Hello there everybody. Are you ready for your weekly dose of culture? Well if you aren’t then I am sorry to disappoint you because it is coming at you right now in the form of the word of the day.
This week’s word of the day is: Anathema
Anathema (noun, predicate nominative) is someone or something that is banned, cursed or intensely disliked by others. An anathema is usually declared by an ecclesiastical group, and can accompany an excommunication.
When used in a sentence this word would sound like this:
Slobodan Milosevic was an anathema upon the former Yugoslavia and the rest of Europe and was indicted for crimes against humanity, by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
The Subject of the week is: Bataan Death March
The Bataan Death March took place in the Philippines during WWII. In 1942, following the drawn out Battle of the Philippines, Japanese troops force-marched an estimated 70,000-75,000 United States and Philippine soldiers and personnel from the Bataan peninsula to the prison camps elsewhere in the Philippines.
Those who could not keep up on the march were immediately executed. The 90-mile long march was hard on soldiers who had fought for nearly three months. Along the trail soldiers would be killed if they helped someone along, falling down, or for no apparent reason at all.
Death was a common occurrence during the march because the prisoners of war were forced to march for five or six days at a time, without getting any food or water. Thousands died from starvation, dehydration, heat exhaustion and lack of treatment to their wounds suffered from battle.
Once the troops arrived at Camp O’Donnell, the abuse and mistreatment did not stop. Soldiers were often beaten and killed. But many of the soldiers died of disease and starvation. Common ailments were usually caused by unsanitary conditions and dysentery was a leading cause of death.
Defying the Geneva Convention, soldiers were forced to sign contracts saying they wouldn’t escape, and if an attempt was made, upon recapture they were executed in front of the other prisoners, it was also a commonality for other soldiers watching to be killed along with the escapees to make an example.
Personal belongings were also confiscated including the desperately needed medical kits.
Once Japan surrendered those who lead the forced marches and were in charge of the prison camps were put on trial for war crimes, along with other Japanese officers and officials that took part in other war atrocities.
Definition found from www.merriam-webster.com and additional information on Bataan Death March provided by www.history.sandiego.edu