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Japanese Prisoner of War Camps

Page history last edited by Ducky 13 years, 11 months ago

Japanese Prisoner of War Camps were the last place any soldier wanted to end up. The brutal guards had been taught to die, rather than surrender, so prisoners were treated harshly and without mercy. The Japanese army ignored almost all of the Geneva Convention rules, and prisoners were beaten, starved, and not allowed to send or receive mail or care packages. They were forced to walk long distances to their camps, such as the infamous Bataan Death March. In this march, U.S. and Filipino prisoners, many of them injured, were forced to walk 62 miles. Of the 18,600 men, about 10,700 died along the way. Many soldiers were convinced that camps inside of Japan had better conditions than those in other places. Either way, Allied prisoners of war in Japanese camps face decrepit barracks, malnutrition, and hard physical labor.

Table of Contents

i. Barracks

ii. Nutrition

iii. Labor

iv. Works Cited

v. Return to Home

Barracks

The living conditions in Japanese Prisoner of War Camps were far from ideal. Not many of the facilities were newly built (Hale, Edward E.). In fact, many were old or abandoned warehouses, vacant schools, or unused employee dorms that had fallen into disrepair (Hale, Edward E.). Prisoners were allowed only one bath a week, if they were lucky (Fukubayashi, Toru). However, there was not soap or warm water (Fukubayashi, Toru). Most camps faced over crowding, too. “Our barracks were so small and rotten”, one POW remembers (Hale 123)(Hale, Edward E.). Typically, there was a narrow passageway lined with bunks on either side. Traditional "Benjo" toilets were provided for the inmates (Hale, Edward E.). These primitive facilities were basically a seat with a bowl beneath them. They were unsanitary, and often filled the barrack with a rank stench. A few bare light bulbs were often the only light source in the dim rooms. POWs were creative and often turned discarded oil drums and barrels into makeshift stoves and sources of heat. The bunks were often stacked three or four high, with only flimsy straw mats serving as mattresses (Fukubayashi, Toru). Prisoners were forced to sleep two to three men per bunk.

~Prisoners in the Bataan Death march carry their comrades too weak to walk in

slings as they approach their destination. Barracks can be

seen in the background~

Nutrition

Most prisoners who spent time in Japanese camps suffered from malnourishment. At the beginning of the war, the food situation wasn’t the best, but as time wore on; it became more and more dire. One POW lost almost 100lbs. from time in the camp. The men were typically fed twice a day, and were given seaweed, stewed weeds, rice, stale bread, and every so often, meat (Reynolds, Gary K). Trading often took place, and if you were lucky enough to receive a care package from home (many were sent but not delivered), you could trade any unneeded items with guards for extra food (Hale, Edward E.). Unfortunately, the lack of protein in their diet made many of the men sick and weak. “We tried to allot extra food from the meager rations of the working men to those who seemed in the direst need, but in was impossible to tell who was weakest” (Hale 115)(Hale, Edward E.). Eventually, Japanese guards realized that some men had died from pure starvation, and scared that they might face tricky questions from their superiors, they began to feed inmates life-giving soy beans (Hale, Edward E.). These protein-rich beans dragged many men back from the brink of starvation and saved their lives. Near the end of the war, as the Japanese needed more soldiers, the task of preparing food was turned over to the POWs themselves; however, they never had direct control over the portions (Fukubayashi, Toru).

~Malnourished prisoners look warily at their captor during a break from work~

Labor

All prisoners were forced to perform physical labor. In theory, they were to be paid one yen per day, which they could spend on “luxuries” from the towns near by (Fukubayashi, Toru). Hardly any prisoner attempted to escape on these outings, because any escapee that was re-captured would be beheaded along with ten innocent inmates (Reynolds, Gary K.). In addition, the majority of laborers were required to sign a sheet claiming they had been paid, even though they were not. The prisoners were supposed to work 8-10 hour days, but often they worked longer (Hale, Edward E.). Many men were so weak that they could barely stand. “…Some men even collapsed on the job…the Japanese arranged to have them carry a wooden tag with the order that they were to be assigned to light work only” (Hale 114)(Hale, Edward E.). Despite this, only a few passes were given out. Carrying goods, loading and unloading trains, mining, manufacturing, and construction were all possible jobs. Any minor infraction could, and most likely would, be rewarded with a harsh beating. The 400-mile Thai-Burma railroad was constructed by a group of POWs (Reynolds, Gary K.). Of the 61,000 men working on it, 13,000 would not survive (Reynolds, Gary K.).

~Before the Bataan Death March, prisoners were forced to go through bodies of their fallen comrades,

and clear up the "mess" they had created~

Works Cited

Adams, Marie. “We Were Hungry; We Were Starved.” US News and World Report 24 July 2006: n. pag. Web. 3 May 2010. <http://web.ebscohost.com/‌ehost/‌detail?vid=8&hid=14&sid=f36d9016-0f21-465d-806a-5d7511bcca63%40sessionmgr4&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=mih&AN=21579782>. Source #2

Chrisp, Peter. The War in the Pacific. Austin, TX: Steck-Vaughn Company, 2004. N. pag. Print. Source #5

Cundick, Ronald P. “Prisoner Of War.” Encyclopedia Americana. Grolier Online, 2010. Web. 3 May 2010. <http://go.grolier.com/>. Source #1

Fukubayashi, Toru. “POW Camps in Japan.” POW Research. Research Network Japan, 2010. Web. 3 May 2010. <http://www.powresearch.jp/‌en/‌archive/‌camplist/‌index.html>. source #3

Hale, Edward E., and Helen Heightsman Gordon. First Captured, Last Freed. N.p.: Grizzly Bear Press, 1995. Google Books. Web. 7 May 2010. <http://books.google.com/ books?id=cKuRhaMLqDAC&dq=Japanese+prisoner+of+war+camp+quotes&printsec=frontcover&source=in&hl=en&ei=esziS4z-NsT38AbmmNGKDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=13&ved=0CDUQ6AEwDA#v=snippet&q=copy%20right&f=false>. source 12

History Corrected. 1942. AP Images. Web. 10 May 2010. <http://apimages.ap.org/‌OneUp.aspx?st=k&kw=Bataan%20Death%20March&showact=results&sort=relevance&intv=None&sh=14&kwstyle=and&adte=1273500750&dah=-1&pagez=60&cfasstyle=AND&nextdah=X%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2C24%2C24%2C24%2C24%2C24%2C24%2C24%2C24%2C24%2C4%2C4%2C4%2C4%2C4%2C4%2C4%2C4%2C4%2C5%2C5%2C5%2C5%2C5%2C5%2C5%2C5%2C5%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX%2CX&rids=013eb204130d487ba6caee2aea13a095&dbm=PY2010&page=1&xslt=1&dispname=10031803707%2C%20History%20Corrrected>. Pic. 2, Source #9

Japanese Capture in the Philipines. Discovery Education streaming. Web. 5 May 2010. <http://player.discoveryeducation.com/‌index.cfm?guidAssetId=B228E85E-D6F6-43B1-98B9-2A43D5A804BF&blnFromSearch=1&productcode=US>. source #6

Prisoners During Infamous Bataan Death March. 1942. Discovery Education streaming. Web. 10 May 2010. <http://player.discoveryeducation.com/‌index.cfm?guidAssetId=45AA23AF-E16B-411D-BD25-9236BD22B76F&blnFromSearch=1&productcode=US>. Pic. #1 Source #8

Reynolds, Gary K. “U.S. Prisoners of War and Civilian American Citizens Captured and Interned by Japan in World War II: The Issue of Compensation by Japan.” Navy Departmnet Library. N.p., 17 Dec. 2002. Web. 3 May 2010. <http://www.history.navy.mil/‌library/‌online/‌usprisoners_japancomp.htm#prison>. source #4

Sledge, E.B. “World War II Quotes.” Schmoop. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 May 2010. <http://www.shmoop.com/‌wwii/‌quotes.html>. source #7

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