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The PoWs who survived Nagasaki

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The PoWs who survived Nagasaki

John Willis shares the incredible story of the Allied prisoners of war who witnessed the nuclear attack that brought the Second World War to an end

Spencer Mizen

Published: January 18, 2023 at 9:10 AM

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The Japanese city of Nagasaki is probably best known for being the target of the world’s second-ever nuclear attack in August 1945. Yet the city was also home to hundreds of Allied prisoners of war, forcibly put to work to support the Japanese war economy. In conversation with Spencer Mizen, John Willis shares the incredible – and largely forgotten – story of the PoWs who had survived the brutal camps of the far east, were transported to the Japanese mainland on so-called hell-ships and were later witnesses to a bomb that would help bring the Second World War to a conclusion.

John Willis is the author of Nagasaki: The Forgotten Prisoners (Mensch Publishing, 2022)

Authors

Spencer MizenSenior production editor

Spencer is senior production editor of HistoryExtra magazine