What was life like for the prisoners of war?
The experience of capture could be humiliating. Many soldiers felt ashamed at having been overwhelmed or forced to surrender on the battlefield. It could also be traumatic. Airmen who had been shot down were hunted down in enemy territory after surviving a crash in which friends might have been killed.
What were the living conditions in Japanese POW camps?
Internees lived in uninsulated barracks furnished only with cots and coal-burning stoves. Residents used common bathroom and laundry facilities, but hot water was usually limited. The camps were surrounded by barbed-wire fences patrolled by armed guards who had instructions to shoot anyone who tried to leave.
What conditions did the prisoners of war live in during working on the railway?
Consequently, the prisoners were malnourished, dehydrated, and predisposed to illness. These factors, compounded by the unsanitary conditions in the work camps and the tropical environment, meant that disease was rampant. Dysentery and diarrhea were responsible for more than one-third of all deaths on the railway.
Was there cannibalism during WWII?
For six months, historian Toshiyuki Tanaka dug through Australian archives to tell his country that some Japanese soldiers were cannibals during the last desperate days of World War II. Allied forces have known this for years.
What did the Indian prisoners of war eat?
That TOI report went on to detail the privations of the Indian prisoners in the camps: “At Rabaul, their normal working day was from 10 to 12 hours, but on days when heavy bombing raids were put in by the Americans, they would work from 12 to 14 hours. Towards the end, their diet consisted of sweet potatoes and tapioca.
When did Indian soldiers become prisoners of war?
After the fall of Singapore on February 15, 1942, 40,000 men of the Indian Army became prisoners of war (PoWs). Some 30,000 of them joined the INA. But those who refused were destined for torture in the Japanese concentration camps.
Who was the Indian prisoner of war in Hong Kong?
Some of the 330 rescued Indians on board the medical ship Oxfordshire told about Captain Mateen Ahmed Ansari of 5th battalion, 7th Rajput Regiment. He was a KCIO and the nephew of the Nizam of Hyderabad. They called him “one of the greatest heroes of the prison camps at Hong Kong”.
Who was an inmate in Kaiserwald concentration camp?
Courtesy of The Wiener Holocaust Library Collections. In this letter Jacob Efrat, an inmate of Kaiserwald and Strassendorf concentration camps, describes one Kapo’s actions in a post-war testimony. Some Kapos were known to abuse their authority, as described in this account, making them unpopular amongst other inmates.