A pathbreaking account of World War II POW camps, challenging the
longstanding belief that the Japanese Empire systematically
mistreated Allied prisoners. In only five months, from the attack
on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 to the fall of Corregidor in May
1942, the Japanese Empire took prisoner more than 140,000 Allied
servicemen and 130,000 civilians from a dozen different countries.
From Manchuria to Java, Burma to New Guinea, the Japanese army
hastily set up over seven hundred camps to imprison these
unfortunates. In the chaos, 40 percent of American POWs did not
survive. More Australians died in captivity than were killed in
combat. Sarah Kovner offers the first portrait of detention in the
Pacific theater that explains why so many suffered. She follows
Allied servicemen in Singapore and the Philippines transported to
Japan on “hellships” and singled out for hard labor, but also
describes the experience of guards and camp commanders, who were
completely unprepared for the task. Much of the worst treatment
resulted from a lack of planning, poor training, and bureaucratic
incoherence rather than an established policy of debasing and
tormenting prisoners. The struggle of POWs tended to be greatest
where Tokyo exercised the least control, and many were killed by
Allied bombs and torpedoes rather than deliberate mistreatment. By
going beyond the horrific accounts of captivity to actually explain
why inmates were neglected and abused, Prisoners of the Empire
contributes to ongoing debates over POW treatment across myriad war
zones, even to the present day.
General
Imprint: |
Harvard University Press
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Release date: |
September 2020 |
Authors: |
Sarah Kovner
|
Dimensions: |
235 x 156 x 35mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Hardcover
|
Pages: |
336 |
ISBN-13: |
978-0-674-73761-7 |
Categories: |
Books
|
LSN: |
0-674-73761-X |
Barcode: |
9780674737617 |
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