Japanese Prisoners Of War Essay

In only a week of battling the Japanese, Singapore, the “Impregnable Fortress” had fallen. Around 80,000 Australian and British and European soldiers became Prisoners of War (POW).

The Japanese Occupation impacted the British Prisoners of War politically. The Japanese wanted to disseenx the idea of white supremacy. They did not want the British to be ruling over Singapore, an asian country. Therefore, when the British surrendered the Japanese took in mainly Australians, British and Europeans as POW. Allied soldiers were given menial tasks to do as well. All internees were forced to sign a pledge of non-escape in 1942, a contravention of the Geneva Convention, after four Prisoners of War attempted to escape from Selarang Camp. The Japanese

Prisoners of War were separated from their families, they were not allowed much contact with them either. Even though the prisoners were supposed to be able to communicate with their families through the International Red Cross, the Japanese did not stick to these terms. However, some internees would sneak out during their breaks to meet up with family members or friends. They would give them updates about the conditions in the civilian world. The British were stripped of their freedom and titles in society. Their self esteem was most likely damaged when they had to be road sweepers and do laborious work they would not usually have to do. They had to show proper respect to the Japanese soldiers by bowing whenever they passed by. If they did not do so, they would be severely punished. The Japanese separated the Prisoners of War by gender, male and female. Therefore, there was less interaction between genders. The Japanese also controlled the media and newspapers that the internees saw or read heavily. Thus, connections to the outside world was limited. Although, some British would hide a wireless. One example of where they kept it secretly was in the head of the broom and the legs of a table.The horrific torture the prisoners had to survive left a big impact even when out of the camp. Many had to attend rehabilitation to assimilate back to