Australian Pows

The treatment of Australian POW’s, particularly under the Japanese, in WW2 was horrifying, and is considered one of the greatest war atrocities Australia has ever seen. This essay will showcase the ___ treatment of POW’s in Changi, Singapore, and along the construction of the Burma –Thailand railway line as well as mentioning the experiences of those in Europe and the experience of POW civilians and nurses. All those who interred during WWII faced harsh conditions, and their experiences has significantly impacted Australian history.

Over 22,000 Australian Soldiers, 40 nurses and hundreds of civilians, were captured by the Japanese during WWII, with a further 8,600+ held captive in European camps in Germany, Italy and Greece. Of 22,000 captured
100,000 POW’s were originally crammed into the space, however during the following weeks and months many moved out to labour camps across South-East Asia or to work along the Burma-Thailand railway. Changi was considered well-organised, with little Japanese interference with the POW’s, with only guards patrolling outside of wire fences. However, this left POW’s to fend for themselves – growing and scavenging food such as rice, boiled grass and any creatures unfortunate enough to cross their path – which included monkeys, rats and snakes. Australian POW’s were forced to work in the nearby area, including an airstrip for Japanese supplies, while simultaneously surviving on only 200 calories – half of what they needed – with one soldier writing that there were “6 deaths in 24 hours” caused by starvation (Stan Arneil, 1943). Pictures from the time show POW’s with sunken eyes, exposed ribs and bone thin limbs – much which was caused by cholera. It should be note that Changi was considered “safe” and “comfortable” compared to many other work camps – further indicating the horrendous experience of Australian POW’s in
Many accounts from POW’s in Europe tell of daring escapes rather than day to day atrocities. Of the 8.600 ANZACs captured in Europe 265 died – most captured from Mediterranean and Middle Eastern campaigns and RAAF pilots that parachuted into enemy territory. As for civilian and nurse POW’s conditions were equally terrible – for although they did not participate in physical labour, survival was mostly based on luck due to the disorganisation of civilian camps. Of the 65 nurses returning to Australia, 32 were interred (the other 33 died tragically) and of those only 24 survived.

With the information presented showing the torturous experiences of those interred in POW camps, in Europe and South-East Asia, as well as the hellish work done on the Burma-Thailand railway – which was never used due to it being destroyed by allied bombings – we see the impact that this atrocity had on Australia’s history as well as all those directly affected by these