The situation of Prisoners of war in World War I in Germany is an aspect of the conflict little covered by historical research. However, the number of soldiers imprisoned reached a little over seven million[1] for all the belligerents, of whom around 2,400,000[2] were held by Germany.
Starting in 1915, the German authorities put in place a system of camps, nearly three hundred in all, and did not hesitate to resort to denutrition, punishments and psychological mobbing; incarceration was also combined with methodical exploitation of the prisoners. This prefigured the systematic use of prison camps on a grand scale during the 20th century.
However, the captivity organised by the German military authorities also contributed to creating exchanges among peoples and led a number of prisoners to reflect on their involvement in the war and relation with their homeland.
- ^ Jochen Oltmer estimates a figure between 8 and 9 million, in Oltmer (2006), p. 11.
- ^ Hinz (2006), after Doegen, p. 238.