The OP is as follows:
- Darksider wrote:So I was watching my dad's DVD of Saving Private Ryan the other day, and the whole deal with the Nazi prisoner who they let go and then came back and killed the Jewish guy in the end got me thinking. What would you do in a situation like this? What should you do?
On the one hand, killing an unarmed prisoner is morally reprehensible, but on the other, if you're just a small squad without the resources to care for prisoners or the ability to hand them of to other friendlies, and just releasing them might lead to them being re-taken by their own forces and put back into the fight.
Assume for the sake of argument that you are in a similar situation. You are in command of a small squad (8-12 men) and you have captured an enemy prisoner. You obviously don't have the resources to care for a prisoner and taking him with you could jeopardize your mission. You are traveling in contested territory, so while there is no guarantee that the enemy will get him back into circulation if you let him go, it is a definite possibility.
- Sea Skimmer wrote:I would have tied him to a tree so he can’t quickly race off and tell a Nazi unit that my little patrol is strolling by. He won’t die of dehydration in less then three days and is pretty certain to be found long before then since a radar station will be a magnet for units on both sides.
- [deleted because that blathering is absolutely irrelevant for the in the OP presented moral quandary]
According to Art. 23 lit. c of the Hague Conventions, it is especially prohibited, to kill or wound an enemy who, having laid down arms, or having no longer means of defence, has surrendered at discretion.
According to Art. 41 paragraph 1 and 2 lit. b of the additional Protocol (I) to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, a person, who clearly expresses an intention to surrender shall not be made the object of attack. According to paragraph 3 of the mentioned article is a person, who is entitled to protection as prisoners of war, to be released and all feasible precautions shall be taken to ensure his or her safety, when this person has fallen into the power of an adverse Party under unusual conditions of combat which prevent his or her evacuation.
After reading that, what would you have done in the described situation or in a similar situation - assuming that your nation has ratified both international conventions?
Do you think that »you are not required to accept a surrender«?
Would you have killed the German soldier?