ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book discusses some of the material and embodied strategies that have been adopted by the Singapore state to achieve war remembrance as a tool of nation-building. The Fall of Singapore and the Japanese Occupation was a shattering experience for all Singaporeans. Singaporeans would have heard stories told to them by their parents and grandparents, of relatives and friends who were brutalized, tortured and killed during that period. It marked a turning point in the history of Asia. In this light, one might be forgiven for thinking that the war has always had an important place in Singapore's national history. The concept of memory is considered by some scholars to be the product of social processes operating within societies, forged through some common experience shared and sustained among members and thus more than just the individual properties of a subjective mind.
