Beyond The Empires - Memories Retold

For those who lived through the three and a half years of the Japanese Occupation in Syonan-to (as Singapore was renamed), 1945 marked the end of a traumatic era. Many can still recall the loved ones who never returned after leaving to register at the various Sook Ching centres. For many, the Japanese Occupation was a period of upheaval. The way of life which was familiar and comfortable during the colonial days was completely overturned. Under the new Japanese masters, we had to re-learn many things, even simple ones like everyday greetings and buying daily groceries. It was this new harsh environment that saw the beginnings of new-found energy, fuelled by new confidence and aspirations. The seeds of modern Singapore were sown then. There was no turning back the clock to the old way of life.

The Japanese Occupation taught us many things. The harshness and the cruelty suffered during the Japanese Occupation caused us to look into ourselves for inner strength which, until then, we did not know we had. The oral history interviews of the survivors bear testimony to our need to be self-reliant and independent.