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Why doesn't Singapore remember World War II?

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singapore eagle
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Re: RE: Re: Why doesn't Singapore remember World War II?

Post by singapore eagle » Mon, 11 May 2015 2:39 pm

ecureilx wrote:
singapore eagle wrote:.
It was more that WWII, as it impacted on Singapore, hardly gets a mention even though thousands died here. This is clearly deliberate.
Errrr...... Did you miss the remembrance in Kranji?
No, but that's a decidedly British-led thing.

Anyway, to answer my own question, this article is quite interesting.

http://news.asiaone.com/print/News/Late ... 26754.html

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Wd40
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Re: RE: Re: Why doesn't Singapore remember World War II?

Post by Wd40 » Sun, 17 May 2015 4:55 pm

Emergency123 wrote:
Wd40 wrote:In India too, nobody remembers it. We are only taught about the freedom struggle and our own independence day.
Not entirely true . I was taught about the world wars in the CBSE http://cbse.nic.in system.

True, we are taught about the world wars, I remember that, I meant there is no specific day commemorating it like the VE day. Even in Singapore, the history book has it all, I don't think anyone is disputing that. OP and all of us are talking about official recognition of it like the VE day.

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Re: Why doesn't Singapore remember World War II?

Post by The Ref » Sun, 17 May 2015 5:05 pm

A couple of notes on the various comments above.
1. The Kranji memorial that I know of is ANZAC day organised by the Australia and New Zealand High Commissions here. While I am not sure if there are others, the European friends of mine were at ANZAC day and I believe it is the only one.
2. Every year in February the warning sirens are tested on the anniversary of the Japanese invasion and the fall of Singapore.
3. VE day would have no significance at all to Singapore as the war here was still raging.
4. There is a large number of war related sites and museums, most are listed in previous threads
5. I have no idea how well the local population are taught whet happened, but the older Singaporeans have a good understanding of what happened.

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the lynx
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Re: Why doesn't Singapore remember World War II?

Post by the lynx » Mon, 18 May 2015 9:39 am

In Malaysia, WW2 is covered in high school history syllabus. While VE Day was mentioned, it was not covered as extensively as the Japanese occupation in Malaya region (which was probably closer to the locals' heart).

I'd imagine Singapore having similar (if not better) syllabus, having shared the same education system (and definitely the same war) for a good part of formative years before the split.

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ecureilx
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Re: Why doesn't Singapore remember World War II?

Post by ecureilx » Mon, 18 May 2015 11:29 am

the lynx wrote:I'd imagine Singapore having similar (if not better) syllabus, having shared the same education system (and definitely the same war) for a good part of formative years before the split.
I believe Singapore drifted off, from the standardised education, and the only one that remains close to standards it the medical studies I guess (as both follow the British standards .. )

PS, nice avatar, didn't see the animation on tapatalk ;)

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Re: Why doesn't Singapore remember World War II?

Post by TMD » Sun, 07 Jun 2015 10:47 pm

ecureilx wrote:
the lynx wrote:I'd imagine Singapore having similar (if not better) syllabus, having shared the same education system (and definitely the same war) for a good part of formative years before the split.
I believe Singapore drifted off, from the standardised education, and the only one that remains close to standards it the medical studies I guess (as both follow the British standards .. )

PS, nice avatar, didn't see the animation on tapatalk ;)
Not sure what you meant "drifted off". AFAIK, Japanese occupation is not only being covered extensively in local school history curriculum, but also fused into Singapore's national psyche.

It can be said the WW2 experience has gone beyond the realm of political conversation.

MOE secondary school history coverage
http://www.moe.gov.sg/education/syllabu ... y-2014.pdf

School projects with thought provoking questions like "How did WWII affect Singapore?"
http://www.slideshare.net/earlgreytea/s ... -chapter-6

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