Abstract
ABSTRACT Ocean Island (Banaba) is in the central Pacific. Until the Second World War it was the headquarters of the British Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony. In August 1942, Japanese forces captured the island and held it until after the war ended. Ocean Island became overpopulated with Japanese military personnel. Food supplies ran low, water was rationed, and the Islanders suffered under a brutal Japanese regime where they were beaten, women were raped, and men executed for minor crimes. All European prisoners on the island died and it was suspected they were murdered. Leprosy patients disappeared and, after the Japanese surrender, 150 Islanders were executed. The Australian Army investigated alleged war crimes on Ocean Island and trials were conducted at Rabaul, New Guinea. Previous histories have provided basic information about the war years. More recently (1991–2000), Japanese publication of the memoirs of two of the three war-time commanders, allows a more detailed account.
Published Version
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