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During World War II, about 37 000 Australians were taken prisoner of war (POW's) The Japanese abducted about 22 000 Australians and kept them as POW's in camps across East Asia. Forced labor, beatings, sickness, and starvation were all typical occurrences for POW's.
The treatment of Australians in the prison camps resulted in serious health problems. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affects between 20 and 45 percent of combat veterans, especially former prisoners of war. For ex-prisoners of war, the rate is significantly greater. Long-term effects on survivors included depression, hypertension, gastrointestinal problems, and sexual and marital difficulties.
Diary kept by Maxwell (Max) Roy Venables, 8 Division A.I.F., whilst a prisoner of war in the Changi prison camp in Singapore during World War II. Max started the diary aged just nineteen on 1 March 1942. The diary was carried throughout his imprisonment along with a leather wallet containing family photos, hand-drawn Christmas cards and newspaper clippings. He was released along with the other Allied prisoners of war in 1945.
Image of the rice that they ate which contained rat Feces
The impact of war on marital relationships, particularly the effects on women, has been largely neglected and undervalued in the endeavour to provide care and support for the more apparent victims of war atrocities: their spouses. Many spouses indicated decreased tolerance levels as a result of psychological and physical trauma suffered as POWs.
The Japanese were judged responsible for the mistreatment of the POW's after the end of World War. Almost a thousand Japanese and Koreans were prosecuted in Australian courts, with 62 of them charged with war crimes on the Burma-Thailand railway. They made dramatic cuts to food and medical supplies and the daily rice ration comprised only half the calorie count needed for survival. The Geneva Convention was established in 1864 on an international level on the international level. It requires the injured, sick, and shipwrecked be gathered and cared for for free.
Photograph of the Changi hospital ward in September 1945 showing members of the AIF’s 8th Division, recently released after the Japanese surrender and all suffering from malnutrition
The Australian experience in World War Two is not a simple to sum up. But the richness in our community lies in the personal reflections and very human understandings of thousands of Australian men and women. Their experiences have enriched Australia's national consciousness.