The German Soldier's Ten Commandments
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While fighting for victory the German soldier
will observe the rules of chivalrous warfare. Cruelties and senseless
destruction are below his standard.
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Combatants will be in uniform or will wear specially
introduced and clearly distinguishable badges. Fighting in plain
clothes or without such badges is prohibited.
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No enemy who has surrendered will be killed,
including partisans and spies. They will be duly punished by courts.
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P.O.W. will not be ill-treated or insulted.
While arms, maps, and records are to be taken away from them, their
personal belongings will not be touched.
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Dum-Dum bullets are prohibited; also no other
bullets may be transformed into Dum-Dum.
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Red Cross Institutions are sacrosanct. Injured
enemies are to be treated in a humane way. Medical personnel and
army chaplains may not be hindered in the execution of their medical,
or clerical activities.
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The civilian population is sacrosanct. No looting
nor wanton destruction is permitted to the soldier. Landmarks of
historical value or buildings serving religious purposes, art, science,
or charity are to be especially respected. Deliveries in kind made,
as well as services rendered by the population, may only be claimed
if ordered by superiors and only against compensation.
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Neutral territory will never be entered nor
passed over by planes, nor shot at; it will not be the object of
warlike activities of any kind.
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If a German soldier is made a prisoner of war
he will tell his name and rank if he is asked for it. Under no circumstances
will he reveal to which unit he belongs, nor will he give any information
about German military, political, and economic conditions. Neither
promises nor threats may induce him to do so.
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Offenses against the a/m matters of duty will
be punished. Enemy offenses against the principles under 1 to 8
are to be reported. Reprisals are only permissible on order of higher
commands.
Lord Russell of Liverpool, C.B.E., M.S. The Scourge of the Swastika:
A Short History of Nazi War Crimes, (New York: Ballantine Books,
1957), pp. 239-240.
Sources: German
Soldier's Ten Commandments |