Unbroken, a biography on the life of Louis Zamperini written by Laura Hillenbrand illustrates his experience as a POW in Japanese camps during WWII. During his time readers are heartbroken after realizing the disgusting nature of the camps. The treatment and what the guards forced prisoners to do shocked readers as well as how the camps Zamperini were in violated laws and twisted the role that camps were supposed to play during times of war. During WWII POW camps played huge roles in the aspect of war as well as in the lives of the prisoners and their families back home. The purpose of a POW camp was to hold captured enemies until the end of war. They were meant to follow rules set by multitudes of nations, and to be followed accordingly …show more content…
It was so atrocious that many captives died of malnutrition, abuse, or a number of any other things. In the secret camp Ofuna, the guards did not even treat the men like humans, but objects instead, and the prisoners were lucky to consume meat more frequently than once a week. One of the worst camps in terms of treatment was Omori, where Zamperini met Mutsuhiro Watanabe, a cruel sadistic camp guard. Watanabe, commonly referred to as Bird, treated the prisoners with such disrespect and indecency that he along with many more of his officers was charged with war crimes. Making matters even more unbearable, Zamperini was specifically targeted by Bird and his malicious intents. On one occasion Louis’ rations got cut in half due to an injury he acquired while performing slave labor, already starving, he knew he could not survive much longer with half of the already desolate amount of food he received. In order to regain his rations Louis begged for work and in return Bird made him clean out a repulsing pig sty with his bare hands. Since the camp was kept secret none of the prisoners were registered with the Red Cross and because of that, many wished for death and the others accepted the fact that they were already living in Hell. “There would be no Red Cross supervision, no improved treatment. No humanity. I wouldn’t be registered as an official prisoner of war. Men left camp
They were fed so little that more than half that amount attrition. They seem to be the walking skeletons. Being in such a situation, Louis took upon himself to put his youth, Phil would learn how to steal, to use. The guards of the camps would hide nearly all of the food in Waycross bundle sent to the prisoners to keep for themselves. So Louis as well as a few others, cut holes in the close rethreading pocket still whatever they could.
Louie and Phil were taken out of Kwajalein and sent to Ofuna were their torture continued. The POW’s treatment was described as, “Reputation for intimidation and for torturing their inmates in an attempt to get military information, and was nicknamed the "Torture Farm" by its inmates. As the prisoners sent to Ofuna were primarily officers, who may have inside knowledge of Allied Strategy, or others
The American religious leader and author Thomas Monson once said, “Good timber does not come with ease. The stronger the wind, the stronger the trees”. In Laura Hillenbrand’s nonfiction book Unbroken, the eager Louis Zamperini put Monson’s words into action when, against all odds, he turned his life around and becoming not only one of the greatest track athletes but also a survivor of Japanese POW camps during World War II. It was Louie’s eagerness to become stronger than he had thought possible that lead Hillenbrand to share his remarkable story.
The biography, Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand is about the life of Louis (Louie) Zamperini, a POW surviver during World War 2. The book has a multitude of heroes. Some demonstrate heroism throughout the book, while others evolve into heroes towards the end. Then there is this hero who puts his life in danger to save people he doesn't even know—Louis, our protagonist. He sacrifices himself to save others continuously.
They were often interrogated and knew of the history of the camp. No POWs ever left that camp, they were all executed. Soon, Louis and Phil were taken to Ofuna. Ofuna was also an interrogation camp. After a few months at Ofuna, Louie was relocated to Omori, a punishment camp.
On an ordinary Sunday in the beginning of December of 1941, the Japanese wreaked havoc across the United States. The American naval base of Pearl Harbor had been bombed and World War Two began. Simultaneously, internment camps were formed in the United States where the Japanese were held, while at the same time, prisoner camps were formed in Japan where American soldiers were held captive. In relation to the tremendous post war effects, the two main characters in Fairwell to Manzanar by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James D. Houston and Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand experienced the unimaginable in these camps leaving both of them with a changed mentality.
People say that a person’s past depicts their future. The good times can make a person optimistic in future times of worry or sadness. The bad times can make a person stronger or grateful of what they have no matter how little in future bad times. This can be seen by Louie Zamperini in the novel Unbroken. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, follows the life of Louie Zamperini during his career as an olympic runner and also as a prisoner of war during World War II.
Without a doubt, the camps were built to alienate the prisoners, into the belief that they
As they stay longer and longer in the camps, the prisoners began to become former shells of themselves and just had their physical presence to define them. They denied everything, not just human rights, but also their heart, soul, dignity, pride, bravery, confidence, and the
In the beginning of WWII there were 9 million jews, by the end of WWII there were 3 million, killing 6 million jews altogether. Hitler was a ruthless, evil man who inflicted pain and suffering on people who were not like him. The japanese had it good compared to the jews, even though they were removed from their homes, detained in special camps, and eventually relocated. The jews were tortured. Japanese internment camps are essentially not the same as jewish concentration camps because the jewish concentration camps were much more harsh than the japanese internment camps, 6 million jews died from being tortured at the camps, and the jews feared going to the camps.
World War II POWs World War II was appalling, but it’s a big part in today’s history. Prisoners of war (POW) camps were in many countries that were involved in the war. Japanese POW camps were particularly gruesome, nearly all the prisoners suffered, whether it was from starvation, illness or torture. Torture was brutal in the POW camps in Japan during WWII.
Stalin’s Gulags, also known as political prisoner camps, were some of the most horrifying sites on the planet. After being beaten and tortured, most of the prisoners died. The unbearable conditions of these camps were beyond unsuitable for human living conditions. The atmosphere was filthy, the food was hardly appealing enough to consider swallowing, in fact the only reason people even considered eating it was because it was all they had to survive. In all reality, many prisoners refused to eat which typically resulted in death or a grueling torture sentence.
People live through positive and negative events. Many people have struggles throughout their lives that make life feel impossible with the amount of abuse that is placed on them. Louie is stranded at sea and his situation does not get much better when he is taken by the Japanese. Being beaten by the Bird on nearly a daily basis while stuck as a POW in Japan eventually takes a toll on Louie. Although the war is over after nearly two years as a POW, his problems do not get much better.
and nobody knew where he was. Zamperini finally got to go home after weeks when they found out the war was over. It was night and he was sleeping in his bed. “The last barricade within him fell… By day, he obsessed about the Bird” (255).
The image shows a group of Japanese soldiers using POW in Singapore for their target practice. You can see each prisoner have a marker hanging over their heart and stakes in front of them marked with a number. They are blindfolding by the soldiers and probably praying before they die. Later, if any of the prisoners are still alive through the horrific practice, they will end up shooting with a pistol at the end by the officer in charge for them. POWs who had weak conditions in the camp were often taken away from the camps to shooting range by the new Japanese soldiers where the prisoners would be used as targets.