Description
Book SynopsisThis groundbreaking study provides the first in-depth examination of violence against First World War prisoners. It shows how the war radicalised captivity treatment in Britain, France and Germany and dramatically undermined international humanitarian law, and reveals how prisoners were often retained to labour directly for the armies of their captors.
Trade Review'Although it refers to several existing studies, Heather Jones's book, based upon a wide array of sources, goes far beyond them … Altogether, this study makes an important contribution to a long-neglected topic.' Michael Epkenhans, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
'This excellent work is based on extensive archival research.' The Times Literary Supplement
'Thanks to its impressive scope, the book promises to become a necessary read for students of the war and a go-to book on POWs more broadly speaking. For scholars of World War I, Jones's study will be critical for her contributions to the contextualization of wartime violence.' Caroline Shaw, Journal of British Studies
'… an important work that explores the dynamic relationships that drove Britain, France, and especially Germany to adopt increasingly harsh methods in dealing with military prisoners.' American Historical Review
Table of ContentsIntroduction; Part I. Propaganda Representations of Violence Against Prisoners: 1. Encountering the 'enemy': civilian violence towards prisoners of war in 1914; 2. Legitimate and illegitimate violence against prisoners: representations of atrocity, 1914–16; Part II. Violence and Prisoner of War Forced Labour: 3. The development of prisoner of war labour companies on the Western Front: the spring reprisals of 1917; 4. From discipline to retribution: violence in German prisoner of war labour companies in 1918; 5. Inevitable escalation? British and French treatment of forced prisoner labour, 1917–18; Part III. The End of Violence? Repatriation and Remembrance: 6. Contested homecomings: prisoner repatriation and the formation of memory, 1918–21; 7. La grande illusion: the interwar historicisation of violence against prisoners of war, 1922–39; Epilogue: the legacy of First World War captivity in 1939–45; Conclusion.
