[Perspectives] Going “round the bend” in prisoner of war camps

On Feb 12, 1945, Second Lieutenant Francis Stewart, taken prisoner of war (POW) by the Germans almost 5 years before, recorded the challenges he faced. He could not concentrate. His memory was failing. He was struggling with constant noise in his room. “The exhaustion”, he wrote “was not only physical but mental as well,& for 3 days I was plagued by the prisoner's perpetual bogey that I might really be going ‘round the bend’”. This “perpetual bogey” occurred in POW camps across Europe in World War 2.
Source: LANCET - Category: General Medicine Authors: Tags: Perspectives Source Type: research