“Hell Ships”
Handout to accompany Prezi presentation:
Canadian Hong Kong Veterans and Allied POWs in the Asia-Pacific War:
Wounds and Closure
Overview
At the request of Japanese industrialists to replenish labor pool in Japan and in direct support of
Japanese war effort like the construction of Thailand/Burma “Death Railway,” Allied POWs and
Asian forced laborers from Japanese controlled territories were transported by “Hell ships” to
POW camps and forced labor sites throughout Asia during the Second World War. Most of these
ships were old and not seaworthy. The first “hell ship” set sail in May of 1942, and between
50,000 to 60,000 POWs were transported in total by the end of the war. POWs were taken out of
the Dutch East Indies now Indonesia, the Philippines, Hong Kong and Singapore and transported
to destinations such as Japan, Taiwan, Manchuria, Korea, Sumatra, Burma or Siam.
Conditions on the “hell ships” were horrific. Journeys often lasted for weeks at a time, with
prisoners cramped into tight spaces in cargo holds that were hot, humid and lacking in air. If
prisoners were let out of the cargo holds, it was only for periods of 10 to 15 minutes each day.
They were given barely enough food and water to survive, and sanitation was non-existent.
Latrines consisted of either boxes with holes suspended over the side of the ship or buckets that
were lifted by ropes out of the hold when full. As a result of these conditions, many POWs died
of asphyxia, starvation or dysentery on the “hell ships.”
Because these ships were unmarked, they were targeted by Allied submarines and aircraft as
Imperial Japanese vessels. It is estimated that over 10,000 Allied POWs died at sea as a result of
ships lost during these attacks.
Diagram of a “Hell Ship”
(Handout for Canadian Hong Kong Veterans and Allied POWs: Wounds and Closure, prepared by BC ALPHA www.alphacanada.org)
Testimony Excerpts
Excerpt from testimony of former American POW Robert Dow who was transported in one of the
“Hell Ships” from Manila to Japan
Full testimony available here: http://philippine-defenders.lib.wv.us/html/hellships.html
On July 17, 1944 all of the POWs from the Manila Port Area detail, with the exception of the
officers and most of the winchmen, were marched from their quarters across from Pier 7 to Pier
1. Waiting for them to board, was an old worn out looking freighter, the Nissyo Maru. There
were many other POWs there, some already boarded the ship and some, like us were willing
[waiting] to board. In all, there were 1500 of us. The sight we looked upon as we entered the
hold of the ship was truly horrifying. Those in the hold were obviously very frightened as they
were being crammed into the hold. As more and more of us were forced into the hold, many of
the men passed out and were trampled by others. We were required to throw everything we had,
except the clothes we wore, through an opening in the hatch boards, into the lower part of the
hold. That was the last we saw of them. Soon, the hatch opening was covered as more men were
forced into the hold. It became almost impossible to breathe and panic reigned. Men were
screaming, fainting and dying […]
Excerpt from testimony of Canadian Hong Kong Veteran Frank Christenson who was
transported from Hong Kong to Japan
Full testimony available here: http://www.hkvca.ca/historical/accounts/christensen.htm
[…] On January 19, 1943 the first draft of Canadian POWs, me among them, was herded onto an
old freighter, the Tatuta Maru, and down into the hold. Have you ever heard of the ‘Black Hole
of Calcutta’? Well, this was the equivalent, if not worse. In the four days that I was on this ship, I
managed to get on deck only once for about five minutes. There were no signs of any kind on it
indicating that it was transporting POWs. We only had a few buckets serving as latrines and
were given only sloppy rice to eat. There wasn’t enough floor space for everyone to lie down at
the same time, so some sat with their backs against the wall. The only daylight we saw came
through a square hole at the top through which the full latrine buckets went up and the mushy
rice ones came down [...]
Excerpt from testimony of Canadian Hong Kong Veteran Larry Stebbe who was transported
from Hong Kong to Japan
Full testimony available here: http://www.hkvca.ca/historical/accounts/stebbe.htm
[…] The trip from Hong Kong to the seaport of Nagasaki was such a nightmare that it is only
vague in my memory. We were all herded on board a boat that looked so old and broken down
that a good wave would sink her. They put us down below decks in a hold like a bunch of cattle
with no sanitary facilities at all and a smattering of rice was lowered to us in a tub at the end of a
rope. Our food was lowered down by rope in buckets and on the return we sent up the toilet
buckets that were overflowing.
(Handout for Canadian Hong Kong Veterans and Allied POWs: Wounds and Closure, prepared by BC ALPHA www.alphacanada.org)
We had no utensils to eat with and just had to use our hands, but most of the men were so sick
down there that even though we were starving we still couldn't eat. Dysentery in particular at this
time was a terrible plague […]
Taken from POW Research Network Japan:
http://www.powresearch.jp/en/archive/ship/index.html
(Handout for Canadian Hong Kong Veterans and Allied POWs: Wounds and Closure, prepared by BC ALPHA www.alphacanada.org)
Sketches by surviving POWs
(Handout for Canadian Hong Kong Veterans and Allied POWs: Wounds and Closure, prepared by BC ALPHA www.alphacanada.org)