth Geneva Convention . The criteria are applied primarily to international armed conflicts. The application of prisoner of war status in non-international armed conflicts like civil wars

2992-417: The designation "Prisoner of War" for captured American personnel with "Missing-Captured". A January 2008 directive states that the reasoning behind this is since "Prisoner of War" is the international legal recognised status for such people there is no need for any individual country to follow suit. This change remains relatively unknown even among experts in the field and "Prisoner of War" remains widely used in

3060-457: The early rescue of our gallant Officers & Men from the cruelties of their captivity has been uppermost in our thoughts. We are thankful that this longed for day has arrived, & that back in the old Country you will be able once more to enjoy the happiness of a home & to see good days among those who anxiously look for your return. While the Allied prisoners were sent home at the end of

3128-470: The enemy (beyond identifying themselves, that is, "name, rank, serial number"), receiving special favours or parole, or otherwise providing their enemy captors aid and comfort. Since the Vietnam War , the official U.S. military term for enemy POWs is EPW (Enemy Prisoner of War). This name change was introduced in order to distinguish between enemy and U.S. captives. In 2000, the U.S. military replaced

3196-481: The exchange of prisoners would be carried out between warring states. Another such treaty was the 1648 Peace of Westphalia , which ended the Thirty Years' War . This treaty established the rule that prisoners of war should be released without ransom at the end of hostilities and that they should be allowed to return to their homelands. There also evolved the right of parole , French for "discourse", in which

3264-641: The five-month Siege of Kut , in Mesopotamia , in April 1916. Many were weak and starved when they surrendered and 4,250 died in captivity. During the Sinai and Palestine campaign 217 Australian and unknown numbers of British, New Zealand and Indian soldiers were captured by Ottoman forces. About 50 per cent of the Australian prisoners were light horsemen including 48 missing believed captured on 1 May 1918 in

3332-674: The increasing number of prisoners from the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars . The average prison population was about 5,500 men. The lowest number recorded was 3,300 in October 1804 and 6,272 on 10 April 1810 was the highest number of prisoners recorded in any official document. Norman Cross Prison was intended to be a model depot providing the most humane treatment of prisoners of war. The British government went to great lengths to provide food of

3400-454: The invading forces, without having had time to form themselves into regular armed units".) Thus, uniforms and badges are important in determining prisoner-of-war status under the Third Geneva Convention. Under Additional Protocol I , the requirement of a distinctive marking is no longer included. Francs-tireurs , militias , insurgents , terrorists , saboteurs , mercenaries , and spies generally do not qualify because they do not fulfill

3468-529: The negotiations for the peaceful occupation of Siam . Then participated in the Burma operation with the 15th Army. Became ill and returned to Japan . Again assigned to the War College as instructor. 1944 – 16 March: Assigned to Okinawa as advisor from Imperial Staff. 32nd Army Headquarters soon formed (March 22, 1944) and assigned as Senior Staff Officer. 1945 – July 15: captured by American military at

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3536-424: The opportunity to escape. After hearing American troops drilling into the rock above them they relocated to another cave before deciding to split up. Disguising himself as a civilian, he made his way down Mahuni Hill and eventually joined two other soldiers, the three of them joining a large group of approximately 50 civilians sheltering in a cave. The group was discovered by the Americans who following an air attack on

3604-600: The period just before the Armistice in 1918. The US held 48,000. The most dangerous moment for POWs was the act of surrender, when helpless soldiers were sometimes killed or mistakenly shot down. Once prisoners reached a POW camp conditions were better (and often much better than in World War II), thanks in part to the efforts of the International Red Cross and inspections by neutral nations. There

3672-541: The population was spared but required to support the conquering Mongol army) and those that resisted (in which case the city was ransacked and destroyed , and all the population killed). In Termez , on the Oxus : "all the people, both men and women, were driven out onto the plain, and divided in accordance with their usual custom, then they were all slain". The Aztecs warred constantly with neighbouring tribes and groups, aiming to collect live prisoners for sacrifice . For

3740-411: The private property of the captor, captured enemy soldiers became increasingly regarded as the property of the state. The European states strove to exert increasing control over all stages of captivity, from the question of who would be attributed the status of prisoner of war to their eventual release. The act of surrender was regulated so that it, ideally, should be legitimised by officers, who negotiated

3808-507: The purpose of a battle, if not of a war, was to capture women, a practice known as raptio ; the Rape of the Sabines involved, according to tradition, a large mass-abduction by the founders of Rome. Typically women had no rights , and were held legally as chattels . In the fourth century AD, Bishop Acacius of Amida , touched by the plight of Persian prisoners captured in a recent war with

3876-457: The re-consecration of Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlan in 1487, "between 10,000 and 80,400 persons" were sacrificed. During the early Muslim conquests of 622–750, Muslims routinely captured large numbers of prisoners. Aside from those who converted, most were ransomed or enslaved . Christians captured during the Crusades were usually either killed or sold into slavery if they could not pay

3944-424: The receiving Allies and many ex-prisoners died from exhaustion. The released POWs were met by cavalry troops and sent back through the lines in lorries to reception centres where they were refitted with boots and clothing and dispatched to the ports in trains. Upon arrival at the receiving camp the POWs were registered and "boarded" before being dispatched to their own homes. All commissioned officers had to write

4012-457: The right of prisoners of war and internees to send and receive letters and cards (Geneva Convention (GC) III, art. 71 and GC IV, art. 107). However, nations vary in their dedication to following these laws, and historically the treatment of POWs has varied greatly. During World War II, Imperial Japan and Nazi Germany (towards Soviet POWs and Western Allied commandos) were notorious for atrocities against prisoners of war. The German military used

4080-469: The start of the American Civil War a system of paroles operated. Captives agreed not to fight until they were officially exchanged. Meanwhile, they were held in camps run by their own army where they were paid but not allowed to perform any military duties. The system of exchanges collapsed in 1863 when the Confederacy refused to exchange black prisoners. In the late summer of 1864, a year after

4148-423: The surrender of their whole unit. Soldiers whose style of fighting did not conform to the battle line tactics of regular European armies, such as Cossacks and Croats , were often denied the status of prisoners of war. In line with this development the treatment of prisoners of war became increasingly regulated in international treaties, particularly in the form of the so-called cartel system, which regulated how

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4216-536: The title Yahara . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Yahara&oldid=1092821602 " Categories : Disambiguation pages Disambiguation pages with surname-holder lists Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Hiromichi Yahara Yahara, who had taught strategy at

4284-496: The treatment of prisoners of war in detail. These provisions were further expanded in the 1929 Geneva Convention on the Prisoners of War and were largely revised in the Third Geneva Convention in 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 his or her release or repatriation. Under

4352-475: The use of weapons causing unnecessary harm. Although no agreements were immediately ratified by the participating nations, work was continued that resulted in new conventions being adopted and becoming recognised as international law that specified that prisoners of war be treated humanely and diplomatically. Chapter II of the Annex to the 1907 Hague Convention IV – The Laws and Customs of War on Land covered

4420-589: Was an account of his first-hand experience directing Japanese operations on Okinawa during the invasion. He died in 1981. 1902 – Born. Son of a small country landowner in Tottori Prefecture (Japan). Won appointment to the Military Academy . 1923 – Graduated from Military Academy. Assigned to 54th Infantry Regiment. 1925 – Assigned to 63rd Infantry Regiment. 1926 – Entered Army War College. 1929 – Graduated from War College. Returned to

4488-455: Was clear that Cho's samurai -charge methods were not working, but, rather, causing huge numbers of casualties among the Japanese infantry, along with loss of territory, Cho relented and allowed Yahara to continue to make tactical and operational decisions. Yahara's method, since he did not have the firepower to fight the Americans directly in battle and knew that he could not possibly win, was to fight from caves as long as possible and then, once

4556-502: Was created primarily in response to the breakdown of leadership and organisation, specifically when U.S. forces were POWs during the Korean War . When a military member is taken prisoner, the Code of Conduct reminds them that the chain of command is still in effect (the highest ranking service member eligible for command, regardless of service branch, is in command), and requires them to support their leadership. The Code of Conduct also requires service members to resist giving information to

4624-403: Was much harsh treatment of POWs in Germany, as recorded by the American ambassador (prior to America's entry into the war), James W. Gerard, who published his findings in "My Four Years in Germany". Even worse conditions are reported in the book "Escape of a Princess Pat" by the Canadian George Pearson. It was particularly bad in Russia, where starvation was common for prisoners and civilians alike;

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