1952 Inter-Camp P.O.W. Olympics
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| 1952 Inter-Camp P.O.W. Olympics 1952年战俘营奥运会 | |
|---|---|
| Location | Pyuktong, D.P.R.K.[1] |
| Dates | 15–27 November 1952 |
| 1952 Inter-Camp P.O.W. Olympics | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 1952年戰俘營奧運會 | ||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 1952年战俘营奥运会 | ||||||
| |||||||
The 1952 Inter-Camp P.O.W. Olympics (Chinese: 1952年战俘营奥运会), also known as Inter-Camp POW Olympic Games,[2] was a mock Olympic Games held at the Pyuktong Prisoner-of-War Camp (碧潼战俘营)[3] of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army during the Korean War. The athletes were all United Nations POWs. It was often used as a propaganda campaign[4] by China and North Korea to encourage more UN soldiers to surrender.
1952 Inter-Camp P.O.W. Olympics was not authorized by the International Olympic Committee, but was organized by the Chinese People's Volunteer Army, in accordance with the Olympic Charter.[5]
The games
[edit]The POW Olympics were held between 15–27 November 1952 at Pyuktong, D.P.R.K. The Chinese hoped to gain worldwide publicity and, whilst some prisoners refused to participate, over 500 prisoners[2] of 11 nationalities took part.[6] They were representative of all the prison camps in North Korea [citation needed] and competed in American football, baseball, softball, basketball, volleyball, track and field, soccer, gymnastics, and boxing.[6] For the prisoners, this was an opportunity to meet with friends from other camps. They also acted as photographers, announcers and even reporters, who after each day's competition published a newsletter, the Olympic Roundup.[6]
| Overall Result | Team (Teams were arranged by Camp)[7] |
|---|---|
| 1st | Camp 5 (Pyoktong, North Korea) |
| 2nd | Camp 1 (Changsong, North Korea) |
| 3rd | Camp 4 (Pyoktong, North Korea) |
Propaganda value
[edit]The Olympics featured frequently in North Korean psychological warfare (PSYWAR) pamphlets and leaflets distributed to UN soldiers.[8][9] The 1952 Olympics allowed Communist forces to point to the good conditions available to those who surrendered.[7][10]
See also
[edit]- 1944 Summer Olympics during the Second World War at which prisoners of war from Oflag II-C staged a comparable unofficial Olympic games.
References
[edit]- ^ United States. Congress. House. Committee on Un-American Activities (1955). Investigation of Communist Activities: (the Committee to Secure Justice in the Rosenberg Case and Affiliates) Hearing. U.S. Government Printing Office. pp. 3875–.
- ^ a b Elise Horspool."The "Reactionaries": Buck, Hollis, Madden, Parker and Gwyther". Australian War Memorial. 18 June 2020.
- ^ "1952年中国就办过一届特殊的"奥运会"，同样赢得世界的交口称赞". Ifeng.com. 2018-12-26. Archived from the original on 2019-04-11.
- ^ Callum A MacDonald (27 October 1986). Korea: The War before Vietnam. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 151–. ISBN 978-1-349-06332-1.
- ^ "鲜为人知：朝鲜战场 志愿军战俘营里的"奥运会" --党史频道-人民网". dangshi.people.com.cn. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
- ^ a b c Adams, (2007), p. 62.
- ^ a b "POW Olympics Intro RedirectPage".
- ^ Peace "magazine" (n.2), October 1952
- ^ Propaganda leaflet, 1952
- ^ http://library.ndsu.edu/digital/files/2010/04/Themes-in-Korean-War.pdf[permanent dead link]
Bibliography
[edit]- Young, Charles S. (2014). Name, Rank, and Serial Number: Exploiting Korean War POWs at Home and Abroad. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-518348-1.
- Adams, Clarence (2007). An American Dream: The Life of an African American soldier and POW Who Spent Twelve Years in Communist China. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press. ISBN 978-1-5584-9595-1.
External links
[edit]- Scotland at War, including some artifacts and information from Scottish POWs at the 1952 Olympics
- Pictures and scans of the 1952 Olympic programme
- CBC: They chose China (English documentary, with Chinese subtitle) See also via Bilibili
- "Prisoner of war camp without barbed wire(没有铁丝网的战俘营)". China Central Television. Retrieved 2019-04-11. See also via Bilibili