ABSTRACT
The treatment of prisoners of war (POWs) in the war against Japan was a study in contrasts. Concerning how POWs were regarded and treated, the Second World War can perhaps be seen as a transitional phase, witnessing as it did the relative decline of one philosophy of war and the rise of another. The significance of the mutual hostage factor in shaping official attitudes toward upholding the Geneva Convention in the West is also highlighted by the extent to which it came to be disregarded or avoided when one side or the other held a monopoly on POWs. King Leopold of Belgium made efforts to persuade the Germans to release the remaining 165,000 Belgian POWs but only managed to compromise himself in the eyes of many by traveling to Berchtesgaden to plead his case in a personal audience with the fuhrer.
