Crimes against POWs

"When the conference of 47 countries in Geneva wound up its proceedings on 27 July 1929 by adopting a new international Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, it seemed that one chapter in the history of war -- the brutal treatment of those captured in battle -- had come to a close. The road covered over the centuries had been a long one : the wholesale slaughter of prisoners and the ruthless exploitation of their slave labour had gradually given way to respect for the captives' human dignity and, eventually, the elaboration of international legal rules to govern their treatment ... During the Second World War, Germany trampled upon all the rules of international law, including those concerning war prisoners"--Page xv-xvi.