Patton and War Crimes

[PanzerJaeger]

The pattern seems clear.

In every instance, the survival rate for Axis POW's in Allied hands is much, much higher than the reverse. Whether it be China - Japan, Germany - SU, or US/UK/France - Germany.

Louis, your own quote seems to betray the point you are trying to make.

Japanese POWs held by U.S.: relatively low, mainly suicides according to James D. Morrow[68] or according to Ulrich Straus high as many prisoners were shot by front line troops.[44]

Allow me to re-quote.

American soldiers in the Pacific often deliberately killed Japanese soldiers who had surrendered. According to Richard Aldrich, who has published a study of the diaries kept by United States and Australian soldiers, they sometimes massacred prisoners of war.[39] Dower states that in "many instances ... Japanese who did become prisoners were killed on the spot or en route to prison compounds."[32] According to Aldrich it was common practice for U.S. troops not to take prisoners.[40] This analysis is supported by British historian Niall Ferguson,[41] who also says that, in 1943, "a secret [U. S.] intelligence report noted that only the promise of ice cream and three days leave would ... induce American troops not to kill surrendering Japanese."[42]

Why is it so difficult to accept that both sides practiced dehumanization and their conduct in the war reflected that? For the Germans, it was the Eastern Peoples, for the Western Allies, it was the Japanese. For the Japanese, it was everyone. When the Germans and the Western Allies fought, it was generally far more civil because they saw each other as human. Interestingly, the Nazi dehumanization was a top-down campaign to induce cruel attitudes and hatred in their soldiers, while the Allied racism came directly from the people and was - at least on paper - frowned upon by at least some of the military and civilian higher-ups, like when Roosevelt sent back an envelope opener given to him by a congressman that was made from a Japanese shin bone.