Compass – Changi Days, POW Poets (2003)
Television program, Religion, War
Length: 29 minutes 54 seconds
Taken from the current affairs program Compass
Synopsis
When 22,000 Australian soldiers were taken prisoner by the Japanese on the Malay Peninsula early in 1942, they disappeared into the vast prison camp called Changi on Singapore Island. The soldiers had to find ways of overcoming both the physical and the emotional shock of dealing with this brutal life.
Curator’s notes
This is a program that represents the very worst and the very best of humankind. A picture of great humanity emerges through this terrible story, built by the filmmakers using the recollections of the surviving prisoners of war, some of the poems the men wrote to keep their minds from the dehumanising conditions of the prison camp, and photos and drawings of life in the camp.
Original aspect ratio: 16 x 9 (TV)
Original censorship rating: PG
| Production company | ABC |
|---|---|
| Producer | Roger Bayley |
| Executive producer | George Pugh |
| Director | Roger Bayley |
have teacher’s notes.
