The Death Railway is, in short, a horrendous part of Thailand’s history that was created by the blood and sweat of WWII prisoners of war and Asian slave laborers.
During WWII, the Imperial Japanese Army had taken over South East Asia and accumulated tens of thousands of skilled and healthy prisoners of war, which were later used as laborers to support their war effort.
One of the major projects that these POWs were funneled to work for was constructing a railway. These men, along with many other Asian laborers simply looking for work, were assigned to build the railway. It originated in Thailand and cut across to the Burmese war front to aid in the Japanese invasion of India.
Originally called the Thailand-Burma Railway, it earned the nickname “Death Railway” because over one hundred thousand laborers died during its 16 month construction between 1942 and 1943. Once completed, it stretched 250 miles from Ban Pong, Thailand to Thanbuyuzayat, Burma. Many more died while remaining in the POW camps until 1945.
Miserable heat and monsoons plagued the laborers. The lack of hygiene, inadequate medical supplies, and regular beatings from Japanese and Korean guards made for abysmal working conditions. Most died from exhaustion, dysentery, infection, and malnutrition.
Approximately 80% of all deaths were Asian slave laborers consisting of Burmese, Malay, and Tamil citizens. The remaining 20% were mostly split among Americans, Australians, British, Dutch, and Indians.
POWs were eventually saved when Allied forces successfully raided the camps. The original plan commanded by the Japanese was to kill all Allied POWs in case of a raid, but the men were successfully rescued before any executions could take place.
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Recorded date: 13 Nov 2022
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