World War II and After in Southeast Asia
Introducing Historian Ooi Keat Gin
Ooi Keat Gin is an historian who has written extensively on World War II and its aftermath on Borneo. Among his many works are Rising
A World War II Annam Anthem (Đăng Đàn)
One period of Vietnamese history that I find fascinating is World War II. During the War, Vietnam was occupied by the Japanese, but for most
Bombing Distilleries in World War II Indochina
I recently came across a report that the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) prepared during World War II on “Selected Industrial Sites in Indo-China.” In
Dr. Francisco Africa and the Burmese Mission in WW II Southeast Asia
I was looking at a report that the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) compiled during World War II about Filipinos who were collaborating with the
Documenting Japanese Crimes in the Early Occupation of the Philippines
I came across a file in the National Archives of Australia that contained a translation of a captured Japanese document that recorded information about crimes
Identifying Betty Boop and Horseface after World War II in Southeast Asia
After World War II came to an end in Southeast Asia, the Allies tried to bring to trial Japanese who had committed war crimes there.
The Dog of the Paracels
The other day I came across some materials in the National Archives of Australia that talked about an American submarine attack on Japanese forces on
Vietnamese, Japanese, Formosan Coolies and the U.S.S. Pargo in the Paracel Islands in World War II
Given that things are heating up now that the PRC is attempting to set up an oil rig in an area of the sea that
Darkness and Javanese Soldiers in Australia during World War II
On 5 September 1945 the acting premier of New South Wales, J. M. Baddeley, sent a letter to the prime minister of the Commonwealth of
Banning Women in Bondage and Dragon Seed in French Indochina
I found a list of American movies that were banned in French Indochina in 1949-1951. It’s interesting to see the kinds of things that the
A Lost Opportunity or Opportunism in 1945 Vietnam?
One idea that has been expressed a lot is the idea that the US lost an opportunity in 1945 when Truman did not respond to
British Pathé Newsreels on the End of World War II in Southeast Asia
British Pathé, a company that used to produce newsreels of events around the world, has placed over 80,000 videos on YouTube. There are many from
Getting Back a Commandeered Car in the Japanese Occupied Philippines
I came across a letter that José Laurel, the president of the Philippines when it was under Japanese occupation, wrote to the Japanese consul general
The Views of Moderate Cochinchinese in 1946
On March 6, 1946, President of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam Hồ Chí Minh and Special Envoy of France Jean Sainteny signed an agreement that
A Letter from Lord of Thailand Tengku Abdullah Osman
On 21 October 1945, Lord of Thailand Tengku Abdullah Osman sent a letter to “Mr. D. Headley, Lieutnent (sic) Colonel & Chief Commander Civil Affairs,
Chiang Kai-shek and Vietnam in 1945
Last year I wrote a post (here) in which I tried to refute the idea that Hò Chí Minh said in the late 1940s that
Identifying War Criminals from WW II in Southeast Asia
When the Japanese occupied Southeast Asia during World War II, there were soldiers who committed war crimes. Convicting those people of crimes was an extremely
A 1944 Secret Report on Caodaism
I came across a “secret” report that the Indochina Section of the Far Eastern Bureau of the British Ministry of Information in New Delhi filed
Japanese War Criminals in Labuan
So much has been written about World War II. People know all about the battles and the dropping of the atomic bombs, etc. However, to
Nazis in the Netherlands East Indies
For more than twenty years now scholars have recognizing that when we talk about colonialism, we have to realize that it was much more complex
