Disarmed Enemy Forces

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Disarmed Enemy Forces was a designation both for soldiers who surrendered to an adversary after hostilities ended and for those previously surrendered POWs who were held in camps in occupied German territory at that time. It was most referenced by Dwight D. Eisenhower's redesignation of POW's in post World War II occupied Germany.^[1] The purpose of the designation was to circumvent the 1929 Geneva Convention, Relative to the treatment of prisoners of war. The prisoners were redesignated as POWs in March 1946. The wording of the 1949 Third Geneva Convention was intentionally altered from that of the 1929 convention so that soldiers who "fall into the power" of the enemy are now protected as well as those taken prisoner in the course of fighting.^[2]

[edit] See also

• Debellatio
• Eisenhower and German POWs
• Surrendered Enemy Personnel
• Japanese Surrendered Personnel
• Prisoner of War
• Combatant
• Unlawful combatant
• Laws of war
• Prisoner-of-war camp

[edit] External links

• Ike's Revenge? Time Magazine Monday, Oct. 2, 1989

[edit] Footnotes

1. ^ ICRC Commentaries on the Convention (III) relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War Article 5 "One category of military personnel which was refused the advantages of the Convention in the course of the Second World War comprised German and Japanese troops who fell into enemy hands on the capitulation of their countries in 1945 (6). The German capitulation was both political, involving the dissolution of the Government, and military, whereas the Japanese capitulation was only military. Moreover, the situation was different since Germany was a party to the 1929 Convention and Japan was not. Nevertheless, the German and Japanese troops were considered as surrendered enemy personnel and were deprived of the protection provided by the 1929 Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War. The Allied authorities took the view that unconditional surrender amounted to giving a free hand to the Detaining Powers as to the treatment they might give to military personnel who fell into their hands following the capitulation. In fact, these men were frequently in a very different situation from that of their comrades who had been taken prisoner during the hostilities, since very often they had not even gone into [p.76] action against the enemy. Although on the whole the treatment given to surrendered enemy personnel was fairly favourable, it presented certain disadvantages: prisoners in this category had their personal property impounded without any receipt being given; they had no spokesman to represent them before the Detaining Power; officers received no pay and other ranks, although compelled to work, got no wages; in any penal proceedings they had the benefit of none of the guarantees provided by the Convention. Most important of all, these men had no legal status and were at the entire mercy of the victor. Fortunately, they were well treated but this is no reason to overlook the fact that they were deprived of any status and all guarantees."
2. ^ ICRC Commentaries on the Convention (III) relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War Article 5 "Under the present provision, the Convention applies to persons who "fall into the power" of the enemy. This term is also used in the opening sentence of Article 4, replacing the expression "captured" which was used in the 1929 Convention (Article 1). It indicates clearly that the treatment laid down by the Convention is applicable not only to military personnel taken prisoner in the course of fighting, but also to those who fall into the hands of the adversary following surrender or mass capitulation."