POW

 

In general, WWII prisoner-of-war camps consisted of Allied military officers and personnel who had surrendered.

 

In Hong Kong, the main internees were Brits, Canadians, Indians, and the local Hong Kong militia. The main POW camps in Hong Kong were at Sham Shui Po, Argyle Street, and Ma Tau Chung. By early 1942, Sham Shui Po was the only POW camp left in Hong Kong. 

 

POW camps both in Hong Kong and Europe were generally in very bad condition. Overcrowding (leading to the fast spread of diseases) and lack of food were two of the biggest problems in Sham Shui Po. Deaths were usually caused by diseases such as diphtheria. Almost none of the POWs were killed by the Japanese; in fact, the Japanese mostly beat up and killed Chinese trying to sell goods across the wire.

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Internment/Concentration

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A concentration camp is a place where people are forcibly concentrated and imprisoned without trial.

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These terms can be used interchangeably. Both primarily housed civilians and were in poor condition. The only internment camp in Hong Kong was at Stanley, which housed Westerners and their families (no Chinese.) A major difference was that Nazi concentration camps could either be for mass murder or forced labor. Far more died in any Nazi camp than at Stanley. 

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