Glenn Reynolds links to an article exposing the fact that "the government of Charles de Gaulle held hundreds of foreigners, including at least three Britons, in an internment camp near Toulouse for up to four years after the second world war, according to secret documents."

Like the Instapundit, I'm shocked, shocked at the behavior of the French. Eh, maybe not so much. The French government will wring their hands over the treatment of prisoners in Guantanamo Bay and shake their heads over our "corrupt elections" and cowboy President, and at the same time hope the world doesn't realize the incredible hypocrites they are.

I'm not surprised by the Toulouse revelation. It's not the only example. I have a great book, Stalag Wisconsin, that chronicles the experiences of WWII German POWs in Wisconsin. In fact, my grandfather had POWs help him farm in the summer and my dad vividly remembered how perplexed they were by such American wonders as ice cream cones and sweet corn.

While these POWs, for the most part, had a good experience in Wisconsin (and let's face it, there had to be few places better than Wisconsin for a young German man to find himself in 1944). After the war ended, however, it was a different story:

A fact not widely known or remembered is that most of the prisoners who returned to Europe remained captive there for another two to three years. The German prisoners followed one of two routes home, one through England usually provided a quicker and smoother journey than going through France. While sending some PWs directly on to occupied Germany, the British authorities detained other PWs only for a short stay to be "re-educated" before being transported to Germany. But the British also impressed many and required them to work within the country for another year or two. Perhaps a majority of the German soldiers repatriated through Le Havre, France remained captive there, kept as unpaid labor for up to three more years. In France, the PWs worked in the coal mines and at rebuilding the cities and farms.

During his three years of confinement in Wisconsin, PW Kurt Pechmann matured from a youngster of 120 pounds when captured to a formidable 185 pounds before he returned to Europe. However, Pechmann recalled that as a prisoner of the Frenc, "I was fed poorly, sometimes only three beets a day. My weight dropped to 85 pounds before I escaped and walked home to Germany in late 1948."

Willi Rau, who surrendered to American troops near Anzio, Italy, in July, 1944, had a similar experience. After his capture, he spent much of the remainder of WWII logging in Camp Au Train, Michigan, and in Wisconsin at Camps Barron and Rhinelander. In the spring of 1946 his group returned to Europe via Le Havre, France, where authorities impressed them to work in the coal mines for another two years. "Leaving America, each of us had gotten two black dyed sets of clothes without the "PW" on it. The French took these away from us as soon as we got there and provided us with rags full of lice. We were held like slaves. I was finally released in November, 1948."

Remember these stories the next time the French hold themselves up as paragons of tolerance and justice.