Japan: Australian nurse was ordered to keep war crimes secret

[Independent voter]

It is a secret that Australian army nurses from World War Two took to their graves. One was told by the Australian government to make no mention of violation by the Japanese in her statement before the war crimes tribunal.

Now author Lynette Silver, known as "the history detective", has pulled together all the evidence and says categorically that 22 nurses were raped before they were forced into the sea and machine-gunned. Only one survived.

"The reason Vivian Bullwinkel did not come clean, which she intended to do before her death, was because she was ordered when she was still in the army, not to include these details in her depositions to the Tokyo war crimes tribunal."

https://www.smh.com.au/national/aust...22-p516jg.html

Why would the Australian government order her to keep the rapes a secret?

[AwkwardSquirtle]

Japan is closer to Australia than any other "Western" nation. If they were going to go after anyone once they rebuilt it would be them. Giving them additional reasons to do so probably seemed like a bad idea.

Not agreeing with their decision, that's just the best way that I can rationalise it.

[Super Kami Dende]

Likely to not throw fuel on an already nuked Fire at that point. The Japanese Soldiers were likely severely punished in exchange for it.

[sarahtasher]

Why would the Australian government order her to keep the rapes a secret?

Presumably because in 1945, in ''the nurse was raped then killed'' sentence, there are two war crimes, but one that would have been deeply demoralizing for Australian (it might seems odds in the post GOT climate, but in Victorian littérature, people went out of their way to say that the wh...the heroine...was NOT sexually abused by the villain, especially non white. Before people scream at me, take for instance the Last of the Mohicans. The sister that is threatened with rape and forced marriage is, how convenient, the one that is not white….)

[Independent voter]

When Japanese soldiers arrived, the men were taken aside and murdered and the women were marched into the water and machine-gunned. As they were prodded with bayonets into the water, Sister Esther Stewart called out: "Girls take it, don't squeal."

Left an important part out. After they were raped, they were machine gunned.

[sarahtasher]

When Japanese soldiers arrived, the men were taken aside and murdered and the women were marched into the water and machine-gunned. As they were prodded with bayonets into the water, Sister Esther Stewart called out: "Girls take it, don't squeal."

Left an important part out. After they were raped, they were machine gunned.

No, you said it in the op.

[Independent voter]

No, you said it in the op.

Oh, never mind then.

[Puupi]

No, you said it in the op.

You mean "copypasted and didn't read".

OT: there might have been many reasons why they were ordered to keep the war crimes secret. One is public opinion, one is Japanese relations, and then there is the option that they brokered a deal with the Japanese for them to shut up about Australian war crimes in exchange.

[Cruor]

The Japanese were much more cruel to captured people than the Nazis but for some reason sheep are lead to believe nazis were the worst thing to ever appear on the planet.

[Puupi]

The Japanese were much more cruel to captured people than the Nazis but for some reason sheep are lead to believe nazis were the worst thing to ever appear on the planet.

Asians are lot cold hearted and more cruel than Europeans or Africans - it's not exclusive to Japanese in the region.

[Cruor]

Asians are lot cold hearted and more cruel than Europeans or Africans - it's not exclusive to Japanese in the region.

I agree. I'm really surprised to see someone else say it. Beyond the war stuff, the things I see that still goes on there like skinning animals alive and leaving them to die (I'm in full support of eating meat but damn kill them quick first) to cutting up living whales or fish.. it's like holy crap, are you humans or robots?

One of the many reasons people who would prefer China control the world over the USA are just beyond help. Pure insanity at that point.

[sarahtasher]

Platitudes about cruel orientals that are illustrated with whaling (no, seriously do you think Captain Achab cared about this ?) that double down into the usual fear mongering (I know some people are too woke and too intelligent to understand it, but China was a victim of Japan cruelty, it's fracking revolting to use Japanese war crimes to push a point on China) aside, I do hope that the usual suspects realize, even dimly, that the point is not that the Japanese committed war crimes (which reach ''water is wet'' levels of revelation), but that Australia preferred to not dwell on the fact that nurses were raped before being shot.

[Celista]

Likely to not throw fuel on an already nuked Fire at that point. The Japanese Soldiers were likely severely punished in exchange for it.

What severe punishment could match what they did? Getting raped and murdered via firing squad is what they did, is there any evidence of a punishment remotely matching the shit they did to these women?

I somehow suspect there was no "severe punishment" at all, most we can hope for is prison time and/or dishonorable discharge and if you have evidence of either, feel free to link it.

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I agree. I'm really surprised to see someone else say it. Beyond the war stuff, the things I see that still goes on there like skinning animals alive and leaving them to die (I'm in full support of eating meat but damn kill them quick first) to cutting up living whales or fish.. it's like holy crap, are you humans or robots?

They do it in the middle of the street, too. I saw an image of a Golden Retriever being skinned on a urban street in China, not sure if it was alive or not. Wouldn't be surprised if it was, as there's a contingent of Asian culture that believes that dog meat tastes better if the dog is afraid while it dies. Hence why they boil dogs alive and other shit.

No matter the species, deaths like that are deeply immoral and inhumane.

[sarahtasher]

What severe punishment could match what they did? Getting raped and murdered via firing squad is what they did, is there any evidence of a punishment remotely matching the shit they did to these women?

I somehow suspect there was no "severe punishment" at all, most we can hope for is prison time and/or dishonorable discharge and if you have evidence of either, feel free to link it.

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They do it in the middle of the street, too. I saw an image of a Golden Retriever being skinned on a urban street in China, not sure if it was alive or not. Wouldn't be surprised if it was, as there's a contingent of Asian culture that believes that dog meat tastes better if the dog is afraid while it dies. Hence why they boil dogs alive and other shit.

No matter the species, deaths like that are deeply immoral and inhumane.

Were they punished for Nankin ?

And I'm going to be called names, but I will say. I'm a French Canadian and my ancestors killed hogs each winter. I'm pretty sure the hog suffered as much as a dog or a whale, and I would really like to know why it's so much worse to eat dogs than chicken.

[PACOX]

The Japanese were much more cruel to captured people than the Nazis but for some reason sheep are lead to believe nazis were the worst thing to ever appear on the planet.

I've never seen anyone say Imperial Japan wasn't evil. Who cares which one was 'eviler' after a certain threshold? Both committed a ridiculous number of atrocities. The worst thing is trying to view the Nazi's in a better light.

The difference it that Japanese Imperialism died after WW2. You don't see people worshipping and trying to revive that ideology. Nazism only ceased in Germany and keeps rearing its ugly head.

[nymphetsss]

Are you really surprised they raped nurses? There is reports of them raping BABIES in china, they raped every girl they could for the most part. Several documentaries have chronicled this. The rape of nanking isnt a figurative expression.

Her being ordered to keep quiet about it comes from the stigma of rape on women at the time, the victim blaming shit, more than a desire to protect the japanese, their history of rape is WELL documented

[Natta Lmo]

I agree. I'm really surprised to see someone else say it. Beyond the war stuff, the things I see that still goes on there like skinning animals alive and leaving them to die (I'm in full support of eating meat but damn kill them quick first) to cutting up living whales or fish.. it's like holy crap, are you humans or robots?

One of the many reasons people who would prefer China control the world over the USA are just beyond help. Pure insanity at that point.

its just animals...

[PACOX]

My understanding is that Japan whitewashes their history a lot.

The West did that too.

After WW2 there was an abundance of Nazi and Japanese personnel, as well as information, deemed too valuable to be destroyed/handed to tribunals. Atrocities were downplayed or ignored. New identities were given. People were told to 'STFU' so that these assets could be used. A lot of things 'didn't exist' or 'didn't happen'.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Paperclip

[Independent voter]

The West did that too.

After WW2 there was an abundance of Nazi and Japanese personnel, as well as information, deemed too valuable to be destroyed/handed to tribunals. Atrocities were downplayed or ignored. New identities were given. People were told to 'STFU' so that these assets could be used. A lot of things 'didn't exist' or 'didn't happen'.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Paperclip

The leftists rage about Operation Paperclip, using it to point to how evil America is.

1. It didn't involve Japanese, only German.

2. Are you going to let hundreds of German scientists, many of whom were knowledgeable about rockets and nukes, roam the world looking for an employer?

What else should we have done, shot the scientists in the streets like dogs?

[Beatman]

The Japanese were much more cruel to captured people than the Nazis but for some reason sheep are lead to believe nazis were the worst thing to ever appear on the planet.

Oh shut the fuck up.