Book Review Of Unbroken By Laura Hillenbrand

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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

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