In 1951, after the end of the First Campaign to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, the Political Department of the Volunteer Army sent special personnel to begin preparations for the establishment of a prisoner-of-war camp to centrally manage prisoners of war. Contrary to the POW camp with high walls and iron nets and sentry posts, the Bitong Volunteer POW Camp did not have a guard tower bunker here, let alone a volunteer army patrolling around.
▲Panorama photo of the Bitong Volunteer Army prisoner of war camp
Here, the staff strictly implemented the policy of preferential treatment of prisoners and made every effort to improve the basic living conditions of the PRISONERS of the "United Nations Army" and to enrich their lives.
Daily entertainment for prisoners of war dressed in volunteer cotton coats
There was also a special "Winter Olympics" held here, the Olympic Games of the Chinese Volunteer Army's Bitong Prisoner of War Camp.
In June 1952, the Political Department of the Volunteer Army held the Second Enemy Army Work Conference of the Volunteer Army in Bitong. At the meeting, on the advice of the prisoners of war, a new "Sports and Recreation Committee" was established. In September of the same year, the "Sports and Recreation Committee" proposed to hold an all-prisoner-of-war camp-sized games. After consultation, the Volunteer Prisoners' Office agreed, believing that this would not only play an anti-war role, but also an important opportunity to show the world that our army treated prisoners of war favorably.
After a month of preparation, the PFE selected more than 500 players from more than 10,000 prisoners of war and organized the Olympic Games of the Chinese Volunteer Army's Bitong Prisoner of War Camp from November 15 to November 26, 1952. The name "Olympic" is given because its "peace" allegory is all the more precious on the battlefield where the artillery is roaring.
On November 15, a grand opening ceremony was held at the main venue. Dressed in uniforms specially tailored for them by the volunteers, the participating athletes entered the stadium through the makeshift "Arc de Triomphe".
▲ Athletes enter
▲The opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in the prisoner of war camp
Wang Yanggong, director of the Volunteer Army Prisoner of Custody Office, served as the chairman of the presidium of the Games and delivered a speech: "For the development of sports, in order to have a happy and safe environment, peace is necessary and the most basic, and the future will eventually belong to peace." ”
More than 20 sports competitions such as athletics, ball games, gymnastics, boxing and so on were held at the Games.
▲ POW camp Olympic football game
▲ Prisoner of War Camp Olympic basketball game
▲ Prisoner of War volleyball game
▲ Prisoner-of-war tug-of-war
▲ Prisoner of War high jump competition
Although the contestants were PRISONERS, the level of competition was not low.
It is worth mentioning that in the 100-meter race, Thomas, an American prisoner of war, ran an excellent performance of 10.6 seconds, only 0.4 seconds slower than the world record of 10.2 seconds at the time.
▲ Thomas won the championship in the sprint race
▲ South Korean prisoners of war won all the medals in the 3000-meter run Ecstatic
After 12 days of intense and intense competition, the Fifth Regiment of Prisoners of War won the first place in the overall team score, the first regiment of prisoners of war won the second place, and the third regiment of prisoners of war won the third place.
Although there were no gold medals, the prizes were also carefully prepared by the camp managers, including cloisonné vases, silk umbrellas, sandalwood fans, jade necklaces, silk scarves and handkerchiefs purchased from Beijing, Shanghai, Shenyang and other places.
▲Norman. Crawford (American, winner of the bagging run) and friend George E Green (Briton, winner of the 1500m race walk) the prize they won was an umbrella
Throughout the Games, the arena was bustling with activity and fun. It is hard to imagine that this would be a games for prisoners of war who had come down from the sword-rattling battlefield.
The reality of the "United Nations Army" PRISONERs of War in the Beatong Volunteer Camp was recorded on camera by Frank Knoll, an Associated Press reporter who was also a prisoner of war. Noel's photographs soon caused a stir in the Western world, and the False Rumors of the United States claiming that the Volunteers had mistreated prisoners of war of the "United Nations Army" were self-defeating.
Even Ridgway had to admit in his memoirs that "in some respects they were more civilized enemies, and many times they gave their few pieces of food to their captives, and treated them very kindly." ”
▲Reports related to the Games
At the closing ceremony, Comtton, an American prisoner of war who won the first place in the high jump competition, recited a poem for everyone:
Why the war continues,
People are still losing their lives?
Why can't peace become the main theme of today's world?
Here, sports games are so interesting;
But there,
The race against death is still going on!
The significance of this Games is undoubtedly far-reaching.
The POWS had a new look, and some of them even began to wonder, "Why should we fight such a senseless war?" ”
On July 27, 1953, the two warring sides in the Korean battlefield formally signed an armistice agreement, in which the two sides exchanged prisoners of war on the basis of voluntary repatriation. Unexpectedly, in the final stage of repatriating prisoners of war, 20 American prisoners of war and 1 British prisoner of war in the Volunteer Camp suddenly and unanimously submitted applications to refuse repatriation and settle in China.
Sport has never distinguished between borders, races or ideologies, and the Olympic Movement has been born for peace and prospered for peace since its inception. The Olympic Games of the Bitong Prisoner of War Camp of the Chinese Volunteer Army are exactly "the light of the national character of new China, the light of the personality of the Chinese, and the light of justice in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea.", just as the slogan of the Games shows, "The Games are the road to friendship, and peace is the goal of all people."
Source CCTV National Memory WeChat public account
Editor: Li Tuo
Process Editor Tai Shaofeng