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Revision as of 19:04, 5 October 2024 editKnowledgeableHrvatica (talk | contribs)179 editsm →The atrocity: better source neededTag: Visual edit← Previous edit Revision as of 19:59, 5 October 2024 edit undoKnowledgeableHrvatica (talk | contribs)179 edits Made more readable and added/replaced sources. Namely, the Dutch interview article which was copied from the 2009 journal (which I have added). I've kept the self-published website/blog thing simply because it was what most of the page was based off of, but it would be good to replace this source in the future. Additionally, I changed much of the wording to be more neutral. I also have another important court document I am in the process of accessing; I will add it as well if relevant.Tag: Visual editNext edit →
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The '''Pig-Basket atrocity''' is a ] that took place during ] in which British prisoners of war were thrown into the sea. This atrocity was committed by ] soldiers in ]. The '''Pig-Basket atrocity''' was a ] witnessed by ] during ] in which English and Dutch prisoners of war were carried in bamboo baskets ] soldiers in ].<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Van Kempen |first=Elizabeth |date=January 1, 2009 |title=Memories of the Dutch East Indies: From Plantation Society to Prisoner of Japan |url=https://apjjf.org/-Elizabeth-Van-Kampen/3002/article.pdf |journal=The Asia-Pacific Journal |volume=7 |issue=1 |via=APJJF}}</ref>{{better source|reason=Questionable/Non-academic with possible conflict of interest (autobiographical, see WP:SOCIALMEDIA)|date=October 2024}}


== The atrocity == == Detail ==
After the ] surrendered ] to the Japanese, 200 Allied soldiers fled to the hills around ] and formed resistance groups. Eventually, some British soldiers were captured by the ] and squeezed into 3-foot long bamboo ]s used for transporting pigs. The men were then thrown into the back of open transport trucks that drove them through the countryside in 38 °C weather. The trucks took them to a railway where they were unloaded and then transported again, this time in open rail wagons to the coast.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Massacres and Atrocities of WWII in the Pacific Region|url=http://members.iinet.net.au/~gduncan/massacres_pacific.html|access-date=2021-12-28|website=members.iinet.net.au}}</ref>{{better source|reason=Self-published|date=October 2024}} 15 years old at the time, Elizabeth van Kempen observed this transport with her father while standing on the nearby ridge of Mount ]. Elizabeth recalls hearing the men's screams from where she stood. Her father was killed years later by the Kenpeitai in Malang for hiding weapons.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Van Kampen|first=Elizabeth|title=We saw 5 open trucks, they were loaded with bamboo baskets with there in laying white men… {{!}} De Indische kwestie|url=https://deindischekwestie.nl/we-saw-5-open-trucks-they-were-loaded-with-bamboo-baskets-with-there-in-laying-white-men/|access-date=2021-12-28|language=nl-NL}}</ref>{{better source|reason=This website is a blog, refer WP:BLOG|date=June 2022}} At the time of the witnessed event, the ] had surrendered ] to the Japanese. Approximately 200 Allied soldiers remained around ] to form resistance groups.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Massacres and Atrocities of WWII in the Pacific Region |url=http://members.iinet.net.au/~gduncan/massacres_pacific.html |access-date=2021-12-28 |website=members.iinet.net.au}}</ref>{{better source|reason=Self-published|date=October 2024}}


Elizabeth Van Kempen was raised on a rubber and coffee plantation in the Dutch East Indies (of which her father was the manager). Their lives were mostly uninterrupted by Japanese occupation, although the use of the local language was enforced to dissuade collaboration with resistance groups, until they were interned (in part) to protect them from ] who were unhappy with Dutch rule over Indonesia.<ref name=":1" />{{better source|reason=Questionable/Non-academic with possible conflict of interest (autobiographical, see WP:SOCIALMEDIA)|date=October 2024}}
== The aftermath ==
⚫ The commander in chief of the Japanese forces in Java at the time was lieutenant-general ].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Biography of General Hitoshi Imamura - (今村 均) - (いまむら ひとし) (1886 – 1968), Japan|url=https://generals.dk/general/Imamura/Hitoshi/Japan.html|access-date=2021-12-28|website=generals.dk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=AWM54 1010/4/156 - Statements by General Imamura Hitoshi proving his Command Area of responsibility of such, together with certifying statements and five maps showing the area of his (Imamura's) Command 1946|url=https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C2653124?image=27|access-date=2021-12-28|website=www.awm.gov.au|language=en}}</ref>


The event was witnessed by Elizabeth and her father in 1942 as they "walked back home for lunch" when they observed 5 trucks filled with a few hundred soldiers driven to a rail siding and loaded onto rail wagons.<ref name=":1" />{{better source|reason=Questionable/Non-academic with possible conflict of interest (autobiographical, see WP:SOCIALMEDIA)|date=October 2024}}<ref name=":2" />{{better source|reason=Self-published|date=October 2024}} Elizabeth observed that the soldiers were carried in bamboo baskets.<ref name=":1" />{{better source|reason=Questionable/Non-academic with possible conflict of interest (autobiographical, see WP:SOCIALMEDIA)|date=October 2024}}
Imamura and his troops were detained by the ] in ] for committing war crimes including the execution of Allied ]. Imamura wrote to the Australian Commander in Rabaul  to ask that his own trial be expedited in order to speed up the prosecution of the soldiers under his command. He was tried by an Australian military tribunal on May 1–16, 1947, and convicted of charges including "unlawfully to discharge his duty...to control the members of his command, whereby they committed brutal atrocities and other high crimes." His sentence was imprisonment for 10 years and he was sent to Tokyo's ] prison, where he stayed until his release in 1954.{{cn|date=December 2021}}


Although both Elizabeth her father had both witnessed the event, her father was killed by ] during resistance actions in 1945.<ref name=":2" />{{better source|reason=Self-published|date=October 2024}}
⚫ He considered that his imprisonment was too light with respect to his responsibility for the crimes of his subordinates, so he had a replica of the prison built in his garden, and he stayed there until his death in 1968.<ref>{{cite book | title=Revolusi | publisher=De Bezige Bij | author=Van Reybrouck, David | year=2020 | location=Amsterdam | pages=212 | isbn=978-94-03-18440 1}}</ref>

== Trials ==
⚫ The commander in chief of the Japanese forces in Java at the time was lieutenant-general ].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Biography of General Hitoshi Imamura - (今村 均) - (いまむら ひとし) (1886 – 1968), Japan|url=https://generals.dk/general/Imamura/Hitoshi/Japan.html|access-date=2021-12-28|website=generals.dk}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web|title=AWM54 1010/4/156 - Statements by General Imamura Hitoshi proving his Command Area of responsibility of such, together with certifying statements and five maps showing the area of his (Imamura's) Command 1946|url=https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C2653124?image=27|access-date=2021-12-28|website=www.awm.gov.au|language=en}}</ref> Although he was acquitted by a Dutch military court due to a lack of evidence,<ref name=":2" /> a subsequent trial in 1946 by an Australian military court convicted Imamura to have "failed to discharge his duty as a Commander to control the members of his command, whereby they committed brutal atrocities."<ref>CASE NO. 21 TRIAL OF GENERAL TOMOYUKI YAMASHITA</ref>{{better source|reason=Court records for Imamura's case are not made publicly accessible. The only record I can access is this case, which references Imamura's case, as well as CASE NO. 60 TRIAL OF LIEUTENANT-GENERAL BABA MASAO which was done concurrently (I think?).|date=October 2024}} Imamura was sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment which was served at ] prison, where he stayed until his release in 1954.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3" />

⚫ He considered that his imprisonment was too light with respect to his responsibility for the crimes of his subordinates, so he had a replica of the prison built in his garden where he stayed until his death in 1968.<ref>{{cite book | title=Revolusi | publisher=De Bezige Bij | author=Van Reybrouck, David | year=2020 | location=Amsterdam | pages=212 | isbn=978-94-03-18440 1}}</ref>


== References == == References ==

Revision as of 19:59, 5 October 2024

Japanese war crime during World War II
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Pigs in a bamboo pig basket of similar structure to the ones used by the Japanese.

The Pig-Basket atrocity was a war crime witnessed by Elizabeth Van Kempen during WWII in which English and Dutch prisoners of war were carried in bamboo baskets Japanese soldiers in Indonesia.

Detail

At the time of the witnessed event, the Allied forces had surrendered East Java to the Japanese. Approximately 200 Allied soldiers remained around Malang to form resistance groups.

Elizabeth Van Kempen was raised on a rubber and coffee plantation in the Dutch East Indies (of which her father was the manager). Their lives were mostly uninterrupted by Japanese occupation, although the use of the local language was enforced to dissuade collaboration with resistance groups, until they were interned (in part) to protect them from pemuda who were unhappy with Dutch rule over Indonesia.

The event was witnessed by Elizabeth and her father in 1942 as they "walked back home for lunch" when they observed 5 trucks filled with a few hundred soldiers driven to a rail siding and loaded onto rail wagons. Elizabeth observed that the soldiers were carried in bamboo baskets.

Although both Elizabeth her father had both witnessed the event, her father was killed by police during resistance actions in 1945.

Trials

The commander in chief of the Japanese forces in Java at the time was lieutenant-general Hitoshi Imamura. Although he was acquitted by a Dutch military court due to a lack of evidence, a subsequent trial in 1946 by an Australian military court convicted Imamura to have "failed to discharge his duty as a Commander to control the members of his command, whereby they committed brutal atrocities." Imamura was sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment which was served at Sugamo prison, where he stayed until his release in 1954.

He considered that his imprisonment was too light with respect to his responsibility for the crimes of his subordinates, so he had a replica of the prison built in his garden where he stayed until his death in 1968.

References

  1. ^ Van Kempen, Elizabeth (January 1, 2009). "Memories of the Dutch East Indies: From Plantation Society to Prisoner of Japan" (PDF). The Asia-Pacific Journal. 7 (1) – via APJJF.
  2. ^ "Massacres and Atrocities of WWII in the Pacific Region". members.iinet.net.au. Retrieved 2021-12-28.
  3. ^ "Biography of General Hitoshi Imamura - (今村 均) - (いまむら ひとし) (1886 – 1968), Japan". generals.dk. Retrieved 2021-12-28.
  4. ^ "AWM54 1010/4/156 - [War Crimes and Trials - Affidavits and Sworn Statements:] Statements by General Imamura Hitoshi proving his Command Area of responsibility of such, together with certifying statements and five maps showing the area of his (Imamura's) Command 1946". www.awm.gov.au. Retrieved 2021-12-28.
  5. CASE NO. 21 TRIAL OF GENERAL TOMOYUKI YAMASHITA
  6. Van Reybrouck, David (2020). Revolusi. Amsterdam: De Bezige Bij. p. 212. ISBN 978-94-03-18440 1.
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