Working for the Enemy

Identity and Resistance in the Work Experiences of New Zealand POWs During World War II

Dados Bibliográficos

ID12914632
AutoresMatthew Johnson (0000-0002-7295-2663, autor correspondente)
Ano2019
Volume13
Fascículo3
Páginas318-335
Data de publicação2019-08-12
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessNão
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoJournal of War and Culture Studies (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 1752-6272 • E-ISSN: 1752-6280
EditoraRoutledge (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/17526272.2019.1650222
OpenAlexW2968402633
IdiomaEN
Referências citadas15

This paper argues that New Zealand POWs used their post-captivity accounts to distance themselves from the perceived shame of being forced to work for the enemy. Their willingness to describe acts of sabotage showed a desire to minimize their impotency and reconnect their experience with the wider war effort. Moreover, beyond these acts of resistance, the paper argues that some prisoners recast themselves as more than saboteurs. This argument is articulated through the experiences of Private Arthur Coe and Private Jack Gallichan. Their accounts highlight how some prisoners found ways to retell their POW experience with pride, but without having to resort to romanticized tales of escape and sabotage. Coe's work in camp hospitals and Gallichan's role as a guardian to his fellow workers represent a subtler expression of identity and resistance to captivity. These examples reinforce a multifaceted approach to identity construction in captivity

Adversary · Aesthetics · Argument (complex analysis · Art · Captivity · Criminology · Guardian · Identity (music · Political science · Pride · Resistance (ecology · Shame · Sociology · Work (physics · Australian History and Society · Engineering · Gender Studies · History · Law · Medicine · Military History and Strategy · World Wars: History, Literature, and Impact