ABSTRACT

The Pacific War is an umbrella term that refers collectively to a disparate set of wars, however, this book presents a strong case for considering this assemblage of conflicts as a collective, singular war. It highlights the genuine thematic commonalities in the legacies of war that cohere across the Asia-Pacific and shows how the wars, both individually and collectively, wrought dramatic change to the geo-political makeup of the region.

This book discusses the cultural, political and social implications of the Pacific War and engages with debates over the war’s impact, legacies, and continuing cultural resonances. Crucially, it examines the meanings and significance of the Second World War from a truly international perspective and the contributors present fascinating case studies that highlight the myriad of localised idiosyncrasies in how the Pacific War has been remembered and deployed in political contexts. The chapters trace the shared legacy that the individual wars had on demographics, culture and mobility across the Asia Pacific, and demonstrate how in the aftermath of the war political borders were transformed and new nation states emerged. The book also considers racial and sexual tensions which accompanied the arrival of both Allied and Axis personnel and their long lasting consequences, as well as the impact returning veterans and the war crime trials that followed the conflict had on societies in the region. In doing so, it succeeds in illuminating the events and issues that unfolded in the weeks, months, and indeed decades after the war.

This interdisciplinary volume examines the aftermaths and legacies of war for individuals, communities, and institutions across South, Southeast, and East Asia, Oceania, and the Pacific world. As such, it will be welcomed by students and scholars of Asian history, modern history and cultural history, as well as by those interested in issues of memory and commemoration.

part I|87 pages

Remembrance

chapter 2|21 pages

De-historicising the Second World War

Diaspora, nation, and the overseas Chinese

chapter 3|18 pages

‘A sideshow to the war in Europe'

Nation, empire, and British commemoration of the Pacific War

chapter 5|21 pages

The Thai–Burma railway

Asymmetrical and transnational memories 1

part II|77 pages

Aftermaths

chapter 6|19 pages

How finished business became unfinished

Legal, moral and political dimensions of the Class ‘B' and ‘C’ war crimes trials in Asia and the Pacific 1

chapter 8|19 pages

Coercion and consent

Being ‘Indian' in Malaya during the Japanese occupation

part III|83 pages

Race, sex and culture

chapter 10|20 pages

South Seas Lore

Anthropology, cultural determinism and the Pacific War

chapter 11|12 pages

Contested medical science

Re-examining Japanese medicine and Filipino adaptations in the Philippines during the Japanese occupation period

chapter 12|14 pages

‘The outrage in Miri'

Sex, race and violence and the second AIF in Sarawak 1

chapter 13|19 pages

Mothers' darlings

Secrets and silences in the wake of the Pacific War

chapter 14|17 pages

Eliminate the ‘females'

The New Guinea affair and medical approaches to homosexuality in the Australian army in the Second World War 1

part IV|46 pages

Veterans in the post-war world

chapter 15|17 pages

War memoirs from the shadows

Contested war experience narratives in an occupation era Japanese veterans' group

chapter 16|12 pages

The endless search for dead men

Funasaka Hiroshi and fallen soldiers in post-war Japan

chapter 17|15 pages

POWs of the Japanese in Australia, 1945–60

Testimony, truth and compensation