Journal article
Japanese treatment of allied prisoners during the Second World War: Evaluating the death toll
Journal of Contemporary History, Vol.55(3), pp.514-534
2020
Abstract
The high death rate of Allied prisoners of war in the Pacific compared with those in Europe is commonly used to signify the barbarous way in which the Japanese fought the Second World War. This study examines the extent to which ‘friendly fire’ inflated the death rate of Allied prisoners under the Japanese, and evaluates more broadly the perceived disparity between Japanese and German treatment of Allied prisoners of war (POWs). Four broad conclusions are drawn. First, that while Allied submarine and air attacks elevated the deaths rate of Allied prisoners held by the Japanese, even if these are excluded the POW death rate remains significantly higher than for those held by Germany. Second, in some respects, POW death rates under the Japanese can be more productively and favourably compared to Germany's treatment of Soviet prisoners on the Eastern front than its treatment of Western captives. Third, the death rates mask the diversity of prisoners’ experience under the Japanese. Finally, it is suggested that perhaps the single most important difference between German and Japanese treatment of Allied prisoners was the latter's failure to adequately distribute Red Cross supplies.
Details
- Title
- Japanese treatment of allied prisoners during the Second World War: Evaluating the death toll
- Authors/Creators
- M. Sturma (Author/Creator)
- Publication Details
- Journal of Contemporary History, Vol.55(3), pp.514-534
- Publisher
- SAGE
- Identifiers
- 991005543110307891
- Copyright
- © 2019 by SAGE Publications
- Murdoch Affiliation
- School of Arts
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article
Metrics
161 Record Views
InCites Highlights
These are selected metrics from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool, related to this output
- Citation topics
- 6 Social Sciences
- 6.277 Asian Studies
- 6.277.1672 Japanese Cultural Identity
- Web Of Science research areas
- History
- ESI research areas
- Social Sciences, general