Prisoners of war Books

'[Reveals] the full horror of a warped version of Bushido. It is not a pleasant read, but a necessary one.' Russ Lockwood, MagwebThe war crimes trials at Nuremberg and Tokyo meted out the Allies' official justice; Lord Russell of Liverpool's sensational bestselling books on the Axis' war crimes decided the public's opinion. The Knights of Bushido, Russell's shocking account of Japanese brutality in the Pacific in World War II, describes how the noble founding principles of the Empire of Japan were perverted by the military into a systematic campaign of torture, murder, starvation, rape and destruction. Notorious incidents like the Nanking Massacre and the Bataan Death March emerge as merely part of a pattern of human rights abuses. Undoubtedly formidable soldiers, the Japanese were terrible conquerors. Their conduct in the Pacific is a harrowing example of the doctrine of mutual destruction carried to the extreme, and begs the question of what is acceptable - and unacceptable - in total war.

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Book SynopsisThe mistreatment and captivity of women by the Japanese is a little known and poorly documented aspect of the Second World War. In The Real Tenko, Mark Felton, who has a fast growing reputation as an authority and author on the war in the Far East, redresses this omission with a typically well researched yet necessarily gruesome account of the plight of Allied service-women, female civilians and local women in Japanese hands.Among the atrocities shamefully committed by the Emperor's forces were numerous massacres of nurses; that at Alexandra Hospital, Singapore being perhaps the best known. The lack of respect for their defeated enemies extended in full measure to both European and Asian women and their vulnerability was all too often shockingly exploited. Those who found themselves imprisoned fared little better and suffered appalling indignities and starvation. Also covered are the hardships of gruelling marches under extreme conditions. Whereas the sexual enslavement of so called 'Comfort Women' has been regarded as affecting only Asiatic women, it transpires that this horror was experienced by whites as well.The Real Tenko is a disturbing and shocking testimony both to the callous and cruel behaviour of the Japanese and to the courage and fortitude of those who suffered at their hands.

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Book SynopsisPrisoners of war have featured in virtually every conflict that the US has engaged in since its revolutionary beginnings. Today visitors to Washington will frequently see a black POW flag flying high on government buildings or war memorials in silent memory. This act of fealty towards prisoners reflects a history where they have frequently been a rallying point, source of outrage and problem for both military and political leaders. This is as true for the 2003 Iraq War as it was the American Revolution. Yet, the story of prisoners in American wars (both enemies taken and soldiers captured) reveals much about the nation itself; how it fights conflicts and its attitudes towards laws of war. A nation born out of an exceptional ideology, the United States has frequently found itself faced with the contradictory imperatives to be both exemplary and secure: while American diplomats might be negotiating a treaty at The Hague, American soldiers could be fighting a bloody insurrection where it seemed that few if any rules applied. By taking a historical approach, this book demonstrates that the challenges America faced regarding international law and the war on terror were not entirely unique or unprecedented. Rather, to be properly understood, such dilemmas must be contextualized within the long history of those prisoners captured in American wars.Trade Review'makes a valuable contribution to debate on the US military and the development of the politics of the laws of war in relation to the treatment of prisoners of war and prisoners in war.' * Dr Ruth Blakeley, University of Kent *'The laws of war have been much discussed, often both criticized and revered, but also often little understood--especially in relation to politics. Stephanie Carvin increases our understanding of this vexing topic, especially concerning prisoners of war in irregular armed conflict. Rather than providing another legalistic treatise on the Geneva Conventions and Protocols, she has asked how does a nation's ideology affect how it views the laws of war. She takes the controversial policies of the George W. Bush Administration after 9/11 regarding enemy detainees and puts them in historical perspective, with an emphasis on the political values driving legal interpretation. The result is a readable and intriguing analysis of national ideology, policy making, and international law.' * David P. Forsythe, University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Author of The Humanitarians: The International Committee of the Red Cross *Table of ContentsIntroduction Part I: A Weapon and Restraint: America and Restraints on Conflict in the Age of Total Wars 1750-1950 Chapter 1: Culture or Carnage? The Laws of War in the First Wars of the Republic 1750-1860 Chapter 2: ManifestA" Humanitarians: The United States, International Law and Modern Warfare 1860-1950 Part II: There and Back Again?: The United States and the Laws of War from Vietnam to Abu Ghraib Chapter 3: Legal Revolution America and the Laws of War After Vietnam Chapter 4: Just cause and Just Means? Linking the purpose and tactics of war after 9/11 Chapter 5: Failure of an Ethos? Operation Iraqi Freedom, America and Abu Ghraib Conclusion: The United States and future of the laws of war

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Book SynopsisIn the early years of the second world war, Japan had the upper hand in the Pacific theatre. Thousands of Allied servicemen were captured and endured brutal treatment – many died, and most of the survivors were held until war’s end in August 1945.This book tells the story of the men who were incarcerated at the Mukden POW camp in northeast China, which was designated for prisoners with special technical skills and high-ranking officers. They included troops from British and Dutch territories and Australia, but the majority were Americans who had been captured in the Philippines and taken part in the infamous Bataan Death March.Based on extensive field research and interviews with former POWs, Yang Jing’s harrowing account of life in the Mukden camp provides detailed evidence of the crimes perpetrated by the Japanese during the second world war, as well as a Chinese perspective on a fascinating period of history.

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Book SynopsisThe time was 7.40 p.m., the date 15 February 1942. The light was fading fast, the Allied forces were encircled, and the bombardment was relentless, as Singapore fell to the Japanese. Discarding their weapons, the Lancashire Loyals quietly withdrew to their quarters, where they ‘composed themselves as best they could for the silent ordeal of the night, numbed and galled by the bitterness of enforced surrender’. So began three and half years of incarceration at Keijo POW camp in Korea. This is the previously untold story of the brave Lancastrians who endured, told by Chris Given-Wilson, whose father was one of those captured. It is a story of brutality, starvation and disease, but also one of survival, determination and creativity. Among the many ways the prisoners sought to keep their spirits up were the staging of surprisingly sophisticated shows, complete with Gloria d’Earie, the resident female impersonator; the growing of fresh vegetables to improve their health; and the regular publication of Nor Iron Bars (co-edited by the author’s father), with its satirical portrayals of camp life. Copies of this banned journal were successfully concealed from the guards to be smuggled home, and can be seen at the Lancashire Infantry Museum. Chris Given-Wilson writes with warmth and humour, to reveal both the best and the worst of human nature. This book should be read by everyone, but perhaps especially all proud Lancastrians.Table of ContentsPreface vii Principal sources xi Abbreviations and illustrations xii Chapter 1: Lion City 1 Prisoner stories: ‘James’ 15 Chapter 2: Fukai Maru 17 Prisoner stories: Gunner Starkey 31 Chapter 3: Endurance 35 Prisoner stories: Bombardier Butler 55 Chapter 4: Insincerity 59 Prisoner stories: Dr Mizuguchi 71 Chapter 5: Rank 75 Prisoner stories: Artists 91 Chapter 6: Mainichi 97 Prisoner stories: ‘Their Nibs’ 113 Chapter 7: ‘Not necessarily to Japan’s advantage’ 119 Prisoner stories: ‘My first uncensored letter for three and a half years!’ 126 Retrospect: ‘The hinge of fate’ 129 Bibliography 138 Endnotes 140

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