Peace in Our Region: Prisoners of War and Australia’s Relationship with Japan, 1945–1960

This chapter explores how Australian war veterans promoted peace and reconciliation in the post-Second World War period. While it is essential to study opposition to war, efforts to uphold peace, initiatives to recognise the debts incurred during war and to bridge the gulf of understanding and sympathy that can exist between former enemies also forms part of the history of peace practice. Although the reason for the 'public mood' being against Japan in the late 1940s and 1950s is often construed as dependent on the experiences of prisoners of war (POWs) during the war, there has been very little research into the views of former prisoners themselves. Most of the mainstream press were in full support of Australia's participation in the war crimes process, and felt that the sentences handed down were some measure of justice for the many people who had suffered and died.