prisoner of war
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prisoner of war
A soldier or another person involved in combat who was captured by the opposing side during a war. The more common form of the lemma today is 'der Kriegsgefangene' (the prisoner of war).
Sein Großvater war fünf Jahre lang ein Kriegsgefangener in Russland.
His grandfather was a prisoner of war in Russia for five years.
The word is made up of 'Krieg' (war), with a linking -s, and 'Gefangener' (prisoner). A 'Gefangener' is a person who has been 'gefangen' (captured). So it literally describes a person captured in war.
Tausende Soldaten wurden als Kriegsgefangener in Lager gebracht.
Thousands of soldiers were taken to camps as prisoners of war.
The state of being a prisoner of war is described with the noun 'die Kriegsgefangenschaft' (captivity as a prisoner of war). Typical verbs with it are 'in Kriegsgefangenschaft geraten' (to become a prisoner of war) or 'aus der Kriegsgefangenschaft fliehen' (to escape from captivity as a prisoner of war).
Nach dem Ende des Krieges kehrte er aus der Kriegsgefangenschaft zurück.
After the end of the war, he returned from captivity as a prisoner of war.
In this form, 'der Kriegsgefangener' is a regular masculine noun. It is declined like other nouns ending in -er, for example in the genitive 'des Kriegsgefangeners'.
Das Schicksal des Kriegsgefangeners war lange ungewiss.
The fate of the prisoner of war remained uncertain for a long time.
prisoner / captive
A Kriegsgefangener is always also a Gefangener, but the more specific word identifies the connection with a war and the opposing side. Gefangener describes deprivation of freedom more generally. Use Gefangener when referring only to a captured person; for a soldier held during a war, Kriegsgefangener is more precise.
Der Soldat blieb mehrere Monate als Kriegsgefangener im Lager.
The soldier remained in the camp as a prisoner of war for several months.
Der Gefangene wurde nach dem Kampf in ein bewachtes Lager gebracht.
The prisoner was taken to a guarded camp after the battle.
