Your base for exploring this destination is the city of Singapore. For travel information about Singapore, go to Singapore Travel Guide. If planning a trip to Singapore, view the Singapore Budget Accommodation Map to find a suitable place to spend the night.
The Civilian War Memorial of Singapore is located at the War Memorial Park, bordered by Beach Road, Bras Basah Road and the Nicoll Highway. I photograph it as part of the documentation for the AsiaExplorers self-guided walking tours. The 61-meter structure, often nicknamed "The Chopsticks Monument" by Singaporeans, is dedicated to all civilians who were victims of the Japanese Occupation in 1942-45.
During the Japanese Occupation, between 40,000 to 50,000 Chinese were massacred by the Japanese. In one of the incidents, Chinese men aged 18-50 were rounded up on the pretext of health inspection. The unfortunate victims were imprisoned or unceremoniously machine-gunned to death.
Civilian War Memorial at War Memorial Park.
After the war, a war crimes tribunal sentenced Major General Saburo Kawamura and Colonel Masyuki Oishi to death for their part in the massacre.
In 1962, a large number of remains of civilian victims were unearthed in Siglap, Changi and Bukit Timah, pointing to the need to find a place to provide these victims a proper burial. The Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce stepped forward to undertake the responsibility. They set up a memorial building fund committee, which was eventually expanded to include the other races.
The architectural firm of Swan and McClaren won the open competition to design the memorial. The original design was supposed to have a vault to contain the cremated remains, but this was met with objections over the cremation of the remains. So the plan was changed to allow burial of the remains by the side of the memorial.
A new design was submitted by Swan and McClaren. The modified design comprises four slim 61 meter (some accounts put it as 67m) columns that taper towards the top. The four columns represent the four main races - the Chinese, Malays, Indians and Others. The columns are joined together to signify unity among the races.
The Civilian War Memorial was officially unveiled by the then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew on 15 February 1967.
View of the Civilian War Memorial from the bottom, showing how the columns are linked together.
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