ABSTRACT
Other than the fall of Singapore and the extensive warfare in the Philippines and Burma, no aspect of World War II in Southeast Asia is as well known in the West as the construction of the Thailand-Burma railway. The sufferings of Allied prisoners of war (POWs) who labored under the Japanese on the “Death Railway” have been described in numerous memoirs and were depicted-although inaccurately-in David Lean’s award-winning film Bridge on the River Kwai, based on Pierre Boulle’s novel.1 The focus on the POWs, however, has drawn attention away from the fact that the Japanese brought material and labor from across mainland and island Southeast Asia to build the railway.2 This chapter looks at the role of the host countries in the railroad project, further describes the conditions faced by the Asian laborers, and examines the varied retrospective views and attitudes of former participants. It concludes with comment on the ongoing campaigns by the laborers and other victims of Japanese aggression to obtain apologies and compensation, as well as the efforts by other survivors to effect reconciliation.
