Content on Japanese Occupation

Learn on the go. Check out our playlists for collections of short videos, and learning packages for articles, that will give you a slice of history and heritage.

Playlist:
Fall of the Gibraltar of the East

Playlist:
Under the Japanese Rule

Playlist:
Liberation and Aftermath of War

Learning Package:
Gibraltar of the East

Learning Package:
Fall of Singapore

Learning Package:
Under the Japanese Rule

Learning Package:
Memories of Japanese Occupation

Learning Package:
Liberation and Aftermath of War

Playlists

A collection of short videos or selected podcasts, exploring topics around Japanese Occupation.

Playlist: Japanese Occupation - Fall of the Gibraltar of the East

Singapore used to be the British stronghold and nicknamed the “Gibraltar of the East”. It was captured by the Japanese after fierce fighting that lasted between 8-15 February 1942.

Check out these resources to help you gain some understanding of the events which led to the fall of Singapore.

Ep 1: The Singapore Strategy | Roots.Sg (4 mins)
"After WWI, the British constructed a huge naval base at Sembawang, but the battle fleet could not be housed there due to economic reasons. As a compromise, they would only send their main battle fleet from the Atlantic to the Asia-Pacific when a threat was imminent. This was known as the Singapore Strategy".

Source: Ep 1: The Singapore Strategy | Roots.Sg (2017, Mar 17). Roots Sg. Retrieved 2022, January 12.

Ep 2: The Battle for Singapore | Roots.Sg (5 mins)
Civilians started preparations for defence while the Japanese began their invasion of Singapore.

Source: Ep 2: The Battle for Singapore | Roots.Sg (2017, Apr 12). Roots Sg. Retrieved 2022, January 12.

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Playlist: Japanese Occupation - Under the Japanese Rule and Memories of War

The swift success of the Japanese invasion of Malaya and Singapore turned Singapore into Syonan-to. Life under the Japanese occupied “Light of the South Island” was hard and it was all about survival.

Check out these resources to help you gain some understanding of life under Japanese rule during the three years and seven months.

Ep 3: British Surrender & Japanese Occupation | Roots.Sg (4 mins)
British surrender marks the beginning of the Japanese Occupation. Hear the World War II survivors’ stories during this period of time.

Source: Ep 3: British Surrender & Japanese Occupation | Roots.Sg (2017, May 9). Roots Sg. Retrieved 2022, January 12.

From The Stacks Episode 18 – The Syonan Shimbun by Lee Meiyu and Fiona Tan | NLB Singapore (3 mins)
Librarian Lee Meiyu and archivist Fiona Tan present "The Syonan Shimbun", an English newspaper published during the Japanese Occupation of Singapore. Together with its Chinese imprint 昭南日报 "Zhaonan Ribao", it carried official notices, wartime propaganda and price lists of essential goods, serving as a historic record of what people went through during the Japanese Occupation.

Source: The Stacks Episode 18 – The Syonan Shimbun by Lee Meiyu and Fiona Tan | NLB Singapore (2021, Nov 16). NLB Singapore. Retrieved 2022, January 12.

From The Stacks Episode 19 – Chop Suey by Gracie Lee and Raymon Huang | NLB Singapore (5 mins)
Senior librarian Gracie Lee and Japanese Occupation survivor Raymon Huang talk about "Chop Suey", a series of illustrated books featuring 36 charcoal drawings of the atrocities committed by Japanese soldiers during the Japanese Occupation of Singapore. It was illustrated by artist Liu Kang and published in 1946.

Source: The Stacks Episode 19 – Chop Suey by Gracie Lee and Raymon Huang | NLB Singapore (2021, Nov 18). NLB Singapore. Retrieved 2022, January 12.

The comfort women of Singapore during the Japanese Occupation: a dark heritage trail | NationalMuseumSG (60 mins)
Professor Kevin Blackburn discusses the comfort women of Singapore from memories of the experiences of these women and women's experiences during war as transnational history. The "comfort stations" set up by the Japanese at that time were located across Singapore in Cairnhill Road and Cairnhill Circle, Tanjong Katong Road, Bukit Pasoh Road, Pulau Bukom.

Source: The comfort women of Singapore during the Japanese Occupation: a dark heritage trail (2019, Aug 18). NationalMuseumSG. Retrieved 2022, January 12.

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Playlist: Japanese Occupation - Liberation and Aftermath of War

Japanese surrender ceremony on 12 September 1945 at City Hall (then known as Municipal Building of Singapore) marked the end of Japanese Occupation in Southeast Asia. Singapore embarked on a road of recovery from the war.

Check out these resources to relive moments during the Japanese surrender.

Ep 4: Japan's Surrender and Victory Celebrations | Roots.Sg (3 mins)
Japan surrendered following the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. On 12 September 1945, the Japanese forces surrendered to the British at the Municipal building, officially marking the end of the Japanese occupation of Singapore.

Source: Ep 4: Japan's Surrender and Victory Celebrations | Roots.Sg (2017, Sep 25). Roots Sg. Retrieved 2022, January 12.

Civilian War Memorial Singapore - Part One | warinasia (4 mins)
Recounts the Civilian War Memorial project, a monument dedicated to civilians who perished during the Japanese Occupation of Singapore (1942–45).

Source: Civilian War Memorial Singapore - Part One | warinasia (2017, Sep 28). warinasia. Retrieved 2022, January 12.

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Learning Packages

Japanese Occupation: Gibraltar of the East

From 8 December 1941 till 31 January 1942, a military campaign known as Malayan campaign was fought by the Allied (mainly the British Commonwealth) and Axis (primarily the Japanese) forces in Malaya.

The invading Japanese 25th Army troops under Lieutenant General Tomoyuki Yamashita fought the British, Indian and Australian troops. Multiple factors led to the ultimate defeat and fall of Singapore.

Did you know...

There was also a volunteer force who helped defend Singapore. They were made up of Europeans, Chinese and Eurasians from all walks of life.

These curated set of articles and books will help you understand how Singapore as “Gibraltar of the East” prepared for the imminent threat of Japanese invasion.

Articles

Malayan Campaign by Ho, Stephanie

“The Malayan Campaign consisted of a series of battles fought in Malaya between Allied (mainly British Commonwealth) and Axis (primarily Japanese) forces. The campaign began on 8 December 1941 when Japanese forces landed in Singora and Patani in southern Thailand, and Kota Bharu in northern Malaya. The campaign ended on 31 January 1942 with the Japanese forces gaining control of the Malay Peninsula.”

Source: Malayan Campaign (2013, Jul 19). Singapore Infopedia. Retrieved 2021, January 19.

Singapore Volunteer Corps by Soong, Alec and Goh, Lee Kim

Learn about the formation of such a group and how the Straits Settlements Volunteer Force defended Singapore.

Source: Singapore Volunteer Corps (2021, Oct). Singapore Infopedia. Retrieved 2021, January 19.

eBooks

The defence and fall of Singapore 1940-1942

Farrell, Brian P. (2017). The defence and fall of Singapore 1940-1942. Lanham: Monsoon Books Pte. Ltd.

A study on how and why Singapore fell, and its significance in the British military history, based on primary documents in Britain, Australia and Singapore.

Borrow the eBook here.

Retrieved from OverDrive (a myLibrary username is required to access the eBook).

Bicycle blitzkrieg: The Malayan Campaign And The Fall Of Singapore

Headrick, LCDR Alan C. (2014). Bicycle blitzkrieg: The Malayan Campaign And The Fall Of Singapore. San Francisco: Pickle Partners Publishing.

Written as a paper for the Faculty of the Naval War College in 1994, the author discusses the operational strategies deployed by the Japanese and British which led to different consequences and the lessons learnt.

Borrow the eBook here.

Retrieved from OverDrive (a myLibrary username is required to access the eBook).

Operation Matador: World War II: Britain's attempt to foil the Japanese invasion of Malaya and Singapore

Ong, Chit Chung. (2013). Operation Matador: World War II: Britain’s attempt to foil the Japanese invasion of Malaya and Singapore. Singapore: Marshall Cavendish Editions.

The author provides an extensive coverage of the British military planners' plans to counter the Japanese threat and discusses the reasons for their ineffectiveness.

Borrow the eBook here.

Retrieved from OverDrive ( a myLibrary username is required to access the eBook).

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Japanese Occupation: Fall of Singapore

The fall of Singapore on 15 February 1942 in the Second World War is, as Winston Churchill put it, ‘the worst disaster and largest capitulation in British history’.

Since 1942, there has been a steady flow of books and articles on this subject. Earlier works focused on the conduct of the military campaign, but as the archives started opening their records, the focus has shifted to the broader issues of strategy and international relations.