In wartime, human nature is annihilated, and cruelty becomes the norm In the early years of the second world war, Japan had the upper hand in the Pacific theatre. Thousands of Allied servicemen were captured and endured brutal treatment - many died, and most of the survivors were held until war's end in August 1945. This book tells the story of the men who were incarcerated at the Mukden POW camp in northeast China, which was designated for prisoners with special technical skills and high-ranking officers. They included troops from British and Dutch territories and Australia, but the majority were Americans who had been captured in the Philippines and taken part in the infamous Bataan Death March. Based on extensive field research and interviews with former POWs, Yang Jing's harrowing account of life in the Mukden camp provides detailed evidence of the crimes perpetrated by the Japanese during the second world war, as well as a Chinese perspective on a fascinating period of history.

Author Biography

Yang Jing was born in Shenyang (formerly known as Mukden), Liaoning province, northeast China in 1960. He graduated from Chao Yang Teacher's College and Shenyang Normal University, before becoming a teacher of English and American literature. In 1993, while employed at the US consulate in Shenyang, Yang received an enquiry from a survivor of the Mukden POW camp but was unable to find any records. He set out to find the location of the camp and discovered that it was, by then, hidden amongst apartment buildings. He felt compelled to tell the story of the camp and began his research, which has continued for more than 20 years and become internationally recognised. In 2003, Yang's Mukden Nirvana was the first book about the Mukden POW camp to be published in China. He is currently director of the Mukden Allied POW Camp Research Institute at Shenyang University.