Common Test

4 SBQ Questions 1. Inference Question

2. Compare and Contrast Question

2 SEQ Questions
Chapter 6 and Chapter 7 till Maria Hertogh Riots

Inquiry Question: Did the Japanese Occupation change the way people viewed Singapore in the first half of the 20th Century? Smaller Question: What were the peoples views of Singapore during the Japanese Occupation?

At the Beginning of the Japanese Occupation

Learning Outcomes:
I would be able to explain: the promises of the Japanese at the start of the Japanese Occupation the changes the Japanese introduced at the beginning of the Japanese Occupation how the Japanese got rid of their enemies at the beginning of the Japanese Occupation

What did the Japanese promise at the start of the Japanese Occupation?

Japanese claimed they invaded Southeast Asia to free Southeast Asia from western colonial rule. - Whose rule? British Japanese promised to secure an Asia for the Asians where locals would run their own countries under Japanese guidance.

What did the Japanese promise at the start of the Japanese Occupation?

A Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere would be set up to bring about mutual aid for all member countries. This suggested that Japanese rule might be good for the people in Singapore.

Why? Or why not?

Malayan newspaper reports of what the Japanese did in China from 1931 onwards

After the Japanese entered Nanjing, Japanese soldiers competed in The Hundred Head Contest to see how many they could cut off. - Newspaper report in Malaya after Japanese soldiers captured Nanjing in
1931

What do you think the Japanese did in 1931 when they captured the city of Nanjing in China? How do you think the people in Singapore & Malaya responded when they read such newspaper reports of what happened in China?

What were the changes the Japanese introduced at the beginning of the Japanese Occupation?

1. Singapore was renamed Syonan-to, which meant Light of the South.

2. The Central Military Administration was established and responsible for governing Singapore.
3. The Japanese military police, Kempeitai, was sent to restore order and sift out anti-Japanese elements.

How did the Japanese get rid of their enemies at the beginning of the Japanese Occupation?

The Kempeitai carried out the Sook Ching or the cleansing operation. Aim: remove anti-Japanese members within the Chinese community How were the prisoners of war being punished? Water treatment/sent to build death railway/pulling out of fingernails They had to march 22km from the Padang to Selarang Barracks and they were imprisoned at the Changi Prison (pg 109)

How did the Japanese get rid of their enemies at the beginning of the Japanese Occupation?

*Watch the following video clip to get a close up experience of the Sook Ching from a survivor. Video: Rising Sun over Malaya 11:40 -16.45

Task: Jot down notes on what the process of Sook Ching was like How did you feel towards Mr Xiao? How did you feel towards the Japanese soldiers?

How did the Japanese get rid of their enemies at the beginning of the Japanese Occupation?

Process: All Chinese men aged 18 to 50 years old had to report to mass screening centres to be examined. Hooded informers were used to point out anti-Japanese elements. Those who passed the screening were given a piece of paper, or a chop, that read Examined in Chinese and allowed to go home. Those identified as anti-Japanese were taken away to Changi and other beaches and executed.

What was the impact of Sook Ching?

Over 5,000 Chinese were estimated to have been killed.

How do you think the people felt as they saw men taken away, never to return? What did the people think of the promises Japanese made when they conquered Singapore?

Think.

Who did the Japanese consider as their enemies? Chinese Why did they consider them as their enemies? The Japanese wanted to take revenge for the many Japanese soldiers who died in the war in China.

How do you think life would be like as the Japanese Occupation went on for the next few years?

History Fun Fact

In Ancient Rome, whitening one's teeth was often accomplished using urine. Ammonia, which is found in urine, is also a cleaning agent that can kill bacteria. The ancient Egyptians would whiten their teeth with a mixture of pulverized pumice and wine vinegar.