| ISBN |
9781922265463 |
| Author |
Apthorpe, Graham (author.) |
| Title |
The man inside : ... the bloodiest outbreak / Graham Apthorpe. |
| Publisher and/or associated date/s |
Newport, NSW : Big Sky Publishing Pty Ltd, 2019. |
| Description |
viii, 183 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some colour), colour maps, portraits ; 23 cm. |
| Note |
Contains biographical information. |
| Previously published: 2018. |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 177-183) |
| Summary |
Japanese soldiers are now being captured in New Guinea and interned at the Cowra Prisoner of War Camp. Unlike other POWs, the traditional Japanese Bushido Code and their fanaticism leaves them ill-equipped for surrender and imprisonment. Ashamed, subdued and sullen, one man, Second Lieutenant Maseo Naka is an exception. Obstructing the Australia authorities at every turn, he was the first Japanese soldier to escape from Cowra. This action becomes the precursor for the more than 1000 Japanese prisoners who escape in the bloodiest Breakout of World War II that ultimately saw 234 Japanese and four Australian guards killed. His escape and the defiance, guilt, and shame that motivated it, led to his court-martial. Naka nevertheless stands-out as very human, another tragic victim of the global inferno that was World War II. Adhering to the Samurai code of Bushido, he dogged undertakes actions that he views as necessary for the maintenance of his "honour". Through the insights of those around Naka, together with new research including the personal accounts of Australian interrogators, the author shows how this handsome loner provided the impetus for the dramatic events in the early hours of August 5, 1944 where hundreds of Japanese soldiers stormed the Camp defences for honour, or death! |
| Subjects |
Naka, Maseo |
| Australia. -- Army. -- Cowra Military Camp (1941-1947) |
| Australia. -- Australian Army. -- Cowra Military Camp (1941-1947) |
| World War, 1939-1945 |
| Military history |
| Warfare & Defence |
| Concentration camp escapes |
| Concentration camp escapes -- New South Wales -- Cowra |
| World War, 1939-1945 -- Australia -- Prisoners and prisons |
| Prisoner-of-war camps |
| Prisoner-of-war camps -- New South Wales -- Cowra |
| Prisoners of war |
| Prisoners of war -- New South Wales -- Cowra |
| Prisoners of war -- Japan |
| Escaped prisoners of war -- New South Wales -- Cowra |
| World War, 1939-1945 -- Australia -- Prisoners and prisons |
| Cowra (N.S.W.) -- History, Military |
| Call number |
2019.442 |
