A film about the road of death in Thailand. The Bridge over the River Kwai: how the Death Railway was built at the cost of a hundred thousand lives
Afterwards we went by car to memorial museum Hellfire Pass Memorial Museum, which tells the story of the construction of the Death Railway.
During World War II, the Japanese, who had influence in Southeast Asia, began building a railway from Thailand to Burma, over 400 kilometers long through hills and mountains, which was ultimately never completed and was later called the Death Road. During its construction, about 100 thousand people involved in construction died or were killed: prisoners of war, prisoners, military personnel and ordinary local people.
From the series “Through Thailand by Car”
The memorial is located approximately 80 km northwest of Kanchanaburi and can be reached via Highway 323. GPS Coordinates Hellfire Pass: 14.360524° N, 98.945274° E.
Directions to the Hellfire Pass Memorial Museum
Museum information
The Hellfire Pass Memorial in Thailand was built with money from the Australian Chamber of Commerce and the Australian Foundation for Veterans who took part in the construction of the railway as prisoners of war. Its purpose is to preserve the memory of Allied prisoners and Asian forced laborers who died or were killed during the construction of the railroad "Death Road". The museum was opened in 1996.
Entrance to the museum is free.
If you are traveling by car, then it is most convenient to plan a visit to the attractions of Kanchanaburi province in order to visit Erawan waterfall(Erawan Waterfall), after it explore the Hellfire Pass, and in the evening return to Kanchanaburi and watch the sunset, looking at bridge over the river kwai(Bridge over river Kwai).
Map of Hellfire Pass Memorial Museum facilities
History of railway construction in Asia
The memory of this black page in the history of Thailand is preserved today in memorial complexes, museums, as well as in cinema and literature. One such place where you can go back many years and take a trip through history is Hellfire Pass, a museum and memorial that tells the story of the inhuman life of the builders of this railroad, and details the construction of the most difficult passages for laying the railway through the rocks. It is known to the Japanese as Konyu Cutting and the Thai version is ช่องเขาขาด. Hellfire Pass got its name because the work was carried out around the clock, and at night the sight of exhausted forced laborers in the light of torches resembled scenes from hell.
The Hellfire Pass was a particularly difficult section of the railway being built from Thailand to Burma. To pass the line through the Tenasserim Hills it was necessary to make several passes through high cliffs that could not be circumnavigated
Railroad through the hilly regions of Thailand. Part relating to the Hellfire Pass Memorial Museum
This section of the railway was located at a great distance from major cities, and combined with the lack of high-quality tools and a sufficient amount of construction equipment, it became, in fact, hell on earth for people involved in construction work
The picture depicts the hellish labor of forced laborers
Despite the possibility of building tunnels through rocks, the simplest and fastest construction option was chosen - a direct passage through the rock, created by chiseling with jackhammers and explosive detonation of rock.
Hellfire pass - passage through the rock
This fast route, however, required excess manual labor, but at that time the Japanese did not experience a shortage of labor and chose the fastest construction options, since the future railway was a strategically important element in waging war. Thus, a passage in the rock, which is part of the memorial complex, 73 m long and up to 25 meters high, was made for several months
It took three months to break through this rock.
The prisoners of war involved in the work worked 18 hours a day, and the Japanese beat those who disagreed to death.
Manual labor predominated in the construction of the railway.
During construction it was necessary not only to chisel rocks, but also to build bridges
Construction of a section of a wooden bridge
Many not workers, but modern slaves, died from various diseases, such as cholera, dysentery, and no one counted those who died from starvation and exhaustion. But most of the deaths were among the Malays and Chinese, whom the Japanese attracted to work on the railway with promises of high income and good working conditions.
The railway track passed through a huge rock
But the railway was never completed, and when the Allied troops began to push back the Japanese, part of it was blown up or bombed. Today, part of this railway is used mainly for passenger transport, and the remaining part, with the exception of a memorial section of the railway track along which you can walk in memory of the victims, which is just over 4 kilometers long, is closed and abandoned.
The museum presents exhibits from the daily life of workers, which in complete silence tell about their slave life and inhuman labor
Modest belongings of forced laborers
Museum exhibits tell about the daily life of construction participants
Hand tools used in railroad construction
Inside the museum
Walk through the tunnel, which was built during the Second World War
The museum itself is located in a small building located on a hill, from which a convenient staircase leads down to the largest passage through the rock.
Information stand about Hellfire Pass before descending onto the railway track
The walk to it will take you about twenty minutes, first along the stairs, then along the railway track
Wagons with military cargo were supposed to go here
Canvas carved along the rock
At the beginning of the passage, a small piece of the original railway track has been preserved, and in the passage itself, in the rock, a stuck chisel of a jackhammer, which was used to chisel the rock, has been preserved
A jackhammer chisel remains forever in the rock
22.10.2018
The provincial town of Kanchanaburi is located 130 km from Bangkok (the capital of Thailand).
Tourists from all over the world come here to see the famous “Road of Death” - the railway between Thailand and Burma.
The classic version of the excursion includes: a military cemetery, a war museum, a trip along the “Bridge of Death”. Lasts 1 day, from approximately 7 am to 6 pm.
If you have enough time, you can enrich the excursion with other attractions. For example, on the first day visit the “Road of Death”, the War Museum and the Hell Fire Pass Museum, on the second - the floating market, the Tiger Temple, on the third - Yerevan Park, the elephant village. With such a schedule it will be convenient to live in Kachanaburi.
Those who like comfort and stability will, of course, choose an excursion through a travel agency. It’s convenient because everything goes according to schedule and there’s no “one step to the right, one step to the left.” If you want to truly feel the color, enjoy it to your heart's content beautiful scenery, experience untouched nature, plunge into history without haste, then it is better to take a map (a guide with the main stops), a taxi or rent a car and explore the area yourself.
You can get there by bus (2-3.5 hours) with or without air conditioning and amenities (cheaper). Depart from the Southern Bus Station every 20 minutes. Or by train (3-3.5 hours), but this is not the same. In any case, the excursion will be interesting and useful.
In 2 hours the car will take you from Bangkok to the war cemetery (Kanchanaburi War Cemetry), where almost 7 thousand are buried. prisoners of war from Austria, Holland, Great Britain.
Next is the war museum, or literally JEATH War Museum. The first word of the name is made up of the first letters of the list of countries that participated in the construction of the bridge over the River Kwai. These are Japan (Japan), England (England), Australia (Australia), Thailand (Thailand), Holland (Holland).
In the museum you can see photographs, weapons, testimonies of the surviving builders of the unfortunate bridge and much more from those times. There is also a souvenir shop with big amount beautiful trinkets.
"Bridge of Death" is the most famous section of the Thai-Burmese railway. The reinforced concrete bridge originally crossed a river called Maek Long. But after the successful release of the film “The Bridge on the River Kwai” (1957) on the big screen, the Thai authorities gave it the name that tourists still hear today – the River Kwai. During the war, the bridge was bombed 2 times and restored 2 times.
The next stop on our excursion is the “Road of Death”, with a length of more than 240 thousand crippled destinies, more than 100 thousand. killed by inhumane working conditions, hard labor and constant abuse.
At this cost, the Japanese government during World War II shortened the route from Burma to Thailand to supply its troops with everything they needed. But the British government in Burma also considered such construction. But the dense impenetrable jungle, a large number of rivers, rocks and mountains made this task impossible.
Japan retook Burma from Britain. There is a sea route from Thailand to Burma, but it is very unreliable. It was often attacked, many submarines and ships were required. Therefore, the Japanese authorities decided to build a bypass at any cost. shortcut. In just over a year, convicts and prisoners built 415 km of railway track through thickets and stones, through suffering, illness and death.
To date, 130 km of the road have been reconstructed, the rest is in the plans. And Japan's actions are recognized as a war crime. A ride on the Death Road train serves as a reminder of the perseverance and courage of the builders, and of the terrible consequences of the Second World War.
You can also visit the Hell Fire Pass Museum and Road. This 4km section of the Death Road passes through a hole in the rock of HellFire Pass to the Burmese border. Almost 700 people died when it was built. Nearby, in Hell's Passage, there is a museum and an Australian memorial (in memory of the fallen builders).
On the River Kwai, many tourists raft in vests for about 2 km along the stream. In this case, you don’t need to do anything, the river itself will carry you away.
Damnon Saduak floating market is located 100 km from Bangkok. From the very morning, traders from different surroundings come here in narrow boats. They sell fruits, souvenirs, flowers, seafood, fashionable clothes etc.
To appreciate the beauty and unusualness of the market, the variety of goods, the ingenuity and resourcefulness of the traders, it is better to rent a boat for half a day. This way you can enjoy Thai life, capture moments and pamper yourself with dishes national cuisine, cooked on the boat. And 4 hours will fly by.
The other part of the day can be spent at the Tiger Temple. It is open until 16.30. The bus will take you here in half an hour from Kanchanaburi (40 km). Founded in 1994, the temple has become home to many tiger cubs, as well as a couple of wild boars, horses, water bulls and other exotic animals of the local jungle.
During the day they do not sit in enclosures, but walk freely and eat from the hands of tourists. For a fee, you will be taken closer to the tigers and given the opportunity to take photos together. Many visitors believe that the monks greatly inflate their prices. But it’s up to you to decide whether or not it’s worth supporting the temple and the animals living in it.
On the third day of the excursion, you can pay attention to the Elephant Village and Yerevan National Park with its amazing waterfalls. This system of waterfalls is conventionally divided into 7 levels: the first level is the lowest in height, and then, gradually, you need to climb up and pass all the rapids.
The water here is saturated with calcium, which is why it takes on unusual shapes and has a beautiful turquoise color. In many places there are lakes and baths in which you can swim or lie down, enjoying the panorama of the jungle. And many small fish will peel your feet (gnaw off dead and dead skin). The feeling is fantastic. If you come to Kanchanaburi, be sure to visit Yerevan Park.
Next stop is the elephant village. Here you can watch a baby elephant show, take a photo with them or feed them bananas, and also ride elephants in the jungle for an additional fee. Only the elephant rides, it’s safer.
For such a rather large excursion, you need to take a little: cameras/video cameras, swimsuits/swimming trunks, a change of underwear, a light hat, beach slippers, a warm sweater and towel, soap, toothpaste and a brush, if you are planning an excursion for more than one day. Clothes should be made from natural fabrics (cotton, for example).
A guidebook will be very useful to you. One of the best guides in the world is the Lonely Planet guides. Its cost is considerable. The information provided in it (routes around the country, description, work schedule, cost of entry to museums, galleries, castles, hotel rooms and meals) is worth it. It will save you time, money and effort. And, of course, don’t forget to bring a good mood!
Tourists who come to Kachanaburi must be vaccinated against hepatitis A and hepatitis B due to the risk of encephalitis and malaria. At the floating market it is impossible to resist buying fresh fruits, but they must be washed thoroughly before eating.
It is also not advisable to get carried away with the various exotic drinks themselves, of which there are a large number here. Your body may not be able to do this. If you want to try local spirits, the best way to do this is by buying beer. It tastes quite pleasant and will not cause a violent reaction in your body. It is not advisable to stroke or caress local cats and dogs. There are a lot of fleas.
There is a myth that Thailand is a very cheap country. Everything is relative. For example, a taxi from Bangkok to Kachanaburi will cost around $100. It will be cheaper by bus and train. Car rental from $30 per day, moped – from $5. Gasoline - about $1 per liter. The price of a hotel room ranges from $20 to $200. You can have lunch in a cafe for $3-5. You can't go to a floating market without a boat. That's another $3/hour.
The cost of products and souvenirs at different market sellers can vary significantly. Very popular among tourists are souvenirs made by Thai hands, as well as gold and silver items with semi-precious and precious stones. In museums, some people use a guidebook with a detailed description of the attractions, while others are more comfortable with a guide (such services start from $30).
A taxi from Kachanaburi to Tiger Temple costs about $20. Entrance fee – 15. If you take an excursion there to Kachanaburi, local travel agencies will ask for $100 or more. Bus to Yerevan National Park - $2, taxi - $30, entrance - $6.5. Walking in the jungle on elephants – $13.5 per person.
Sightseeing tours from agencies in Kanchanaburi are quite expensive and include 4-5 excursions per day. To enjoy and remember well, you need at least 3 days. The Bridge over the River Kwai should be seen separately from the Tiger Temple or the exotic Yerevan Waterfall.
If possible, it is better to take a tour for several days or explore the area yourself. You can get to almost any point by local buses. There are no problems with accommodation and food in Kachanaburi. There are many hotels with different levels of amenities and prices, many cafes, bars, and restaurants.
The sights of the city and surrounding area are very interesting and educational. The most popular among tourists is the “Road of Death” excursion, in which the history and richness of nature, culture and pain of Europe and Asia are intertwined together.
And we continue to write about our 10-day trip to Thailand. The goal of getting to Kanchanaburi was not only the Tiger Monastery, but also the famous iron Death Road and Bridge over the River Kwai.
There are also places in Russia known for their difficult and tragic history, for example, our 501 construction site and others; in Thailand, this is the so-called “death railway”. It received this name after a huge number of people died here. But first things first.
Death Road in Thailand (Thai-Burmese Railway) and Bridge over the River Kwai
Second World War- a difficult period in human history, when confrontations took place in many parts of the planet. At the beginning of the 20th century, Burma was a British possession, but Japanese troops recaptured it from the British during the 1942 war. In order to somehow supply their troops, the Japanese decided to build a railway connecting the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea by land. The original map can be downloaded.
And they succeeded - a little more than a year later the railway was built. Such rapid pace was ensured by the labor of thousands of convicts and prisoners, both from the local population and prisoners of war from Europe. The working conditions here, as you can imagine, were terrible, and tens of thousands of people died as a result.
During the war, the death road was destroyed, and to date only a part has been restored - from Bangkok to Nam Tok station.
You can easily come here for one day on your own from, if you leave with southern bus station or the Victory Monument early in the morning, then by evening you will return to the capital. But we would recommend combining this with national parks, which are literally at hand here. These places are popular with package tourists, but they are mainly brought to the Bridge over the River Kwai.
Our journey began at the Kanchanaburi railway station - a small, nice building with bells on the platforms. Before the train arrives, a special person in uniform comes out and rings the bell, as if they had stepped back into the past. If it weren’t for a group of schoolchildren with phones and players, complete immersion :-)
Bell at Kanchanaburi Station
Only half of the carriages arrived from Bangkok - the second was already attached to Kanchanaburi - here they are standing on the platform
The train, in general, is an ordinary local one and is used by local residents for its intended purpose, but they also take tourists on rides.
Train arrives at Kanchanaburi station
Thai trains are not electrified, as you can see there are no wires!
The Thais' passion for beauty is amazing! They try to decorate any place somehow - they put flower pots on the platforms, it’s nice :-)
After departure, the train moves slowly through the city for some time towards the bridge over the River Kwai, but along some block parallel to the main street, surrounded by greenery.
Thai-Burmese Railway
We stop in front of the bridge, and the bulk of tourists enter. People hire local guides, or one per group - you can join the Europeans and listen :-)
We slowly stretch across the bridge, Thais are standing on the islands and waving))
The Bridge over the River Kwai was an important part of the Thai-Burmese railway, but it was blown up in 1944 during the fighting. However, the building was soon restored. By the way, the bridge received this name thanks to the feature film “The Bridge on the River Kwai”, which received as many as 7 Oscars! And the river was actually called Maeklong.
Next to the bridge there is a museum where you can see the remains of the real structure, as well as other exhibits from the Second World War.
I love traveling on trains - one of the the best ways explore the territory, look at the real life of the country, communicate with local residents. We pass through rice fields
Rice fields on the way to Nam Tok
The area is very different from southern Thailand, where we recently came from, it feels like it’s autumn, the vegetation is a little withered. The air here, by the way, is much drier.
At some point, the train emerges from the forest into the open air, and wonderful views open up to our eyes! River with resorts below
View from the train window on the death road
Thai girls also enjoy the scenery and us!
Death Road in Thailand
View of the River Kwai from a train window
Here we agreed that the area is very similar to the north Omsk region- like the Tara River, if not for palm trees and mountains on the horizon;-)
The River Kwai takes a turn
After all these beauties and panoramic views, most of the people left, and we drove further to Nam Tok station, overlooking such beauties - picturesque!
We've reached the final point - it's time to head out! Indeed, the paths further were overgrown with grass.
We haven’t decided how to get back to Kanchanaburi yet, but obviously not by train. Firstly, everyone has already seen it, and secondly, he won’t be back soon. So we found a place to have lunch in a tiny village and, in a good mood, went out onto the highway to catch a ride.
As happens with a good mood, after two minutes Boy stopped - as it turned out, our travel buddy and just a good guy. He spoke little English, we spoke little Thai, so the 2 hours of travel flew by!
Article on the topic: everything about Thai trains - classification, types of seats, prices, schedules
Bridge over the River Kwai and the Road of Death - useful information
The bridge over the Kwai is located in the city; we wrote about how to get to it in the previous article at the link.
You can take the train directly from Bangkok, but not from the main one, but from Thonburi station, which is on the other side of the Chao Phraya River. There are 3 trains a day. The journey from start to finish takes 5 hours.
But the most beautiful views located exactly on the section from Kanchanaburi to Nam Tok station, we drove exactly like this. The train departs from Kanchanaburi three times a day - at 06.07, 10.35 and 16.26, and spends 2 hours on the way to Nam Tok. The fare for foreigners does not depend on the distance and is fixed - 100 baht, either from Bangkok or between the last two stations. And the locals seem to buy at the usual cheap rate :-)
A complete timetable for trains on the Death Road hangs at the station in Kanchanaburi.
Death Road in Thailand - schedule
Tourists from all over the world come to Thailand these days. But not everyone is attracted here worldwide famous resorts. Relatives of thousands of soldiers who died in Thailand during World War II want to see a forgotten jungle prison.
With the hands of prisoners of war, the Japanese built a railway crossing here. The Bridge over the River Kwai was made famous throughout the world by the film of the same name directed by Lin David. About the “road of death” report NTV special correspondent Airat Shavaliev.
Once every half hour, the hot sun seats are occupied by tourists, and the old locomotive begins to move. The driver can drive his train and with his eyes closed, he crosses this river for 30 years. All around is a familiar tropical paradise, with pleasure boats sailing below and elephants grazing. But the tourists of the old train are reserved and sad. They come here not to rejoice, but to mourn.
Somkiart Chamnankul, train driver: “My mother told me that on this bank there was a camp for prisoners of war, who were building a bridge under the guard of the Japanese. So many people died here.”
The original bridge supports have been preserved. The British, Australians, Americans and Dutch, even in captivity, built conscientiously. Prisoners of war began to be transported to the west of Thailand in 1942, when the Japanese needed a railway from Bangkok to Burma.
The whole world learned about the construction after the war thanks to the film “The Bridge on the River Kwai”. The march of prisoners of war from this picture is still required to be performed at parades.
Even the war memorial in Thailand consists of frivolous bungalows. One thatched building is authentic camp guard tower. The museum curator is more suitable for the role of an exhibit; she saw with her own eyes how the railroad of death was built. Shows a photograph of the doctor who saved her life, then a ten-year-old girl.
Exhaustive labor, heat and tropical diseases killed people at the construction site every day. They didn’t even have time to bury them. 16 thousand prisoners of war and 100 thousand local workers died.
The museum does not remain without visitors. A lot of Europeans, Australians and Americans come. There are both Japanese and Germans here.
What would they earn? local residents, if not for the legacy of the war? The River Kwai is the only tourist attraction in this part of Thailand. There is a museum on one bank of the river, and a military cemetery on the other.
Dozens of Thais are caring for the graves, trying to stop the riot of local nature. The cemetery is a corner of Europe in the middle of tropical forests. Modest tombstones recede into the distance; prisoners of war were reburied after the war.
The Book of Memory contains dozens of reviews. The British and Australians thank you for your attention to the graves. Actually, grieving over death is not in the Buddhist tradition, but Thais respect the grief of others. Besides, 15 dollars for the crossing is not extra money.
In 1942-1943, at the height of World War II, while the Soviet people were fighting the Germans and their allies, a completely different battle was taking place thousands of kilometers from Stalingrad and the Kursk Bulge. In the mountains of Burma and Thailand, under monsoon rains in the tropical jungle, overcoming cholera, malaria, dysentery, hunger and the monstrous cruelty of the Army of the Great Japanese Empire, a quarter of a million slaves built the railway. In just a year, the impossible task was completed, but the price for this most complex engineering project was paid at a terrible price. In total, more than 100 thousand prisoners of war and forced Asian workers died at this strategically significant construction site for Japan - 250 people for each of the 415 kilometers laid. The history of the Death Railway - in the review Onliner.by.
By 1942, the Empire of Japan was in a difficult situation. On the one hand, it was occupied most of South-East Asia: the Philippines, Indonesia, Manchuria, part of China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Hong Kong and even Singapore were captured, the loss of which Churchill called “the worst disaster and largest capitulation in British history" Moreover, by the middle of the year the Japanese occupied Burma, coming close to India, the main pearl of the British crown. However, on June 4, 1942, the Imperial Navy suffered a crushing defeat at Midway Atoll, which became catastrophic for it and marked, as it became clear later, a turning point in the war in the Pacific.
Nevertheless, its outcome by the summer of 1942 had not yet been finally decided. In this regard, one of the important tasks (albeit unnoticeable against the backdrop of large-scale hostilities) facing the Japanese was to ensure unhindered supplies to occupied Burma. This British colony was to become a springboard for the coming attack on India. In addition, it was after its capture that Japan planned to cut off the supply channels of weapons and food for Chiang Kai-shek’s army, which fought against it in China.
The problem was that the Japanese were forced to supply their Burmese group only by sea, and after the defeat at Midway this route was under threat. The imperial ships had no choice but to travel more than 3,000 kilometers, skirting the narrow and long Malay Peninsula and becoming easy prey for the Allied submarine fleet along the way in the Strait of Malacca and the Andaman Sea. The solution to the situation seemed to be simple: connect Bangkok and Rangoon, the capitals of Thailand and Burma, with a relatively short railway, making it the main source of supply for the army. However, the simplicity of this solution was deceptive.
The British thought about such a project in the 19th century, but after studying the route of the proposed railway, they shed tears and abandoned the idea. Between the Burmese town of Thanbyuzayat and the Thai town of Ban Pong, already connected to a functioning railway network, there were only about 400 kilometers, but only 200 of them were on conveniently flat terrain. In the depths of Thailand, the Tenasserim mountain range stood in the way of future builders, and the approaches to it were reliably blocked by seemingly impassable jungle and hundreds of streams, which turned into turbulent rivers during the rainy season.
The task of constructing a full-fledged railway line, albeit a single-track one, especially in an ultra-short time, looked impossible against such a background. This, of course, did not stop the Japanese, because they had free labor at their disposal, which could be easily sacrificed.
In total, for the construction of the Thai-Burma highway, the imperial army recruited about 60 thousand prisoners of war: British, Dutch, Australians and Americans. They were transferred from prisons and camps from all over the occupied territory of Southeast Asia: from Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines. However, the main labor force (and then the victims) of this inhumane project were the local residents of Burma and the Malay Peninsula.
They were called romusya (“laborers” in Japanese). It is curious that the Japanese initially tried to recruit them on a voluntary basis. The Malays and Burmese were promised mountains of gold: normal working hours, wages, housing, food and a limited shift duration (three months). The first builders sometimes even went there with their families, wives and children. However, the number of volunteers quickly ran out, after those who left disappeared, not returning either after three months or after six months. After this, the Japanese began to practice forced recruitment of “unskilled workers.” For example, the following scheme was used: free film screenings were announced in Malaya, during screenings the cinemas were blocked by soldiers, and all men of suitable age were forcibly sent into the jungle, where they essentially became slaves.
The mortality rate among them was appalling. Although the Romus were much better adapted to the tropical climate than prisoners of war of the Allied powers, they were practically defenseless against epidemics of infectious diseases. The allies had their own doctors who had ideas about the need for quarantine, prevention and hygiene. The unfortunate Asians, who often could not read or write, did not suspect this. They were even kept in separate camps that had no sanitary infrastructure at all. Of the 180 thousand “laborers,” in total, attracted by the Japanese to the construction of the Death Road, more than half died, remaining forever in the jungles of Tenasserim.
The road was built simultaneously along its entire length, and its chances of survival directly depended on the conditions in which the victim was lucky or unlucky to find himself. In flat areas with relatively simple terrain and better food supplies, it was still possible to endure the hardships of construction. In the mountainous areas, in the jungle, the task became difficult to complete, especially for the Russians and especially during the period of the so-called “acceleration”. From April to August 1943, the Japanese, concerned about the speedy commissioning of the highway, repeatedly increased the length of the working day (sometimes up to 18 hours) and production standards. People died in the thousands every day.
The unfortunate builders had three main scourges: malnutrition, unbearable working conditions and especially illness. A significant number of prisoners, having made the trek on foot to their camp at some 280th kilometer of the road, were already exhausted. At the construction site, they were housed in open barracks made of bamboo. Each of these typical buildings housed about 200 people, and one of them accounted for about two square meters of space. However, this was only the beginning of their suffering.
In the lowland camps, food was relatively adequate. There they had the opportunity to set up their own gardens, growing additional vegetables for themselves. It was simply impossible to do this in the mountains. The basis of the diet was regular white rice. It seemed to be accompanied by vegetables and meat, but the former were often an ordinary green mass, and there was simply nowhere to get meat. Food was cooked in huge metal pans, but during the wet season, simply maintaining the fire became a big problem. There was not enough food, especially for people doing the hardest physical labor. One of the surviving British doctors wrote in his post-war memoirs: “Hunger has become a normal part of our lives. Food was like sex, we just tried not to think about it.”
Any water had to be boiled first, because the threat of epidemics constantly hung over the work camps. About a third of all deaths of prisoners of war (it is impossible to establish statistics for “laborers”) were caused by dysentery and diarrhea, another 12% by cholera, and 8% by malaria. The most terrible disease was tropical ulcer. An open wound could harbor special microorganisms that literally ate the victim alive. The salvation was the removal of infected tissue. Sometimes this was done with an ordinary spoon, someone lowered the injured limb into the water, where the dead flesh was eaten by fish, someone had to do amputation - all this, of course, without the necessary medications, equipment and anesthesia.
But among the prisoners of war, the Japanese at least allowed doctors to work. Doctors knew that if cholera was suspected, the patient needed to be isolated; they knew that water simply had to be boiled and spoons had to be sterilized. Prisoners of war had relative discipline, hierarchy, and organizational structure, which made it possible to maintain order in their environment and distribute additional food among those who especially needed it. Help and mutual assistance really mattered. The mortality rate among prisoners of war was significantly lower: out of 60 thousand people employed in the construction of the Thai-Burma railway, 16 thousand died.
The Japanese achieved their goal. In just one year - from October 1942 to October 1943 - the Death Road was built and completed two months ahead of schedule. What seemed impossible to British engineers of the 19th century was achieved. The bare hands of slaves, using only the most primitive tools, built not only 415 kilometers of railway track in the most difficult geographical and climatic conditions, they also built 60 stations with all the infrastructure necessary for the passage of trains, their maintenance, refueling with fuel and water.
Thousands of prisoners of war and unnamed Romus "laborers" broke through the Tenasserim mountain range at the cost of their own lives. The pass, where many of them died, received self-explanatory name Hellfire (“Hellfire”). "He deserves such a name,- Jack Choker, a former British prisoner of war who left behind dozens of drawings he made in that terrible year, wrote after the war in his memoirs. - After all, he looked, no, he was for us the living embodiment of hell.”
A quarter of a million people who passed through this hell in a year built as many as 688 bridges, the most famous of which was the bridge over the River Kwai, glorified in the famous 1957 epic drama directed by David Lean.
An important survival factor for these builders was the attitude of the soldiers of the imperial army towards them. In total, the labor camps were guarded by 12 thousand Japanese military personnel, among whom were 800 Koreans (Korea during these years was actually a colony of Japan). Indeed, in most cases (though not in all) they treated both prisoners of war and Rorus with exceptional cruelty. Physical punishment, sometimes even leading to the death of prisoners, was part of their daily life. However, this attitude was largely a consequence not of some primitive cruelty, but of the traditional Japanese mentality.
Part of Japanese culture was unquestioning submission to elders - not only in age, but also in rank. Orders from superiors should not have been discussed, they simply could not be discussed. They should only be carried out without thinking about the causes and consequences. The Emperor, revered as a god, needed this railway. This means that it had to be built - at any cost, regardless of any sacrifices.
In addition, the Japanese (especially Japanese soldiers) had a completely unique perception of military duty. According to their code of honor, a real Japanese had to die in battle, and surrender was considered a disgrace. They treated prisoners of war of the Allied powers in the same way. They were not worthy of respect and human treatment, because they surrendered, did not die for their country, their king, their president.
Physical punishment was an integral part of life in the Army of the Great Japanese Empire. A general could punish an officer, an officer could punish a soldier, a Japanese soldier could punish a Korean soldier, and they only had the opportunity to beat to death people who were at the lowest level in their hierarchy - prisoners of war or Romus. The builders of the railway between Thailand and Burma especially hated the Korean guards, because they were the most cruel.
At the same time, Japanese originality was expressed not only in such issues, but also in a completely unexpected way. For example, all prisoners on the construction of the Death Road received money for their work, albeit small. This was absolutely unthinkable for the European theater of war. Soviet soldiers who were captured by the Germans were not considered human beings. In the Thai mountains of Tenasserim, the British also died in the thousands, but at the same time they were all paid for their work - from dawn to dusk, among clouds of malarial mosquitoes, under torrential rains or scorching sun, eating rotten rice, and then dying from cholera. Money with which later the prisoners of war could buy at least a little extra food from local peasants or the Japanese themselves.
