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Talk:Soviet atrocities committed against prisoners of war during World War II

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Did you know nomination

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Created by Piotrus (talk). Number of QPQs required: 1. Nominator has 531 past nominations.

Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| reply here 04:15, 24 October 2024 (UTC).[reply]

Policy compliance:

Hook eligibility:

  • Cited: Yes
  • Interesting: Yes
  • Other problems: Yes
QPQ: Done.

Overall: Looks great! Very good work, thank you. ꧁Zanahary꧂ 17:38, 27 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I'm concerned about fundamental issues with POV and NOR with this article, please see my comment on talk. In terms of the hook, although "murder" is probably an appropriate word when dealing with the (unsanctioned) executions of enemy combatants by Soviet forces, it's not clear whether it's appropriate to describe the high mortality rate caused largely by the dire humanitarian situation in the Soviet Union (which also caused the deaths of many Soviet civilians in this same era). Hooks are expected to be neutral, but this one is one-sided. Multiple sources are cited and it's unclear where the comparison cited in the hook is made, or whether it's a calculation by Wikipedia editors. Overall I would not pass this DYK. (t · c) buidhe 06:34, 7 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I replied on talk there; I don't believe any issues you raise here are relevant for the DYK. The article is not tagged for NPOV issues, nor I can see why it should be, given your rather vague concerns. The basic term murder is indeed uncontroversial and commonly used in sources cited and listed here, which serve to confirm the basic facts mentioned in the hook; and the estimates cited are also uncontroversial; I opted to use broader ranges rather then precise figures for readability. For sources that mention Katyn and German POWs together, there are numerous, including, again, many of the ones cited in the article. Others: [1], [2], etc. TL;DR the topic is obviously notable (take it to AfD if you disagree) and the hook simply summarizes some uncontroversial but prominent and attention-grabbing details. PS. I feel the hook is perfectly neutral; what would make it less "one sided"? The mention that USSR did not kill all of the POWs it held? Are you seriously trying to argue that the murder of Polish officers at Katyn was motivated by "the dire humanitarian situation in the Soviet Union"? (And yes, as the article states, the deaths of some of the German POWs were attributed to that situation - but this detail is too niche and uninteresting for the hook). --Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| reply here 03:37, 11 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
If the sources call it murder, then murder it is. I don’t see a valid controversy here. — Biruitorul Talk 09:12, 11 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I don't think anyone would disagree that some of these deaths (such as the Katyn massacre) can indeed be called "murder". However, I see no evidence or quotes that indicate, as the hook implies, that hundreds of thousands of deaths (particularly those caused more by supply shortages in the Soviet Union than a deliberate, malicious Soviet government policy) can be deemed to be "murder" in wiki voice. Insofar as murders were committed against Axis prisoners of war, the hook misleadingly suggests that the Soviet government ordered them, rather than front line troops deciding to shoot prisoners on their own initiative. In order for this hook to meet DYK's POV rules, we would have to establish that it's a consensus, or at least majority, view. I know there are similar controversies when it comes to the Soviet prisoners of war held by Germany, with some scholars disagreeing that "mass killing" is an appropriate designation, and "mass death" is more accurate. Apparently Piotrus does not like me commenting here, but I wish to maintain the integrity of what we post at DYK by pointing out POV and VER issues that I see on any DYK I come across, regardless of who started it. The google books links above don't help me, please quote exactly where in these sources it says that "hundreds of thousands" of Axis POWs were murdered by the Soviet government. (t · c) buidhe 07:02, 13 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
The issue can be fixed easily by removing the mention of Axis soldiers and just mentioning the Polish deaths, which you yourself agree can be described as "murder(ed)" (and which very much were ordered by the Soviet rulers, although the hook is never implied who was responsible in the Soviet hierarchy). See ALT1 below and a slightly longer ALT1a2 mentioning other nationalities, without a number and the term "murder" you dispute; pinging original reviewer so they can comment on it. --Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| reply here 08:43, 13 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]

PS. Forgot to @Zanahary:. --Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| reply here 08:44, 13 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I think ALT1a is best. ꧁Zanahary꧂ 08:37, 14 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Who considers Polish partisans POWs?

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Re: this. Good question. @Marcelus @Anonimu. Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| reply here 01:28, 31 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]

@Anonimu To be honest, I don't understand the problem and I need more explanations. Why wouldn’t members of the Home Army captured during the war be considered prisoners of war? Marcelus (talk) 09:32, 31 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Even today, after the 1949 Geneva Convention, there are several conditions for a captured fighter to be considered a POW. Before and during WW2, irregulars (including the Home Army) were not generally considered actual soldiers, and were not considered POWs when captured (even less so when the capturing party was also irregular). Thus, we need a reliable source designating them as such.Anonimu (talk) 09:51, 31 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I don’t fully understand why the legal definition of prisoners of war should be decisive. Following this line of reasoning, before the Hague Convention, we wouldn’t have been able to write about prisoners of war at all. Beyond any doubt, the fact remains that murdering captured soldiers from the opposing army qualifies as a war crime against prisoners. Marcelus (talk) 15:02, 31 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Defining who is a prisoner of war and who is, effectively, a terrorist or criminal, has always been tricky. Where all members of Polish resistance soldiers entitled to protection according to laws of war? Perhaps, but then we can also talk about resistance use of child soldiers... it's a bit off topic, but it is good to find a source that talks about a particular group (here, Polish partisans) in the context of prisoners of war.
From [3]:
This is about the Germans, not Soviets; the point is that partisans were often less likely to be recognized as POWs, so w need better sources; just listing Soviet atrocities (or crimes) against partisans (Polish, Baltic, German...) would be less than ideal - although overall I agree this topic needs to be covered. Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| reply here 04:03, 3 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Disjunct between title and content

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The mortality rate, while indicative of "atrocities", (I don't like this vague, imprecise word and think it is not really appropriate to encyclopedically define an article topic) is not solely caused by them. Many sources contrast the Soviet vs German treatment of opposing prisoners of war, and conclude (in fact you quote some of them here!) that the mortality rate was mainly caused by the dire economic and humanitarian situation in the Soviet Union, not intentional atrocities. Simply assuming that because people died, it was an "atrocity", fails both nor and npov. I think it would be better to make the article about the entire treatment of prisoners of war by the Soviet Union, including both favorable treatment and "atrocities".

I'm also concerned by citing MacKenzie. This source may be too dated to use since it is provably completely wrong with regard to the related topic of the treatment of returning Soviet POWs—which you repeat here, after my pointing out the error. I wouldn't start this section with de Zayas as his research is older (book originally published in 1980) and he is generally considered to be pro-german bias at least with his other book. (t · c) buidhe 06:34, 7 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]

As someone who GA German atrocities committed against Soviet prisoners of war and is now trying to FA it, I don't understand how you can be fine with that title syntax in one place but not the other. I simply based this article on the name of existing similar articles. That said, I see your point about the murky boundary between treatment and atrocities, and I'd support renaming all relevant articles to 'treatment' or such. Feel free to start a series of RMs and I'd support it.
Where did you point out MackKenzie's error? And where is de Zayas being criticized as unreliable? Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| reply here 04:54, 10 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I don't understand how you can be fine with that title syntax in one place but not the other Well, I have been arguing for years to change the title of the other article—including at the FAC itself.
I pointed out the error at Talk:German atrocities committed against Soviet prisoners of war#Soviet repressions, but you reverted me. De Zayas' other books, I have seen compared unfavorably to more recent works on the expulsion of germans, for example here.[4] (t · c) buidhe 07:18, 13 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Regarding the name change, as I said in many places, I agree it is imperfect - feel free to suggest RMs for all related articles.
Did I revert your talk page message? My apologies, that must have been incidental. Can you add the diff here? Feel free to restore any talk page comment I accidentally removed.
Regarding de Zayas, which specific claims from do you think are dubious and/or made obsolete by newer scholarship? I don't know much about him, I mostly copied content other editors added and that has been stable and untagged with any POV issues or such from Allied war crimes during World War II, Soviet war crimes and articles on individual atrocities. Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| reply here 08:49, 13 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
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