Burma Railway

E62618

The Burma Railway, also known as the Death Railway, was a World War II Japanese-built rail line in Southeast Asia constructed with forced labor under brutal conditions, causing the deaths of tens of thousands of Allied prisoners of war and Asian civilians.


Statements (51)
Predicate Object
instanceOf World War II site
railway line
war crime site
alsoKnownAs Death Railway
Thailand–Burma Railway
Thai–Burma Railway
associatedWarCrimeType forced labor
inhumane treatment of prisoners of war
connects Ban Pong
Thanbyuzayat
constructedBy Empire of Japan
Imperial Japanese Army
constructionEndDate October 1943
constructionMethod manual labor
primitive tools
constructionStartDate June 1942
countryAtConstructionStart British Burma
Thailand
estimatedDeaths over 100000 laborers
over 12000 Allied prisoners of war
tens of thousands of Asian civilians
featuredIn film "The Bridge on the River Kwai"
novel "The Bridge on the River Kwai"
governedByDuringConstruction Japanese occupation authorities
laborConditions brutal
malnutrition
overwork
physical abuse
tropical diseases
length about 258 miles
about 415 kilometres
locatedIn Burma
Myanmar
Southeast Asia
Thailand
memorialSite Hellfire Pass Memorial Museum
Kanchanaburi War Cemetery
Thanbyuzayat War Cemetery
notableSection Bridge on the River Kwai
Hellfire Pass
operatedBy Japanese military authorities
partOf Pacific War
World War II
postwarStatus partially dismantled
partially preserved as a memorial
partially preserved as a working railway
purpose to improve supply lines between Thailand and Burma
to support Japanese military operations in Burma
usedForcedLabor Allied prisoners of war
Asian civilian laborers
romusha

Referenced by (4)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
Burma Railway ("Death Railway")
Burma Railway ("Thai–Burma Railway")
Burma Railway ("Thailand–Burma Railway")
alsoKnownAs
The Railway Man
depicts

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