Thai-Burma "Death Railway" -  Indian POWs, Labourers also died

The Thai–Burma (or Burma-Siam) railway - which stretched over 400 kilometers between Thailand and Myanmar (Burma) - was built in 1942–43 to supply the Japanese forces in Burma. 

When completed a year later, the Japanese planned to carry food, ammunition and troops for their long-planned offensive into India.  They also wanted to attack the roads and airfields over the Himalayan Mountains used by the Allies to supply China.  

More than 60,000 Allied prisoners of war (POWs) were employed in the construction of the railway, including British Empire troops, Dutch and colonial troops from the Netherlands East Indies and a smaller number of US troops. 

The Japanese also coerced about 200,000 Asian "slave" labourers to work on the railway, including Burmese, Chinese, Indonesian, Malay, Tamil, and Thai. 

Disease and Starvation

The British had surveyed a possible rail connection route between Thailand and Burma in the 1880s but abandoned the project because of the challenges posed by the impossible terrain, thick jungle and lack of adequate roads.  

Japanese soldiers worked on the railway as engineers or guards. Since their military code made them view POWs as unworthy of respect, they did not provide adequate food and medicine or slow the pace of construction. As a result, many thousands of prisoners died from disease and starvation.

100,000 Asian Labourers, including Tamils, Perished

More than 12,000 Allied POWs died during the construction; hence the name "Death Railway." Around 1,000 Japanese died.  

Many Asian labourers also lost their lives; one life was lost for each railway sleeper laid in the track.  Although record keeping was poor, about 100,000 Tamil and other Asian labourers are estimated to have perished.  

About 7,000 POWs who died while constructing the railway are buried at Thailand's Kanchanaburi War Cemetery.  Another 2,000 are laid to rest at Chungkai.  Both cemeteries are maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Bridge on the River Kwai

The 1957 David Lean film "Bridge on the River Kwai" - about the building of a bridge on the Death Railway - features an unhinged British POW commander Col. Nicholson (played by Alec Guinness) who takes such pride in British expertise that he cooperates with Japanese commander, Col. Saito, to demonstrate what British engineering skills can accomplish.  When an Allied commando mission tries to sabotage the bridge, Nicholson almost foils them. The plot is loosely-based on a real life incident.

The theme of the film is the futility and insanity of war; the British and Japanese commanders are both egotistical, inflexible and blindly follow rules and tradition.

Railway Man

A new film, "The Railway Man" (which I coincidentally saw on the flight back to the US) is a moving real life account of how a British soldier (Eric Lomax, played by Colin Firth), survived torture and extreme deprivation as a POW in Thailand.  Lomax (a lifelong railway buff), was force-marched along with other Australian, British, Indian and Malay prisoners to the infamous concentration camp at Changi in Singapore.  He was subsequently sent to Burma to work on the railway.  

Lomax (who died in 2012, age 93) and other POWs built their own radio to follow the progress of the war; but they were caught, severely beaten (two died) and moved to a special prison for prolonged torture.  Because of these experiences, Lomax suffered severe mental trauma for years after the war.  Unlike many others, he not only survived but - some 40 years later - returned to face his chief Japanese tormentor. 

Ludi.

Singapore, August 28, 2014

Text and Photos from my iPad

Changi Prison and Changi Chapel, Singapore