POWs
Held enemy soldiers
POWs is the plural of POW, the abbreviation for prisoner of war—a member of the armed forces captured and held by the enemy during a conflict: The POWs were exchanged after the ceasefire.
Also written POW's or P.O.W.s. (Lowercase pows pluralizes the comic-book exclamation.)
Wartime civilian imprisonment
- detentionTemporary official holding
- confinementState of being restricted
- imprisonmentLegal detention in jail
- captivityState of being confined
incarceration · barbed wire · camp · stockade · compound · cell · cage · holding
Formal return to homeland
- liberationRelease from constraint
- exchangeMutual giving and receiving
- releaseTo let go
- rescueSave from harm
escape · amnesty · homecoming · debriefing · rehabilitation · recovery · reunion · freedom
Wartime humanitarian treaties
- Red CrossInternational emergency relief organization
- humanitarianHelper of suffering people
- human rightsInalienable personal freedoms
- international lawRules governing relations between countries
protections · inspection · notification · correspondence · parcels · identification · registration · ICRC
Deliberate infliction of suffering
- interrogationFormal, probing examination
- abuseCruel or violent treatment
- neglectFailure to provide care
- starvationExtreme nutritional deprivation
forced labor · cruelty · deprivation · beatings · malnutrition · psychological trauma · indoctrination · propaganda
Armed struggle between groups
- combatArmed hostile engagement
- captureTake into custody
- surrenderCease resistance, yield
- defeatVictory over another
battle · enemy · military · campaign · front line · occupation · invasion · resistance
Those still alive after
- testimonySworn statement as evidence
- memoirWritten personal recollection
- memorialThing preserving remembrance
- museumPublic exhibit space
commemoration · recognition · Medal of Honor · trauma · PTSD · veterans · witnesses · oral history
internment
Wartime civilian imprisonment
- detentionTemporary official holding
- confinementState of being restricted
- imprisonmentLegal detention in jail
captivity · incarceration · barbed wire · camp · stockade · compound · cell · cage · holding · custody
repatriation
Formal return to homeland
- liberationRelease from constraint
- exchangeMutual giving and receiving
- releaseTo let go
rescue · escape · amnesty · homecoming · debriefing · rehabilitation · recovery · reunion · freedom · armistice
Geneva Conventions
Wartime humanitarian treaties
- Red CrossInternational emergency relief organization
- humanitarianHelper of suffering people
- human rightsInalienable personal freedoms
international law · protections · inspection · notification · correspondence · parcels · identification · registration · ICRC
torture
Deliberate infliction of suffering
- interrogationFormal, probing examination
- abuseCruel or violent treatment
- neglectFailure to provide care
starvation · forced labor · cruelty · deprivation · beatings · malnutrition · psychological trauma · indoctrination · propaganda · humiliation
war
Armed struggle between groups
defeat · battle · enemy · military · campaign · front line · occupation · invasion · resistance · allied
survivors
Those still alive after
- testimonySworn statement as evidence
- memoirWritten personal recollection
- memorialThing preserving remembrance
museum · commemoration · recognition · Medal of Honor · trauma · PTSD · veterans · witnesses · oral history · documentary
- military historybattles, soldiers, campaigns, officers, battlefields
- Korean WarKorean War, 38th parallel, DMZ, demilitarized zone, armistice line
- Soviet WarGreat Patriotic War, Eastern Front, Battle of Stalingrad, Battle of Berlin, Operation Barbarossa
- Ukraine WarUkraine, Kherson, Mariupol, Kyiv, Donetsk
- Union soldiersUnion infantry, federal troops, enlisted men, volunteers, privates
- War Veteransveterans, disabled veterans, wounded soldiers, wounded warriors, war wounded
POWscaptors
Those holding prisoners
prison guards · jailers · interrogators · wardens · liberators
POWscivilians
Non-military population
non-combatants · civilian population · refugees · bystanders · displaced persons
- POW campDetention site for captured soldiers
- pow wowsIndigenous communal gatherings
- POW flagBanner honoring detained soldiers
- POW releaseFreeing of war captives
- POW exchangeTrading captured military personnel