Handcuffed POWs

Discussion in 'Prisoners of War' started by handtohand22, Feb 10, 2008.

  1. handtohand22

    handtohand22 Senior Member

    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.
     
  2. NickFenton

    NickFenton Well-Known Member

    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
     
  3. von Poop

    von Poop Adaministrator Admin

  4. Harry Ree

    Harry Ree Very Senior Member

    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.
     
  5. Peter Clare

    Peter Clare Very Senior Member

    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.
     
  6. Ron Goldstein

    Ron Goldstein WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    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"
     
  7. NickFenton

    NickFenton Well-Known Member

    Well l was close. Right nationality, wrong country.

    Nick
     
  8. handtohand22

    handtohand22 Senior Member

    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
     
  9. Lucy Stag

    Lucy Stag Senior Member

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

    GRW Pillboxologist

    I have some academic articles on this subject. If anyone's interested, pm me and I'll scan them for you.
     
  11. Memories of Bill Turner, Royal Fusiliers, 9th Battalion

    I was captured at Battapaglia on the Salerno landing in Italy, September 9th 1943. Prisoners were transported to Stalag 7A at Munich. Then two weeks later taken by train across to Stalag 8B, not far from Breslau. The camp was called Lamsdorf and it was not far from the River Nysa. Brieg was somewhere nearby. After being photographed, fingerprinted and registered, I was now Kriegs gefangener 32590. I was put into the RAF compound in the middle of the camp. It was placed in the middle because the Germans considered the RAF to be more intelligent than army personnel and they were further away from the outside perimeter wire. Douglas Bader was in the next hut. Most of the RAF were bomber crews and fighter pilots. My first roll call the next day surprised me because as we were counted in fives, guards were coming along handcuffing us. However, as the guards moved away, a couple of RAF chaps followed up with sardine can keys, unlocking the handcuffs and throwing them onto the floor. This reprisal was because when the Canadians raided Dieppe they took German prisoners and handcuffed them to bring them back to England after the raid. However, the prisoners’ boat overturned and the handcuffed Germans were all drowned. So all of the Dieppe Canadian POW’s were handcuffed every day. The Dieppe compound was next to the RAF, so the RAF used to stand at the wire every morning jeering at the German guards. The guards got fed up with this and decided to handcuff the RAF and as I was among them, I was handcuffed too.



    Sources: BBC
     
  12. craftsmanx

    craftsmanx Junior Member

    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.


    I usee to attend language classes (Welsh) with a survivor of the Dieppe raid who was a POW and he recalled this happening, apparently a method of undoing the handcuffs was discovered so the POWs did in fact go from being cuffed to the back of the queue and presenting themselves for re-cuffing.
     
  13. robnz

    robnz Junior Member

    Hi Guys,
    Shackling Prisoners was more commonplace than some believe. I know quite a few New Zealand Prisoners of War in German Camps between 1941 and 1945 that were shackled.
    I have a secret photo of this taking place in Stalag 383 Hohenfels, which Ill post when I can scan it for you all.
    I also obtained a set of these shackles from a Kiwi Prisoner who took them home as a souvenir, which Ill also post.

    Rob
     
  14. robnz

    robnz Junior Member

    Without a key, I set myself the challenge of opening the cuffs, so I locked them on both wrists and found that I was able to open them very easily.

    Rob
     
  15. dbf

    dbf Moderatrix MOD

    Whilst awaiting embarkation for Normandy in June '44, my father witnessed MPs leading British deserters on board to bring them back to France. They were all handcuffed. The Captain refused to sail unless the handcuffs were removed. He was worried in case the ship sunk. Stuck in my father's mind as they were all apprehensively waiting to go - seeing these guys scared of going back...
     
    Last edited: Nov 4, 2020
    Guy Hudson likes this.
  16. macrusk

    macrusk Proud Daughter

    George Blackburn in his book Where the Hell Are the Guns? about his experience with the 4th Field Artillery RCA recounts on p207

    "In September the Regiment hears the disturbing news that Dieppe prosoners are having to go about each day in chains, because the Germans found ofn the body of a dead Canadian officer a written order that Germans taken during the raid were to be tied up awaiting evacuation."

    His footnote "Daily manacling, begun September 1, 1942, did not end until December 2, 1943"

    In his Appendix H, there is a drawing of the manacles with the following description "Pictured above are the manacles the Canadian Dieppe prisoners were obliged to wear each day from October 8, 1942 to November 24, 1943, thought within days a way had been found to unlock the steel cuffs and remove them when the guards were not in view. The chain between the steel cuffs was about firfteen inches long. The drawing was done by commando prisoner A.J. Wallis."

    Regards,
    Michelle
     
  17. Quarterfinal

    Quarterfinal Well-Known Member

    Hello,

    A pen and ink sketch (on Red Cross parcel wrapping) of two chess players at Stalag VIIIb, both with tied hands:

    upload_2020-11-3_23-56-46.jpeg
     
    Peter Clare and Guy Hudson like this.

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