“Allied prisoners of war were regarded by the Japanese as completely dishonorable and were subject to appalling treatment.”
– Kent Budge, The Pacific War online Encyclopedia |
“They don't surrender. Anyone who
surrenders is less than human.” – LTC James Fischer |
Japanese Prison Camps
Japanese prisoners were treated like animals because they “believed that soldiers should die in battle rather than surrender and... dishonor themselves” (Kent Budge). They considered surrender a crime punishable by death.
They starved POWs, denied them medical care, and forced them to perform slave labor.
In Manchuria, the Japanese violated prisoners' rights when they were subject to biological warfare and live experimentation. They were transferred on “Hell Ships,” which got their name from the cramped, disease-ridden cargo holds in which prisoners traveled.
The Death Railway
“We lost about one man for every tie on that railroad.” – Robert Hanley (Ex-POW) “I didn't get bothered too much. I got slapped around a couple of times, but not like the other men did.” – Robert Hanley (Ex-POW) “As soon as it was fixed, they came over and blew it up again. We had American four engine bombers come over there. We even got a lot of our men bombed. They thought we were the Japanese. They put us right next to the bridge and didn’t put any red crosses or anything to indicate we were prisoners of war. They thought we were a Japanese camp until they found out later.” – Robert Hanley (Ex-POW) |
Interview with Ex-POW Robert Hanley, who was taken captive by Japan for three and a half years during WWII.
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The 1942 Bataan Death March
An atrocity carried out by the Japanese in WWII was the Bataan Death March, where approximately 75,000
prisoners were forced to march more than 60 miles to various prison camps. Around
10,000 prisoners died along the march from lack of food, water, and shelter.
prisoners were forced to march more than 60 miles to various prison camps. Around
10,000 prisoners died along the march from lack of food, water, and shelter.