Sunday, 17 February 2013

How did the Japanese tortured Singaporeans?


The Japanese tortured the people like it was a game. They Stuffs a hose into a person's mouth then fill the person's stomach with water till it's bloated then jump on the stomach and the stomach bursts then the intestines and internal organs flies out. They also uses a certain kind of nail clipper to pluck off your nails.Then when it's pluck off it bleeds. After that, they sprinkle salt and vinegar on the wound then it will start to get infected and rot but the worse is that after every 3 or 4 days they will come back and sprinkle some more till the fingers rot.http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_did_the_Japanese_torture_Singapore

Life after war

There is shortage of food, jobs and water. People have to stay with others and this causes overcrowding and unhygienic housing conditions.The people of Singapore were relieved when they heard about the surrender of the Japanese in 1945. They thought that life would improve after the return of the British. However, they continued to suffer even after the war.Prices of food items increased to ten times the prices before the war. Many people were hungry and unhappy. Some even searched through the rubbish heaps in the hope of finding something edible or usable. Many people were poor and life was hard for them.
Some people did odd jobs while others became hawkers, selling anything they could get their hands on.The only food the people can afford is tapioca which they harvest themselves.
http://singaporeinthepast.webs.com/afterworldwar2.htm

Fall of Singapore in WW2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXU-lAeohFY
  Once the Japanese expanded throughout the region after Pearl Harbour (December 1941), many in Britain felt that Singapore would become an obvious target for the Japanese. However, the British military command in Singapore was confident that the power they could call on there would make any Japanese attack useless. One story told about the attitude of the British Army in Singapore was of a young Army officer complaining that the newly completed defences in Singapore might put off the Japanese from landing there.

Saturday, 16 February 2013

A War Hero


 
Mr Tay Ah Soey was a war hero who saved 62 people during World War II. He was among a group of five who pulled 62 people out of the water when Japanese forces dropped bombs in the sea on Feb 13, 1942, sinking boats which were ferrying people away from Singapore.
The fisherman and his two brothers had gone out on his own fishing boat, braving bullets and bombs, to save civilians and military personnel who had fallen into the sea.
Among those he helped pull to safety were rubber and pineapple plantation magnate Lim Chong Pang and his brother. Mr Lim was the son of Mr Lim Nee Soon, one of the founders of Overseas-Chinese Bank, which merged with other banks to form OCBC Bank in the 1930s.
For his bravery, Mr Tay was awarded the King George V medal in 1952. His story of heroism was also used in Chinese textbooks for primary school pupils here. http://www.preshigh.edu.sg/teachers/laick/Singapore/Lists/Who/DispForm.aspx?ID=50

What happen after the wars

Who remained in Singapore were made to clean up the city, bury the dead and restore water and electricity supplies. There was also a shortage of food. As a result, many of the P.O.Ws. Were reduced to skin and bones.Some of the P.O.Ws. Were sent to Thailand to construct a railroad. The men used simple tools to fell trees and cut rocks. They were made to work long hours and were given insufficient food.The Japanese punished the Chinese most severely. This was because they had actively helped China in its fight against Japan. The Japanese gathered all Chinese men, aged between 18 to 50, for an anti-Japanese examination. During the examination, a masked man would scan the people and single out those whom they thought were anti-Japanese. These unfortunate Chinese would be taken in lorries to the Changi Beach or other beaches on the east coast. There, they would be shot by the Japanese soldiers. Those who were not identified as anti-Japanese were allowed to go home. Most Chinese respected their race and hated Japanese for killing their ancestors, so they were killed. In order to protect their childrens and parents, the Chinese have to leave their childern with their Malay or Indians neighbor/friends to take care of them.In school, the students were taught the Japanese language. Every morning, these students were made to sing the Japanese national anthem too.

How and when did the British surrendered.

 
The British & Commonwealth forces surrendered at Singapore largely because of the swiftness & surprise in the attacks by the Japanese in the Malay peninsula. Hugely stretched by the potential war in Europe & the actual war against the Axis in North Africa the British lacked the resources to defend the Far East against Japanese aggression. With hindsight it might be argued that surrender was premature, but even then defeat was surely inevitable in the longer term. Had the Japanese attacks not involved the US, bringing them into both the Pacific & European conflicts, then Britain & the Commonwealth are under the sort of pressure which may have become intolerable.

The Japanese actually tricked Singapore by lying that a huge troop of Japanese would come and attack Singapore the next day if the British did not surrender. However, the Japanese actually did not have that big troop of army and their supply of necessities were depleting. If the British did not surrender, the losing side might be the Japanese insteadhttp://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_did_the_british_surrender_in_Singapore

How and when the Japanese surrendered

The first atomic bomb, code-named "Little Boy", struck Hiroshima, Japan's eighth largest city. It was dropped from an American B-29 bomber named Enola Gay, piloted by Colonel Paul W. Tibbets. The bomb destroyed almost all building structures and killed more than 100,000 people. 
The second atomic bomb, code-named "Fat Boy", was dropped on Nagasaki, the third largest city of Kyushu from another American B-29 bomber named Bock's Car, piloted by Major Charles W. Sweeney. It had the same effect as the first bomb, only this time the number of people killed was about 35,000 people.Due to the large amount of people lost, the japanese decided to 
make a radio announcement to his people announcing the decision to accept the Potsdam Proclamation and surrender to the Allies .Emperor Hirohito issued a decree ordering all Japanese forces to demobilise and cease operation.2 Sep 1945: At 9:00 am, The Instrument of Surrender was signed on board the American battleship, Missouri, in Tokyo Bay, officially ending the WWII
.http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_123_2005-02-03.html