‘Captured but not conquered’ at the National WWI Museum and Memorial
Calum Henderson explores how a new exhibition at the National WWI Museum and Memorial in Missouri is illuminating the experiences of prisoners of war.
captivity
This week: prisoners of war
Millions of us grew up on stories of bravery among prisoners of war in the Second World War. What is less well known is that brutal treatment of British POWs was a feature of the 1914-18 conflict too. In all, 171,720 Tommies and their officers were captured during the First World War on the Western Front – from where they were allocated to one of 170 camps, dotted throughout Germany.
The men behind the wire: British POWs in the First World War
Joseph O’Neill lifts the lid on a hidden story of POW maltreatment.