Cowra Breakout: WWII's Largest Prison Escape Remembered 82 Years Later
On August 5, 1944, a significant mass escape occurred at the Cowra POW camp in New South Wales, Australia, involving over 900 Japanese prisoners of war. This event led to the deaths of 231 Japanese POWs and five Australians, marking it as the largest prison break of World War II, eclipsing the earlier escape of 76 Allied airmen from a Nazi facility in March 1944. Approximately 80 percent of the 1,104 inmates, motivated by the 'Senjinkun' code, took part in the breakout, which was ignited by news of impending transfers. Armed with makeshift weapons, they ignited huts and charged at fences. Within nine days, all 334 escapees were recaptured, with 25 fatalities during the attempt. The final survivor, Teruo Murakami, passed away in 2023 at the age of 103.
Key facts
- The Cowra breakout occurred on August 5, 1944, at a POW camp in New South Wales, Australia.
- More than 900 Japanese prisoners participated, with 231 killed and 108 wounded initially; the death toll later rose to 234.
- Five Australians were killed, including two who sabotaged a machine gun.
- The breakout was the largest prison break in WWII history, surpassing The Great Escape.
- Japanese POWs were motivated by the Senjinkun code, which forbade surrender and demanded self-sacrifice.
- The uprising was sparked by the planned transfer of lower-ranking prisoners to another camp.
- All 334 escapees were recaptured within nine days, with 25 dying during the escape.
- The Cowra Japanese War Cemetery and a Japanese garden built in the 1970s now symbolize Australia-Japan reconciliation.
- The last survivor, Teruo Murakami, died in 2023 at age 103.
Entities
Artists
- Teruo Murakami
- Hajime Toyoshima
- Yasuhiro Mitsuda
- Joseph C. Grew
- Mat McLachlan
- Charlotte Carr-Gregg
- Ulrich A. Straus
- Teruhiko Asada
- Shoichi Yokoi
- Marekuni Takahara
- Masayoshi Yamada
- Benjamin Gower Hardy
- Ralph Jones
- Charles Henry Shepherd
- Harry Doncaster
- Thomas Roy Hancock
- Len Whiteley
- Kerry Neale
- Ashley Cooper
Institutions
- Cowra POW camp
- Australian War Memorial
- University of New South Wales
- Smithsonian magazine
- Nippon.com
- Japan Times
- Sun-Herald
- Sydney Morning Herald
- Fairfax Media
- Getty Images
- Cowra Japanese War Cemetery
- Yasukuni Shrine
Locations
- Cowra
- New South Wales
- Australia
- Melville Island
- Tokyo
- Japan
- Guam
- United States