Violence against Prisoners of War in the First World War

In this groundbreaking study, Heather Jones provides the first in-depth and comparative examination of violence against First World War prisoners. She shows how the war radicalised captivity treatment in Britain, France and Germany, dramatically undermined international law protecting prisoners of war and led to new forms of forced prisoner labour and reprisals, which fuelled wartime propaganda that was often based on accurate prisoner testimony. This book reveals how, during the conflict, increasing numbers of captives were not sent to home front camps but retained in western front working units to labour directly for the British, French and German armies - in the German case, by 1918, prisoners working for the German army endured widespread malnutrition and constant beatings. Dr Jones examines the significance of these new, violent trends and their later legacy, arguing that the Great War marked a key turning-point in the twentieth-century evolution of the prison camp.

'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 Source: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

‘This excellent work is based on extensive archival research.’

Source: 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 Source: 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.'

Source: American Historical Review