THe Prisoners of War
During World War two, Japan took over 22 000 Australian service men were captured by the Japanese army.these men were recognised as POW in 1942.
During the War 22 000 Australian soldiers were captured by the Japanese in 1942 .Many of the captured pow were relocated to south east Asia sent to Korea, Burma,japan,Thailand and Borneo.
In these camps POW's faced poor living conditions and disease. Many men were killed by starvation, work, punishment or disease. The camps were surrounded by barbed wire And if prisoners tried to escape they were shot in front of other prisoners. Some of the Japanese guards knew how to speak English but prisoners were forced to learn Japanese to understand commands. If they couldn't figure out what they were told to do, it was a ticket to be beaten.
A torture that the guards would do to the Australians was to place them in the "Selarang Barracks". It was a act of stuffing five thousand in a barrack without food or water. For four days, they forced to stand shoulder-to-shoulder in a space only to fit one thousand men. This easily murdered more than two thousand men while inside suffering from starvation and dehydration.
In these camps POW's faced poor living conditions and disease. Many men were killed by starvation, work, punishment or disease. The camps were surrounded by barbed wire And if prisoners tried to escape they were shot in front of other prisoners. Some of the Japanese guards knew how to speak English but prisoners were forced to learn Japanese to understand commands. If they couldn't figure out what they were told to do, it was a ticket to be beaten.
A torture that the guards would do to the Australians was to place them in the "Selarang Barracks". It was a act of stuffing five thousand in a barrack without food or water. For four days, they forced to stand shoulder-to-shoulder in a space only to fit one thousand men. This easily murdered more than two thousand men while inside suffering from starvation and dehydration.