The Numbers
The total death rate for POWs in WWII can be best estimated with the following statistics:
% of POWs that Died
Soviet POWs held by Germans 57.5%
German POWs held by Yugoslavs 41.2%
German POWs held by Soviets 35.8%
American POWs held by Japanese 33.0%
German POWs held by Eastern Europeans 32.9%
British POWs held by Japanese 24.8%
German POWs held by Czechoslovaks 5.0%
British POWs held by Germans 3.5%
German POWs held by French 2.58%
German POWs held by Americans 0.15%
German POWs held by British 0.03%
Do note that since prisoners of war were commonly buried in obscure areas, burned, disposed of in bodies of water, or commonly just decayed in the elements, it's almost impossible to pinpoint a relative approximation of POW deaths.
% of POWs that Died
Soviet POWs held by Germans 57.5%
German POWs held by Yugoslavs 41.2%
German POWs held by Soviets 35.8%
American POWs held by Japanese 33.0%
German POWs held by Eastern Europeans 32.9%
British POWs held by Japanese 24.8%
German POWs held by Czechoslovaks 5.0%
British POWs held by Germans 3.5%
German POWs held by French 2.58%
German POWs held by Americans 0.15%
German POWs held by British 0.03%
Do note that since prisoners of war were commonly buried in obscure areas, burned, disposed of in bodies of water, or commonly just decayed in the elements, it's almost impossible to pinpoint a relative approximation of POW deaths.
The Treatment
After going through the statistics above, it's evident that the Axis Powers either sought no medical attention to the prisoners they captured or had intentionally murdered around more than 25% of the prisoners. By analyzing the actions of the leaders of those countries at the time, it's easier to learn the perspective of governing officers and officials.
Although some may think Adolf Hitler had one of the more significant impacts on POW camps because of his heavy involvement in concentration camps, Emperor Hirohito takes the spotlight in terms of POW maltreatment. Many historians place the responsibility of Japanese military forces' maltreatment of POWs on Hirohito because of his encouragement of slave labor, torture, and death. As there is no direct evidence to show that Hirohito encouraged such actions, his own actions rather indicate that there was no restriction to which Hirohito would go with mistreating his prisoners. One of these examples includes the directive he had ordered on August 5, 1937, where the constraints of international law (the Geneva Convention) on the treatment of Chinese prisoners was removed, thus giving way to the increase in death rate of Chinese POWs. However, what historians pay more attention to is Hirohito's establishment of special military units designed to perform inhumane experiments on POWs. The infamous Unit 731, headed by Shiro Ishii, was responsible for heinous experiments including the pursuit of new biological and germ warfare by injecting plagues and viruses into prisoners and amputation without anesthesia of the limbs of a prisoner, all excluding the head and torso (which would later be subjected to pathogens once again).
Although some may think Adolf Hitler had one of the more significant impacts on POW camps because of his heavy involvement in concentration camps, Emperor Hirohito takes the spotlight in terms of POW maltreatment. Many historians place the responsibility of Japanese military forces' maltreatment of POWs on Hirohito because of his encouragement of slave labor, torture, and death. As there is no direct evidence to show that Hirohito encouraged such actions, his own actions rather indicate that there was no restriction to which Hirohito would go with mistreating his prisoners. One of these examples includes the directive he had ordered on August 5, 1937, where the constraints of international law (the Geneva Convention) on the treatment of Chinese prisoners was removed, thus giving way to the increase in death rate of Chinese POWs. However, what historians pay more attention to is Hirohito's establishment of special military units designed to perform inhumane experiments on POWs. The infamous Unit 731, headed by Shiro Ishii, was responsible for heinous experiments including the pursuit of new biological and germ warfare by injecting plagues and viruses into prisoners and amputation without anesthesia of the limbs of a prisoner, all excluding the head and torso (which would later be subjected to pathogens once again).
Adolf Hitler does have some influence on the mistreatment of some POWs, however he did abide by the regulations of the Geneva Convention. For the Allied Powers of the United States, Great Britain and France, Hitler was accommodating to the international law, with the exception that sufficient food wasn't always a priority for the prisoners. A prime example of Hitler's influence on the maltreatment of POWs was when Germany took a more deliberate mistreatment of Soviet Prisoners of War that led to more than 3 million Soviet POWs deaths while in Nazi custody. Soviet prisoners were forced to live in holes dug by themselves, subjected to regular beatings and abuse, and malnourished due to the insufficient supply of both water and food. Even when the International Red Cross offered its services to medically treat the prisoners in 1941 - 1942, Hitler refused, setting the tone for the long stage of Soviet mistreatment. The Commissar Order was another of orders supported by Hitler from the German High Command before the invasion of the Soviet Union. This order demanded the execution of any Soviet military personnel or political commissar identified among captured troops, along with anyone identifiable with Bolshevik ideals. As the war progressed to Operation Barbarossa, Hitler clearly had a plan against the Soviets.