Prisoners of war of the Japanese: War and memory in Australia

Abstract

This article reflects on the place of prisoners of war of the Japanese in Australian memory of World War II. It examines the return to prominence of prisoners of war memory in the 1980s and places this phenomenon in the context of the memory boom and the attention accorded to difficult or traumatic memories. By exploring the relationship between Australian war memories and debates about Indigenous suffering, it suggests that cosmopolitan memory cultures form an important conceptual link between them. Recognising prisoners of war memory as an example of traumatic memory allows us to move beyond an analysis bounded by the nation state, and to argue that instead of seeing it as emerging in competition with other contemporary memories focused on the suffering of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, it shares some elements in common with them.