Handcuffed POWs

[handtohand22]

Just finished reading 'Prisoner of War' by Charles Rollings.

He comments that after Allied commandos killed German soldiers on Sark 7 October 1942, who had their hands tied behind their back (Page 287), German reprisals took the form of handcuffing POWs for months at a time.

I remembered reading a conflicting thread on this site about D Day where a Scottish unit was alleged to have done the same thing to German troops captured on the advance. Again, German reprisals took the form of handcuffing POWs.

Can anyone clear this point up for me or locate the thread, Please.

[NickFenton]

In the back of my mind (somewhat fuddled most of the time, l know) l have the recollection that the handcuffing of POW's was as a reprisal for something that happened in Canada, but l am sure this is just one of many reasons given.

Nick

[von Poop]

A lot on Sark & handcuffs here H2H:
uboat.net - Articles

On the Canadians:

For a while after the unsuccessful Dieppe landing British PoWs were handcuffed, apparently in retaliation for the use of handcuffs on German prisoners by the Canadian troops bringing them back to the UK.

BBC - WW2 People's War - AN ARTIST IN PRISON CAMP

& a bit more detail here:
Prisoners of War - www.canadiansoldiers.com

Nothing specifically D-Day related has turned up yet though.

Cheers,
Adam.

[Harry Ree]

I think this happened only after the Dieppe raid with German accusation that German POWs had been been handcuffed.German retaliation was to handcuff Canadian POWs held in Germany during the day.I do remember reading that the POWs extended the task of handcuffing and de-handcuffing which was a lengthy task for the German guards so much so that it was quickly dropped.Apparently some of the POWs found that they could slip the handcuffs and to extend the guard's boring task,rejoined the queue to be handcuffed again and again.

I cannot reference the source but when I do, I will revisit this post.

[Peter Clare]

After the failed raid at Dieppe on 19 August 1942, the Germans claimed to have found evidence of the ill-treatment of German prisoners, and also of atrocities committed during a Commando raid on Sark on 4 October 1942.

It was therefore decreed that with effect from noon on 8 October 1942 all the officers and men at Oflag VIIB (Eichstatt) who had been captured at Dieppe were to have their hands tied, just as the German victims had been at Dieppe and Sark. The wrists of 107 officers and twenty other ranks were bound with rope for twelve hours at a time.

One of the senior Canadian officers captured at Dieppe was Lieutenant-Colonel R.R. Labatt:

"We were in shackles for one year, 44 days and 45 minutes. At first we were bound with rope, then graduated to handcuffs and later to shackles - a steel band round each wrist and about 18 inches of chain between. The Germans shackled us at eight in the morning and unshackled us at nine at night"

At Stalag VIIIB on 9 October some 1500 British and Canadians, irrespective it would seem of whether or not they had been captured at Dieppe, also had their wrists tied with string from Red Cross parcels. Four days later a further 800 were similarly bound. So tightly was the string drawn in some cases that the circulation of blood to the hands was cut off, causing some harm. After strong protests the string was replaced by shackles and handcuffs, but so expert were some of the prisoners at lock picking (the key from a sardine tin was the favorite tool) that within seconds the restraint had been removed. Thereafter the shackling became a nuisance rather that a punishment and it officially ended on 22 November 1942.

'Footprints On The Sands Of Time' Oliver Clutton-Brock.

[Ron Goldstein]

Interesting thread here and It reminded me of something I'd read in the autobiography of "Loopy" Kennard of the 4th QOH.
After having been taken prisoner in Crete in 1940 he was still in a POW camp after the raid on Dieppe and as a result the camp was overflowing with survivors of that raid, mainly Canadians.
"Loopy" tells that machine guns were brought into the camp and set up and he goes on to say.
"The Commandant shouted that German prisoners had been found on the beaches of Dieppe wearing handcuffs and in view of this the German High Command had ordered that 200 Allied prisoners should be handcuffed forthwith."
He also reports that "someone soon made a key and then many more and the handcuffs went on and off as we pleased"

[NickFenton]

Well l was close. Right nationality, wrong country.

Nick

[handtohand22]

Thanks for all the feed back, folks, most appreciated. I am interviewing a war veteran called Bill Balmer, Royal Marine, who spent five years as a POW at Stalag viiib. I have the rough draft of my interviews on the link below.

He thought that the POWs in the next compound to him were escapees because they were always shackled up.

My Service Life Royal Marine 1938 - 1953

http://coleraine-battery.tripod.com The Coleraine Battery 1939 - 1945

The Last Coleraine Militia The Last Coleraine Militia 1970 - 2003

[Lucy Stag]

Isn't there anything in the Geneva/Haig convention, whatever against this? Not that the rules weren't broken, I am just curious.

[the_historian]

I have some academic articles on this subject. If anyone's interested, pm me and I'll scan them for you.