Topic: Forgotten Victims of the Death Railway
Speaker: Professor Emeritus David Boggett
Date: Saturday, 24 September 2016
Time: 2:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Location: The AGORA, 28 Sin Ming Lane #03-142 Midview City, Singapore 573972
Synopsis: The haunting legacy of the World War II Death Railway, often known from the film “Bridge over the River Kwai,” primarily focuses on the captured Allied soldiers’ ordeal. Yet, an underrepresented truth lies in the Asian victims who have faded into the shadows. Beyond the Western narratives that romanticize the railway’s notoriety as a “killing field” for Allied prisoners of war (POWs), a larger number of Asian civilians were conscripted to work on the Siam-Burma Death Railway. Their plight, arguably even graver than that of the Allied prisoners, has been overshadowed and underestimated in historical discourse.
While post-war Allied estimates suggested around 270,000 Asians were coerced into working on the Railway, closer examination of available documentation raises concerns about its accuracy. The actual figures may have exceeded 500,000, with mortality rates ranging between 25% and 50%.
About the Speaker: Professor David Boggett holds the title of Professor Emeritus at Kyoto Seika University in Japan, where he dedicated over 30 years to teaching Japanese and Asian history. He enriched his students’ understanding through field trips to Kanchanaburi, a focal point of the Death Railway’s tourism. His contribution includes around ten scholarly papers that shed light on the plight of Asian workers on the railway.
Join us for a compelling exploration as Professor David Boggett unravels the forgotten stories of the Asian victims entwined in the tragic narrative of the Death Railway. With his expertise and insights, he will broaden our understanding of this historical chapter, shedding light on a lesser-known aspect of this wartime tragedy.
