Tuesday, November 08, 2005

The Knights of Bushido: A Short History of Japanese War Crimes

This is the classic, standard account of Japanese war crimes-a best-seller in its time, but out of print for many years. Between 1931 and 1945 Japanese troops rampaged through one defeated country after another, executing civilians, despoiling cities, massacring prisoners, and cruelly exploiting prisoners of war and native populations. This carefully constructed history by the man who was Deputy Judge Advocate General for the British Army of the Rhine charts this brutal swathe of destruction, objectively examines individual crimes, and details the reasons behind Japan's unprecedented disregard for accepted humanitarian principles. Japanese troops behaved with considerable brutality in their war against China, a campaign designed "to punish the people of China." The Nanking massacre of December 1937 was just one example of the appalling series of atrocities the Japanese inflicted on the conquered Chinese. Japan also excelled in the mistreatment of prisoners of war. Allied troops unfortunate enough to fall into Japanese hands were abused, humiliated, starved, and forced to serve as slave labor. Thousands died as a result, and those that survived such mass torture were scarred for life.

About the Author
Lord Russell of Liverpool served in World Wars I and II and acted as Deputy Judge Advocate General for the British Army of the Rhine, giving legal advice on the prosecution of war criminals in the British zone of occupied Germany.

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