Fall of Singapore- An Unprecedented Defeat of the British Empire in the Pacific
The fall of Singapore is the greatest defeat of the British empire in the Pacific.
On February 15, 1942, the British surrendered to the Imperial Japanese Army and handed over Singapore and surrounding Malaya countries. The conflict began on December 8, 1941 when Japanese forces bombed Singapore and continued to make their way through the treacherous Malayan jungle. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill stated during the attack, “the worst disaster and the largest capitulation in British history”. Singaporeans were immediately ordered to come in for questioning after the Imperial Japanese Army took over. During the interview, their homes were looted and destroyed by the Kempeitai, the secret Japanese police.
During the occupation, there were many tragedies. An example is the Sook Ching Massacre.
Sook Ching Massacre, literally meaning “purge through cleansing”, began on February 21, 1942. The mass murder of Singapore residents ages 18 to 50, was targeted at eradicating anti-Japanese sentiments. Victims of the massacre were either Chinese, suspected of being pro-Chinese, anti-Japanese, or Communist. Men and women were questioned and if found guilty, they were taken to one of Singapore’s beaches and murdered. The death toll shows less than 5,000 according to the official Japanese record, while Singaporean officials claim the number of victims was at least 50,000.
"The Fall of Singapore makes a laudable effort to shine a spotlight on the gruesome details of the Japanese military conquest of British Singapore in 1942 and the ensuing atrocities against the local Chinese population. It makes captivating use of survivor memoirs that bear witness to unspeakable suffering."
-Dr. Franziska Seraphim, Associate Professor of History and Director of Asian Studies, Boston College
"Fall of Singapore by Mei-Mei Chun-Moy, Sally Ma, and Mark Witzke offers a concise and gripping account of the Japanese occupation of Singapore during World War II. In addition to explaining the events leading up to the Japanese invasion, the book highlights the experiences of people living in Singapore during the occupation. The authors emphasize the harsh nature of Japanese rule and atrocities committed by the occupiers, and they suggest some of the war's legacies for subsequent generations. Fall of Singapore is highly accessible and will appeal to anyone interested in learning more about the conflict in the Pacific, an understudied and often-ignored theater of the Second World War."
-Jessica Elkind, Associate Professor of History, San Francisco State University