Q 01/05

The Geneva Conventions say their red cross emblem was formed by reversing the colors of which country's flag?

A) Denmark

B) Switzerland

C) Great Britain

D) Georgia

Answer · why

B) Switzerland

Switzerland's flag is a white cross on red, and the treaty calls the reversed design a compliment to that country. The same text bars businesses from ...

Q 02/05

Besides a birth date, which details must a captured soldier give if questioned under the Third Geneva Convention?

A) Unit, mission and commander

B) Name, rank and serial number

C) Hometown, regiment and orders

D) Rank, weapon and last position

Answer · why

B) Name, rank and serial number

Name, rank and serial number are all a prisoner has to reveal, and the treaty bans torture or any other coercion to get more. A captive who refuses to...

Q 03/05

Which product does the Third Geneva Convention say prisoners of war must be permitted to use and buy in camp canteens?

A) Alcohol

B) Coffee

C) Chocolate

D) Tobacco

Answer · why

D) Tobacco

Tobacco gets a sentence of its own in the treaty, which says its use shall be permitted. Canteens must also stock soap and food, and any profits have ...

Q 04/05

The four Geneva Conventions in force today were drawn up in response to the horrors of which war?

A) World War I

B) Franco-Prussian War

C) World War II

D) Vietnam War

Answer · why

C) World War II

World War II and the war-crimes trials that followed it pushed diplomats to rewrite the older treaties in 1949. Three of the four conventions revised ...

Q 05/05

Which emblem did the Ottoman Empire start using in the 1870s in place of the Geneva Convention's red cross?

A) Red Crescent

B) Red Scimitar

C) Red Sunburst

D) Red Star

Answer · why

A) Red Crescent

The Red Crescent appeared during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78, when the Ottoman government feared a cross would alienate its Muslim soldiers. The ...