Though they were not prisoners of war, the romusha were transported to Thailand like POWs, crammed into railway carriages with little food or water. This picture was taken in 1945 of romusha forced to travel on the roof of a railway truck near Wampo, Thailand. Photo: Hellfire Pass Memorial Museum
Seventy-five years ago, in June 1942, the Japanese Occupation Army commissioned the construction of the Thai-Burma Railway that later gained its infamous name, the Death Railway.
In the months that followed, thousands of Malayans were taken, some by recruitment, most by coercion, and transported north to complete the project. Thousands died.
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