Conditions aboard the Hellships
Allied prisoners of war (POWs) aboard Japanese "hell ships" during World War II endured extremely inhumane living conditions and harrowing experiences. These ships were Japanese merchant vessels, auxiliary ships, escort carriers, troop transports, and even destroyers, requisitioned by the Imperial Japanese Navy and Army to transport POWs and Asian forced slave laborers (rōmusha) from occupied territories to various locations for forced labor. The Japanese perspective viewed Western prisoners as mere commodities, justifying the deplorable conditions.
The prevailing conditions and experiences included:
• Extreme Overcrowding and Lack of Space: POWs were typically crammed into cargo holds with little air or space, often in "floating dungeons". For instance, on the Oryoku Maru, 1,620 POWs were packed into holds. An officer described men sitting "jammed into the crotch of the man behind him in four rows with five men to a row," with remaining space filled by men standing "packed one against the other," cutting off air.
• Abysmal Sanitation and Disease: Prisoners were frequently denied access to adequate bathroom facilities, leading to men reportedly having to lap up sewage in open drains. The unsanitary conditions, combined with severe deprivation, led to outbreaks of diseases like dysentery, and prisoners "suffering terribly from disease, hunger, and thirst".
• Severe Deprivation of Food, Water, and Air: POWs were denied adequate food, drink, and especially water. Little air and ventilation were available in the holds, leading to many deaths from asphyxia, starvation, terminal dehydration, and hyperthermia. Men became delirious and unresponsive due to the heat, humidity, and lack of oxygen, food, and water. On the Oryoku Maru, men passed out from suffocation and dehydration.
• Violence and Summary Executions: Prisoners faced summary executions and excessive beatings from Japanese guards. During Allied attacks, Japanese guards often fired indiscriminately down into the holds or shot prisoners who tried to escape sinking ships. On the Suez Maru, those who escaped the sinking ship were shot by Japanese, and a minesweeper machine-gunned at least 250 surviving POWs in the water, leaving no POW survivors.
• Psychological Trauma and Desperation: The horrific conditions led to immense psychological suffering. Survivors of the Oryoku Maru described men losing their minds, crawling in the dark armed with knives trying to kill people for their blood, or swinging canteens filled with urine. Wild, deadly fights erupted in the crowded, fetid holds.
• Risk of Allied Attacks (Friendly Fire): While conditions on board were deadly, the greatest cause of fatalities for POWs aboard these ships were unintended Allied attacks, which killed thousands. These ships were considered legitimate targets because they transported a mixture of POWs, regular Japanese troops, and vital cargo, and were not marked as non-combatants. Out of approximately 126,000 Allied POWs transported, over 19,000 deaths were a direct consequence of Allied attacks, compared to about 1,540 deaths from conditions and violence on board.
• Continual Ordeal: Even if a ship survived an attack, the ordeal often continued. Survivors might be transferred to other hell ships, only to face similar conditions and subsequent bombings. For example, survivors of the Oryoku Maru were moved to the Enoura Maru and Brazil Maru, which were also bombed, leading to further deaths. Of the 1,620 POWs on the Oryoku Maru in December 1944, only 128 survived the war to be liberated in August/September 1945, highlighting the slim chances of survival even for those who endured multiple sinkings.
