They were imprisoned in camps throughout Japanese-occupied territories in Borneo, Korea, Manchuria, Hainan, Rabaul, Ambon, Singapore, Timor, Java, Thailand, Burma and Vietnam and also Japan itself. At the end of the war only 13,872 of the POWs were recovered: one-third of the prisoners had died.
About 25 per cent of these prisoners of the Turks died in captivity. In all, 3,850 Australians were captured by the Germans on the Western Front between 1916 and 1918. Nine per cent of these prisoners died in captivity. A total of 395 Australians died during captivity in the First World War.
Others, often starved and treated brutally, worked for months under shellfire close behind German lines. In camps in Germany conditions were better, but prisoners suffered increasingly from shortages caused by the British blockade. Many survived only because of regular Red Cross parcels.
Most of the Australians (14,972) were captured in Singapore; other principal Australian prisoner-of-war groups were captured in Java (2,736), Timor (1,137), Ambon (1,075), and New Britain (1,049).
Of the 267 Australians, only 73 survived, and they were taken to Nagasaki . On 1 July 1944, a group of 2,250 (including 1,000 Australians) under Major R. Newton left Singapore for Japan. They arrived in September 1944; some 200 were sent to Nagasaki to work on the docks.
The most common form of punishment was face-slapping, often done with a hard instrument, such as a bamboo stick or a shovel. More severe beatings were also common.
By the end of WWII, almost a third of these Australian POWs in the Pacific had perished and many of those who survived would live with lifelong scars, both physical and psychological.
A typical meal was a thin broth of rice and vegetables. The prisoners were paid a small wage with which they supplemented this diet.
The POWs suffered frequent beatings and mistreatment from their Japanese guards, food was the barest minimum, and disease and injuries went untreated. Although the POWs finally received Red Cross packages in January 1944, the Japanese had removed all the drugs and medical supplies.
Living conditions and treatment varied between work parties, but treatment could be harsh. The barracks in the camps were sometimes overcrowded, filthy and susceptible to disease outbreaks. Australian prisoners in contact with the Red Cross Society could survive on food consignments sent from London every 2 weeks.
Why did Germans Come to Australia? The largest German waves of immigration into Australia took place in the middle to the late nineteenth century and again before the middle of the twentieth. Many came because of religious persecution at home or because of a thirst for exploration or a desire for economic improvement.
Internees from overseas
During World War II, internees were mainly German, Italian and Japanese. Australia also interned people from more than 30 countries, including Finland, Hungary, Portugal and Russia. Overseas allies also sent 'enemy aliens', mostly German and Japanese, to Australia to be interned.
Potatoes and beans formed the principal nutrients, such as they were, that kept an army alive. The German POW ration noted above would have sustained vitality.
Of the 8,000 Australians taken prisoner by the Germans and Italians, 265 died during their captivity.
The Western Australian records we've been using for our recent research and digitised for the Digital Panopticon project reveal the story of Samuel Speed, the last living Australian convict. He was transported to Western Australia in 1866 and died in 1938, just short of his 100th birthday.
Most prisoners of war (POWs) existed on a very poor diet of rice and vegetables, which led to severe malnutrition. Red Cross parcels were deliberately withheld and prisoners tried to supplement their rations with whatever they could barter or grow themselves.
The treatment of American and allied prisoners by the Japanese is one of the abiding horrors of World War II. Prisoners were routinely beaten, starved and abused and forced to work in mines and war-related factories in clear violation of the Geneva Conventions.
During World War II, Imperial Japan and Nazi Germany (towards Soviet POWs and Western Allied commandos) were notorious for atrocities against prisoners of war.
In WWII, the U.S. Treated Nazi POWs Better Than Black Troops | Time.
Food found in the bags of dead Australian soldiers was a special treat for the starving men, and some of them went even further, resorting to acts of cannibalism. The number of men who died of starvation was increasing. They were not only fighting the enemy, but also fighting for personal survival.
For British and American prisoners, Stalag IX B was one of the worst camps in Germany. Conditions were appalling from the start and continued to deteriorate as the war progressed. The first transport of American prisoners arrived in late December 1944. By January 24, the camp had 4,075 Americans, held in 16 barracks.
During the war many Australian soldiers developed a taste for vin blanc or vin rouge. In contrast to today's regional varieties in France that are subjected to strict quality control, these wines were known for being cheap and cheerful.
Captive or POW Pay and Allowance Entitlements: Soldiers are entitled to all pay and allowances that were authorized prior to the POW period. Soldiers who are in a POW status are authorized payment of 50% of the worldwide average per diem rate for each day held in captive status.
Between 140,000 and 500,000 Soviet prisoners of war died or were executed in Nazi concentration camps. Most of those executed were killed by shooting, though some were gassed.
The number of living Australian Second World War veterans has halved since 2019. According to a study by family search website Ancestry and YouGov, 7800 remain.