- Approx. 37 000 Australians became POW’s
- German and Italian forces captured about 15 500 of these campaigns in Europe and the Middle East.
- The POW camps in Europe were much safer and had a higher survival rate than the Japanese camps.
Changi
Main Japanese POW camp in Singapore. It Comprised a former British Army barracks set amid thousands of acres of land at Selerang and a fairly new and modern civilian prison in the village of Changi. Changi were forced to accommodate 15000 prisoners although it was only designed for 1500 reducing the luxury and hygiene. Changi was a torture house of the POW due to the lack of supplies. The POW also worked for Japanese and sent to labour camps in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Indochina, Burma, Manchuria, Korea, Formosa (Taiwan) and in Japan itself.
Death before dishonour
The Japanese were very unaware of the amount of prisoners they had under their control therefore just simply killing many of them. The Japanese believed that it was a soldier’s duty to fight till death and they had little respect for those who surrendered. The conditions in Changi as more and more prisoners were accommodated. The POW were sent to Singapore loading ships, clearing sewers, building roads and repairing the docks. Due to the increase of Prisoners the supply of medicine and food were decreased sparing more money for shelter. The day-to-day diet was only a small portion of rice and a limited amount of drink. Being held a prisoner was a huge struggle just to simply survive especially in Indonesia and Thailand. Over 60 000 POW were forced to work on the construction of the Thai-Burma railway in Bangkok. Many died here including 2815 Australian soldiers of the 16000 that died.
- German and Italian forces captured about 15 500 of these campaigns in Europe and the Middle East.
- The POW camps in Europe were much safer and had a higher survival rate than the Japanese camps.
Changi
Main Japanese POW camp in Singapore. It Comprised a former British Army barracks set amid thousands of acres of land at Selerang and a fairly new and modern civilian prison in the village of Changi. Changi were forced to accommodate 15000 prisoners although it was only designed for 1500 reducing the luxury and hygiene. Changi was a torture house of the POW due to the lack of supplies. The POW also worked for Japanese and sent to labour camps in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Indochina, Burma, Manchuria, Korea, Formosa (Taiwan) and in Japan itself.
Death before dishonour
The Japanese were very unaware of the amount of prisoners they had under their control therefore just simply killing many of them. The Japanese believed that it was a soldier’s duty to fight till death and they had little respect for those who surrendered. The conditions in Changi as more and more prisoners were accommodated. The POW were sent to Singapore loading ships, clearing sewers, building roads and repairing the docks. Due to the increase of Prisoners the supply of medicine and food were decreased sparing more money for shelter. The day-to-day diet was only a small portion of rice and a limited amount of drink. Being held a prisoner was a huge struggle just to simply survive especially in Indonesia and Thailand. Over 60 000 POW were forced to work on the construction of the Thai-Burma railway in Bangkok. Many died here including 2815 Australian soldiers of the 16000 that died.