War is an inevitable phenomenon in human history, which has brought countless sufferings and disasters to mankind, and has also created countless heroes and legends. In war, in addition to death and maiming, there is also a possible outcome, and that is to become a prisoner of war. Prisoners of war are soldiers or civilians who have been captured by the enemy, and their fate and value have been expressed differently in different eras and cultures.
In ancient times, prisoners of war were often seen as part of the spoils of war, deprived of their personal liberty and dignity, and their life and death depended entirely on the will of the captive party. In general, ancient prisoners of war were disposed of in several categories. Male prisoners of war, if they were old, weak, sick or disabled, or if they were threatening generals or nobles, they were often directly executed as a demonstration of deterrence and revenge. If they were young and strong soldiers, they would be forced to do hard labor, performing all kinds of dangerous and hard labor, such as building city walls, digging canals, building mausoleums, etc. Their living conditions are extremely harsh, and hunger and disease are common causes of death. For female prisoners of war, their suffering was even more tragic, they would be divided into beautiful and ugly, the beautiful would be assigned to the captive soldiers as slaves or concubines, and would be subjected to all kinds of insults and abuses, and the ugly would be abandoned or killed without any humane treatment. This kind of cruel treatment of prisoners of war occurred in various civilizations in ancient times, such as ancient Egypt, ancient Babylon, ancient Rome, ancient China, etc.
In modern times, with the progress of human civilization and the formulation of international law, the status and rights of prisoners of war have been improved to a certain extent, and they are no longer regarded as trophies, but as victims of war, and should be treated and protected humanely. During World War I and World War II, countries signed the Geneva Conventions, which stipulate the basic rights of prisoners of war, such as freedom from violence or threat, forced labor, food and medical care, discrimination or humiliation, and freedom of belief. Prisoners of war also have the right to maintain contact with their families and the International Red Cross, and to be released or exchanged after the war. Of course, these regulations are not complied with by all countries, and some countries still brutally abuse and ** prisoners of war, such as Japanese prisoners of war against China and Southeast Asia, German prisoners of war against the Soviet Union, Soviet prisoners of war against Japan, etc. The tragic fate of these prisoners of war has become an eternal scar in human history. In modern times, the value of prisoners of war is reflected not only in their human rights and dignity, but also in their political and military roles.
In some ideologically opposed wars, prisoners of war often became the object of propaganda and contention, such as in the Korean War and the Vietnam War, both the United States and communist countries tried to educate and reform prisoners of war to make them change their positions and ideas in order to serve their own political goals. For example, in China's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, some Japanese prisoners of war chose to join the Communist Party of China and became anti-Japanese fighters after receiving preferential treatment and education from the Eighth Route Army. For example, in the Chinese Liberation War, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) made a large number of prisoners of war voluntarily join the PLA through its political work on the Kuomintang POWs, thus expanding the size and strength of the PLA. In some regional conflicts and terrorist wars, prisoners of war are also bargaining chips for negotiation and exchange, such as in the Middle East and Africa, some terrorist organizations and armed forces will kidnap some ** soldiers or foreigners as prisoners of war, in order to demand the release of their companions, or to obtain ransom and materials.
In short, prisoners of war are the products of war, their fate and value change with the changes of times and culture, they are both victims of war and participants in war, they are both tools of war and influencers of war, and their stories are part of human history and deserve our attention and reflection.