The 1952 Inter-Camp P.O.W. Olympics (), also known as Inter-Camp POW Olympic Games,Elise Horspool. was a mock Olympic Games held at the Pyuktong Prisoner-of-War Camp (碧潼战俘营) of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army during the Korean War. The athletes were all United Nations POWs. It was often used as a propaganda campaign by China and North Korea to encourage more UN soldiers to surrender.
1952 Inter-Camp P.O.W. Olympics was not authorized by the International Olympic Committee, but was organized by the Chinese People's Volunteer Army, in accordance with the Olympic Charter.
The games The POW Olympics were held between 15–27 November 1952 at Pyuktong, D.P.R.K. The Chinese hoped to gain worldwide publicity and, whilst some prisoners refused to participate, over 500 prisoners of 11 nationalities took part.Adams, (2007), p. 62. They were representative of all the prison camps in North Korea and competed in American football, baseball, softball, basketball, volleyball, track and field, soccer, gymnastics, and boxing. For the prisoners, this was an opportunity to meet with friends from other camps. They also acted as photographers, announcers and even reporters, who after each day's competition published a newsletter, the Olympic Roundup.
Overall Result Team (Teams were arranged by Camp) 1st Camp 5 (Pyoktong, North Korea) 2nd Camp 1 (Changsong, North Korea) 3rd Camp 4 (Pyoktong, North Korea)
Propaganda value The Olympics featured frequently in North Korean psychological warfare (PSYWAR) pamphlets and leaflets distributed to UN soldiers.Peace "magazine" (n.2), October 1952Propaganda leaflet, 1952 The 1952 Olympics allowed Communist forces to point to the good conditions available to those who surrendered.http://library.ndsu.edu/digital/files/2010/04/Themes-in-Korean-War.pdf
See also 1944 Summer Olympics during the Second World War at which prisoners of war from Oflag II-C staged a comparable unofficial Olympic games.
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External links Scotland at War, including some artifacts and information from Scottish POWs at the 1952 Olympics Pictures and scans of the 1952 Olympic programme CBC: They chose China (English documentary, with Chinese subtitle) See also via Bilibili See also via Bilibili