Geneva convention & POWs

[Robches]

I'm not sure about NCOs, but it's true that officers were housed seperately from other ranks, and were not permitted to work. I think it was because they had so much time on their hands that they concocted escape attempts, if only to stop themselves going barmy.

[frankthring]

I know and chuckle every time I read much of the bgafd which has more
than its fair share of anti-royalty, anti-establishment types...
Can you guys try and understand that in the armed services being an officer
has certain rewards and certain responsibilities. One of these relates to
manual work; at the same time officers (in WW 2) tried very hard to escape.
I would add that German officers interned in UK camps also tried to escape.

In the movie THE GREAT ESCAPE the fair-minded German commandant is
played by the excellent actor Hannes Messemer (who turns up in other
war films of the period too). It might interest you to know that Messemer,
a Luftwaffe ace in WWII escaped from a Russian camp for prisoners and
walked hundreds of miles out of Russia to get back into Nazi -occupied
Europe ie a genuine hero ! Also Til Kiwe, who plays the guard who finds
the 2nd escape tunnel, was also in a prison camp for much of the war,
transported by Americans to Arizona !!