1952 Inter-Camp P.O.W. Olympics
The 1952 Inter-Camp P.O.W. Olympics (Chinese: 1952年战俘营奥运会; 碧潼战俘营奥运会), 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 1952年战俘营奥运会 | |
|---|---|
| Location | Pyuktong, D.P.R.K.[1] |
| Dates | November 15, 1952–27 November 1952 |
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
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 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
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
- 1944 Summer Olympics during the Second World War at which prisoners of war from Oflag II-C staged a comparable unofficial Olympic games.
References
- 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–.
- 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.
- Adams, (2007), p. 62.
- "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%5B%5D
Bibliography
- 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.