World War 2,

War Crimes
&
The Geneva Convention
By: Jackson B. Bloom

The Geneva Convention

The Geneva Conventions are a series of treaties on the treatment
of civilians, prisoners of war (POWs) and soldiers who are
rendered incapable of fighting (Hors de combat)

Henry Dunant
- In 1859, a Swiss social activist by the name of Henry Dunant
visited the ongoing Battle of Solferino, where he was stricken by
the lack of aid toward the soldiers and personnel involved.
- In 1862, Dunant published his book
Memoirs of Solferino, Where he outlined the horrors of war
which inspired him to propose:
1.

A permanent relief agency humanitarian aid in times of war

2.

A government treaty recognizing the neutrality of the agency and allowing it to provide
aid in times of war

These propositions led to the establishment of the Red Cross,

which led to the first Geneva Convention

The 1st Convention

The Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and
Sick in Armed Forces in the Field was adopted in 1864.

The 2nd and 3rd Convention

The Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick
and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea was adopted in 1906.
The Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War was adopted
in 1929.

The 4th Convention

-

The 4th Convention denotes the agreements set in 1949, during the aftermath of
the Second World War.
The 4th Convention updated and revised the past 3 conventions, while adding in
an additional convention, effectively becoming THE Geneva Convention of the
Geneva Conventions

List of WW2 War Crimes

1. Unprovoked war on China from Japan (Crimes against peace)
2. Pacification Operations in rural Poland
3. German invasion of Poland, Hospitals bombed, Civilians shot, POWs shot. and
estimated of 16,000 non-combatants and/or soldiers hors de combat killed
4. Le Paradis massacre
5. Suppression of the Warsaw uprising and the subsequent leveling of a city

List of WW2 Crimes Against Humanity

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

The Holocaust, with an estimated 11,000,000 deaths

Forced death marches
Widespread slave labor
Massacre of 100,000 Jews and Poles at Paneriai
The incorporation of the SS Einsatzgruppen, mobile extermination squads

WW2 and the 4th Convention

-

The 4th convention focused primarily on the protection and specialised rights
toward the non-combatants of war, and better enforcement methods to prevent
such atrocities that occurred during WW2 such as:
1. The enforcement authority of the United Nations security council
2. The protecting powers
-. And the incorporation of the Grave Branches which outlined the definitive
definition of a War Crime

Questions?