RESEARCH PAPER

American prisoners of the Japanese during WW2

Table of Contents

Introduction1

The Capture of Prisoners2

Torture of the Prisoners.3

Condition at the Prison Camps4

Latrines5

Sleeping Quarters5

Insects5

Food5

Clothing6

Recreation6

Communication7

Deaths of POW's7

Mindset of the Prisoners7

Escape8

Liberation of the Prisoners8

War Crimes Trial9

Aftermath9

Conclusion9

American prisoners of the Japanese during WW2

Introduction

There were around 140,000 or more American prisoners in Japanese custody during World War II. These prisoners included both civilians and military personnel's. They were kept in prison camps where one of every three died due to starvation, punishments, work, or diseases that had no cure. The Geneva Convention was completely ignored by the Japanese who inflicted torture.

The camps where prisoners were kept were located in Singapore, Taiwan, Japan, and other countries that were occupied by Japan. These camps were encircled by wooden fencing several feet high or the walls were topped with barbed wire in order to prevent prisoners from escaping. Those who tried to escape were executed in front of all the prisoners so that they may know the consequences of any attempt to escape.

The conditions in the camps were not favorable for humans to live. They were barracks and prisoners were made to sleep on mats. Almost every Japanese guard did not know English; hence, the prisoners were forced to learn Japanese so that they could follow the rules. Failing to learn this language would mean that the prisoners would end up being beaten up. Their roll call was in Japanese and hence each prisoner had to know to pronounce his number in this language.

Most of the prisoners were forced to work in factories, shipyards, fields, and mines and were fed a diet of around 600 calories a day. They had to work 12 hours a day and were fed seaweed and soya beans. They were almost never given fat and hence were always hungry. Once a month they were given fish, meat, green stew, or barley along with seaweed stew. The cruelest thing was that the food parcels that were sent by the Red Cross were never distributed among the prisoners.

Out of all the prisoners, the worst condition was faced by those who were forced to construct the Burma-Thailand railway line. During the construction, around 61,000 prisoners were made to work out of which around 13,000 died due to various reasons predominantly, malnutrition. They were fed vegetables and rice throughout their work period. Duty time was 12 hours a day for 10 days with a day's gap every 10 days. They had to blast through mountains, build bridges, move earth, and lay tracks for the 260 mile long railway line where, due to the inhuman conditions, illnesses were common which resulted in deaths.

The war that took place in the Asia-Pacific region was a war between cultures and races. It was perhaps the most brutal part of the war because of the way it was fought. All this ended in an even brutal way - the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The Capture of Prisoners

Almost all the prisoners were captured during the first few months of the war between Japan and America ...