If capture guarantees death, enemies fight longer and impose more casualties. The German armed forces share responsibility once officers knowingly implemented an unlawful order against uniformed prisoners. Hans Langsdorff's care for prisoners in 1939 provides a possible contrast, but he died before the Commando Order and his reaction to it is unknown. Dictatorship exerted corrosive pressure, but it does not erase command responsibility or sustain a supposedly clean German navy. Reciprocal prisoner protections make surrender possible and thereby reduce the cost of defeating an enemy force. Responsibility belongs to senior commands and institutions rather than isolated junior officers alone.
Notable Point · 2:19:17-2:34:45
Why prisoner protections constrain escalation
Rules protecting prisoners limit reciprocal killing, preserve the possibility of surrender, and prevent wars from becoming longer and more destructive.