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World War II and Pacific POWs

            Imagine waking up every day, trapped in a foreign country. You are constantly beaten, starved and even tortured but you cannot do anything to stop it. Unfortunately, this was a harsh reality for many soldiers in World War Two, more specifically the prisoners of war in Japan. The treatment of prisoners of war in the pacific was extremely unfair and unjust.
             By definition, a prisoner of war is someone who is engaged in combat, and captured by the armed forces of the enemy. This definition, along with many international laws, was established by the Geneva Convention. The Geneva Convention was first drawn up in 1864 and was designed to protect the basic human rights of people during wartimes. It included rules such as: prisoners must be given adequate food, clothing and shelter, prisoners must not be forced to do dangerous or unhealthy work, and prisoners must have access to medical care. Over the next two decades, it was revised many times into the 4th Geneva Convention that we currently follow. When the Geneva Convention was revised in 1929, forty seven countries around the world signed it. Japan was not one of them. This meant that when World War Two broke out; Japan was not bound to follow the terms of the agreement. Countries in Europe and North America were expected to follow all rules outlined in the Geneva Convention while Japan was free to treat their prisoners in whatever manner they saw fit. This was the first step towards the terrible treatment that many prisoners would be forced to endure during the Second World War. .
             As time went on, Japan became known as a ruthless country that had little regard for human life. Many people agree that being captured by the Japanese at this time was a fate worse than death. This was because of the extreme cruelty and inhumane treatment that their prisoners of war received. This cruelty spawned from the Japanese honour code. From birth, the Japanese were taught that they were superior to all other countries and that they shall always fight to the last breath.


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