Cowra prison camp

The Oxford Companion to World War II | 2001 | 700+ words | Copyright

Cowra prison camp, prisoner-of-war (POW) compound established in New South Wales, Australia, where in August 1944 about half the 2,223 Japanese POW in Australia were being held. According to an Australian officer at Cowra, the Japanese did not understand the Geneva Convention and were amused by the humane treatment accorded them under its terms. It convinced them, the officer said, that the Australians were morally and spiritually weak, and on the night of 4/5 August 1944 several hundred broke out of the camp. A total of 234 Japanese were killed or died by their own hand and a further 108 were wounded. Three Australian guards were killed and another three wounded before order was restored and the Japanese recaptured.

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

MLA
Chicago
APA

I. C. B. DEAR and M. R. D. FOOT. "Cowra prison camp." The Oxford Companion to World War II. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

I. C. B. DEAR and M. R. D. FOOT. "Cowra prison camp." The Oxford Companion to World War II. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O129-Cowraprisoncamp.html

I. C. B. DEAR and M. R. D. FOOT. "Cowra prison camp." The Oxford Companion to World War II. 2001. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O129-Cowraprisoncamp.html

Learn more about citation styles