ABSTRACT
In the early days of captivity in Changi, Australian POW medical personnel had very little to do with their captors. In Australian cultural memory, the Japanese captors of Australian prisoners are usually portrayed as barbaric, with little respect for human life. POW medical officers themselves attracted physical abuse because of their important and unique position. Most acts of physical and psychological abuse against POWs occurred as a result of their daily interaction with these men. The behaviour and attitudes of camp command described above to some degree applied to guards. However, the relationship between POWs and guards had another layer due to the guards’ position within the Japanese military hierarchy: many were conscripted Japanese and Korean soldiers, the latter being in the majority. In many ways, differences in treatment towards POWs from camp to camp could be attributed solely to the nationality of their guards.
