sec2 chap7 syonan[1]

THE FALLOF

SINGAPORE

Major areas of attack : Tengah Airfield, Kranji, Bukit Timah, City areas

Surrender of the British 15 Feb 1942 – "Black Sunday"

NAVAL BASENAVAL BASE

SURRENDER SURRENDER PERIMETERPERIMETER

MANDAI/NEE SOON

BUKIT TIMAH

PASIR PANJANG

15 FEB 194215 FEB 1942

TENGAH

SELETAR

SEMBAWANG

2

1

34

15 FEB 1942

THE SYONAN YEARS

• Coming under New Masters• Meeting Their Fates• Living the Days of Darkness• Fighting against the Japanese• Lessons from the Japanese

Occupation

SINGAPORE DURING THE JAPANESE OCCUPATION

COMING UNDER NEW COMING UNDER NEW MASTERSMASTERS

• Singapore – Renamed ‘Syonan-To’• Syonan = Light of the South

• People suffered great hardships• Lived in constant fear of the

Japanese

MEETING THEIR FATESMEETING THEIR FATES

• The Allied POWs• The Local Civilians

MEETING THEIR FATESMEETING THEIR FATES

• The Allied POWs– British, Australian and Allied

Europeans, including women and children, were imprisoned

– became POWs– Changi Prison, Selarang Barracks– numbered more than 50,000

MEETING THEIR FATESMEETING THEIR FATES

• The Allied POWs– Indians soldiers and Gurkhas– asked to pledge loyalty to Japan– asked to join the Indian National Army

(INA) – set up by CPT Mohan Singh, a surrendered

officer from the British Indian Army– those who refused were tortured,

imprisoned or killed

MEETING THEIR FATESMEETING THEIR FATES

• The Local Civilians– Japanese took action to place locals

under control– determined to wipe out those who

might threaten their rule– The Chinese became the main target– Wipe out all those considered to be

anti-Japanese– Operation Sook Ching

Singapore Under Japanese Singapore Under Japanese RuleRule

Singapore Under Japanese Singapore Under Japanese RuleRule

Japanese soldiers using a prisoner as a live target to practise bayonet fighting

A Japanese soldier torturing a prisoner

THE PRICE OF PEACETHE PRICE OF PEACE

THE WATER TREATMENTTHE WATER TREATMENT

“…..our captors beat us up, subject us to electric shocks and pumped us up with water as part of the interrogation routine.

The feeling of having one’s belly pumped full of water and then seeing the water gushing out of the body was hardly bearable.”

ELECTRIC SHOCKSELECTRIC SHOCKS

“…..when my interrogators could not get information out of me, they dragged my husband from Outram Prison, tied him up and made him kneel beside me. Then, in his full view, they stripped me to the waist and applied electric currents to me.”

ELECTRIC SHOCKSELECTRIC SHOCKS

“…..the electric shocks sent my whole body into spasms; my tears and mucus flowed uncontrollably. The pain was indescribable, but it must have been thousands of times worse for my husband who had to see me being tortured.”

“A Shameful Past in Human Memory : A Verbal Account by Elizabeth Choy” by Jane Thum Soon Kun in The Price of Peace

The Japanese regarded the Chinese as their arch enemies. Why?

1. Strong Chinese resistance during Japanese invasion of China2. Chinese in S’pore actively helped China in its fight against Japan’s attack3. In the Battle of Bukit Timah, the Chinese volunteers put up a fierce resistance against the invading Japanese troops

MEETING THEIR FATESMEETING THEIR FATES

Mass Screening• All Chinese men 18-50 years old• report to Mass screening centres• Questioned by Japanese or singled out by

hooded local informers• More fortunate ones allowed to go home

– “EXAMINED” stamped on a small piece of paper– sometimes stamped onto shirts or arms

• Those accused of being anti-Japanese were brought to remote areas of Singapore and killed

MEETING THEIR FATESMEETING THEIR FATES

Eurasians• suffered - related to Europeans• Japanese thought the Eurasians saw

themselves as superior to the Asians• Many belonged to the Singapore Volunteer

Corps and fought against the Japanese• Those suspected of helping the British were

shot• Others were imprisoned

MEETING THEIR FATESMEETING THEIR FATES

Malays and Indians• Japanese did not see them as a threat• Tried to win the support of the Malays and

convince them that Japan would free them from Japanese rule

• Persuaded Indians that Japan would free India from Britain

• Both races not entirely spared though, esp if they did not obey Japanese orders

MEETING THEIR FATESMEETING THEIR FATES

FEAR• Harsh action taken to establish control• Looters were shot and beheaded, public

display of heads• Barbed wires to form road blocks• Bowing as a sign of respect

LIVING THE DAYS OF LIVING THE DAYS OF DARKNESSDARKNESS

FEAR• Close watch over the people• Documents - work badges, vehicle and radio

passes• Families had to be registered• Surprise checks

LIVING THE DAYS OF LIVING THE DAYS OF DARKNESSDARKNESS

THE KEMPEITAITHE KEMPEITAI

• Most feared of all Japanese• Spies all over the island• encouraged people to supply them with info by

giving rewards and privileges• Anti-Jap suspects beaten and tortured until they

reveal the info the Japs wanted• Nobody knew whom to trust• Anti-Japanese suspects were tortured to make them

confess or to extract information from them• Often people were punished for crimes they did not

commit

Hardship and Suffering• Life of POWs in prison camps• Death Railway

LIVING THE DAYS OF LIVING THE DAYS OF DARKNESSDARKNESS

DEATH RAILWAYDEATH RAILWAY

Hardship and Suffering• Local civilians - serious shortage of food and

other goods• Essential foodstuffs like rice, salt and sugar

were controlled• Ration cards : Limit amount of food for each

person• Coping with shortages : Simple diets;

substitutes; improvise• Malnutrition and diseases• Shortage of medicine

LIVING THE DAYS OF LIVING THE DAYS OF DARKNESSDARKNESS

Black Market• Not only basic necessities but all sorts of

goods• Because of shortages• Banana notes - worthless

LIVING THE DAYS OF LIVING THE DAYS OF DARKNESSDARKNESS

BANABA NOTESBANABA NOTES

Propaganda• To influence the minds of the people to show

loyalty to Japan1.Learn the Japanese language2.Influence school children3.Controlled radio stations and radio sets4.Only Japanese movies and propaganda shown

in cinemas5.Chinese and English newspapers controlled

strictly by Japanese

LIVING THE DAYS OF LIVING THE DAYS OF DARKNESSDARKNESS

ANTI-JAPANESE GROUPSANTI-JAPANESE GROUPS

• MPAJA : Malayan People’s Anti-Japanese Army– sudden attacks on Japanese

troops– Hid in the Malayan jungles– Life was hard there– tried to stir up anti-Japanese

feelings among the people by distributing newspapers

ANTI-JAPANESE GROUPSANTI-JAPANESE GROUPS

• Force 136 – Secret British organisation to organise

sabotage activities– locals were also recruited– trained secretly in India and sent to

Malaya to help MPAJA– Lim Bo Seng was one of the leaders– Captured in Mar 1944 and tortured to

death

LESSONSLESSONS

• Defeat of the British– poor preparations for war– underestimation of enemy– always be prepared to defend one’s

country

• Respect for British dipped after the war

• People’s suffering– need to rid Singapore of foreign masters

LEE KUAN YEWLEE KUAN YEW

“MMy colleagues and I are of that generation of young men who went through the Second World War and the Japanese Occupation and became determined that no one - neither the Japanese nor the British - had the right to push and kick us around. We were determined that we could govern ourselves and bring up our children in a country where we can be a self-respecting people.”

CHANGI PRISON CHAPELCHANGI PRISON CHAPEL

CHANGI MURALSCHANGI MURALS