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DEATH MARCHES IN WORLD HISTORY
Rappler, Philippines
April 9 2014
The Bataan Death March, commemorated every April 9, is not unique
to Philippine history. Here are a few other similar tragedies in
world history.
MANILA, Philippines - For Filipinos, the term death march conjures
images of the Bataan Death March, where 78,100 exhausted Filipino and
American prisoners of war were forced by the Japanese to march 128
kilometers from the tip of Bataan province to waiting prison trains
in San Fernando, Pampanga.
A death march is a forced march, usually by prisoners, in which
many of the marchers suffer and die through multiple factors, such
as exhaustion, starvation, exposure to the elements, abuse inflicted
by their guards, or all of the above.
Legally, death marches are war crimes under the Geneva Conventions
for the treatment of prisoners of war and protection of civilians
in wartime. Non-wartime death marches, meanwhile, are crime against
humanity under inhumane acts and forcible transfer of populations
clauses.
Despite its infamy, the Bataan Death March is not the only case of
such an event in history. Here are other tragic episodes that were
considered death marches in world history.
REMEMBERING THE TRAIL. Route of the Trail of Tears outlined by the
US National Park Service. Picture from Southern Spaces/NPS
Trail of tears
The "Trail of Tears" is the forced removal of Native American tribes
in Southeastern US to relocation sites in present-day Oklahoma and
Arkansas following the passing of the Indian Removal Act of 1830.
While some native tribes complied with the relocation, others resisted
through a series of wars, but were defeated and forcibly removed as
prisoners of war.
Overseen by the US military, the relocations followed land and river
routes, with those who took the land route suffering the most, having
to deal with starvation, blizzards, freezing winters, diseases among
those marching, and other privations. The forced removals occurred
from 1830 to 1847. Of approximately 61,000 Native Americans forcibly
relocated, around 8,000 to 16,000 died along the way.
While the US military took measures to ensure the safety of the
displaced natives, it was still considered a death march as it
was a forced removal of a population over inhospitable terrain
and conditions. Furthermore, US government agencies handling the
relocation were neglectful of the needs of the relocated natives,
with their poor logistical decisions and the inadequate shelters they
provided causing misery and death.
ARMENIAN ATROCITY: Male Victims of the Armenian Genocide and
Deportation. Photo from the University of Columbia.
Armenian genocide and deportations
Armenians were one of the Christian subjects of the Muslim Ottoman
Empire (modern day Turkey). The empire gave way to an ultranationalist
Turkish revolution, which viewed the Armenians as roadblocks to their
eastern expansion and their ideal of a unified Muslim Turkish nation.
At the outbreak of World War I, the ultranationalists joined with the
Central Powers and at the same time moved against the Armenians. On
the pretext that they were aiding Turkey's Russian enemies, thousands
of Armenian men and community leaders were rounded up, imprisoned,
and slain.
In 1915, Armenian communities were relocated en masse by the government
to a village in Syria under the pretext that they were being moved
to a demilitarized zone for their safety. What happened next were a
series of death marches.
The caravans of Armenians were made to pass through difficult and wild
terrain, and Turkish policemen guarding the caravans were believed
to have allowed bandits to attack the caravans. The bandits not only
stole from the Armenians, but they also committed rapes, murders, and
kidnappings of Armenian girls whom the bandits sold to prostitution
or domestic slavery.
Even the policemen were said to have participated in the atrocities,
joining in the rapes and kidnappings. They forced the march to continue
even when food and water ran out and anyone who lagged behind was
beaten, while those who could not continue were shot.
The ordeal of the Armenians ended in 1918. A million Armenians died of
the genocide, with 80,000 from the deportations. With the perpetrators
largely unpunished, the genocide remains a sensitive issue for both
Turks and Armenians to this day.
MOBILE HOLOCAUST: Prisoners of Nazi Death Camps marching under the
gaze of German guards. Photo from the US Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Holocaust death marches
Death camps are the common image of the infamous genocide of millions
of Jews and others by the Nazis during World War II, but death marches
were also held.
With the war going badly for the Germans in 1944, the Nazis started
evacuating prisoners from outer prison camps into the German interior.
This was done so the prisoners would not fall into the allies' hands
and reveal full details of German atrocities. They were also used
as hostages.
Most of the evacuations were initially done via railways or ships, but
because of the allies' advance and air superiority, these evacuations
were unsafe. Prisoners were then instead ordered to evacuate on foot
or via small boats and box trains.
Strict orders were given to kill those who could not travel. Already
weakened by maltreatment in prison camps, some of them were slain
before the evacuation could even begin. Along the way the Nazi guards
killed stragglers and anyone who collapsed from exhaustion.
Evacuation atrocities reached their height during the winters of
1944 and 1945, when many of the prisoners died of exhaustion or froze
to death. It also weakened many individuals who were then killed by
their Nazi guards. Even those in the transports weren't so lucky, as
the open trains exposed them to the cold winter. Those in small boats
were mistaken by the allies' planes for German military transports.
The evacuation was never completed and continued almost until war's
end in 1945, with some bands of prisoners rescued by the advancing
allied armies as they marched.
DOOMED DRAFTEES: Fears that men such as these would be drafted into
the North Korean Army forced South Korea to Draft them first as part
of the National Defense Corps. File Photo from Wikimedia Commons.
Korea's national defense corps
During the war between North and South Korea, the North gained an
early advantage. To prevent North Korea from getting more recruits,
the South Korean Army rounded up men aged 17 to 40 near North Korea
in a program called "National Defense Corps" in 1951.
Around 400,000 men were rounded up and organized into 49 units for
training.
Early South Korea is known for the prevalence of corruption in
government. With the US' generous funding programs for South Korea's
defense during the war, there was a lot of money to be embezzled. And
money for the National Defense Corps program was stolen by its top
officers, leading to deprivation among men in training.
The draftees were made to march south to South Korean bases. Due
to the freezing Korean winter and the lack of food and inadequate
clothing, approximately 50,000 to 90,000 recruits died during the
march. Afterwards, the National Assembly of South Korea disbanded the
program and investigated the incident. 5 of the top officers involved
in the embezzlement of funds were executed. - Rappler. com
http://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/iq/54987-death-marches-world-history
Rappler, Philippines
April 9 2014
The Bataan Death March, commemorated every April 9, is not unique
to Philippine history. Here are a few other similar tragedies in
world history.
MANILA, Philippines - For Filipinos, the term death march conjures
images of the Bataan Death March, where 78,100 exhausted Filipino and
American prisoners of war were forced by the Japanese to march 128
kilometers from the tip of Bataan province to waiting prison trains
in San Fernando, Pampanga.
A death march is a forced march, usually by prisoners, in which
many of the marchers suffer and die through multiple factors, such
as exhaustion, starvation, exposure to the elements, abuse inflicted
by their guards, or all of the above.
Legally, death marches are war crimes under the Geneva Conventions
for the treatment of prisoners of war and protection of civilians
in wartime. Non-wartime death marches, meanwhile, are crime against
humanity under inhumane acts and forcible transfer of populations
clauses.
Despite its infamy, the Bataan Death March is not the only case of
such an event in history. Here are other tragic episodes that were
considered death marches in world history.
REMEMBERING THE TRAIL. Route of the Trail of Tears outlined by the
US National Park Service. Picture from Southern Spaces/NPS
Trail of tears
The "Trail of Tears" is the forced removal of Native American tribes
in Southeastern US to relocation sites in present-day Oklahoma and
Arkansas following the passing of the Indian Removal Act of 1830.
While some native tribes complied with the relocation, others resisted
through a series of wars, but were defeated and forcibly removed as
prisoners of war.
Overseen by the US military, the relocations followed land and river
routes, with those who took the land route suffering the most, having
to deal with starvation, blizzards, freezing winters, diseases among
those marching, and other privations. The forced removals occurred
from 1830 to 1847. Of approximately 61,000 Native Americans forcibly
relocated, around 8,000 to 16,000 died along the way.
While the US military took measures to ensure the safety of the
displaced natives, it was still considered a death march as it
was a forced removal of a population over inhospitable terrain
and conditions. Furthermore, US government agencies handling the
relocation were neglectful of the needs of the relocated natives,
with their poor logistical decisions and the inadequate shelters they
provided causing misery and death.
ARMENIAN ATROCITY: Male Victims of the Armenian Genocide and
Deportation. Photo from the University of Columbia.
Armenian genocide and deportations
Armenians were one of the Christian subjects of the Muslim Ottoman
Empire (modern day Turkey). The empire gave way to an ultranationalist
Turkish revolution, which viewed the Armenians as roadblocks to their
eastern expansion and their ideal of a unified Muslim Turkish nation.
At the outbreak of World War I, the ultranationalists joined with the
Central Powers and at the same time moved against the Armenians. On
the pretext that they were aiding Turkey's Russian enemies, thousands
of Armenian men and community leaders were rounded up, imprisoned,
and slain.
In 1915, Armenian communities were relocated en masse by the government
to a village in Syria under the pretext that they were being moved
to a demilitarized zone for their safety. What happened next were a
series of death marches.
The caravans of Armenians were made to pass through difficult and wild
terrain, and Turkish policemen guarding the caravans were believed
to have allowed bandits to attack the caravans. The bandits not only
stole from the Armenians, but they also committed rapes, murders, and
kidnappings of Armenian girls whom the bandits sold to prostitution
or domestic slavery.
Even the policemen were said to have participated in the atrocities,
joining in the rapes and kidnappings. They forced the march to continue
even when food and water ran out and anyone who lagged behind was
beaten, while those who could not continue were shot.
The ordeal of the Armenians ended in 1918. A million Armenians died of
the genocide, with 80,000 from the deportations. With the perpetrators
largely unpunished, the genocide remains a sensitive issue for both
Turks and Armenians to this day.
MOBILE HOLOCAUST: Prisoners of Nazi Death Camps marching under the
gaze of German guards. Photo from the US Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Holocaust death marches
Death camps are the common image of the infamous genocide of millions
of Jews and others by the Nazis during World War II, but death marches
were also held.
With the war going badly for the Germans in 1944, the Nazis started
evacuating prisoners from outer prison camps into the German interior.
This was done so the prisoners would not fall into the allies' hands
and reveal full details of German atrocities. They were also used
as hostages.
Most of the evacuations were initially done via railways or ships, but
because of the allies' advance and air superiority, these evacuations
were unsafe. Prisoners were then instead ordered to evacuate on foot
or via small boats and box trains.
Strict orders were given to kill those who could not travel. Already
weakened by maltreatment in prison camps, some of them were slain
before the evacuation could even begin. Along the way the Nazi guards
killed stragglers and anyone who collapsed from exhaustion.
Evacuation atrocities reached their height during the winters of
1944 and 1945, when many of the prisoners died of exhaustion or froze
to death. It also weakened many individuals who were then killed by
their Nazi guards. Even those in the transports weren't so lucky, as
the open trains exposed them to the cold winter. Those in small boats
were mistaken by the allies' planes for German military transports.
The evacuation was never completed and continued almost until war's
end in 1945, with some bands of prisoners rescued by the advancing
allied armies as they marched.
DOOMED DRAFTEES: Fears that men such as these would be drafted into
the North Korean Army forced South Korea to Draft them first as part
of the National Defense Corps. File Photo from Wikimedia Commons.
Korea's national defense corps
During the war between North and South Korea, the North gained an
early advantage. To prevent North Korea from getting more recruits,
the South Korean Army rounded up men aged 17 to 40 near North Korea
in a program called "National Defense Corps" in 1951.
Around 400,000 men were rounded up and organized into 49 units for
training.
Early South Korea is known for the prevalence of corruption in
government. With the US' generous funding programs for South Korea's
defense during the war, there was a lot of money to be embezzled. And
money for the National Defense Corps program was stolen by its top
officers, leading to deprivation among men in training.
The draftees were made to march south to South Korean bases. Due
to the freezing Korean winter and the lack of food and inadequate
clothing, approximately 50,000 to 90,000 recruits died during the
march. Afterwards, the National Assembly of South Korea disbanded the
program and investigated the incident. 5 of the top officers involved
in the embezzlement of funds were executed. - Rappler. com
http://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/iq/54987-death-marches-world-history