The order for Extermination
As Japan realised that it was losing the war the infamous
order to annihilate all prisoners in the event of Allied
invasion, and remove all evidence, was given. Not all Japanese
camp commanders adhered to these instructions from Tokyo, but
there are numerous examples where they were. At Sandakan, in
British North Borneo, 2434 Australian and British POWs were
systematically killed; there were only six survivors, all
escapees.
One example of the guidance given by Tokyo was translated as:
The Time
Although the basic aim is to act under superior orders,
individual disposition may be made in the following
circumstances:
- when an uprising of large numbers
cannot be suppressed without the use of firearms
- when escapees from the camp may turn
into a hostile fighting force
The Methods
- whether they are destroyed
individually or in groups, or however it is done, with mass
bombing, poisonous smoke, poisons, drowning, decapitation,
or what, dispose of them as the situation dictates
- in any case it is the aim not to allow
the escape of a single one, to annihilate them all, and
leave not any traces
Taken from Sandakan, by Lynette Ramsay Silver
This guidance was given to Japanese camp commanders and it
serves to indicate the fear the Japanese had that when the
Allied invasions came, large numbers of prisoners might revolt
and interfere with Japanese defence.
Unbeknown to most POWs, Allied Special Forces (Force136 and E
Group) were already operating in the vicinity of some POW Camps
to be available to prevent massacres and take advantage of the
numbers of POWs available. In many cases the POWs would have
been physically unable to mount any meaningful resistance,
indeed in some cases, starvation rations were implemented
precisely to achieve this end. However there are some reports
that some POWs, Indian captives in Malaya for example, had been
stockpiling stolen rifles against such an eventuality. |
