Prisoners of war are often subjected to severe psychological and physiological stresses. Physical trauma and injuries are also common during the captivity experience. This traumatic life experience influences the immediate and long-term mental and physical health of the prisoners of war (POWs).
The horror of torture, starvation, killer diseases, instances of the great escape, and death marches have shaped the common public understanding of prisoners of war. Torture of POWs is a known strategy used by the captors to extract information from their captives. It is commonly understood that in a war situation, the captors exercise severe treatment such as beatings, solitary confinement to obtain military information from the POWs. It is also a tactic used to break the morale of the captives and their hope of fighting again (Beaumont, Grant & Pegram, 2015). Starvation is also a common challenge faced by POWs. During the international conflict, most POWs have been reported to die of hunger in prisons. Food rationing up to a single meal in a day is an undeniable experience. Various malnutrition diseases have been reported due to lack of food and water. Poor hygiene and insufficient medical care provided to POWs rapidly increases the rate of mortality in captivity (Beaumont, Grant & Pegram, 2015). Killer diseases such as malaria, cholera, and dysentery are particularly common in these conditions. Moreover, many POWs in captivity often attempts to escape from prisons. Though some of them succeed, the majority ends up in the hands of the guards. In such cases, the captives are brutally killed by their captors.
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During the first and second world wars (WWs), many American and Australian soldiers were held captive by German and Japanese soldiers. As ex-POWs have reported, prisoners in German captivity experienced much in common with Japanese prisoners. Most ex-POWs report differs with some held assumptions that many soldiers held captives managed to escape. Both ex-German and Japanese prisoners say that those who managed to escape during the wars were very few. WWI was specifically an era when official directives on what a man could do if captured by the enemy were not released. As reported by ex-POW Private Ronald McKay, attempt to escape from captors’ camps was punished by death. Furthermore, another American soldier, Eric Stephenson an ex-POW in German during WWII, reported that the hygiene level in captivity was abysmal (Beaumont, Grant & Pegram, 2015). As would have been expected, their clothes consisted of military items they had during the capture. They were to remain with the same dirty clothes during the entire captivity. The unhygienic conditions made it difficult for their wounds to heal. According to Stephenson, in captivity, there was also a popular diet both in Germany and Japan, which consisted of rice and vegetables in rare cases. As a result, the captives suffered from malnutrition.
There were various conditions under which POW was held captive during the WWs. Demonstrate military victory was done through captivity of the enemy soldiers. Besides, due to a shortage of labor in the respective nations, most combatants were held captives to provide free labor in construction and industries. During the WWII POWs held in Japan were forced to work in mines, factories, and railroads (Beaumont, Grant & Pegram, 2015). Stephenson also reported that most senior soldiers were held captive to provide information that would enable the enemy soldiers to win the war.
Psychological and Physiological Stresses Experienced by Pows during Captivity
There were many American soldiers captured and held captive during WWII, the Vietnam War, and the Gulf War. Whether captured after being shot during front line operations or other means, these POWs were subjected to immense forms of torture and extreme torments such as starvation, sexual degradation, humiliation, physical mutilation, infectious diseases, and electrocution. Because of these acts that occurred during captivity, many soldiers developed immediate psychological and physiological stresses. The extent of these stresses also varied depending on the duration of incarceration and the level of torture experienced by POWs.
Psychological Stresses
POWs suffered depression, inability to express oneself, and anxiety. The US Department of Defense (DD) psychiatrists suggest that POWs who were isolated from the rest suffered from severe headaches due to depression (Beaumont, Grant, & Pegram, 2015). This resulted from physical torture and loneliness. A survey conducted by DD on the POWs held captive during the Vietnam War also revealed that prolonged captivity and extreme torture increased chances of psychological problems on the captives. In the study, POWs who were held captive for more than ten months showed multiple symptoms of traumatic disorders than their counterparts who were held captive for a shorter duration. Extreme suffering experienced during captivity also caused severe psychiatric disorders among the prisoners of war. Furthermore, high anxiety was observed as a common psychological problem among survivors of captivity experience during the Vietnam War and the Gulf War. Most of them experienced nightmares as a result of the trauma experienced in captivity. These nightmares were often triggered by specific stimuli such as remembering the personal experience or hearing others’ experiences (Beaumont, Grant & Pegram, 2015). The nightmares were also accompanied by insomnia in often cases. POWs during WWII suffered from severe torment, which made them develop an uncontrollable sense of anger. Several camp survivors interviewed immediately after the rescue showed an uncontrollable range of psychological stress. Most of these survivors responded to any unfavorable stimulation with temper outburst and irritability.
Physiological Stress
Physiological stresses suffered by POWs during captivity resulted in several health problems ranging from pulmonary diseases such as tuberculosis to frequent infections and cold. Among the women captives, there were high cases of disappearance of menstrual periods, which resulted from hormonal imbalances due to severe treatment experienced. Diarrhea was a common case among the prisoners of war during captivity (Beaumont, Grant & Pegram, 2015). It was mostly experienced as a bodily reaction to fear of threats and beating that were usual to the captives. Other significant symptoms of physiological stress experienced by POWs during captivity included cardio-vascular symptoms and perspiration.
The Coping Mechanism Used in Captivity
Despite the cruelty subjected to POWs during captivity, many of the captives still managed to survive through the hard situation until the rescue period. During WWII, especially, the Japanese captivity was regarded as the most inhuman where American soldiers and their counterparts from England and Australia were subjected to extreme torture. Man’s inhumanity to man, geographical diseases and starvation caused deaths of thousands of soldiers in Japanese camps. However, those who survived the cruelty had established an outstanding strategy of POWs, which even the severe torture by the Japanese did not conquer. One critical means of survival in captivity involved forming strong bonds with fellow captives. Forming a small group of three to five mates was significant (Beaumont, Grant & Pegram, 2015). They nursed each other when sick, shared workload, water, and food. Across different captive camps, POWs utilized their skills and expertise to help their pals survive. Doctors, without medicine or tools, needed the help of others to acquire anesthetic materials and other equipment. Even during the most traumatic situations, men supported each other through humor and sharing problems. These groups were also critical during winter. They could sleep close to each other, trying to generate some warmth when there was extreme cold.
These reactions to brutality were more of help to POWs who made it until the end of captivity. Some of the groups managed to plan a successful escape from the camps and helped the Allies soldiers to rescue other captives. Also as reported by an ex-POW Bryn Roberts in 1956, the sketches emulated by the prisoners in camps were of great therapeutic value during the stressing moment (Beaumont, Grant, & Pegram, 2015). Imagining and discussing distressing events they had endured was essential for POWs to deal with their trauma.
Long-Term Physical and Mental Health Implications of Captivity
While the country and families rejoice in the return of POWs after the captivity, most survivors of captivity are usually faced with another challenge associated with the traumatic experiences. Many of these ex-captives suffer from long-term physical and mental illnesses. The effects of torture endured by prisoners of war vary greatly depending on the period of captivity and the severity of suffering experienced. For instance, the Australian army captured during WWII faced a long duration of malnutrition and physical torture (Rintamaki et al. 2009). Years back after their rescue, these POWs suffered several physical problems than their counterparts who had spent a short time in captivity. Intestinal problems and musculoskeletal diseases were prevalent to these POWs. The events in captivity are postulated to cause such disorders (Rintamaki et al. 2009). A follow-up on the US soldiers Vietnam POWs also showed suffering from peptic ulcer diseases twenty years after release. Physical ailments such as spine problems are also common at the old age of POWs due to lethal beatings and carrying heavy loads during captivity.
Post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD) is a likely diagnosis for POWs with an experienced of severe suffering (Beaumont, Grant, & Pegram, 2015). There is usually the experience of persistent psychological distress triggered by traumatic and life-threatening occurrences during captivity. Loss of control in the captive camps is aggravated by emotions of the hopelessness of being rescued. This mental state has been reported to last for years, which extensively impacts on ones living and necessities such as work and relationship. The horror of a traumatic experience may not have immediate effects on one’s mental health. In some instances, POWs have been reported to develop conditions such as depression and PTSD years after the captivity (Rintamaki et al. 2009). Unlike physical health issues, mental disorders suffered by ex-captives during the war have been associated with the several cases of suicide committed by ex-military personnel. For personnel with extreme captivity experiences anxiety, seclusion and irritability have often been reported after a home return. A follow-up on US Vietnam POWs after thirty years revealed that the ex-captives suffered depression two to four times more than the general population (Rintamaki et al. 2009). The depression rate was also higher in young soldiers and those who experienced greater brutality.
References
Beaumont, J., Grant, L., & Pegram, A. (2015). Beyond Surrender: Australian prisoners of war in the twentieth century. Melbourne Univ. Publishing.
Rintamaki, L. S., Weaver, F. M., Elbaum, P. L., Klama, E. N., & Miskevics, S. A. (2009). Persistence of Traumatic Memories in World War II Prisoners of War: (See editorial comments by Dr. Jules Rosen, on pp 2346–2347). Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 57(12), 2257-2262.
