There is a saying:
A good man in a bad place. I suspect there were many such men, and women in those days.
One thing I have always found heartening about the Japanese was the behavior of many civilians and enlisted men towards prisoners in the home islands. Despite the threat of being quite literally beaten to death if caught fraternising with the enemy, many risked their own saftey to show kindness to PoW's. Even Greg Boyington, a self confessed Jap-hater (his words, not mine) said how touched he was by the way civilians would risk all to give them food, despite their own deprivations. He also mentioned kindly guards that smuggled precious soap to the prisoners. Demonstrating as one would to a child how to bathe and keep themselves clean.
Away from the eyes of the brutal regime, it seems that compassion and dignity still survived. The idea of collective guilt is often mentioned in relation to some nations. In the case of Japan, I think it is rather less so. The civilians could not of guessed what appalling acts were being being committed by their military overseas. Such things could hardly have made it into the newsreels. Indeed, most troops once sent overseas did not return home for the duration of the war. So word wouldn't have filtered back much that way. The civil population would have only known strict military rule, constant reports of victories. Then a slow tightening of bellies before the B-29's came. It's no wonder many would later appear skeptical of the crimes of the military, and be more focused on how much they suffered at home.
Well, just thinking out loud there.
11-24-2010, 10:05 AM
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