Politics of Prisoner of War Recovery: SOE and the Burma-Thailand Railway during World War II

In: Intelligence and national security, Band 17, Heft 2, S. 51-80

Abstract

This article considers why SOE were given a prominent role in POW recovery in the Far East during the last months of the war & immediately after VJ Day. This was a task normally allotted to the International Committee of the Red Cross. It examines both strategic & humanitarian motivations as possible explanations of this policy. It reviews the means used to execute this policy along the Burma-Thailand Railway, including close cooperation with the Thai resistance movement. The success of SOE's operations are assessed & the impact of their testimony in the Tokyo War Crimes Trials is also reviewed against the background of a growing appreciation of the role of secret service in providing evidence to international tribunals. Adapted from the source document.