END OF WWII IN ASIA

Photo (above) - A lunar landscape shows the total devastation caused by the A-bomb that many would later claim had saved thousands of lives by ending the war.


World War II in Asia ended with the dropping of two atomic bombs over Japan, in Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 and 9 August, 1945. American President Harry S. Truman deemed it as a necessary act to protect the Americans at war in the Pacific.

Watch the following videoclip to witness the devastating effects of the A-Bomb on Japan:

Hiroshima Atomic Bomb, 1945 - A Day That Shook the World
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t19kvUiHvAE&feature=related


Photo Resource: Japanfocus.org

ACTIVITY
Seeing the effects of the Atomic Bomb on the Japanese people, do you think that US president, Harry S. Truman's decision to drop the A-bomb on Japan was justified?

Write your comments in the box below.

THE SOOK CHING MASSACRE

Photo (above) Japanese soldiers bayoneting the executed victims of the massacre to ensure that they are really dead.

The Sook Ching massacre took place three days after the fall of Singapore to the Japanese forces on 15 February 1942. It was a sixteen days campaign launched by the Japanese army to eliminate all anti-Japanese elements in the country. Many of those who were tortured and killed were ethnic Chinese who were loyal to the British or had connections to China's anti-Japanese movement (both enemies of Japan). The Japanese also routinely eliminated gang members and troublemakers in the process. In the later stage, even women and children were not spared from the Sook Ching campaign.

It is unclear as to how many people have died from this atrocity as there is a lack of accurate records. Official Japanese figures show that there are around 5,000 people killed, while the Singapore Chinese Community figures shows a shocking total of 100,000.

Till today, no official apology was made by Japan over their atrocities committed in Asia.

Click on the link below to watch a documentary about the Fall of Singapore and the Sook Ching massacre:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRS51StHJGY&noredirect=1


Photo resource: National Archives of Singapore

ACTIVITY
Do you think the Japanese should apologise for their war crimes committed in Asia, given the fact that the war took place 70 years ago? Why?


Write your answers in the comment box below.