prisoners of war Flashcards
where were some POW camps where australians situated
Changhi (singapore), Sandakan (borneo) - ran the sandakan death march, Stalag IX-B (germany)
what was the sandakan death march
on 24th october, 1945 The Sandakan Death Marches were forced marches of Allied POWs by the Japanese during World War II from Sandakan to Ranau in Borneo. The brutal conditions led to the deaths of nearly all prisoners involved.
what was the thai-burma railways
building occured from october 1942-october 1943. The Thai-Burma Railway, also known as the Death Railway, was a 415-kilometer railway constructed by the Japanese during World War II that ran from burma to thailand. it used forced labor from Allied POW and asian civilians. The harsh conditions and brutal treatment led to the deaths of more than 90,000 asian civilians and 16,000 POWS with 2800 being australian
describe pow experience + diseases they suffered from
they endured years of malnutrition, neglect, starvation, torture and disease. some diseases included malaria, dysentery, bad mental health/PTSD and pellagra
how did the japanese treat prisoners
POWS faced regular beatings, psychological/physical abuse/torture for minor things-nothing. they also were forced into long working hours on things like the Burma-Thailand railway. they also were severely starved and malnourished due to being given small rations of food. bad sanitation, starvation and long hours led to many diseases. constant death threats + watching friends be tortured and live in constant fear. enforced to work on railway and hellfire pass where many died due to exhaustion, malnutrition and beautings if they couldn’t keep going. pow abuse also included medical experiments like vibisections and beheadings. guards would show extreme racial + cultural prejudice led to abuse. this was also built on the bishops code when surrender was shameful and brought sin our (pows seen as non-humans) they also randomly abused and beat POWS if they failed to work + forced to stand for hours in sun or cold and carry out excessive labour
