[The following is taken from Otto Giese’s memoir, Shooting the War: The Memoir and Photographs of a U-Boat Officer in World War II. Here, the war has ended in the Pacific, and both German U-boatmen who were in the waters off Southeast Asia when the war ended, and Japanese war criminals, were interred together in Allied POW camps in Singapore. The author, Otto Giese, a Lieutenant in the German navy, witnesses the executions of Japanese soldiers who were found guilty of war crimes in the Pacific Theater.]
On my daily reports to the director’s office, I passed a window that looked directly down on the inner yard. A large rectangular platform with three traps painted with white circles had been erected, and on it was a beam structure with three ropes and nooses hanging down. Usually I avoided the jail when hangings were taking place, but one day I was called to the office and had to wait. It was in the morning, and there were many people gathered around the gallows, men and women, something that surprised me. From the passages of the opposite building I heard hoarse called of Banzai! Banzai! again and again as the doomed were led into the courtyard, now steaming in the hot sun.
I watched the guards on the turrets, and all were looking down at the terrible scene. The three Japanese had their hands tied behind their backs. Large numbers had been painted on their oversized clothing. Without hesitation the victims were led up the steps to the platform and lined up. Hoods were slipped over their heads and the nooses followed. The hangman stepped back and muffled cries of Banzai! could still be heard from behind the hoods. I wanted to cover my ears, but there were other men standing around me, Gurkhas and British soldiers. A single harsh command rang out, instantly followed by the dull thuds of the trapdoors banging against the inner walls of the platform. The calls stopped and the ropes started to swing and suddenly all was deadly calm. I had to sit down, for my legs had become weak. It had taken no more than two and a half minutes for the Japanese to step out of their cell to die.
When the jail director came back, I mentioned my surprise at seeing women attending this macabre drama. He explained that they had been nurses on the Andaman Islands and, after falling into the hands of the Japanese, suffered unmentionable atrocities.
Source:
Giese, Otto, and James E. Wise. “Prisoner of War and Repatriation.” Shooting the War: The Memoir and Photographs of a U-Boat Officer in World War II. Naval Institute, 2003. 251-52. Print.
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