Between 1941 and 1943 there were a total of 260,000 German troops in North Africa. Of this number 18,594 were killed and 3,400 posted as missing. The rest who did not make it out of Africa in 1943 mostly ended up as PoWs taken either by the British and Commonwealth troops or the Americans. The treatment of prisoners by both sides was on the whole very good. There were isolated incidents of shooting prisoners on both sides but these were very few and far between and captured prisoners on both sides who required medical attention were given the best treatment as the situation permitted. Many British and commonwealth prisoners were surprised at fair treatment they received from the Afrika Korps when captured. The same can be said for the the German prisoners.
| German Fallschirmjäger POWs belonging to the Ramke Brigade captured by Australian troops at El Alamein. |
THE END OF THE AFRIKA KORPS
