Throughout the 20th century thousands of military and paramilitary Portuguese were made prisoners in the course of combat operations. Some experienced long months of captivity and had to endure all sorts of hardships: a poor diet, diseases, abuses, forced labour, isolation and abandonment. Many of them perished in prisoner’s camps due to illness, injuries that did not heal, suicide attempts or assassination by their warders. Some never returned to their homelands, either voluntarily of for having been prevented from doing so. Of others yet, we are still ignorant of their whereabouts.