Fred L. Borch
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780198777168
- eISBN:
- 9780191822964
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198777168.003.0003
- Subject:
- Law, Public International Law
The 300,000 Europeans and Eurasians residing in the Indies in March 1942 soon learned that the Japanese occupiers planned to implement political, economic, and cultural policies that would integrate ...
More
The 300,000 Europeans and Eurasians residing in the Indies in March 1942 soon learned that the Japanese occupiers planned to implement political, economic, and cultural policies that would integrate the newly “liberated” colony into the “Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere.” This goal of “Japanization” was to transform everyone living in the Indies into loyal subjects of the Emperor, with one important exception: “Asia for the Asians” meant there was no place for the white race in the Netherlands East Indies (NEI). Additionally, the Japanese in the archipelago were true believers in the warrior code of Bushido, which led to widespread mistreatment of prisoners of war and spilled-over into the treatment of civilian internees. This chapter explains how the Japanese intended to eradicate Dutch civilization and how the “Asia for the Asians” philosophy and Bushido code of behavior resulted in the commission of horrific war crimes, especially against whites and Eurasians.Less
The 300,000 Europeans and Eurasians residing in the Indies in March 1942 soon learned that the Japanese occupiers planned to implement political, economic, and cultural policies that would integrate the newly “liberated” colony into the “Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere.” This goal of “Japanization” was to transform everyone living in the Indies into loyal subjects of the Emperor, with one important exception: “Asia for the Asians” meant there was no place for the white race in the Netherlands East Indies (NEI). Additionally, the Japanese in the archipelago were true believers in the warrior code of Bushido, which led to widespread mistreatment of prisoners of war and spilled-over into the treatment of civilian internees. This chapter explains how the Japanese intended to eradicate Dutch civilization and how the “Asia for the Asians” philosophy and Bushido code of behavior resulted in the commission of horrific war crimes, especially against whites and Eurasians.
Fred L. Borch
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780198777168
- eISBN:
- 9780191822964
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198777168.003.0010
- Subject:
- Law, Public International Law
An armistice, also known as a truce or cease-fire, does not end a war; it merely suspends hostilities. After the Japanese surrender in August 1945, a number of Japanese soldiers violated the terms of ...
More
An armistice, also known as a truce or cease-fire, does not end a war; it merely suspends hostilities. After the Japanese surrender in August 1945, a number of Japanese soldiers violated the terms of the armistice—which required them to lay down their arms and cease fighting—and joined the Indonesian revolutionaries fighting for freedom from the Dutch. The NEI authorities were convinced that these Japanese soldiers were joining the revolutionaries in order to fulfill the “Asia for the Asians” goal for which Japan had gone to war. Fearful that Japanese support of the insurgency would make it more difficult to restore colonial rule, the Dutch prosecuted these individuals for the war crime of violating the terms of the armistice. The trials are unique in military legal history; no other nation has ever prosecuted this war crime.Less
An armistice, also known as a truce or cease-fire, does not end a war; it merely suspends hostilities. After the Japanese surrender in August 1945, a number of Japanese soldiers violated the terms of the armistice—which required them to lay down their arms and cease fighting—and joined the Indonesian revolutionaries fighting for freedom from the Dutch. The NEI authorities were convinced that these Japanese soldiers were joining the revolutionaries in order to fulfill the “Asia for the Asians” goal for which Japan had gone to war. Fearful that Japanese support of the insurgency would make it more difficult to restore colonial rule, the Dutch prosecuted these individuals for the war crime of violating the terms of the armistice. The trials are unique in military legal history; no other nation has ever prosecuted this war crime.
